Magnesium supplementation and insulin resistance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multifactorial disease affecting the immune system and many tissues in the body. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of magnesium supplementation on insulin resistance and fasting blood sugar (FBS) of patients with RA. In this prospective uncontrolled before-after study, RA patients referring to Rheumatology clinics of Qom City from January 2020 to January 2021 were evaluated. First, the patients received the routine rheumatoid arthritis treatment including 5 mg Prednisolone and 200mg Hydroxychloroquine daily for 6 months and FBS and insulin levels were measured after. Then, they received the routine arthritis rheumatoid treatment in addition to 300 mg/day oral Magnesium sulfate for 6 months and then, FBS and insulin levels were measured. The Homeostasis Model Assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was used for determining insulin resistance. Thirty five patients with RA and the mean age of 49.83±2.58 years were enrolled. Twenty eight cases (80%) were female and 7 cases (20%) were male. The mean HOMA-IR before and after consumption of oral magnesium were 3.04±0.29 and 2.43±0.19, respectively. Statistically significant differences were found between FBS, insulin and HOMA-IR before and after consumption of oral magnesium (p<0.05). Our data suggested that magnesium supplementation reduces FBS, insulin and HOMA-IR in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, magnesium supplements may be an alternative method for prevention of type 2 diabetes in RA patients.

Haemostasis. Part 2: Medications that affect haemostasis.

Post-operative haemorrhage is a recognized complication in dental practice. This may be more prevalent in patients taking antithrombotic medications. It is important that the dentist understands the mechanism of action of these drugs and how they may affect management of dental patients. Clinical Relevance: Dental professionals must be aware of those medications affecting haemostasis and how they may impact on management. The emergence of different therapeutic regimens has increased the number of such drugs.

Metal concentrations in tissues of two fish species from Qeshm Island, Iran.

The purpose of this study was to determine the concentrations of metals, cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in Liza vaigiensis and Johnius carutta, in order to: compare metal concentrations between two species with different gender, and to determine the significance between metal concentrations in the gill, liver and muscle. The highest mean concentrations of cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in different tissues of these two fish species were found in the liver of L. vaigiensis at 0.68, 0.83, 0.37 and 1.42 µg g(-1), respectively; while the lowest mean concentrations of cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel were observed in the muscle of J. carutta at 0.16, 0.16, 0.03 and 0.29 µg g(-1), respectively. The results showed that the metal concentrations in both species were higher in the females than in the males (except chromium in gill and cadmium in muscle of J. carutta). Also, the results indicated that the metal concentrations were different among fish tissues (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.001), but there was no difference (except lead in gills of J. carutta) between sex (male vs. female).

Comparison of the metal concentrations in the feathers of three bird species from southern Iran.

This study was conducted to determine the concentration of metals, namely cadmium, lead, cobalt and copper, in the feathers of chukar (Alectoris chukar), see-see partridge (Ammoperdix griseogularis) and rock dove (Columba livia) in order to: examine the species, gender and age related variations in trace metal accumulation, and identify any relationships between species. Bird samples were collected in February 2012 from the Hormod protected area, southern Iran and the concentration of metals were measured using a Shimadzu AA 660 flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The concentrations in all three species were copper > lead > cadmium > cobalt. The average cadmium concentrations were 2.0, 1.9, and 1.9 µg/g for A. chukar, A. griseogularis, and C. livia, respectively. The average lead concentrations were 8.0, 5.4, and 7.7 µg/g for A. chukar, A. griseogularis, and C. livia, respectively. The results showed that in all three species, the highest metal concentrations were observed in female/adult birds and the lowest concentrations were found in female/juvenile birds (except lead in A. chukar and copper in C. livia).