[Effect of vitamin c supplementation on fasting and postprandial oxidative stress, inflammatory markers and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetic patients]

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most wide spread endocrine disorders and among the most important developing health issues. This disease is associated with increased free radical production and decrease in antioxidant defense systems. In this study we evaluated the effect of vitamin C supplementation on fasting and postprandial oxidative stress, inflammatory markers and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetic patients. Thirty patients with type 2 diabetes [age range 25 to 65 years] were randomly divided into two groups, 1] treatment with vitamin C [1000mg/d] and 2] the placebo group. They were supplemented for 6 weeks, after which we measured malondialdehyde, IL-6, hs-CRP and lipid profiles in fasting and postprandial state [after a breakfast containing 80g fat, the same as the first day of the study]. Data analysis was carried out using Mann Whitney U test, with P<0.05 being significant by SPSS software version 11. Results showed a significant decrease in fasting [p=0.006] and postprandial MDA [p<0.001] in the vitamin C group compared to controls but there were no significant changes in inflammatory markers and lipid profiles in the fasting and postprandial states. This study suggests that short term vitamin C supplementation can decrease fasting and postprandial oxidative stress, and thereby possibly prevent diabetes complications.

Comparison of the prevalence of anemia in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy in a medical and educational center in Shiraz

The high rate of anemia in pregnancy is associated with complications of pregnancy and delivery; therefore, to assess the level of hemoglobin [Hb] in women who are at risk can prevent these complications. In this descriptive study, 108 pregnant women referred to a medical and educational center in Shiraz in 2006. They were enrolled in three different occasions: first trimester [10-14 weeks], second trimester [25-30 weeks], and third trimester [37-40 weeks]. The correlation of blood hemoglobin concentration with the risk of severe nausea, vomiting, and iron supplementation in pregnant women was estimated. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS 11.5 and Pearson correlation. The mean age of the participants is 25.74 +/- 5.66. In the first trimester of pregnancy 71.9% had normal hemoglobin level and 28.1% higher than normal with no case being anemic. In the second and third trimester of pregnancy, 29.2% of the subjects were anemic. The level of hemoglobin had positive correlation with the total amount of iron intake in the second trimester [p= 0.001 and r= 0.44], also in the third trimester [p< 0.001 and r= 0.46] and the whole pregnancy [p< 0.001 and r= 0.38]. This study indicated that despite regular intake of iron,%29.2 of the subjects had anemia. These findings emphasize the importance of treating these groups of patients and measuring levels of hemoglobin in each trimester together with reviewing other risk factors which are effective on anemia

[Chemical compositions and antiviral effects of the essential oil of zataria multiflora boiss. and origanum majorana L.]

Zataria multiflora Boiss. is considered as an annual plant endemic in south of Iran. Origanum majorana L. is one of the most famous medicinal and nutritional herbs growing in the temperate zones of south Europe. These two have been used as carminative, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, bronchodilator and expectorant in traditional medicine of Iran and European countries. In the current study, chemical composition and antiviral effect of the essential oil of Z. multiflora and O. majorana are investigated. Composition of the essential oil samples obtained by hydrodistillation of the aerial parts of Z. multiflora and O. majorana [Lamiaceae] were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Antiviral effect of the oils were investigated on Herpese simplex separately. Twenty-four components in the oil of Z. multiflora with thymol [38%], carvacrol [34.96%] and para-cymene [7.17%] as the major constituents were identified. Twenty-seven components in the oil of O. majorana were recognized, whereas terpinene-4-ol [36.2%], para-cymene [16.3%] and gamma-terpinene [7.31%] were the main components. The concentration of 1/10000 of each oil was added to Hela cells contained with HSV-I. The growth of the organism was not inhibited at this concentration of the oils. In this research 98.62% and 96.72% of the essential oil of Z. multiflora and O. majorana were determined. Both essential oils were characterized by a high amount of oxygenated compounds [85.33% and 60.3% respectively]. Where as the concentration more than 1/10000 of the oils were citotoxic for Hela cells, more study and different methods is needed to investigate antiviral effects of these two oils

Poliovirus environmental surveillance in sistan-balouchestan province, isolation and identification of viruses by cell culture and microneutralization, and intratypic differentiation by ELISA and probe hybridization

In some countries, wild polioviruses have been isolated from environment despite the absence of viruses being recovered from clinical cases, therefore to confirm of final Polio eradication, WHO has recommended environmental surveillance using sewage specimens and surface water. During the present study, in order to assure the polio eradication in Iran, Sistan-Balouchestan province was chosen as the target area. During a 12-month period, 86 specimens from 2 sewage disposal systems and 5 hospitals, as well as surface water from several rural areas were collected by Grab Sampling and tested for polioviruses using direct and concentrated specimens with 2 concentration methods: Pellet and Two-phase. Then the isolated viruses were serotyped by microneutralization method and differentiated intratypically by ELISA and probe hybridization techniques. Of all studied specimens, 18 [20.9%] were identified as poliovirus, none of which were wild virus, fortunately. Among these, 2 [2.3%], 8 [9.3%] and 13 [15.1%] were isolated from direct specimens, Pellet and Two-phase concentrated specimens, respectively. The most frequent viruses were Polio 2 [72.2%] and Polio 3 [27.8%]. Results have revealed the efficacy of immunization coverage in Iran. Meanwhile, sufficient surveillance programs have been observed during the recent years

[Sensitivity pattern of group a beta hemolytic streptococci isolated from patients with various streptococcal infections to penicillin and other commonly used antibiotics]

Background: Group A beta hemolytic streptococci [GABHS] is a potentially pathogenic bacteria which causes various infections among children and adults. For over 60 years, penicillin has been used as the drug of choice for treatment of infections caused by this bacterium. Yet, there is no published article on the resistance of this bacterium to penicillin. However, some species of this family such as enterococci are highly resistant to this antibiotic

Materials and Methods: In the present investigation, 125 isolates of GABHS isolated from patients with pharyngitis, sinusitis and burn infections were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity by standard methods of disk diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] tests using penicillin, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, cephalothin, erythromycin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol

Results: All isolates of GABHS [100%] were sensitive to penicillin [MIC: 0.002- 0.032 microgr/ml] and vancomycin [MIC: 0.125-2 microgr/ml]. Other sensitivity rates included: cephalothin 97.6% [MIC: 0.01-8 microgr/ml], chloramphenicol 88.8% [MIC: 1-32 microgr/ml], erythromycin 87.2% [MIC: 0.032-64 microgr/ml], tetracycline 75.2% [MIC: 0.125-128 microgr/ml] and ciprofloxacin 92.8% [MIC: 0.125-4 microgr/ml]

Conclusion: Penicillin is still the drug of choice for treatment of GABHS infections. Patients allergic to penicillin are recommended to use erythromycin or other macrolides