No abstract

Apoptosis, as well as necrosis, has an important role in post-ischemic renal pathology. The effect of pretreatment with Docosahexaenoic acid+Eicosapentaenoic acid (DHA+EPA) on renal injury and apoptotic protein expression was evaluated. Right nephrectomy was completed on male Wistar rats (255-300 g). The rats received DHA+EPA (200 mg/kg/day) of distilled water orally for 14 days before ischemia reperfusion (IR) or sham operation. A total of 81 rats were divided into three main groups with 6, 24 and 48 h of post-operation or reperfusion period. Serum creatinine (SCr), BUN, creatinine clearance (CCr) and fractional excretion of sodium (FEN a ) were measured. Tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, Bax and Bcl-2 protein expressions and renal histological injury were determined. SCr, BUN and FEN a increased 6-48 h of reperfusion (P < 0.01). Tissue MDA content and Bax expression increased (P < 0.01) and CAT and SOD activities decreased (P < 0.05) in the IR group. DHA+EPA decreased SCr and BUN, FEN a , tissue MDA levels (P < 0.05 vs. IR) and increased CAT and SOD activities and Bcl-2 expression (P < 0.05 vs. IR) for 6-48 h after ischemia. IR induced mild (6 h, P < 0.05) and severe (24-48 h, P < 0.01) tissue damage. Mild-to-moderate tissue damage was observed in DHA+EPA groups from 6 to 48 h of reperfusion period (P < 0.05 vs. IR, 24-48 h). In conclusion, the results suggest that pre-ischemic exposure to DHA+EPA could improve the outcome of early graft function by inhibition of IR-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Necrosis and apoptosis caused by ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) result in myocyte death and atrophy. ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP) ) channels activation increases tissue tolerance of IR-injury. Thus, in the present study, we evaluated the effects of K(ATP) channel activation on skeletal muscle apoptosis after IR. Male Wistar rats were treated with 40 mg/kg, i.p., diazoxide (a K(ATP) channel opener) or 5 mg/kg, i.p., glibenclamide (a K(ATP) channel inhibitor) 30 min before the induction of 3 h ischaemia, followed by 6, 24 or 48 h reperfusion. At the end of the reperfusion period, the gastrocnemius muscle was removed for the analysis of tissue malondialdehyde content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity, Bax and Bcl-2 protein expression, histological damage and the number of apoptotic nuclei. Ischaemia-reperfusion increased malondialdehyde content (P < 0.01) and Bax expression (P < 0.01) and induced severe histological damage, in addition to decreasing CAT and SOD activity (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) and Bcl-2 expression (P < 0.01). Diazoxide reversed the effects of IR on tissue damage, MDA content, SOD and CAT activity (after 6 and 24 h reperfusion; P < 0.05) and Bax and Bcl-2 expression (after 24 and 48 h reperfusion; P < 0.01). In contrast, glibenclamide pretreatment had no effect. The number of apoptotic nuclei in the IR and glibenclamide-pretreated groups increased significantly (P < 0.001 vs Sham). In contrast, diazoxide pretreatment decreased the number of apoptotic nuclei compared with the IR group (P < 0.01). The results of the present study suggest that the K(ATP) channel activator diazoxide attenuates lipid peroxidation during the first hour of reperfusion and modulates apoptotic pathways at later time points.

Introduction: One way to improve the quality of life of the patients with thalassemia major is to enable them through education. The present research aimed to explore the effects of an educational intervention through mobile phones on self-care behaviors of the patients with thalassemia major Methods: In this quasi experimental study, which was done from May to January in 2017, 91 patients were enrolled who were suffering from thalassemia major.The census sampling method was performed with random allocation of interventional and control groups. Educational intervention was only applied to the intervention group. The study instrument was a questionnaire which was filled out by the patients before and two months after the educational intervention. For data analysis, statistical tests including independent samples t-test, paired-samples t-test, Mann-Whitney test and Wilcoxon test, were used through SPSS v.13 software. Results: Prior to the intervention, the mean scores of knowledge, attitude and self-care behaviors were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups. After the intervention, , however, there was a statistically significant increase in the aforementioned scores in the intervention group (P˂0.05), but there was no statistically significant increase in scores of the control group(P>0.05). Conclusion: The present findings showed the positive effect of the mobile-phone mediated education on knowledge, attitude and self-care behaviors of the patients with thalassemia major. Therefore, the use of mobile phone is recommended as an effective way of transferring instructional material as related to self-care to patients with thalassemia major particularly when access to them is limited.

