ABSTRACT
Hypothyroidism usually appears in the second decade of life and is thought to be associated with iron overload in patients with thalassemia major. This study aimed to evaluate thyroid dysfunctions in patients with beta-thalassemia major and to see if they appear in the earlier period of life. Thyroid function and iron load status were evaluated in 90 children with a mean age of 7.17 +/- 3.78 years with beta-thalassemia major by measuring serum free thyroxin [FT4], serum free triiodothyronine [FT3], total thyroxin [T3], serum total triiodothyronine [T4], thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] and ferritin levels from serum of patients admitted to the Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine University of Dicle between March 2005 and July 2009. A control group formed from an age-sex matched healthy children with a mean age of 6.98 +/- 3.66 years was also included. A standard thyrotropin releasing hormone test was applied to 3 patients who had high TSH levels and were classified as subclinical primer hypothyroidism. The study was designed according to the Declaration of Helsinki and informed consent was obtained from the parents of all participants. All thyroid parameters in patients were in the normal ranges compared with the controls except three of them which had high TSH levels. Serum ferritin level [2703 +/- 1649 ng/mL] in patients was significantly higher than in controls [81.5 +/- 15.5 ng/mL]. The work implies that hypothyroidism could be even seen in the first decade of life in patients with beta-thalassemia major in spite of improved hematological cares
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Thyroid Function Tests , Child , Hypothyroidism , Iron OverloadABSTRACT
To investigate the effects of oral cinnamon supplementation on the nervus ischiadicus at the electron microscopical level in rats. This study was performed between 2004-2006 in Dicle University School of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey in 15 adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were divided into 3 groups: control [C] [n=5], diabetic without cinnamon [D] [n=5], and diabetic with cinnamon [D-C] [n=5]. Diabetes was induced with intraperitoneal alloxan administration. All diabetic rats were treated with human insulin. All rats were fed with standard pellet chow. The D-C group rats were fed with standard pellet chow plus Cinnamomum cassia at the dose of 400 mg/kg. All rats were sacrificed after 3 months and we obtained the nervus ischiadicus of all rats. Contrast stained thin sections evaluated by Jeol-TEM-1010 electron microscope, were not statistically different in both groups and photo samples were obtained. Mean blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, and lipid profile were not statistically different in both groups. Marked detachment of myelin lamellae at Schmidt-Lanterman clefts, lysis in cristae mitochondrialis and degenerative changes, severe dispersion of organelles in neurolemma, mesoaxon region, and remarkable edema at the endoneurium were found in diabetic rats. On the contrary, mesoaxon, nucleus, nucleolus and myelin sheet were almost of normal appearance at the ultra-structural level in the D-C group. Cinnamon extracts may have beneficial effects on the development of diabetic neuropathy in alloxan induced diabetic rats