فهرست مطالب hoda derakhshanian

Cyclic AMP (adenosine monophosphate) response element-binding protein (CREB) and Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are reported to broadly involve in learning capacity and memory. BDNF exerts its functions via tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB). BDNF transcription is regulated by stimulating CREB phosphorylation. The CREB-TrkB-BDNF pathway is reported to be affected by diabetes, which may contribute to its cognitive deficits. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the hippocampal fraction of this pathway in an animal model of type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Thirty-six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups as follows: Group 1: normal healthy rats (n=8); group 2: normal healthy rats receiving sesame oil supplementation as placebo (n=8); Group 3: diabetic rats receiving sesame oil (n=10); and Group 4: diabetic rats treated with 4300 IU/kg/week vitamin D dissolved in sesame oil (n=10). Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal (IP) injection of streptozotocin. Blood and hippocampal samples were acquired at the end of the experiment. RNA was extracted from the hippocampus, and real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) was performed for BDNF and TrkB gene expression. Administration of vitamin D (4300 IU/kg/week) in a T1DM animal model increased CREB phosphorylation in the hippocampus, but the serum and hippocampal BDNF levels and TrkB and BDNF gene expression did not change significantly. Vitamin D increased hippocampal CREB phosphorylation in a T1DM animal model. Our findings showed that vitamin D might be protective against central nervous system complications in diabetes. However, future studies are warranted.

Diabetes mellitus and metabolic disorders are a major burden on the healthcare system. Irisin is a novel myokine reported to have beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism. Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in the development of diabetes and hold a critical role in diabetes-related complications. In the present study, we examined the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation on serum irisin levels, skeletal muscle irisin levels, and the expression of the irisin precursor, FNDC5 (fibronectin-type III domain-containing 5) in type I diabetes mellitus rats.

Thirty-six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (150 – 250 g) were randomly divided into four groups: group I: healthy control rats with no treatment (n=8), group II: healthy control rats receiving sesame oil as a placebo (n=8), group III: diabetic rats receiving sesame oil as placebo (n=10), group IV: diabetic rats treated with 4300 IU/kg/week vitamin D (n=10). Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal (IP) injection of streptozotocin. At the end of the vitamin D intervention blood and triceps muscle samples were collected. RNA was extracted from muscle and real-time PCR was performed to examine FNDC5 gene expression.

Our study showed that the administration of vitamin D (4300 IU/kg/week) in a streptozotocin-diabetic rat model resulted in increased serum vitamin D levels, FNDC5 gene expression and muscle irisin levels. However, the levels of serum irisin were not significantly changed by the administration of vitamin D.

In conclusion, we show that vitamin D supplementation enhances serum vitamin D levels, FDNC5 gene expression and muscle irisin levels in the streptozotocin-diabetic rat model. Our study highlights the potential therapeutic effect of vitamin D supplementation for diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vitamin D on glucose metabolism, as well as the expression of five key genes involved in the development of diabetes complications in liver tissue of diabetic rats. Twenty-four male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups (8 rats in each group). The first group served as control and the other two groups received an intraperitoneal injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin to develop diabetes. Groups were treated for four weeks either with placebo or vitamin D (two injections of 20000 IU/kg). Thereafter, serum levels of glucose, insulin and HbA1c were assessed. Liver tissue was examined for the level of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and the gene expression of AGE cellular receptor (AGER), glyoxalase-1 (GLO-1), aldose reductase (AR), O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) and glutamine/ fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase (GFAT). Vitamin D injection resulted in a significant increase in plasma level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, which could improve hyperglycemia about 11% compared to placebo-receiving diabetic rats (P=0.005). Insulin level increased as a result of vitamin D treatment compared to control (3.31±0.65 vs. 2.15±0.79; P= 0.01). Serum HbA1c and liver AGE concentrations had a slight but insignificant reduction following vitamin D intake. Moreover, a significant decline was observed in gene expression of AGER and OGT in liver tissue (P=0.04 and P Vitamin D might contribute in ameliorating diabetes complications not only by improving blood glucose and insulin levels, but also by suppressing AGER and OGT gene expression in the liver.

