effect of aloe vera solution on chemotherapy-induced stomatitis in clients with lymphoma and leukemia: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: Stomatitis is the most common complication of chemotherapy. This study aimed to assess the effect of aloe vera solution on stomatitis and its pain intensity in patients undergoing chemotherapeutic procedures

Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 64 patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia undergoing chemotherapy were randomly divided into a control and an intervention group. The intervention group patients were asked to wash their mouths with 5 ml of aloe vera solution for two minutes three times a day for 14 days. The control group patients, however, used only the ordinary mouthwashes recommended in hematologic centers. The patients' mouths were examined by two assistants on days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14. The intensity of stomatitis was recorded according to WHO stomatitis intensity checklists and pain was evaluated using Visual Analog Scale. The data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software, version 18

Results: The results showed that aloe vera solution mouthwash significantly reduced the intensity of stomatitis and its pain in the intervention group compared to the control group. On the first day, no significant difference was found between the two groups regarding the mean intensity of stomatitis [P=0.178] and pain [P=0.154]. However, a significant difference was observed between the two groups in this regard on other days [days 3-14: P=0.001 for stomatitis intensity, P=0.001 for pain]

Conclusions: Aloe vera solution can improve the patients' nutritional status, reduce stomatitis and its pain intensity, and increase the patients' satisfaction

Protective role of silymarin and deferoxamine against iron dextran-induced renal iron deposition in male rats

Kidney iron deposition [KID] is caused by iron overload that is observed in kidney diseases and anemia. The protective effects of deferoxamine [DF] and silymarin [SM] were studied against iron overload-induced KID in rat model. Rats received iron dextran [200 mg/kg] for a period of 4 weeks every other day, but at the beginning of week 3, they also were subjected to a 2-week [every other day] treatment with vehicle [group 2, positive control], SM [200 mg/kg; group 3], DF [50 mg/kg; group 4], SM [400 mg/kg; group 5], and combination of SM and DF [200 and 50 mg/kg, respectively; group 6]. Group 1, as the negative control, received saline alone during the study. The levels of serum creatinine [Cr], blood urea nitrogen [BUN], iron, ferritin, and nitrite were determined, and the kidney was removed for histopathological investigations. Before treatment, the serum levels of iron and ferritin in all iron dextran receiver groups were significantly higher than those of the negative control group [P < 0.05]. However, the serum levels of BUN, Cr, and nitrite were not different between the groups. No statistical differences were detected in kidney weight and the serum levels of BUN, Cr, iron, ferritin, and nitrite after 2 weeks of treatment with SM, DF, or combination of both. The SM and DF treatments reduced the intensity of the KID, but only in the SM [200 mg/kg] group, a significant reduction in KID was observed [P < 0.05]. It seems that SM is a nephroprotectant agent against KID in acute iron overload animal models

[Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome in Ahvaz]

In different studies, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome outbreak has been reported as high as 7-43% among the women with polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS]. This study was performed to determine the prevalence and predictors of the metabolic syndrome in PCOS women in Ahvaz. In an epidemiologic descriptive study, a total number of 53 women who attended the endocrinology clinic in Ahvaz from 2007 through 2008, and were diagnosed as PCOS, according to the Rotterdam criteria, were enrolled in the study. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was studied on the basis of the criteria explained by American National Cholesterol Panel [ATP-III criteria] Fifty three women with the mean age of 24 +/- 6.8 years were studied in this research. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in women of Ahvaz was estimated to be as 13.5%, and the prevalence for individual components comprising the metabolic syndrome were: fasting glucose blood concentrations greater than or equals to 110 mg/dl in 4 patient [7.7%], hypertension in 4 patients [7.7%], waist circumference greater than or equals to 88 cm in 14 patients [34.1%], HDL less than 40 mg/dl in 12 patients [24%], triglyceride greater than or equals to 150 mg/dl in 5 patients [9.4%], IFG in 17 patients [32.7%], diabetes in 3 patients [5.8%] and dislipidemia in 31 patients [60%]. The Metabolic Syndrome and its elements occur frequently in women with PCOS that places them at risk for cardiovascular diseases, therefore screening for these disturbances is recommended