Augenbefall und Systemerkrankung – periokuläre und intraokuläre Lymphome

Die Onkologie - Das okuläre Lymphom wird anhand seiner anatomischen Lokalisation in die intraokulären und periokulären Lymphome eingeteilt. Intraokulär kann die Uvea mit ihren...     

The effects of ginger supplementation on markers of inflammatory and oxidative stress: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials

The present systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of ginger supplementation on markers of inflammatory and oxidative stress. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were systematically searched to identify relevant clinical trials evaluating the effects of ginger on serum CRP (C‐reactive protein), TNF‐α (tumor necrosis factor‐alpha), IL‐6 (interleukin‐6), PGE2 (prostaglandin E2), TAC (total antioxidant capacity), and MDA (malondialdehyde) from inception up to September 2019. Mean difference and 95% confidence intervals were pooled using a random‐effects model. Potential publication bias was assessed using visual inspection of funnel plot and Egger's weighted regression tests. After excluding irrelevant records, 20 full‐text articles that included 25 separate studies were included to the meta‐analysis. Pooled results of this study indicated a statistically significant effect of ginger on serum CRP, TNF‐α, IL‐6, TAC, and MDA levels following ginger supplementation in compared to the controls. Also, the effects of ginger on serum PGE2 was marginally significant. Moreover, the high heterogeneity was disappeared in subgroup analysis performed by age, duration, dosage, and quality. This current analysis indicates that ginger supplementation has a significant effects on serum inflammatory and oxidative stress markers.     

Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Occupational Injuries and their Influence on the Health-Related Quality of Life Among Farmers Working in Small-Farm Enterprises

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic diseases and occupational accidents and injuries, and to examine their association with the quality of life among a sample of Iranian farmers.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 736 male farmers. Data on the prevalence of chronic diseases and occupational accidents and injuries was collected using an author-developed questionnaire, and the SF-36 questionnaire was used to obtain information on quality of life.

Results: The prevalence of chronic diseases was 96.1%. Musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs), eye diseases and neurology diseases were the most prevalent diseases. Almost half of the farmers (42.7%) had experienced an occupational accident during the last 12 months and cuts and fractures accounted for the most frequent injuries. Sick leave was reported by 28.2% of the farmers and from those with history of accidents, 21.4% were hospitalized. A significant association was found between age and education level with quality of life. Most of the chronic diseases showed a significant and inverse association with quality of life, however, the strongest association was found for MSDs and mental disorders. Furthermore, the most important injury associated with quality of life was cuts and fractures.

Conclusions: Based on the results, MSDs, mental disorders, and cut and fractures were the main determinants of the farmers’ quality of life. Hence, a better quality of life among farmers is especially dependent on eliminating ergonomics risk factors leading to developing musculoskeletal disorders, improving psychosocial work climate, and promoting occupational and personal safety culture.     

Potential Cardioprotective Effects of Sumac Capsule in Patients With Hyperlipidemia: A Triple-Blind Randomized,Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial

Objective: Alternative medicine and herbal drugs have been taken into account for managing cardiovascular risk factors. Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) is rich in biologically active ingredients known to improve cardiovascular health. We investigated the effect of sumac on systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), body mass index (BMI), and serum concentrations of lipids and fasting blood sugar (FBS) in participants with hyperlipidemia in a triple-blind randomized placebo- controlled crossover trial.

Methods: Thirty adults with dyslipidemia (mild to moderate elevation of plasma total cholesterol and/or triglycerides [TG; total cholesterol ≥ 6.0 mmol/L or TG ≥ 1.7 mmol/L and TG ≤ 5.0 mmol/L]) were assigned randomly to a sumac or a placebo group. Participants in the sumac group received sumac capsules (500 mg/twice daily) for the first 4 weeks, followed by 2 weeks’ washout period; the patients were then switched to a 4-week interval and received placebo for 4 weeks in the second period. The placebo group received these treatments in reverse order. FMD, BMI, SBP, DBP, lipids, and FBS were measured at baseline and after each period.

Results: Differences between placebo group and sumac group (placebo-sumac) were significantly decreased for BMI (0.21 ± 0.075 kg/m²), SBP (1.87 ± 0.83 mm Hg), DBP (1.32 ± 0.46 mm Hg), and total cholesterol (14.42 ± 4.95 mmol/L) and significantly increased for FMD (?0.23% ± 0.065%). Plasma level of TG did not change significantly across the treatment.

Conclusion: Sumac consumption may decrease cardiovascular risk factors in persons with mild to moderate hyperlipidemia.     