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most important microvascular complications and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. This study was designed to investigate the effect of vitamin D on the expression of three key genes involved in the development of diabetic nephropathy. Twenty-four male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. The first group served as control and the other two groups received intraperitoneal injections of 45 mg/kg STZ to develop diabetes. The groups were treated for four weeks either with placebo or two vitamin D injections of 20,000 IU/kg. Serum glucose, insulin, and HbA1c levels, and AGE cellular receptor (RAGE), aldose reductase (AR) and glutamine: fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase (GFAT) gene expression were assessed in kidney tissue at the end of the experiment. Vitamin D treatment resulted in a significant increase in insulin concentration, which could improve hyperglycaemia in diabetic rats. Serum HbA1c decreased slightly but insignificantly following the vitamin D injections. In addition, expression of GFAT, a key regulatory enzyme in the hexosamine pathway, was significantly reduced following vitamin D administration. Vitamin D may reduce diabetic nephropathy not only by improving blood glucose and insulin levels, but also by modulating hexosamine pathways in kidney.

This study was designed to compare lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activity in Type 2 diabetes patients with good or weak glycemic control.
In this case-control study, 62 Type 2 diabetic patients with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between 6 and 8 were enrolled as the controlled group and 55 patients with HbA1c > 8 were selected as an uncontrolled group. Patients were all referred to Iranian Diabetes Association in Tehran, Iran, from 2010 onward. Groups were chosen by convenience sampling and were matched based on age, sex and duration of disease. Demographic questionnaire, two 24-hour food recall, HbA1c, insulin, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase were measured in blood samples. Data were analyzed by Food Processor II and SPSS software.
A mean daily consumption of energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fat was not significantly different between two groups. MDA in the uncontrolled group was significantly higher than controlled group (2.03 ± 0.88 vs. 1.65 ± 1.01 nmol/ml; P = 0.030). A mean SOD was slightly higher in the uncontrolled group comparing to the control group (843.3 ± 101.9 vs. 828.0 ± 127.3 U/g Hb; P = 0.400).
These data suggest that MDA as a lipid peroxidation indicator is higher in uncontrolled diabetes probably due to chronic high blood sugar followed by higher oxidative stress.

Serum levels of lipocalin 2 (LCN 2) and retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP 4), increase in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We sought to determine whether serum LCN 2 and RBP 4 change after an intervention with omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in diabetic patients.
Forty-five type 2 diabetic patients from Iranian Diabetic Association in Tehran, Iran in 2013 were randomly recruited into two groups: one group received 4 g/d omega-3 for 10 wk; and the control group received placebo. Blood samples, food intake records, anthropometric measurements were obtained from all participants at the beginning and end of the study.
Fasting RBP 4 plasma levels significantly changed after 10 wk supplementation (P = 0.01). The LCN 2 concentrations decreased in omega-3 group, but the changes were not statistically significant. Omega-3 supplementation had no noticeable effect on anthropometric factors.
These findings provide a rationale for omega-3 supplements aimed at lowering serum RBP 4 levels in T2DM.

Serum levels of lipocalin 2 (LCN 2) and retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP 4), increase in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We sought to determine whether serum LCN 2 and RBP 4 change after an intervention with omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in diabetic patients. Forty-five type 2 diabetic patients from Iranian Diabetic Association in Tehran, Iran in 2013 were randomly recruited into two groups: one group received 4 g/d omega-3 for 10 wk; and the control group received placebo. Blood samples, food intake records, anthropometric measurements were obtained from all participants at the beginning and end of the study. Fasting RBP 4 plasma levels significantly changed after 10 wk supplementation (P = 0.01). The LCN 2 concentrations decreased in omega-3 group, but the changes were not statistically significant. Omega-3 supplementation had no noticeable effect on anthropometric factors. These findings provide a rationale for omega-3 supplements aimed at lowering serum RBP 4 levels in T2DM.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune blistering disorder of the skin or mucosa. Since low vitamin D status has been linked to many immune disorders, we designed this study to compare the vitamin D status in PV patients with healthy controls. In this case-control study, vitamin D status of 32 newly diagnosed PV patients was compared with 36 healthy control subjects. All patients were selected from the specialized dermatology departments of Razi Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in a 2-year period (2009-2010). The severity of the disease was estimated according to Harman’s scores. Serum concentration of 25(OH)D was measured by Roche Elecsys System. Data were analyzed by independent t-test. Both groups were similar based on sex, age and body mass index. The mean duration of disease was 5.57±0.93 months. The mean oral and skin severities were 1.81±0.20 and 2.31±0.17 respectively, based on Harman’s scores. Serum 25(OH)D was significantly lower in PV patients compared to controls (-8.90; 95% CI, 2.29-15.51 and P = 0.009). There was a negative correlation between vitamin D level and the oral severity of disease (r = -0.39 and P = 0.02). PV patients had significantly lower serum level of 25(OH)D compared to healthy subjects which might contribute to worsen the disease. These data indicate the importance of improving vitamin D level in pemphigus patients.

