Efficacy of ozone therapy on visual evoked potentials in diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: The involvement of the central nervous system is a frequent yet underestimated complication of diabetes mellitus. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) are a simple, sensitive, and noninvasive method for detecting early alterations in central optic pathways. The objective of this paralleled randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the impact of ozone therapy on visual pathways in diabetic patients. METHODS: Sixty patients with type 2 diabetes visiting clinics of Baqiyatallah university in Tehran (Iran) hospital were randomly assigned to two experimental groups: Group 1 (N = 30) undergoing a cycle of 20 sessions of systemic oxygen-ozone therapy in addition to standard therapy for metabolic control; Group 2 (N = 30)-serving as control-receiving only standard therapy against diabetes. The primary study endpoints were two VEP parameters; P100 wave latency and P100 amplitude at 3 months. Moreover, HbA1c levels were measured before the start of treatment and three months later as secondary study endpoint. RESULTS: All 60 patients completed the clinical trial. P100 latency significantly reduced at 3 months since baseline. No correlation was found between repeated measures of P100 wave latency and HbA1c (Pearson's r = 0.169, p = 0.291). There was no significant difference between baseline values and repeated measures of P100 wave amplitude over time in either group. No adverse effects were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Ozone therapy improved the conduction of impulses in optic pathways of diabetic patients. The improved glycemic control following ozone therpay may not fully explain the reduction of P100 wave latency though; other mechanistic effects of ozone may be involved.

Effects of recombinant erythropoietin on hemoglobin levels and blood transfusion needs in patients with preoperative anemia undergoing cardiac surgery.

Introduction: Preoperative anemia is an important and relatively common problem in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and its treatment is crucial in improving postoperative outcomes. The use of recombinant erythropoietin is one of the suggested methods in this field. Therefore, in the present study, we sought to evaluate the effects of recombinant erythropoietin on hemoglobin (Hb) levels and blood transfusion needs in cardiac surgery in patients with preoperative anemia. Methods: This randomized nonblind clinical trial was performed on patients with mild-to-moderate anemia (Hb <12 g/dL in men and Hb <11 g/dL in women) undergoing cardiac surgery at a referral heart hospital (Tehran, Iran). The patients were randomly divided into two groups of 33 patients. In the intervention group, recombinant erythropoietin was administered at a dose of 500 IU/kg one to three days before surgery. Intra- and postoperative Hb levels and the need for blood transfusion were recorded during surgery and for 3 days afterward. Results: The use of packed red blood cells in the operating room was similar in the intervention and control groups (P = 0.156), but it was significantly lower in the intensive care unit in the intervention group (P = 0.030). The mean Hb, which was initially identical in the two groups (P > 0.05), showed a significantly lower decrease in the intervention group (P = 0.001). No significant differences were observed concerning other variables. Conclusions: The use of recombinant erythropoietin (500 IU/kg/day) one to three days before cardiac surgery in our anemic patients blunted a reduction in Hb levels and decreased blood transfusion needs.

The effects of curcumin-containing supplementations on inflammatory markers and lipid profiles in patients with chronic kidney diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVES: An evaluation the effects of curcumin on inflammatory markers and lipid profiles among patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD). METHODS: The electronic databases such as PubMed, and Scopus were searched systematically up until 12 December 2021. To evaluate the quality of the included studies, the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials was utilized. Likewise, data pooling was performed using a random effects model, also called a variance components model. Also, the findings were calculated as weighted mean difference (WMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: In the end, this meta-analysis comprised a total number of nine studies. Curcumin intake significantly reduced total cholesterol (TC) (WMD=-13.77 mg/dL; 95% CI, -26.77, -0.77; p=0.04) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (WMD=-18.87 pg/mL; 95% CI, -28.36, -9.38; p<0.001) compared with controls. The results did not confirm the significant effect of curcumin intake on triglyceride (TG) (WMD=-6.37 mg/dL; 95% CI, -26.59, 13.85; p=0.54), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-C) (WMD=-5.65 mg/dL; 95% CI, -20.81, 9.50; p=0.46), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) (WMD=0.16 mg/dL; 95% CI, -2.55, 2.88; p=0.91), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (WMD=-0.13 mg/L; 95% CI, -3.25, 3.30; p=0.93). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that curcumin significantly impacts TC and TNF levels in CKD patients.