Fabrication of hybrid scaffold based on hydroxyapatite-biodegradable nanofibers incorporated with liposomal formulation of BMP-2 peptide for bone tissue engineering

In the present study, we fabricated an efficient, simple biomimetic scaffold to stimulate osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Electrospun poly L-lactic acid nanofibers were employed to mimic the nanofibrillar structure of bone proteins and coated with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles to simulate bone minerals. Thereafter, we regulated the release pattern of BMP-2 peptide through covalent attachment of an optimized liposomal formulation to the scaffold. The fabricated platform provided a sustained release profile of BMP-2 peptide up to 21?days while supporting cellular attachment and proliferation without cytotoxicity. In-vitro results confirmed the superiority of the scaffold containing liposomes through enhancement of growth and differentiation of MSCs. Ectopic bone formation model exhibited significant localized initiation of bone formation of liposome incorporated scaffold. Consequently, these findings demonstrated that our designed platform with modified release properties of BMP-2 peptide considerably promoted osteogenic differentiation of MSCs making it a unique candidate for bone regeneration therapeutics.     

Polymerization behavior and thermal characteristics of two new composites at five temperatures: refrigeration to preheating

PURPOSE

Heat of composite polymerization (HP) indicates setting efficacy and temperature increase of composite in clinical procedures. The purpose of this in vitro experimental study was to evaluate the effects of 5 temperatures on HP of two new composites.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From each material (Core Max II [CM] and King Dental [KD]), 5 groups of 5 specimens each were prepared and their total HPs (J/gr) were measured and recorded, at one of the constant temperatures 0℃, 15℃, 23℃, 37℃ and 60℃ (2 × 5 × 5 specimens) using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyzer. The data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, a Tukey''s test, an independent-samples t-test, and a linear regression analysis (α=0.05).

RESULTS

No polymerization reactions occurred at 0℃; then this temperature was excluded from statistical analyses. The mean HP of the remaining 20 KD specimens was 20.5 ± 14.9 J/gr, while it was 40.7 ± 12.9 J/gr for CM. The independent-samples t-test showed that there were significant differences between the HP of the two materials at the temperatures 15℃ (P=.0001), 23℃ (P=.0163), 37℃ (P=.0039), and 60℃ (P=.0106). Linear regression analysis showed statistically significant correlations between environment temperatures and HP of CM (R²=0.777).

CONCLUSION

Using CM is advantageous over conventional composite because of its better polymerization capacity. However due to its high HP, further studies should assess its temperature increase in vivo. Preheating KD is recommended. Refrigerating composites can negatively affect their polymerization potential.     

Uveales Melanom

Die Ophthalmologie - Die personalisierte Medizin in der onkologischen Betreuung von Patienten ist bestrebt, durch eine individuell angepasste Therapie das bestmögliche Ziel für den...     

Lymphom am Auge

Die Ophthalmologie - Die personalisierte Medizin ist mittlerweile Standard in der onkologischen Betreuung von Patienten. Ein Paradebeispiel stellt das Lymphom dar, das durch den intra- und...     

Management of pelvic organ prolapse and quality of life: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction and hypothesis

One of the main outcomes in the assessment of the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse in women is quality of life. Using quality of life as an outcome measure is increasing in the majority of clinical trials. The aim of current study was to determine the effects of the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse on patients’ quality of life using systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

A systematic search for finding randomized controlled studies on pelvic organ prolapse published before October 2012 was conducted. The JAMA users’ guide to the medical literature quality assessment scales for randomized clinical trials was used to assess the quality of included articles. The mean difference in total quality of life score between before and after intervention (surgical or pelvic floor training) with 95 % confidence interval (CI) was considered as a primary summary measure. Egger’s test was used to evaluate the publication bias. Heterogeneity was assessed using I² Index.

Results

Fifty-seven RCT were critically appraised. Thirty-two articles were eligible after critical evaluation. Mean difference in change in the total quality of life score with 95 % CI for surgical treatment was 74.03 (66.3–81.6) by PFDI-20 and was 44.57 (22.53–66.65) by PFIQ-7. The mean difference in changed in the total quality of life score with 95 % CI was 1.32 (?2.8–5.4) for pelvic floor training (PFT).

Conclusion

We found that surgical interventions on prolapse can improve the quality of life of women. There was a relative effect of PFT on the quality of life of women with prolapse in systematic review. This effect was not seen in meta-analysis, probably because of finding few eligible studies to pool the effect size.