Background: Consumption of fruits and vegetables improve health and prevent chronic diseases. Objectives: This study aimed to survey the relation between decisional balance and self-efficacy with fruits and vegetables consumption among a sample of women in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Methods: In this study, 383 women who referred to seven health centers in Bandar Abbas were selected through a stratified sampling method. A valid and reliable questionnaire including the constructs of the transtheoretical model and fruits and vegetables consumption was used to collect data. SPSS version 19.0 was used to analyze the data running one-way ANOVA and linear trend analysis. Results: Analysis of consuming two services or more fruits a day indicated that the majority of women (58%) were at the maintenance stage and the minority (4.2%) at the contemplation stage. Moreover, the majority of subjects (55.6%) were found to be at the maintenance stage of consuming 200 g or more vegetables a day, while the minority (3.7%) were at the contemplation stage. Significant relations were found between the stages of change to consume more fruits and vegetables and such constructs as decisional balance and self-efficacy P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results, in designing interventions to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables in housewives, it is necessary to emphasize increasing the decisional balance and self-efficacy.

Introduction: Despite recent interest in the use of ketogenic diets (KDs) for cancer , evidence of beneficial effects is lacking. This study examined the impact of a randomly assigned KD on quality of life, physical activity and biomarkers in patients with breast cancer. Method: A total of 80 patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and without a history of renal disease or diabetes were randomly assigned to either a KD or a control group for this 12-week trial. Concurrent with the first, third, and fifth chemotherapy sessions, quality of life, physical activity, and biomarkers (thyroid function tests, electrolytes, albumin, ammonia, ALP, lactate and serum ketones) were assessed. Dietary intake was also recorded on admission and the end of the treatment. Results: No significant differences were seen in quality of life or physical activity scores between the two groups after 12 weeks; however, the KD group showed higher global quality of life and physical activity scores compared to the control group at 6 weeks (P=0.02 P= 0.01). Also, serum lactate and ALP levels decreased significantly in the KD group compared to the control group at the end of the intervention (10.7±3 vs 13.3±4, 149±71 vs 240±164, P=0.02 and P=0.007, respectively). A significant inverse association was observed between total carbohydrate intake and serum beta-hydroxybutyrate at 12 weeks (r= -0.77 P <0.001). No significant differences between groups were observed in thyroid hormones, electrolytes, albumin, LDH or ammonia. Compliance among KD subjects ranged from 66.7% to 79.2% as assessed by dietary intake and serum ketones levels of >0.5. Conclusion: According to our results, chemotherapy combined with 6 weeks of a KD improved global quality of life and physical activity scores but did not result in similar improvements at 12 weeks. There were no significant differences noted in thyroid function or electrolyte levels between the two groups. However, decreases seen in levels of lactate and ALP in the KD group suggest that a KD may benefit patients with breast cancer

Engineered probiotics (EPs) are a group of probiotics whose proteome is manipulated by biotechnological techniques. EPs have attracted a lot of attention in recent researches for preventing and treating chronic diseases. The current study has been conducted to provide an overview regarding the EPs application in the treatment of chronic disease by a comprehensive systematic review of the published articles up to January 2022. To retrieve the related publications, three databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Sciences, and Scopus) were searched systematically. Finally, all human (n = 2) and

Background and Objective: Sunlight exposure, the main source of endogenous vitamin D synthesis, may increase the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) development. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms are associated with various malignancies. This study aimed to examine the associations between vitamin D status and VDR FokI polymorphisms in Iranian subjects with NMSC. Materials and Methods: This case-control study included 73 diagnosed cases of NMSC and 72 healthy controls from dermatology clinics at Razi Hospital, Tehran, Iran. A questionnaire was used to assess sunlight exposure. The extracted DNA from whole blood samples was genotyped and serum concentrations of 25-hydroxycalciferol (25(OH)D)) and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were measured. Results: We found a significant higher duration of cumulative sunlight exposure in cases compared with controls (p<0.001). However, 25(OH)D and iPTH concentrations were not significantly different between cases and controls (30±15 vs. 29±15 ng/ mL, p=0.78 and 46.0±20 vs. 40.5±23 pg/mL, p=0.14, respectively). We did not observe any significant increased risk of NMSC due to f allele, as compared with FF (OR =2.33, 95% CI 0.81-6.75, p=0.12). Conclusion: Though sunlight exposure was associated with increased NMSC risk, there were no significant associations between vitamin D status or VDR FokI polymorphisms with NMSC development in our subjects.