Ascorbic Acid and Alpha-Tocopherol Contribute to the Therapy of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Mouse Models.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects up to 10% of women within reproductive ages and has been a cause of infertility and poor quality of life. Alteration in the oxidant-antioxidant profile occurs in PCOS. This study, therefore, investigates the contribution of ascorbic acid (AA) and alpha-tocopherol(ATE) on different PCOS parameters. The mifepristone and letrozole models were used, and young mature female mice were randomly assigned to groups of six per group. On PCOS induction with either mifepristone or letrozole, mice were administered AA and ATE at doses ranging from 10-1000mg/kg to 0.1-1000 mg/kg in the respective models. Vaginal cytology, body weights, and temperature, as well as blood glucose, testosterone, and insulin levels, were measured. Total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde levels were analyzed. Determination of gene expression of some reactive oxygen species and histomorphological analysis on the ovaries and uteri were performed. At the end of the experiments, AA and ATE restored reproductive cycling, with AA being more effective. AA and ATE increased fasting blood glucose but had no significant effect on serum insulin levels. AA decreased testosterone levels, but ATE caused slight increases. AA and ATE both increased total antioxidant capacity and decreased malondialdehyde levels. AA and ATE also slightly upregulated the mRNA expressions of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and heme oxygenase 1 mainly. AA and ATE also decreased ovarian weight and mostly resolved cysts in the ovaries and congestion in the uterus. This study has shown that AA and ATE are beneficial in the therapy of PCOS.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIFFERENT BODY FAT MEASURING INSTRUMENTS.

There is an increase in the occurrence of obesity worldwide. The purpose of this study was to compare variousconvenient and affordable body fat measuring instruments in man to percentage body fat calculated using skinfold thicknessto ascertain if they can be used as a substitute for more expensive` gold standard instruments used for measuring body fat.Seventy male students (20-30years) of the University of Benin where recruited in this study. Subjects were non-athleteswithout systemic disease, liposuction and not on routine medication. All measurements were taken between 7am and 10amdaily. Subjects came fasting refrained from exercise 12 hours before the study and body weight (kg) was measured with adigital weighing scale. A standiometer, was used to measure height (m). BMI (kg/m2) was calculated from weight and height.The Waist Circumference (WC) (cm) and Hip Circumference (HC) (m) of each subject were measured using a measuringtape. The Waist-Hip-Ratio (WHR) was calculated by dividing the subject's WC by the HC. Skinfold thickness (mm) of thechest, abdomen and thigh were taken with a calibrated Lange skinfold caliper. Body density (BD) values were calculatedusing the skinfold equation of Jackson and Pollock for men. Body fat percentage (%BF) was calculated from BD using theformula of Siri, with respect to the age of each individual. Results were presented as means ± S.E.M. Microcal origin 8.0was used to analyze collected data and correlation studies were used to investigate the relationship between groups. P valuesless than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. BMI, WC, HC, skinfold thickness (abdomen, thigh and Chest), weightand estimated lean body mass were positively correlated with %BF in our study population while WHR and height wereweakly and negatively correlated with %BF respectively. These alternative means of assessing body fat may be useful whenmore sophisticated methods are unavailable.