Effect of sour tea (Lipicom) pill versus captopril on the treatment of hypertension.

INTRODUCTION: Herbal medicines are traditionally prescribed to manage blood pressure. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate effect of sour tea pill containing the herb's extract versus captopril on the treatment of hypertension. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In our crossover clinical trial 20 patients were enrolled in the study and advised for life style modification then the participants were randomly divided into 2 groups. Sour tea pills was prescribed at a dose of 500 mg and captopril at a dose of 12.5 mg twice daily. In order to improve precision and final measurement, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was performed both prior and after measuring the hypertension in 2 successive visits. After 6 weeks of therapy, the methods changed and 6 weeks later ABPM was performed three times (baseline, at end of the 6th and 12th week). The 2 groups were merged together before data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 20 patients, 13 (65%) were male and 7 (35%) were female. No significant difference of sex, age, and job was detected between 2 groups (P ≥ 0.05). Mean decreasing in systolic blood pressure was 7.75 ± 8.3 and 13.3 ± 16.1 mm Hg in the captopril and sour tea groups, respectively. Also, mean decline in diastolic blood pressure decreases was 2.15 ± 4.14 and 5.8 ± 7.8 mm Hg for captopril and sour tea groups, respectively. No side effect was observed in the sour tea pill group in the study. CONCLUSION: According to the effect of sour tea pill on decreasing blood pressure, without giving priority over captopril, sour tea pill containing the herb's extract can be prescribed as an adjuvant therapy for lowering the prescribed dosage of captopril.

The relationship between mean platelet volume and severity of acute ischemic brain stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an association exists between mean platelet volume (MPV) and severity of acute ischemic stroke. Also, to investigate the power of MPV for discriminating more severe ischemic stroke from mild events. METHODS: We divided 100 patients with first ischemic stroke presenting to the Neurology Department, Fatemieh Hospital, Semnan, Iran between January 2010 and January 2011 into 2 groups based on Rankin score (group 1: score 0-2, and group 2: score 3 or more). Blood samples were taken to measure MPV. Severity of ischemic stroke was assessed by the Modified Rankin scale. RESULTS: The MPV value was higher and more significant in group 2 than group 1 (9.36+/-0.95 versus 8.55+/-0.65, p<0.001). Also, the mean platelet count was significantly lower in group 2 (238.8+/-89.2 versus 283.7+/-59.2, p=0.020). After controlling for the risk profile associated with ischemic stroke in the multivariate logistic regression model, the effect of MPV in ischemic stroke remained statistically significant (p=0.012). The area under the ROC curve was 0.77, indicating the high discriminative value of MPV for predicting severe ischemic stroke based on Rankin score >/= 3 from mild stroke. CONCLUSION: The MPV is associated with ischemic stroke severity and has a high value for discriminating severe from mild ischemic stroke.

Erythropoietin; a review on current knowledge and new concepts.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide health problem. However, despite to new routes of dialysis, mortality and morbidity is high. One of the most common symptom of CKD is anemia, especially is more obvious in stages 3 and 4. In this review, we compared the effects of erythropoietin and anemia correction on kidney function (GFR) by investigating in various studies. Despite extensive studies in this category, still we do not sure about the effects of erythropoietin and anemia correction on the glomerular filtration rate.

Effect of hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, interleukin-6, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in end-stage renal disease.

INTRODUCTION. This study was conducted to determine the effect of statins on the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HSCPR). MATERIALS AND METHODS. This randomized clinical trial was carried out on 95 hemodialysis patients divided into three groups of atorvastatin, 10 mg; simvastatin, 20 mg; and lovastatin, 40 mg, daily, administered for 2 months. Levels of serum HSCRP, IL-6, and LDLC were all measured before and after the study period. RESULTS. At baseline, 59% of the hemodialysis patients presented with elevated HSCRP, 46.3% them had increased IL-6, and 26.3% had an increased LDLC level. The three drugs were capable to lower the level of HSCRP, among which atorvastatin had the highest effect size (41.8% reduction, P = .001). Lovastatin stood in the next (37.6% reduction, P = .02), while HSCRP reduction was not significant in the simvastatin group (25% reduction, P = .14). Neither of the drugs significantly reduced IL-6 levels. Effects of atorvastatin and simvastatin on the LDLC levels were significant, while lovastatin had a marginal effect. CONCLUSIONS. Use of statins resulted in CRP reduction in patients on hemodialysis. Atorvastatin was much more effective than lovastatin, while CRP reduction was not significant by simvastatin. However, simvastatin had the greatest impact on LDLC. None of these drugs could reduce IL-6 levels within 2 months.