Oxidative stress associated with altered activity of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase enzymes with IDA during pregnancy

Iron deficiency anemia [IDA] during pregnancy, although associated with disturbances of hematological parameters, is now also considered as a source of oxidative stress [OS]. Present study aims to detect any alteration in superoxide dismutase [SOD] and glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px] enzymes activity in pregnant women with IDA. Levels of GSH-Px and SOD were measured in 156 anemic, pregnant women and compared with similar levels in 20 non anemic, pregnant women. Activity of SOD was found to be reduced in the anemic group when compared with the control group. We found a non- significant increase in GSH-Px activities in the anemic group. These findings could be explained in terms of OS under hypoxic condition which preserves the activity of GSH-Px with a decrease activity of SOD. A positive association was seen between IDA during pregnancy and OS with results suggesting that, apart from the deficiency of iron, some other factors are also associated for the increased OS seen during pregnancy

Decreased activity of glutathione peroxidase with oral ferrous iron administration: a cause of oxidative stress

Iron deficiency anemia [IDA] during pregnancy not only results in the disturbance of hematological parameters but has been found to be an additional cause of oxidative stress [OS]. Moreover, oral iron for IDA during pregnancy has been found to worsen the condition. Present study aims to detect any alteration in glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px] activity as an enzymatic anti-oxidant and its association with oral iron supplements. For study, 40 anemic pregnant women were prescribed with 200mg ferrous sulphate for 12 weeks [wks].A significant improvement in hemoglobin [Hb] and serum ferritin concentration [SFC] was seen after treatment [p<0.05]. In contrast to the values for hematological parameters, GSH-PX was found to be same for control and anemic groups before iron supplements [p>0.05]. A significant decrease in GSH-PX levels of anemic women was seen after iron therapy when compared with both the initial values and the control group [p<0.05]. We found a positive association between oral iron administration and OS. Our results showed a strong association between oral iron supplements and SFC which supports the iron overload theory. It is therefore concluded that OS is associated with oral iron supplements during pregnancy

Leflunomide in rheumatoid arthritis: Effect on laboratory parameters

Objective: To evaluate the effect of leflunomide on laboratory parameters in patients of rheumatoid arthritis

Materials and Methods: A 24-week, single-blind study was carried out on 158 consecutive patients, aged 29-70 years, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. They received tablet leflunomide 20 mg daily, orally. Laboratory tests were recorded at the initial visit and follow-ups. Leflunomide has been known to bring about changes in various blood parameters like hemoglobin, total white cell and platelet counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum creatinine and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase levels. All patients were subjected to these laboratory tests

Results: At the end of the study at 24 weeks the hemoglobin was raised to 12.62 grams per deciliter [g/dl] from a baseline of 10.81 g/dl, white cell count fell to 6,728 per cubic mm [cmm] from 8,318 / cmm, the ESR fell to 39.01 millimeters of mercury [mm of Hg] in 1st hour from 82.10 mm of Hg, the platelet count fell to 2,37,419 / cmm from 2, 96,166 / cmm, the SGPT levels were raised to 38.01 international units per litre [IU/l] from 31.84 IU/l and the serum creatinine fell to 0.936 mg/dl from 0.937 mg/dl. All values, except serum creatinine, were found to be highly significant statistically [p<0.001]

Conclusion: Leflunomide showed significant effects on the laboratory parameters. These parameters may be utilized in patients follow up to monitor the drug response and as a marker of drug safety of leflunomide

Correction of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy and its effects on superoxide dismutase

Iron deficiency anemia [IDA] affects not only the hematological parameters but also disturb the oxidative balance of body. In pregnancy, this is much more considerable as oxidative stress is considered to be one of the physiological changes during this period. This study aims to observe the effect of daily iron supplement on oxidative stress in pregnancy. In this study, 30 pregnant women with IDA were treated with daily oral iron supplements for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks hemoglobin [Hb], hematocrit, serum ferritin concentration [SFC] and superoxide dismutase [SOD] activity were measured and compared with pre-supplement levels. A significant increase in all the parameters was observed after treatment [p<0.05]. When post supplemental values of SFC and SOD were compared with control group comprising of 10 non anemic pregnant women, they were significantly low [p<0.05]. Our results indicate that oxidative stress in pregnancy associated with IDA decreases with daily iron supplements but fail to reach normal pregnant levels. This supports iron over load theory in daily iron supplements and suggests that oxidative stress increases if pregnancy is associated with iron deficiency

Effectiveness of weekly iron supplementation in anemia in pregnancy

Iron deficiency has been a serious health issue especially in pregnancy. Various studies now consider daily iron as an excessive source of iron supply. In present study we compare effectiveness of daily verses weekly iron treatment. It was a randomized longitudinal study. Study included 110 pregnant anemic women attending out patient department of Gyne and Obs, CHK receiving 200 mg ferrous sulfate daily or weekly [n=55 in each group]. Overall 80% patients completed the study. 76% in daily group while 83% in wkly group completed the study. Hb conc., SFC, RBC count, Red cell indices and reticulocyte count were assessed to compare the effectiveness of two regimens. Hb was determined using the cyanmethemoglobin method. SFC was determined using a commercial kit [Enzymun-Test Ferritin; Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany]. Other hematological parameters were determined by using automated analyzer by Hiroshi Yamamoto, Kobe; Masaaki Oka, Kakogawa, Japan. All parameters improved significantly in women of both treatment groups. Hb% [p<0.05], RBC count [p<0.01] and Reticulocyte count [p<0.05] were significantly increased in weekly group when compared with daily group. Serum ferritin increases non-significantly in daily group when compared with weekly group [p>0.05]. It was concluded that weekly supplementation of iron is equally effective in controlling IDA, when compared with daily iron supplement. A non-significant greater increase in SFC in daily group might support iron overload theory

Effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a qualitative review

Obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD] is a relatively common disorder, most of the time under diagnosed and under treated despite the existence of effective treatments. OCD can be discriminated from other disorders, having obsessive or compulsive features on the basis of obsession content or the characteristics of the compulsions. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] and cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT] seem to be proven treatments for OCD. They cause a significant reduction in symptoms, although complete remission in clinical cases is not seen commonly. Long-term drug treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy has shown better results than drug alone