CLOSE RELATIONSHIP OF CAROTID INTIMA-MEDIA THICKNESS WITH LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY AND EJECTION FRACTION IN END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE PATIENTS UNDERGOING HEMODIALYSIS TREATMENT

Background- Two principal findings of cardiovascular disease in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing regular hemodialysis are left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and arterial disease due to rapidly progressive atherosclerotic vascular disease that can be characterized by an enlargement and hypertrophy of arteries (intima-media complex thickening, IMT). In this study, we sought to study the relationship between left ventricular hypertrophy with intima-media complex thickening in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing regular hemodialysis. Methods- Sixty-one unselected patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who were undergoing regular and maintenance hemodialysis treatment (F=23, M=38) were studied. The subjects consisted of 50 non-diabetic hemodialysis patients (F=20, M=30) and 11 diabetic hemodialysis patients (F=3, M=8). For all the subjects, echocardiography and carotid intima-media thickness measuring by B-mode ultrasonography were performed. Results- In this study, there was a positive correlation between stages of LVH with duration of hemodialysis treatment, stages of hypertension (HTN), and with carotid-IMT. A positive correlation was also seen between stages of LVH and presence of chest pain, and more thickening of the intima-media complex was seen in the diabetic group. Diabetes mellitus was associated with the presence of chest pain, as was positive correlation between stages of HTN with IMT, and a reverse correlation was observed between IMT with the percent of cardiac ejection fraction. Conclusion- Prevalence of thickening in intima-media complex is more evident in hemodialysis subjects with LVH. When there is LVH, IMT is similar in severity to the LVH (Iranian Heart Journal 2006; 7 (1): 40-46)

Correlation of serum parathyroid hormone with pulmonary artery pressure in non-diabetic regular hemodialysis patients

Abstract Introduction: Pulmonary artery hypertension in end-stage renal disease is associated by significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Serum parathormone may increase among patients on hemodialysis and influence various organs. Objectives: This study sought to find the association of serum parathormone level and pulmonary artery pressure in a group of non-diabetic patients on regular hemodialysis. Materials and Methods: This prospective investigation was conducted in the hemodialysis section of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Doppler echocardiography were used to assess pulmonary artery pressure. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is defined as systolic PAP≥35 mm Hg at rest. Serum parathormone was measured by ECL method. Results: Sixty-five, non-diabetic hemodialysis patients were studied. Mean (±SD) of age of the patients was 56.35±20.41 years. Mean (±SD) of iPTH was 251.55±97.27 pg/ml. In this study, a significant positive association of serum iPTH with pulmonary artery pressure in patients was seen (r=0.27, p=0.029). Conclusion: In the present study, we detected a significant positive association of serum parathyroid hormone with pulmonary artery pressure of hemodialysis patients however, our observations, warranting further investigations to evaluate the clinical aspect of the association of serum PTH with pulmonary artery pressure. Keywords: End-stage renal disease, Hemodialysis, Pulmonary hypertension, Parathormone Please cite this paper as: Heidari M, Mardani S, Baradaran A. Correlation of serum parathyroid hormone with pulmonary artery pressure in non-diabetic regular hemodialysis patients. J Parathyr Dis 2014; 2(2): 78-80. Copyright © 2014 The Author(s); Published by Nickan Research Institute. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Związek wskaźnika masy ciała ze stężeniem witaminy D w surowicy u zdrowych Irańczyków

