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ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: There is limited research examining reasons causing refractory chronic constipation (RCC) in children. The effects of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) exposures on this condition have been even less clear. However, some related factors may contribute to evaluation of blood lead levels (BLLs) and blood cadmium levels (BCLs). OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between Pb and Cd exposures and RCC in children living in the city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, in Southwestern Iran. METHODS: This study was performed on a total number of 48 children aged 2-13 years, including 36 medically-diagnosed RCC cases and 12 controls referring to a pediatric clinic in the city of Ahvaz. Their BLLs and BCLs were then determined using a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The data from the researcher-designed questionnaire were also recoded and the related risk factors were analyzed through Spearman's correlation and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The findings revealed that the geometric means of Pb and Cd in blood samples in the control group were 58.95 µg/dL and 0.45 µg/dL; respectively. These values in the case group were equally 45.26 µg/dL and 0.26 µg/dL; respectively. A significant difference was additionally observed between BCLs in the case and control groups (P<0.01). All children in both groups also had BLLs greater than the permissible limit endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) (≤10 µg/dL). On the other hand, 8.3% of the individuals in the case group and 33.3% of those in the control group had BCLs higher than the acceptable range mentioned by WHO (≤0.5 µg/dL). CONCLUSION: Pb and Cd exposures due to environmental pollution and susceptibility to heavy metals may not be associated with RCC in children living in the city of Ahvaz. Although this research was the first one providing data on BLLs and BCLs in children with RCC, the findings could be useful for designing future epidemiologic studies.
RESUMO CONTEXTO: Há limitadas pesquisas que procuram razões que causem constipação crônica refratária (CCR) em crianças. Os efeitos das exposições de chumbo (Pb) e cádmio (Cd) nesta condição têm sido ainda menos claros. No entanto, alguns fatores relacionados podem contribuir para a avaliação dos níveis de Pb no sangue (NPbSs) e dos níveis de Cd no sangue (NCdSs). OBJETIVO: O presente estudo teve como objetivo examinar a relação entre as exposições de Pb e Cd e a CCR em crianças residentes na cidade de Ahvaz, província de Khuzestan, no Sudoeste do Irã. MÉTODOS: Este estudo foi realizado em um número total de 48 crianças de 2 a 13 anos, incluindo 36 casos de CCR diagnosticados clinicamente, e 12 controles encaminhados a uma clínica pediátrica na cidade de Ahvaz. Seus NPbSs e NCdSs foram então determinados usando um espectrógrafo de absorção atômica do forno de grafite. Os dados do questionário projetado pelo pesquisador também foram recodificados, e os fatores de risco relacionados foram analisados por meio da análise de correlação e regressão logística de Spearman. RESULTADOS: Os achados revelaram que as médias geométricas de Pb e Cd em amostras de sangue no grupo controle foram de 58,95 μg/dL e 0,45 μg/dL; respectivamente. Esses valores no grupo constipação foram igualmente 45,26 μg/dL e 0,26 μg/dL; respectivamente. Observou-se diferença significativa entre os NCdSs nos grupos de caso e controle (P<0,01). Todas as crianças de ambos os grupos também apresentaram NPbSs maiores do que o limite permitido endossado pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) (≤10 μg/dL). Por outro lado, 8,3% dos indivíduos no grupo de casos e 33,3% dos do grupo controle apresentaram NCdSs superiores à faixa aceitável mencionada pela OMS (≤0,5 μg/dL). CONCLUSÃO: As exposições de Pb e Cd por poluição ambiental e suscetibilidade a metais pesados podem não estar associadas à CCR em crianças residentes na cidade de Ahvaz. Embora esta pesquisa tenha sido a primeira a fornecer dados sobre NPbSs e NCdSs em crianças com CCR, os achados poderiam ser úteis para a concepção de futuros estudos epidemiológicos.
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Cadmium/analysis , Lead/analysis , Risk Factors , Constipation/chemically induced , Iran/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Bee venom [BV], like many other complementary medicines, has been used for thousands of years for the treatment of a range of diseases. More recently, BV is also being considered as an effective composition for the treatment of cancer. Cancer is a major worldwide problem. It is obvious that the identification of compounds that can activate apoptosis could be effective on the treatment of cancer. BV is a very complicated mixture of active peptides, enzymes, and biologically active amines. The two main components of BV are melittin and phospholipase A[2] [PLA2]. Of these two components, melittin, the major active ingredient of BV, has been identified to induce apoptosis and to possess antitumor effects. We tried to review antineoplastic effects of BV in this study. The related articles were derived from different data bases such as PubMed, Elsevier Science, and Google Scholar using keywords including bee venom, cancer, and apoptosis. According to the results of this study, BV can induce apoptosis and inhibit tumor cell growth and metastasis. Results of in vivo experiments show that the anti-tumor effect of the BV is highly dependent on the manner of injection as well as the distance between the area of injection and the tumor cells. The results obtained from the reported studies revealed that BV has anticancer effects and can be used as an effective chemotherapeutic agent against tumors in the future
ABSTRACT
Aflatoxins are one of the most potent toxic substances that occur naturally. Nowadays extensive attention has been taken to their existence in food and environment, as there is the possibility of harm to humans following chronic exposure to extremely low levels via food chain. Aflatoxin Ml [AFM,] is a hepatic carcinogenic metabolite found in the milk of lactating animals fed with contaminated feed contaminated by aflatoxin Bl [AFB,]. This study aimed to determine the levels of AFM] in produced pasteurized milk in the Ahvaz of city. For this purpose, 100 samples of pasteurized milk from the Ja-mus Factory were analyzed the to determine AFM1 content by using an immunoaffinity column for clean-up and high-performance liquid chromatography [HPLC] with a Cl8 column, a fluorescence detector [excitation 365 nm, emission 435 nm] and a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water [25:75, v/v] at a flow rate of l mL/min. AFM] was detected in all 100 samples of pasteurized milk at concentrations ranging from 0.45 to 9.760 ng/L. The mean concentration of AFMl in the the pasteurized milk samples was 2.7 ng/L, which was below the 50 ng/L, accepted as level of for milk in Iran