Association between malnutrition and depression in elderly people in Razavi Khorasan: a population based-study in Iran

To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and depression in free-living elderly people and their relationships [If any] in Razavi Khorasan, Iran 2007. To evaluate nutritional status, we used Mini Nutritional Assessment [MNA] method in free-living elderly people [n=1565 using cluster sampling, 720 males and 845 females, aged>/= 60 yr] and their relationship to Socio Economic Conditions [SECs]. Based on the final scores, our patients were classified into three groups: score 17-23.5 [at risk for malnutrition], score less than 17 [with malnutrition], and score 24-30 [well nourished]. To determine the mood status [here depression], we used Geriatric Depression Score [GDS]. According to this score our participants turned out to be in two distinct groups: depressed [score >/=8] and non-depressed [score< 8]. From the total subjects entered the study [1495], 22.07% were depressed and 11.5% and 44% were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition respectively. In depressed group, the prevalence of malnutrition was 14.5% [48 out of 330] and the prevalence of "at risk of malnutrition" was 45.8%, whereas the prevalence of malnutrition and at risk of malnutrition in non-depressed population were 10.6% and 43.3% respectively. From the aforementioned information we have concluded that there is a significant statistical difference between the prevalence of malnutrition in depressed and non-depressed individuals [P= 0.047]. With respect to the high rate of vegetative symptoms in elderly depressed individuals, malnutrition would have a higher prevalence in the depressed people

Serum concentrations of Helicobacter pylori IgG and the virulence factor CagA in patients with ischaemic heart disease

To compare the serum concentrations of IgG to Helicobacter pylori and its virulence factor CagA in patients with ischaemic heart disease [IHD], we recruited 120 patients with IHD [acute myocardial infarction [AMI] [n = 60]; unstable angina [UA] [n = 60]] and 60 sex- and age-matched healthy controls in this study. The seroprevalence of anti-H. pylori IgG was 86.7% in AMI, 91.7% in UA patients and 58.3% in the control group with mean titres of 33.2 U/ml [standard error [SE] 4.76], 57.96 U/ml [SE 7.54] and 25.72 U/ml [SE 4.01] respectively. The seroprevalence of anti-H. pylori in the patient groups was significantly higher than the control group. The mean levels of anti-H. pylori in the AMI and UA groups were also significantly higher than in the control group. The seroprevalence and mean titre of anti-CagA IgG did not differ significantly between patient and control groups

[Effect of vitamin-mineral supplementation on oxidative stress and plasma cytokine response after strenuous training in female elite swimmers]

This study aims at investigating the effect of vitamin-mineral supplementation on oxidative stress and plasma cytokine response after strenuous training periods in female elite swimmers. Twenty-four elite female swimmers volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental [Vitamin-mineral supplemented] and the control [Placebo]. Both groups were in a monthly swimming programs, 3 times a week, for a total of 4 weeks and swimming, almost 3.5 to 4 km/d. Blood sampling was done before and after the training period to assess inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-alpha, and also MDA. 100 m crawl records were measured at the beginning and the end of the training period. Results showed that inflammatory cytokines decreased significantly in the vitamin-mineral supplemented group, and MDA decreased, though not significantly, in this group. There was no significant change between the groups. No significant change was observed in swimming performance in either groups. In conclusion, ROS was found to affect exercise-induced cytokine production, in which vitamin-mineral supplementation was found to play an effective role

Neuropsychiatric manifestations in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus [SLE] is an autoimmune disease with unknown etiology. It can cause diverse clinical manifestations. Neuropsychiatric [NP] features may appear as the main signs and symptoms of the disease while they can be extremely severe in nature. Since the NP conditions are almost always very important, early diagnosis and aggressive treatment is mandatory. This study was aimed to evaluate the NP manifestations of SLE. This was a descriptive prospective study conducted from 2002 to 2004 at Ghaeni Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Patients, involved in SLE according to American College of Rheumatology [ACR] criteria, entered the study. A neurologist examined all the patients clinically while paraclinical assessments were carried out in parallel when required. All the data were gathered in prepared questionnaires and analyzed statistically. From 88 examined SLE patients, 27 had NP-SLE [30.6%]. The mean age in this group was 25 years. The mean time between the beginning of the disease and the occurrence of the NP manifestations was 2.1 years. Central Nervous System [CNS] and Peripheral Nervous System [PNS] involvements were seen in 88.9% and 29.6% respectively. Cognitive dysfunction [55.5%], among all other NP features, was the most prevalent, and seizure with 37% was the second common manifestation. NP involvement of SLE patients usually occurs in young individuals. CNS involvement [most frequently seizure and psychosis] was more common than the PNS involvement. In our study, cognitive disorders were the most widespread features, which is compatible to the results of other similar studies. The vast variety of neuropsychiatric manifestations and their effects on the prognosis of the underlying disease, necessitate routine complete neurologic examinations as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed

