The effect of fenugreek on the gene expression of arachidonic acid metabolizing enzymes

The main bioactive compounds of Trigonella foenum graecum L. (fenugreek) seeds are protodioscin, trigoneoside, diosgenin and yamogenin, which have anticarcinogenic potency through inhibition of cell proliferation and inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis. The effect of fenugreek on ALOX and COX genes was examined in AKR/J H‐2^k mice exposed to dimethylbenz[α]anthracene (DMBA), a potent carcinogen. The expression pattern of these genes was determined by detecting the mRNA expression in various tissues (the lungs, liver, spleen and the kidneys) in four groups of mice. Two groups were fed with normal and two of them with fenugreek containing nutriment. Each group divided into DMBA treated and control groups. Mice were autopsied on day 7 after DMBA treatment for mRNA isolation. Fenugreek consumption itself did not change gene expression compared with the control group. DMBA could increase the expression of ALOX12, ALOX15, ALOX5 genes mainly in all organs. Fenugreek consumption was generally protective in each organ in a different manner. DMBA treatment increased COX2 gene expression, but fenugreek was protective in all tissues examined. In COX1 gene, the fenugreek diet could suppress the expression, except for spleen, independently from carcinogen exposure. Therefore by inhibiting the arachidonic acid metabolism fenugreek may prevent tumorigenesis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of Drug Abuse Relapse Event Rate Over Time in Frailty Model

Objectives

Drug dependence as a chronic disorder is reversible over time and has a cost burden for individuals, families, and society. An individual who has stopped taking drugs for a long time may start taking drugs again. The variables affecting the reuse of drugs are not well known. Therefore a study of the factors that increase the length of time away from drugs is essential.

Methods

This study used data collected by the Bushehr addiction treatment centers (Tolloe and Pasargadae) from 100 men with drug addiction from March 2006 to September 2010. The shared frailty model was used to study the influence of variables on the duration of time away from drug use. The most common method for entering intra-class (personal) correlation is the survival frailty model, which uses parametric survival data for the evaluation of recurrent events. A Weibull distribution for time to event with gamma shared frailty was used.

Results

The mean (standard deviation) age and age at onset of opium use of the sample were 33.85 (8.11) and 20.65 (6.87), respectively. About 30% of the men studied had chronic disease and 36% had a mental illness. The mean (frequency mean) of the amount of opium used were 4.73 (3.8) g and 2.54 (1.14) times per day. The desire to end drug use was 97% and 3% for the men with drug addiction and their families, respectively, at the time when the men stopped using opium. The age at onset of opium use [p = 0.046, hazards ratio (HR) = 1.30], history of chronic disease (p = 0.005, HR = 249.635), and marital status (p = 0.06, HR = 0.027) are important in the reuse of opium.

Conclusion

We found that opium addiction is related to other chronic diseases and to the age at onset of opium use. A prospective study following up individuals with drug addiction who try to stop drug use in addiction treatment centers could help to determine the risk factors of resuming drug use.     

The effect of Valerian on the severity and frequency of hot flashes: A triple-blind randomized clinical trial

ABSTRACT

Valerian is one of the most widely used herbal supplements and a phytoestrogenic herb. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Valerian on the severity and frequency of hot flashes. This triple-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted during a three-month period in Hamadan, Iran, in 60 postmenopausal women aged 45–55 years. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups– either placebo or Valerian. An oral Valerian 530 mg capsule was given twice per day for two months. An oral placebo 530 mg capsule (starch) was similarly administered. The severity and frequency of hot flashes were determined by the Kupperman index, before the intervention, one month after, and two months after initiation of the intervention. The severity of hot flashes in the Valerian group was significantly lower than that in the placebo group at one (p = .048) and two months (p = .020) after initiation of the intervention. Compared with the placebo group, the mean frequency of hot flashes was significantly reduced two months after initiating the use of Valerian (p = .033). Health-care providers should consider Valerian to be effective for menopausal women with hot flashes.     

Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus in blood donors in Khuzestan Province, Southwest Iran.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among volunteer blood donors in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Khuzestan is a war stricken area in the southwest of Iran, which shares a land, river, and sea border with Iraq. This region has suffered the heaviest public health system damage of all the Iranian provinces during a 25-year period of war and conflict. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 400 urban volunteer blood donors of the regional blood banks, from May to December 2005. Serum samples from healthy blood donors were tested for IgG anti-HEV antibody using a specific enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) kit. RESULTS: The prevalence of HEV infection was found to be 11.5% (46/400). All patients were negative for anti-HIV, anti-HBV, and anti-HCV antibodies. The data indicate that 14.6% (38/260) of HEV positive subjects were male, compared to 5.7% (8/140) of females; this difference is statistically significant (risk ratio=2.6, p<0.008). CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate the high prevalence rate of anti-HEV among blood donors, particularly males.     

Assessment of risk factors affecting recurrence of patients with gastric cancer in the presence of informative censoring in Iran

Background: In some survival studies, several events are taken into consideration. If the events are independent then the ordinary methods such as Kaplan-Meier, Cox or parametric models can be used. If one of the events dependently (informatively) censors the other, the results are biased. The present study was designed to assess the risk factors for recurrence of patients with gastric cancer in the presence of informative censoring using parametric models with a semi-competing risk approach. Materials and Methods: In a retrospective study, 408 cases of gastric cancer were selected from the patients referred to the Tehran Cancer Institute from March 2003 to March 2007. Gender, age at diagnosis, distant metastasis, tumor size, histology type, tumor grade, pathologic stage, tumor site, and type of treatment were studied as prognostic factors and used in the models. Parametric models such as Weibull, exponential, log-logistic were used with informative right censoring using Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) as criteria to compare models. The data were analyzed using R statistical software. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Based on Akaike information criteria (AIC), the Weibull model best fitted to data. The effect of tumor size and pathologic stage were significant on recurrence in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Tumor site and tumor grade were significant only in univariate analysis. Conclusions: The results showed that semi-competing risk methods perform well in determining risk factors for disease recurrence.     

Renal biopsy findings in Iran: case series report from a referral kidney center

Background  

Several registries and single centers have reported the results of their renal biopsies from different parts of the world. As there are only few data regarding the epidemiology of glomerulonephritides in Iran, this study was conducted to determine the results of renal biopsy findings during the last 10 years in our center.