The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between fasting serum leptin, adiponectin and resistin levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in osteoporosis patients and a non-osteoporosis control group. We studied 81 non-diabetic osteoporosis patients (92 % female, 8 % male; mean age 54.5 ± 15.5 years and body mass index [BMI] 28.2 ± 4.6) and 120 non-diabetic individuals with normal BMD as controls (86 % female, 14 % male; mean age 39.7 ± 10.4 years and BMI 28.8 ± 4.4). BMD was studied by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry from the lumbar spine (L1-L4) and femoral neck and fasting blood samples were taken for biochemical measurement of fasting blood glucose, leptin, adiponectin and resistin. Fasting levels of plasma adiponectin had a significant negative correlation with BMD of the femoral neck and lumbar spine in the osteoporosis group (r = -0.478, P = 0.003, r = -0.513, P = 0.023) but not in the non-osteoporosis group (r = -0.158, P = 0.057, r = -0.23, P = 0.465). Fasting plasma levels of resistin were significantly correlated only with femur BMD in the osteoporosis group, and not significantly correlated with lumbar spine BMD (r = -0.244, P = 0.048 vs r = 0.276, P = 0.56). Leptin did not have a significant correlation with BMD in either the osteoporosis or non-osteoporosis groups (P > 0.05). Adiponectin had a significant negative correlation with BMD of the lumbar spine and femoral neck. The correlation between leptin and resistin are not inconclusive.

A low Vit D level was not identified to be a risk factor for RA severity or flare ups; however, although not statistically significant, Vit D treatment might be clinically effective. Further studies are needed with more emphasis on the issue of cost effectiveness and clinical importance to provide more information.

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Objectives: This study aims to determine whether promoter -238 G/A polymorphism in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene is associated with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Iranian population and serum level of TNF-a. Patients and methods:This case-controlled study was performed on two groups including 90 RA patients (20 males, 70 females; mean age 50.3 years; range 26 to 65 years) and 90 healthy controls (21 males, 69 females; mean age 48.6 years; range 27 to 63 years). We determined the frequency of -238 G/A TNF-a gene polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism. We measured the serum level of TNF-a using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Also, we determined the association of serum TNF-a level with the polymorphism in RA patients.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive multifactorial inflammatory disorder. According to numerous evidence, pro-inflammatory markers such as TNF-a, IL-6, IL-22, MYD88 and TLR2 play a substantial role in the pathogenesis and persistence of this disease. B-D-Mannuronic acid (M2000) is a new immunosuppressive drug whose therapeutic effects have been approved in several clinical trials and the results of the phase III clinical trial of this drug in RA patients were potent and efficient. Therefore, the present investigation was designed to evaluate its anti-inflammatory effects on the expression of mentioned factors in RA patients.Material and methods: This research was carried out on 12 healthy individuals and 12 patients with RA and M2000 was administered to the patients orally at a dose of 500 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from the patients before and after treatment with M2000 to investigate the gene expression levels of TNF-a, IL-6, IL-22, MYD88 and TLR2 molecules in them using Real-time PCR.Results: This study data represented a higher gene expression in all target molecules in the RA patients in comparison to the healthy individuals. Furthermore, the outcomes showed that after 12 weeks of therapy with M2000, the gene expression levels of inflammatory factors TNF-a, IL-6, IL-22, MYD88 and TLR2 decreased significantly in treated patients compared to before therapy. The gene expression results were following the clinical and paraclinical assessments. Conclusion:In conclusion, M2000 as a newly approved anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drug, can be proposed as a therapeutic agent in RA patients.