ABSTRACT
Research reports indicate that vitamin B12 levels show racial differences, which suggests that using the reference ranges of varied populations may lead to inaccurate results. This study aimed to determine normal serum levels of vitamin B12 among children and young people in the Konya region of Turkey. It evaluated 1,109 samples; 54 were from cord-blood and 1,055 were from healthy subjects aged 0-24 year(s), who were admitted to primary healthcare centres. The normal reference levels obtained for vitamin B12 at 2.5-97.5 percentile (P2.5-P97.5) range were 127-606 pg/mL for girls, 127-576 pg/mL for boys, and 127-590 pg/mL for the entire study group. The reported reference values for vitamin B12 in other studies were higher than the current results. Vitamin B12 levels vary from country to country; comparisons between countries may not be valid, and normal levels for each population should be obtained.
ABSTRACT
Statins reduce cholesterol levels by inhibiting 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase and have a major place in the treatment of atherosclerotic disease. Recent studies have shown anti-inflammatory properties of statins. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of simvastatin on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. A total of 31 female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: (1) intratracheal (IT) phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) + intraperitoneal (IP) PBS (n=7); (2) IT BLM + IP PBS (n=8); (3) IT BLM + low dose (LD) simvastatin (1 mg/kg daily, n=8); (4) IT BLM + high dose (HD) simvastatin (5 mg/kg daily, n=8). Simvastatin was administered IP for 15 days, beginning 1 day prior to IT BLM. The effect of simvastatin on pulmonary fibrosis was studied by measurements of IL-13, PDGF, IFN-γ, TGF-p1 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue hydroxyproline (HPL) content and by histopathological examination (Ashcroft score). BLM caused significant change in BAL fluid cytokine levels and increased both HPL content and histopathological score (p<0.001 for all). While LD simvastatin had no effect on cytokine levels, HD significantly reduced IL-13 (15.12 ±7.08 pg/ml vs. 4.43±2.34 pg/mL; p<0.05) and TGF-β1 levels (269.25 ±65.42 pg/mL vs. 131.75±32.65 pg/mL; p<0.05). Neither HD nor LD simvastatin attenuated HPL content or Ashcroft score. In conclusion, this study showed that LD simvastatin had no effect on a BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis model, while the high dose caused partial improvement in profibrotic cytokine levels.