ATP2B1 rs2681472 and STK39 rs35929607 polymorphisms and risk of Hypertension in Iranian Population.

Background: ATP2B1 and STK39 have been introduced as essential hypertension candidate genes. The association of these genes' variations have not been studied in Iranian population yet. Here we aimed to investigate the association of ATP2B1 rs2681472 and STK39 rs35929607 polymorphisms with the risk of hypertension in an Iranian population. Methods: We included 400 individuals in our case-control study: 200 cases with essential hypertension and 200 healthy sex and age matched controls. All subjects were genotyped for rs2681472 and rs35929607 using a PCR-RFLP method. Genotype and allele frequencies were compared between the two groups using chi-squared test. The association was further assessed under log-additive, dominant and recessive genetic models. Results: There was no association between rs2681472 and rs35929607 polymorphisms and risk of essential hypertension in our population (p>0.05). There was also no association between the studied polymorphisms and hypertension under different genetic models. Conclusion: Our study indicated that rs2681472 of ATP2B1 and rs35929607 of STK39 may not have a significant effect on the risk of essential hypertension in Iranian population. More studies are still needed to validate our results.

Omentin Val109Asp polymorphism and risk of coronary artery disease.

Background Omentin is an adipocytokine with antiinflammatory properties. It has been reported to be involved in atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. We aimed to investigate the association of omentin Val109Asp polymorphism with coronary artery disease in an Iranian population. Methods For a case-control study, 400 individuals were recruited: 200 with coronary artery disease and 200 healthy controls. Patients with coronary artery disease were diagnosed by angiography as having at least one main coronary artery with more than 50% stenosis. Genotyping of Val109Asp was carried out using a polymerase chain reaction DNA-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Results There was no association between Val109Asp polymorphism and the risk of coronary artery disease in our study population ( p = 0.20). However, when subgroup analysis was performed according to sex, there was a significant difference in the distribution of alleles between groups for men ( p = 0.031, odds ratio = 0.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.35-0.95) but not for women ( p = 0.88, odds ratio = 1.03, 95% confidence interval: 0.66-1.61). Conclusions Our results indicate that the Asp allele of Val109Asp (T allele of rs2274907) is more frequent among men with coronary artery disease than healthy men, so it is possibly a risk factor for coronary artery disease in men only. The difference in association between men and women may be due to the different distribution and metabolism of adipose tissue in men and women. More studies with larger sample sizes and in different populations are required to validate our study results.

Effects of progesterone and vitamin D on outcome of patients with acute traumatic spinal cord injury; a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Steroid hormones offer promising therapeutic perspectives during the acute phase of spinal cord injury (SCI) while the role of progesterone and vitamin D remain controversial. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of progesterone and vitamin D on functional outcome of patients with acute traumatic SCI. METHODS: This was a randomized clinical trial including 64 adult patients with acute traumatic SCI admitted within 8 hours of injury. All the patients received methylprednisolone on admission according to standard protocol (30 mg/kg as bolus dose and 15 mg/kg each 3 hours up to 24 hours). Patients were randomly assigned to receive intramuscular injection of 0.5 mg/kg progesterone twice daily and 5µg/kg oral vitamin D3 twice daily up to 5 days (n = 32) or placebo (n = 32). Patients were visited 6 days, 3 and 6 months after injury and motor and sensory function was assessed according to American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between two study groups regarding age (P = 0.341), sex (P = 0.802) and therapy lag (P = 0.609). The motor powers and sensory function increased significantly after 6 months in both study groups. Those who received progesterone and vitamin D had significantly higher motor powers and sensory function after 6 months of therapy. Those who received the therapy within 4 hours of injury, had significantly higher motor powers and sensory function 6 months after treatment in progesterone and vitamin D group. Therapy lag was negatively associated with 6-month motor powers and sensory function in progesterone and vitamin D group. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of progesterone and vitamin D in acute phase of traumatic SCI is associated with better functional recovery and outcome.

The effect of Boswellia Serrata on neurorecovery following diffuse axonal injury.

OBJECTIVES: This pilot trial was conducted to establish whether Boswellia Serrata (BS), a traditional herbal medicine, could improve the outcome of patients who have diffuse axonal injury (DAI). METHODS: In total, 38 patients with pure DAI were enrolled in this 12-week, double-blind, randomized, cross-over study. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo (group A, n = 20) or BS capsules (group B, n = 18) for 6 weeks and then switched to the other intervention for another 6 weeks. The disability rating scale (DRS) was used to assess the outcome at 2-, 6- and 12-weeks post-trauma. RESULTS: A non-significant trend for improvement of DRS total scores was observed after the use of BS. Regarding the DRS sub-scores, however, there was significant improvement in 'cognitive ability to self-care' during the second 6 weeks in group A on BS compared to an insignificant spontaneous recovery in group B during the same period on placebo. Moreover, both groups experienced a close-to-significant increase in the cognitive function-related items of the DRS during the periods they were on BS. The reported adverse events were all of mild quality and had similar frequency between the groups. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that BS resin does not significantly affect general outcome, but may enhance the cognitive outcome of patients with DAI.