[ evaluation of total antioxidant capacity and related markers in patients with chronic peritoneal dialysis]

Oxidative stress due to overproduction of reactive oxygen species and impairment in antioxidant defense mechanisms have been suggested as possible factors contributing to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in patients with end- stage renal disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate antioxidant markers of oxidative stress including glutathione and glutathione related enzymes [i.e. glutathione peroxidase [GPx] and glutathione reductase [GR]] as well as total antioxidant capacity in peritoneal dialysis [PD] patients. Twelve PD patients and 17 healthy controls [age range: 25-60 and 22-53 years respectively] were selected. Erythrocyte glutathione levels and plasma activities of GPx, GR and total antioxidant capacity were determined spectrophtometrically. Glutathione levels and GPx activity were significantly lower in the patients group than in controls [1.17 +/- 0.28 vs. 1.42 +/- 0.25 micro mol/ml and 57.1 +/- 21.8 vs. 142.5 +/- 31.7 U/L; p<0.05, respectively]. Higher levels of GR activity and total antioxidant capacity were noted in patient group [57.5 +/- 16.4 U/L and 0.60 +/- 0.09 micro mol/ml; respectively] in comparison to control group [32 +/- 9.4 U/L and 0.47 +/- 0.11 micro mol/ml; p<0.05, respectively]. Decreased glutathione levels and alteration in the activities of its related enzymes imply increased oxidative stress and disturbances of antioxidant defense systems in peritoneal dialysis patients. This condition may contribute to the development of accelerated cardiovascular disease and its morbidity and mortality in these patients

Quantitation of delta[7]-sterols in seeds oil of Cucurbita pepo

One of the famous medicinal plants is Cucurbita pepo [Cucurbitaceae], which its seeds used as diuretic and anthelminthic. Recently, the seeds have used as symptomatic relief of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia. It is said, seeds' steroids are responsible for these effects. This research was performed for identification and quantitation of sterols in Cucurbita pepo cultivated in Iran and comparison those of Hungarian origin. Seeds oil was extracted by Soxhelet apparatus with methylene chloride. Peponene [soft gel capsule of pumpkin oil] was purchased from Hungary. Derivatization of standard sterols and oils were performed by hexamethyl disilasane and trimethyl chlorosilane and samples were injected to GC/MS. Analysis of the Hungarian pumpkin oil shows three sterols, campestrol [0.82], stigmasterol [0.78] and avanestrol [0.84 mg/g oil]. Analysis of the Iranian pumpkin oil shows campestrol [0.38] and stigmasterol [0.67 mg/g oil], and avanestrol is absent

[Relationship between physical activity during the first 20 weeks of gestation and hypertension in pregnancy]

Hypertension during pregnancy is an important complication with unknown etiology. Recent preventive measures were focused on increasing the body's ability to confront oxidative stress. Since physical activity has an antioxidant effect, this study was performed to find the relationship between physical activity during the first 20 weeks of gestation and hypertension in pregnancy. In a case-control study, the length and intensity of physical activity were compared between two hypertensive and non-hypertensive groups of 97 pregnant women each. The two groups were not significantly different in the cases of age, body math index [BMI], education level, pregnancy age, and employment situation. The results showed that the level of physical activity during pregnancy in the women without hypertension [30.38 +/- 14.89] was more than that in the women with hypertension [14.63 +/- 12.24] during pregnancy [p<0.001]. Also, both the intensity [low, medium [p<0.01], high [p<0.05]] and the duration of physical activity [p<0.001] in the group without blood pressure were more than those in the other group. The results showed that physical activity is an important preventive factor for hypertension in pregnancy