Zinc status in cystic fibrosis patients; a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive hereditary disease causes concentration of secretions and this affects the lungs and digestive system. These patients are exposed to zinc (zn) deficiency. In this review, we decided to investigate the status of zn in CF patients compared to control group. Also, the clinical trials that have so far performed zinc supplementation in these patients are examined. Method: ISI Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed/Medline, and Cochrane database were searched, up to December 2023, for studies that reported the association between zn levels of CF patients compared to a healthy control group. A random-effect model was used to compute the pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Subgroup analysis was done for region, sample and method of measurement, zinc supplementation and age. Result: Overall, meta-analysis of 9 studies (n = 383 participants) revealed that the zn levels were significantly lower in children and adolescents with CF compared with healthy subjects (WMD = -11.97 µg/dL, 95 % CI: -22.57 to -1.37; I2 = 92.83 %). Meta-analysis of 8 studies (n = 320 participants) revealed that the serum and plasma level of zn was significantly lower in CF patients compared with healthy subjects (WMD = -14.31 µg/dL, 95 % CI: -25.09 to -3.53; I2 = 88.14 %, P-heterogeneity <0.001) While the zn level in saliva and sputum was significantly higher in CF patients. Conclusion: CF patients have decreased zn levels in circulatory reservoirs. zn may effective for the diminish the respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms in CF patients, further well-designed clinical trial studies is required to prove these effects.

Associations of circulating advanced glycation end products and their soluble receptors with cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Advanced glycation end products (AGE) in complex with their receptors (RAGE) cause a chronic inflammatory state in the body, which is the major mechanism in cancer development. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the observational studies investigating the association between AGEs / sRAGE and cancer incidence. The PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were comprehensively searched to identify papers focused on the associations of sRAGE and AGEs with cancer incidence up to May 2023. Eight studies with a total of 7690 participants were included in the analysis to evaluate the association between circulating sRAGE and cancer incidence. The results indicated that circulating sRAGE (per 100 ng/L) had a significant inverse association with cancer incidence (RR 0.977; 95% CI 0.956, 0.999; p = 0.036; I 2 = 73.3%). The association between AGEs and cancer incidence was evaluated in 8 studies with a total of 3718 individuals. Serum concentrations of AGEs (per 100 µg/L) were not associated with the risk of cancer incidence (RR 0.988; 95% CI 0.974, 1.002; p = 0.08; I2 = 78.8%). Our findings revealed that a higher circulating sRAGE may have a protective effect against cancer incidence.

Comparison of canola oil and olive oil consumption on the serum lipid profile in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Several randomized clinical trials have investigated the effects of canola oil (CO) compared to olive oil (OO) on the serum lipid profiles in adults. However, the results of these studies are inconsistent. Thus, this study aimed to assess the comparison of CO and OO consumption on the serum lipid components in adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: The following online databases were searched until February 4th, 2022: PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Google Scholar. The effect sizes were stated as the weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 13 eligible trials were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that the CO consumption, significantly reduced serum LDL-c (WMD: -6.13 mg/dl, 95%CI: -9.79, -2.46, p = 0.001), TC (WMD: -8.92 mg/dl, 95% CI: -13.52, -4.33, P < 0.001) and LDL-c/HDL-c ratio (WMD: -0.30; 95% CI, -0.53, -0.06, p = 0.01) levels compared to OO. There were no significant changes in the other components of the blood lipids. CONCLUSION: The results of this review suggest that CO consumptionhas beneficial effects on LDL-c, TC, and LDL-c/HDL-c ratio compared to OO. Therefore, its replacement with OO can have cardioprotective impacts.

Consumption of canola oil (CO) and olive oil (OO), two widely consumed vegetable oils that are low in saturated fatty acids and rich in monounsaturated fatty acids have been recommended.We compared the effects of these two oils on lowering blood lipid levelsWe found that CO was the more effective oil to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), total cholesterol (TC), and LDL-c/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) ratio, with no significant effects on HDL-c, triglyceride (TG), TC/HDL-c ratio, and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-c) levels compared to OO.

