Determination of vitamin D status in different age-groups in a community and in different climates of a country is necessary and has important implications for general health. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among the adult population of Isfahan, a centrally-located city in Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 1,111 healthy people—243 men and 868 women—aged 41.4 (mean 14 and range 20-80) years, who attended a single-consultation outpatient clinic, were selected. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD), parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium and phosphorus concentrations were measured. Mild, moderate and severe vitamin D deficiencies were defined as 25-OHD values of 20-30 ng/mL, 10-20 ng/mL, and <10 ng/mL respectively. The median (range) concentrations of 25-OHD were 21 (4.0-105.0) ng/mL in males and 18 (1.5-117) ng/mL in females (p=0.05). The prevalence of mild, moderate and severe vitamin D deficiencies among the adult population was 19.6%, 23.9%, and 26.9% respectively. Vitamin D deficiency was more prevalent among women (p=0.001) and younger age-group (p=0.001). Medians of 25-OHD in spring-summer and autumn-winter were 21 ng/mL and 18 ng/mL respectively (p=0.005). The prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency was higher in autumn-winter than in spring-summer (odds ratio=1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.2-2.2, p=0.001). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was high in a sunny city—Isfahan— especially among women and younger population. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in this city emphasizes the necessity of vitamin D supplementation as more exposure to sun is limited due to the type of clothing required by current law.

treatment was discontinued for 4 weeks and T4 and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured. Permanent or transient CH was determined from the results of the thyroid function tests and the radiologic findings. Patients with TSH levels .6 (mIU/l) were diagnosed with permanent CH. Results Results were available from 204 patients, of whom 122 patients were diagnosed with permanent CH (59.8%) ( prevalence 1:748 births), and 82 with transient hypothyroidism ( prevalence 1:1114). Permanent CH was associated with higher initial TSH levels than transient hypothyroidism (P , 0.05). The most common aetiology of CH was dyshormonogenesis. Conclusion The rates of both permanent and transient CH in our study were higher than the comparable worldwide rates. The transient group had low T4 levels, suggesting that iodine contamination should be investigated. The aetiology of CH was also different from that recorded in many other studies.

Background and Aims: Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and bone growth. Hypovitaminosis and vitamin D deficiency have been observed in developed and developing countries including several in the Middle East. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was investigated in Isfahani male and female high school students in Iran in 2004. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 318 students (153 boys and 165 girls) aged 14–18 years were selected by multistage random sampling. Data were collected by interview and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were measured. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25-OHD <20 and <32 ng/ml in which the mean serum PTH began to increase in our population. Results: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency according to 25-OHD <20 ng/ml in all subjects was 46.2% (72.1% in females and 18.3% in males). Vitamin D deficiency in female students was about four times more common than in males (OR = 3.9, 95% CI = 1.88–3.91, p < 0.001). According to 25-OHD <32 ng/ml, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in all students was 72.2% (95.2% in females and 49% in males). Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is common in high school students, especially in girls. Avoidance of sunshine or inadequate dietary intake of vitamin D may be the main causes.

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■ AbstractOBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress can contribute to microvascular complications in diabetes. A decisive event associated with this condition may be the decrease in the synthesis of zinc-containing antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. This consideration led us to investigate the effect of zinc supplementation versus placebo on microalbuminuria in diabetic patients in a randomized double blind clinical trial. METHODS: Fifty diabetic patients with microalbuminuria were enrolled. Fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, lipid profiles, plasma zinc levels and random urine for albumin and creatinine were measured. Patients randomly received 30 mg elemental zinc (group 1) or placebo (group 2) for 3 months. After a 4 week wash-out period, the groups were crossed over (i.e. the zinc group were given placebo, and the placebo group were given zinc) and the protocol was repeated. RESULTS: From an initial number of 50 selected patients (25 in each of two groups), 39 patients (21 in group 1 and 18 in group 2) completed the study. In group 1, after zinc supplementation, urinary albumin excretion decreased significantly from 86.5 ± 57 to 75 ± 71 mg/g (p = 0.01). After placebo, patients in group 1 showed no significant reduction in microalbuminuria (85 ± 72 mg/g to 83 ± 63 mg/g creatinine). In group 2, no change in albumin excretion was observed after placebo treatment (90.5 ± 63 mg/g to 90 ± 60 mg/g creatinine). After zinc supplementation, a significant reduction was observed in albumin excretion, from 90 ± 60 mg/g to 85 ± 57 mg/g creatinine (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Zinc supplementation reduced albumin excretion in microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients. This outcome may be due to the antioxidant effect of zinc.

We extend the concept of amenability of a Banach algebra A to the case that there is an extra A -module structure on A, and show that when S is an inverse semigroup with subsemigroup E of idempotents, then A = ℓ 1 (S) as a Banach module over A = ℓ 1 (E) is module amenable iff S is amenable. When S is a discrete group, ℓ 1 (E) = C and this is just the celebrated Johnson's theorem.1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 43A07: Secondary 46H25.

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Background: Various oral hypoglycemic agents have already been administered to type-2 diabetic patients to normalize their plasma glucose concentrations but they have not had complete and sustained success. In recent years, bromocriptine has been tried with controversial results. In present study, the effect of bromocriptine on glycemic control was evaluated in obese type-2 diabetic patients. Methods: In a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, 40 obese patients with type-2 diabetes (aged 32–70 years) were randomly allocated to the two treatment groups. The first group received bromocriptine (2.5 mg daily) for a total of 3 months. The second group received placebo. They had been uncontrolled on fixed doses of glibenclamide or its combination with metformin in the 3 months before enrolling in the study. The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA₁) were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated before and 1, 2 and 3 months after treatment. Results: The FPG level decreased in the bromocriptine-treated group from 10.59 ± 0.42 to 9.06 ± 0.41 mmol/l (mean ± SEM; p < 0.01), whereas in the placebo group it was not changed, 10.69 ± 0.52 and 10.6 ± 0.57 mmol/l, respectively. The HbA₁ concentration was reduced in the bromocriptine-treated group from 9.9 ± 0.3 to 9.5 ±0.2% (p = 0.06), whereas it increased in the placebo-treated group from 10.2 ± 0.3 to 11.3 ± 0.6% (p < 0.05). The differences in HbA₁ (1.8%, p < 0.01) and FPG (1.55 mmol/l, p < 0.05) levels between the bromocriptine and placebo groups at 3 months were significant. No changes in body weight or BMI occurred during the study in either placebo- or bromocriptine-treated group. Conclusion: The data further support the contention that bromocriptine improves glycemic control in obese type-2 diabetic patients, although the mechanism of action remains to be determined.