Introduction: In studies of obese adolescents in various countries, vitamin D deficiency has been correlated with greater weight and elevated BMI. However, there is insufficient data on the relation between vitamin D status and body fat indexes in adolescence. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum (25[OH]D) concentrations with body mass index of healthy Iranian subjects to understand whether specific data on the relation between vitamin D status and body mass index is common in all populations. Material and methods: Data was collected from 259 ambulant medical staff adults, students and other subjects who met the inclusion criteria of the study. Body mass index and fasting 25-Hydroxy vitamin D level were measured. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as having a 25(OH)D concentration < 25 nmol/L. Results: Participants were aged 20&#8211;64 years, mean age 34 &plusmn; 9 years, and about 57.5% of the participants were women. The mean (&plusmn; SD) body mass index (kg/m2) was 24.2 &plusmn; 3.8 kg/m2 (median = 23.7 kg/m2), the mean (&plusmn; SD) vitamin D level of the participants was 29 &plusmn; 16 nmol/L (median = 26 nmol/L), and 48% of the participants had vitamin D deficiency. In this study, there was no significant association between vitamin D level and BMI (r = 0.064; p = 0.307) (age adjusted). Moreover, there was no association between vitamin D level and sex of the participants. In addition, no association between BMI and sex of the adolescents was seen (p; NS), but a significant association between age and vitamin D level was found (r = 0.002). Conclusion: Our data suggests that various mechanisms could potentially contribute to the robust association of vitamin D with adiposity; in normal or near normal BMI, vitamin D status may not be correlated with age.Wstęp: W badaniach nad otyłymi nastolatkami w różnych krajach stwierdzono korelację między niedoborem witaminy D a zwiększoną masą ciała i podwyższonym wskaźnikiem masy ciała (BMI). Nie ma jednak wystarczających danych dotyczących zależności między stężeniem witaminy D a zawartością tkanki tłuszczowej w organizmie osób dorosłych. Celem niniejszego badania była analiza związku stężeń witaminy 25(OH)D w surowicy ze wskaźnikami tkanki tłuszczowej u zdrowych dorosłych Irańczyków w celu ustalenia, czy podobne zależności, jak u młodzieży, występują w populacji ogólnej. Materiał i metody: Zgromadzono dane 259 pracowników służby zdrowia, studentów i innych dorosłych osób spełniających kryteria włączenia do badania. Wyliczono BMI i zmierzono stężenia witaminy 25-hydroksy-D na czczo. Niedobór witaminy D definiowano jako stężenie 25(OH)D < 25 nmol/l. Wyniki: Uczestnikami badania były osoby w wieku 20&#8211;64 lat (średnia wieku 34 &plusmn; 9 lat); około 57,5% badanej grupy stanowiły kobiety. Średnia wartość (&plusmn; SD) BMI (kg/m2) wynosiła 24,2 &plusmn; 3,8 kg/m&sup2; (mediana = 23,7 kg/m&sup2;), a średnie stężenie (&plusmn; SD) witaminy D &#8212; 29 &plusmn; 16 nmol/l(mediana = 26 nmol/l). Niedobór witaminy D stwierdzono u 48% uczestników. W niniejszym badaniu nie wykazano istotnych związków między stężeniem witaminy D i BMI (r = 0,064; p = 0,307) (po skorygowaniu względem wieku). Nie stwierdzono również zależności między stężeniem witaminy D a płcią uczestników badania. Nie stwierdzono zależności między BMI a płcią (p nieistotne statystycznie), odnotowano natomiast istotny związek wieku ze stężeniem witaminy D (r = 0.002). Wnioski: Dane sugerują, że u podłoża silnego związku między niedoborem witaminy D i otyłością mogą leżeć różne mechanizmy. U osób z BMI w zakresie wartości prawidłowych lub zbliżonym do prawidłowego nie ma zależności między stężeniem witaminy D a wiekiem

Plants antioxidants: From laboratory to clinic

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: Eating whole vegetables, fruits and grains, which all are rich in antioxidants, provides protection against most of oxidative stress induced diseases, however, this does not mean that antioxidants will prevent or fix the problem, especially not when they are taken out of their natural context. It should be noted that although the results of the studies are inconclusive, but most of the studies conducted till now have had limitations due to their relatively short duration and conducting on patients with existing diseases. © 2013, Society of Diabetic Nephropathy Prevention. All rights reserved

Serum Anti-Hbs-Ag in Stable Hemodialysis Patients and its Relationship with Various Demographic and Biochemical Data

Introduction: To evaluate the relationship between various biochemical, nutritional and demographic factors with immune response to hepatitis B vaccine in maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients. Material and Methods: A retro-prospective study was carried out on 68 patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis .Patients were vaccinated against hepatitis B virus with an intramuscular hepatitis B vaccination schedule, 40 micrograms at 0, 1, and 6 months. We also selected 32 age matched normal healthy persons who had vaccinated against hepatitis B previously to compare the antibody production with HD patients. Results: The value of serum antibody level against hepatitis B surface antigen ( HBs) in hemodialisis patients and healthy persons were 35±55(median=5.5) and 135±71 (median=175) mIU/ml respectively. There was a significant deference between mean serum antibody level against HBs antigen of hemodialysis patients and normal subjects (p<0.001), there were not any significant differences of antibody production against HBs antigen between males and females or diabetic and non diabetics. There were no correlation between serum antibody level against HBs-Ag and serum albumin and also with body mass index. There were not significant correlation between anti-HBs antibody level and age, amounts of hemodialysis, duration of dialysis, dialysis adequacy, serum ferritin level and serum lipids. There were not also significant correlation between anti-HBs antibody level and serum parathormone, calcium, phosphorus, serum hemoglobin and hematocrit level. Conclusion: In this study, there was not significant correlation between serum antibody level against hepatitis B surface antigen and various nutritional and demographic factors of patients under regular hemodialysis

Antioxidant and kidney protection; differential impacts of single and whole natural antioxidants.

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance in production of reactive oxygen and the biological ability to detoxify the reactive intermediates or repair the resulting damage. Herbal medicines commonly fight these complications with their antioxidant properties. However, it should be noted that herbal drugs extracts are abundant sources of polyphenols and these compounds are unstable and might be subjected to polymerization. Thus, it is essential to check that the observed biological properties are not due to polymerization of phenolic compounds

A review study on medicinal plants affecting amnesia through cholinergic system

Neurotransmitter modification is an important method for the treatment of memory loss or amnesia. Cholinomimetic drugs, particularly, acetylcholine esterase inhibitors are the mainstream in pharmacotherapy of amnesia. Donepezil, tacrine, galantamine, and rivastigmine are cholinesterase inhibitors which are widely used in the treatment of amnesia, however, their therapeutic effects are not significant. Therefore, other possibilities including herbal medicine sources have been considered for memory loss therapy. There are some Medicinal plants with cholinomimetic property which mostly possess antioxidant activity, too. These plants may not only ameliorate amnesia but also can be a good source for drug discovery. In this paper other than introducing the medicinal plants and their components affective on cholinergic system and effective on memory loss, their probable advantages over synthetic drugs are discussed