Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in SARS-CoV-2 infection: A case report and review of literature.

Consider PRES in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients who develop encephalopathy, seizures or impaired vision; especially if the disease is complicated by respiratory distress and need for mechanical ventilation.

Assessment the effect of vitamin D supplementation on plasma vitamin D levels, inflammation, and oxidative stress biomarkers based on vitamin D receptor genetic variation in breast cancer survivors: a protocol for clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Both human genes and environmental exposures, due to complex interplay, play important role in the cancer etiology. Vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of incidence and mortality of several human cancers. This study will aim to investigate the possible effects of individual polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor (VDR) as well as effects of VDR haplotypes on response to vitamin D supplementation in breast cancer survivors. METHODS: This is an interventional study in which the effects of vitamin D supplementation on plasma vitamin D levels, inflammatory and antioxidant biomarkers and factors associated with cell proliferation, differentiation, damage, and apoptosis will be investigated stratified by variations in VDR genotype. The present study will be conducted on breast cancer survivors referred to the Shohadaye Tajrish hospital and its associated clinics. One hundred ninety-eight breast cancer survivors will receive 4000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for 12 weeks. VDR Fok1, ApaI, TaqI, BsmI, and Cdx-2 genotype will be determined at the end of the study and responses to vitamin D supplements (inflammatory, antioxidant, cell proliferation, differentiation, damage, and apoptosis biomarkers) will be compared between the three subgroups of each VDR polymorphism as well as different VDR haplotype categories. DISCUSSION: Genetic variation is a fundamental factor influencing individuals' divergent responses to diet, nutritional status, metabolic response, and diet-related health disorders. Furthermore, studies of gene and environment interactions will provide a precise and accurate assessments of individuals' dietary requirements by considering both the genetic and environmental aspects simultaneously. The results of the current study, to some extent, will highlight the discrepancies existing in the findings of different studies regarding vitamin D, VDR, and cancer by considering both the genetic and environmental aspects simultaneously. If responses to vitamin D supplementation could be modified by VDR SNPs, determining the distribution of VDR polymorphisms in both breast cancer survivors and healthy populations will provide a new insight into the vitamin D requirements of individuals to prevent cancer and its related mortality based on their genotypes. Trial registration This trial has been registered on Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) under the identification code: IRCT2017091736244N1, registration date: 2017-11-10, http://www.irct.ir/trial/27153.

Effect of vitamin D receptor polymorphisms on plasma oxidative stress and apoptotic biomarkers among breast cancer survivors supplemented vitamin D3.

We investigated whether plasma oxidative stress and apoptotic biomarkers were associated with the VDR polymorphisms in breast cancer survivors supplemented with vitamin D3. Two hundred fourteen breast cancer survivors received 4000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for 12 weeks. Linear regression was used to analyze whether the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on response variables was associated with the selected VDR single nucleotide polymorphisms executing by 'association' function in the R package 'SNPassoc'. Linear regression analyses adjusted for age, BMI and on-study plasma 25(OH)D changes indicated that the aa genotype of the ApaI [codominant model (aa vs. AA): -0.21 (-0.39 to -0.03); recessive model (aa vs. AA and Aa): -0.20 (-0.37 to -0.03)] and bb genotypes of the BsmI [recessive model (bb vs. BB and Bb): -0.20 (-0.39 to -0.01)] on VDR were associated with greater decrease in plasma Bcl2. Our findings indicated that, the Ff genotype of FokI was accompanied by higher increase in plasma MDA levels [codominant model (Ff vs. FF): 0.64 (0.18-1.11); dominant model (ff and Ff vs. FF): 0.52 (0.09-0.05)]. This observed association was not remained statistically significant after correction for multiple testing. Haplotype score analyses revealed statistically significant association between the FokI BsmI ApaI haplotype and circulating MDA changes (P-value for global score = 0.001) after false-discovery rate correction. Our study suggests that genetic variations in the VDR do not powerfully modify the effects of vitamin D3 intake on biomarkers associated with antioxidant activity, oxidative stress and apoptosis in breast cancer survivors.

The effect of Norouz holiday on anthropometric measures and body composition.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the effect of holiday season on the anthropometric measures in Shariati hospital staff. METHODS: This study was conducted in 2014 on 66 subjects, aged 21-68 years. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist -to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to- height ratio (WHtR) and physical activity were measured. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method and the Tanita body composition analyzer were used to analyze body composition. RESULTS: In this study, 80.3% of subjects were female and 19.7% were male. The mean age of subjects was 39.5 (SD: 9.7) years (range: 21-68). The percentage of overweight and obesity in the study population were 40.9% and 12.1%, respectively. After the holiday, participants gained 0.58 kg of weight and 0.19 units of BMI) P < 0.001). The average of WC, WHR and WHtR also increased after the holiday; however they were not statistically significant. Basal metabolic rate and fat free mass raised significantly, but the amount of fat mass decreased after the holiday. CONCLUSION: The holiday season is a critical period for weight gain and body fat. It's highly recommended to weight daily during the holiday season and to increase their physical activity while limiting high-calorie foods.