Evaluation of serum vitamin A and urinary iodine levels among goitrous adolescents in Mousl, Iraq

To assess the frequency of endemic goiter in secondary school students in Mosul in northern Iraq and to compare serum vitamin A and urinary iodine excretion between goitrous and non-poitrous students. This study was conducted in Mosul, Iraq from November 2002 through April 2004. A sample of 473 students [aged 13-20 years] from different schools of this area was selected and classified according to socioeconomic status. A pre-tested questionnaire was employed to obtain information on gender, birth date, height, weight, residence, habitual food consumption patterns, and socioeconomic status. Physical examination of the thyroid gland was then done including size, constistency, and grade. Casual morning urine and blood samples were collected from 200 students of the 463 students, 70 males and 130 females. Laboratory measurements for thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH], total thyroxin [T4], vitamin A serum protein, serum albumin, and urinary iodine and creatinine were performed. The students were initially divided into three groups according to grade of goiter. The frequency rate of goiter according to WHO criteria was 28.8% in females and 23.6% in males, with a higher frequency among females aged 17-20 years. Serum vitamin A levels in non-goitrous students [control group] were higher in females than in males and this difference persisted in different age groups. Urinary iodine excretion in the two age groups was higher in males than in females. Among goitrous students, urinary iodine excretion and serum vitamin [opposite of that observed in the control group] were higher in males than in females in the age group of 17-20 years. All the goitrous students had serum vitamin A<0.35 micro mol/L which is deficient according to WHO [1996] criteria. A highly significant correlation was observed in goitrous students between serum vitamin A and urinary iodine excretion [r=0.45, P<0.0001]. Goiter is still an endemic problem for secondary school students in Mosul in northern Iraq. Vitamin A and iodine deficiencies are common health problems in this area. It may be useful to measure serum iron and zinc in goitrous students and to clarify whether or not there is a correlation between these two parameters and serum vitamin A and urinary iodine

Evaluation of serum vitamin a levels in patients with Rhinitis

The aim of this study is to evaluate serum vitamin A levels in patients with rhinitis. A case control study concerned with 48 patients with rhinitis who underwent serum vitamin A evaluation and compared with the corresponding results of 100 apparently healthy persons as a control group. The study was carried out in Department of ENT in Al-Salam Teaching Hospital in Mosul, from April 2001 to June 2004. Vitamin A evaluation was performed in Department of Biochemistry in Mosul Medical College. The parameters analyzed included age, sex, clinical diagnosis and vitamin A measurement. The average age was 25 years with a range of 3-52 years. It was found that patients with rhinitis had significantly lower serum vitamin A levels than the control subjects. The levels were 0.292 +/- 0.099 [SD] micro mol/liter versus 0.886 +/- 0.199 [SD] micro mol/ liter, respectively. These findings prompted us to suggest a hypothesis that in rhinitis and possibly in other respiratory tract infections, a general derangement in vitamin A handling exists

Hyperlipidemia in renal transplant recipients

Context: Hyperlipidemia is frequently common in uremia and persists after successful renal transplantation [RT]. It is one of the risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis in RT recipient and has a deleterious effect on graft function

Objective: To assess the prevalence of hyperlipidemia in RT in Mosul and to determine its types

Design: Prospective study of hyperlipidemia in RT using clinical and laboratory investigation of their lipid profile, renal function, serum glucose, proteinuria and immunosuppressive therapy

Setting: The study was conducted in the out patient nephrology clinic at lbn Sina teaching hospital between June 2000 November 2001 who had RT

Participants: Seventy eight of RT patients, [44] males and [34] females, with a mean age of [38] years and age range of [11-55] years transplanted within a period of 3 months 17 years were included. Fifty apparently healthy subjects, [26] males and [24] females, of normolipidemic state were taken as a control group

Results: Different types of hyperlipidemia were detected. hypercholesterolemia in 58.9%, combined hyperlipidemia in 62.8%; i.e., increase in both total cholesterol [TC] and triglycerides [TG]. Higher total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], very low-density lipoprotein [VLDL-C] and serum triglycerides were encountered in patients with RT less than one year compared with those with RT more than one year. Higher TC, VLDL-C, TG seen in chose receiving triple immunosuppressive therapy [cyclosporine. corticosteroid and azathioprino] than those on dual therapy [corticosteroid and azathioprine]. The effect of acute rejection on serum lipid variable of RT patients is well established. The causes and the explanation were discussed

Conclusion: Hyperliprdemia is prevalent after RT, further investigations are needed to determine whether graft losses and late graft failure can be prevented or ameliorated by treating hyperlipidemia

Total antioxidants and serum uric acid in diabetic patients

Objective: To measure serum total antioxidants status [TAS] in type [1] and type [2] diabetics and to find if there is a relation between TAS and serum uric acid

Design: Prospective study

Setting: The study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry. College of Medicine, Mosul University, from October 2000 to December 2001

Participants: Twenty patients with type 1 diabetes, 30 patients with type 2 diabetes and 30 apparentty healthy persons [control group] were included in the study

Intervention: Clinical data including age, sex, duration of diabetes and type of therapy

Methods: TAS, serum uric acid, fasting serum glucose and urine for protein I creatinine ratio were measured in diabetic patients and in the control group. Unpaired t-test, one way analysis of variance [ANOVA] and simple correlation analysis were applied to study the relation between TAS and serum uric acid. Multiple regression analysis was also applied to assess the effect of various anthropometric and metabolic variables on TAS and serum uric acid

Results: TAS was significantly lower in type 1 diabetic patients in comparison with type 2 diabetes and the control group [P<0.01] with a significant decrease in serum uric acid levels in both male and female patients with type 1 diabetes compared with gender matched patients with type 2 diabetes and healthy control. Simple correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between serum uric acid and TAS [r = 0.85 P < 0.001]

Conclusion: Diabetic patients undergo an important oxidative stress particularly in type 1 diabetics that was presented as a reduced TAS. Serum uric acid can act as a potent antioxidant determinant in vivo

Lipid profile in hyperlipidemic patients in Mosul

Lipid profile study was carried out on [52] patients from Mosul with hyperlipidaemia. The result was compared with those of [40] adult [males and females] healthy controls. It has been found that 1. There is an increase lipids in patients males or females compared with a normal controls. 2. There is a decrease in the HDL- in patients compared with control and specially in females compared with males, this decrease in the HDL might increase the incidence of [CHD]. 3. Lipid profile has to include HDL cholesterol measurement because total cholesterol does not reflect the actual status of cholesterol