The effect of lycopene supplement from different sources on prostate specific antigen (PSA): A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is a major malignancy, affecting men, worldwide. The protective effect of dietary or supplemental lycopene on prostate cancer has been reported in several studies; however, the findings are equivocal. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplemental lycopene on PSA level, by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS: We searched online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, up to 9 Jun 2020, to obtain relevant publications. The publication search was not limited by language or date. RESULTS: A total of 1036 records were identified in the systematic search; from these, 9 were included in the systematic review and 6 in meta-analysis. The pooled analysis of the 6 studies showed no significant differences in PSA levels in subjects treated with lycopene or tomato extract containing lycopene (WMD= -0.12 ng/ml; 95% CI: -0.62, 0.38 ng/ml; P = 0.64) compared to the control. CONCLUSION: Overall, tomato extracts or lycopene treatment yielded no significant effect on PSA level compared to the control. However, more consistent clinical trials, with larger sample sizes, are required to better discern the actual effect of tomato extract or lycopene on PSA level.

Effects of alpha lipoic acid on iron overload, lipid profile and oxidative stress indices in ß-thalassemia major patients: A cross-over randomised controlled clinical trial.

AIMS: ß-Thalassemia major (ß-TM) is associated with iron overload, abnormal lipid levels and oxidative stress. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) showed anti-oxidant and iron chelating properties, but its effect in ß-TM patients is unclear. We investigated the effects of ALA on iron levels, lipid profile and oxidative stress. METHODS: In this cross-over randomised clinical trial, 26 ß-TM patients were assigned to receive 600 mg/d ALA or placebo (corn starch), for 8 weeks with a 21-days washout period. Serum ferritin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), LDL-C/HDL-C, total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde (MDA) and MDA/LDL-C were assessed at baseline and the end of each intervention phase. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients completed the study. Serum ferritin (P = .004), MDA (P = .025) and MDA/LDL-C ratio (P =.002) were decreased and HDL-C (P =.035) increased significantly during ALA consumption. In comparison with placebo, ALA decreased the serum ferritin significantly (P = .02). Also, the changes in serum ferritin between ALA and placebo (-123.1 ± 40.0 vs -34.3 ± 21.0, P =.03) was significant in women subgroup. ALA had no significant effects on the other biomarkers. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that supplementation with 600 mg/d ALA may decrease serum ferritin in ß-TM. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings.

The effect of green tea on prostate specific antigen (PSA): A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is a major malignancy, affecting men, worldwide. The protective effect of green tea consumption on prostate cancer has been reported in several studies; however, the findings are equivocal. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of green tea on PSA level, by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS: We searched online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, up to 11 Aug 2020, to obtain relevant publications. The publication search was not limited by language or date. RESULTS: A total of 2488 records were identified in the systematic search; from these, seven were included in the meta-analysis. The overall analysis showed no significant changes in PSA levels in subjects treated with green tea, (WMD: ‒0.60 ng/mL; 95 % CI: ‒1.32, 0.12 ng/mL; P = 0.104, I2 = 93.80 %, P heterogeneity<0.001). Subgroup analysis based on geographical location showed that green tea significantly reduced PSA level in the USA population (WMD: ‒1.02 pg/mL, 95 % CI: ‒1.30, ‒0.73, P < 0.001) compared to non-USA populations (WMD: ‒0.22 pg/mL, 95 % CI: ‒0.95, 0.50, P = 0.539) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this review show that green tea has no significant effect on PSA level. However, due to the heterogeneity among studies more consistent clinical trials, with larger sample sizes are required.

Erratum: Dietary Antioxidant Capacity and Its Association with Preeclampsia.

[This corrects the article on p. 47 in vol. 6, PMID: 28168181.].

Dietary Antioxidant Capacity and Its Association with Preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the major disorders in pregnancy leading to many adverse maternal outcomes. Although the etiology of PE is not fully understood, resent studies suggest that an imbalance between free radicals production and the antioxidant defense system might have key role. Our aim of the current study was to evaluate the association between dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC), serum TAC and risk of PE in women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy. This case-control study conducted on 55 women with preeclampsia and 93 with normal pregnancy. Dietary intakes were obtained by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 168 itmes. Dietary TAC was assessed according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Database for oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), Release 2. Serum TAC was measured by a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunesorbent assay (ELISA). After adjusting for energy, pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) and history of PE, no relationship was found between intake of hydrophilic-ORAC (H-ORAC), lipophilic-ORAC (L-ORAC), total phenolics (TP), total-ORAC (T-ORAC), and PE risk. However, serum TAC had a significant positive relationship with the risk of PE after adjusting for energy (odds ratio [OR], 0.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16-0.35), BMI and history of PE (OR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.32). Findings of this study indicate that serum TAC is positively associated with the risk of PE but no association was found between intake of antioxidant indices and PE risk.