The gold standard for detection of bladder cancer is cystoscopy, which is an invasive and complicated procedure. Our study was conducted to find a tumor marker with high specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of bladder cancer. Serum samples were collected from 58 bladder cancer patients and 60 healthy control subjects. Levels of lipid-bound sialic acid (LBSA), and protein-bound sialic acid (PBSA) were measured spectrophotometrically by Aminoff’s method. Mean levels of both markers were found to be significantly higher in the patients than the healthy controls. Positive correlations were observed between serum levels of lipid- (r=0.283, p<0.05) and protein- bound (r=0.56, p<0.05) sialic acids and the grade of malignancy. To differentiate patients with bladder tumors from healthy controls, cut-offpoints were determined for each of the two parameters based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis (LBSA=21.25 mg/dL, PBSA=6.15 mg/dL). The data showed good sensitivities (LBSA=89%, PBSA=79%), specificities (LBSA=70%, PBSA=70%) and accuracies (LBSA=83%, PBSA=81%) for both markers. Measuring serum LBSA and PBSA by this simple, reproducible, noninvasive, and inexpensive method can accurately discriminate cancer patients from healthy individuals.

Brewer’s yeast may have beneficial effects on insulin receptors because of itsglucose tolerance factor in diabetic patients. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of brewer’s yeast supplementation on glycemic indices in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In a randomized double‑blind controlled clinical trial, 84 adults (21 men and 63 women) aged 46.3 ± 6.1 years old with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited and divided randomly into two groups: Supplement group receiving brewer’s yeast (six 300mg tablets/day, total 1800 mg) and control group receiving placebo (six 300mg tablets/day) for 12 weeks. Body weight, height, body mass index, food consumption (based on 24h food record), fasting blood sugar (FBS), glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin sensitivity, and insulin resistance were measured before and after the intervention. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 18.0). The changes in FBS, glycosylated hemoglobin, and insulin sensitivity were significantly different between the two groups during the study (respectively P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.02 independent sample t‑test). There was a significant difference in FBS, glycosylated hemoglobin, and insulin sensitivity at the end of the study between the two groups after removing the effects of baseline values (respectively P = 0.002, P < 0.001, P = 0.02, analysis of covariance). Changes in body mass index, 24h food record, insulin resistance were not significant. Dietary supplementation with brewer›s yeast besides the usual treatment of diabetes can ameliorate blood glucose variables in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The geographic map of cancer prevalence differs due to environmental and dietary factors in various populations. High prevalence of a number of cancers in some regions is thought to be attributed to local dietary habits. Dorema aucheri (Bilhar) is used commonly as an herbal medicine in some regions including Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether Dorema aucheri has carcinogenic effects in albino mice or not. The Dorema aucheri leaves were extracted by Soxhlet method and were injected intraperitoneally and randomly into 28 healthy albino mice which were divided into seven groups. One was put aside as the non-injected control group. The second control group was chosen to be injected by a known carcinogen. Another group was injected by carcinogen and then, Bilhar extract. The left four groups were injected the extracts in a dose- dependent manner, increasingly in the range of 0.4 – 3.2mL/kg. Extract injections were repeated every 48- hour intervals for three times. Then, liver and serum samples were analyzed biochemically and pathologically. The pathologic and biochemical studies showed that the injection of plant extracts caused necrosis, inflammation of the liver tissue, cell proliferation, cholestasis, and there were significant increases in release of liver enzymes [ALP, ALT (SGPT) and AST (SGOT)] and bilirubin compared to the non-injected control group. The level of liver damage was dose dependent. Dorema aucheri has potential hepatotoxic capacities and possibly this may be related to the high prevalence of cancer in some regions of Iran.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Brewer''s yeast supplementation on serum lipoproteins and blood pressure in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. In a randomized double blind clinical trial, 90 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited, and divided randomly into 2 groups, trial group received brewer''s yeast (1800 mg/day) and control group received placebo for 12 weeks. Weight, BMI, food consumption (based on 24 hour food recall), fasting serum lipoproteins (Cholesterol, Triglyceride, LDL-c, HDL-c), systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured before and after the intervention. Data analyses were performed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences ver. 18.0, and the statistical tests included Independent t-test, Paired t-test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and analysis of covariance. This trial was registered in Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT), No.IRCT138807062513N1. Eighty-four subjects (21 men and 63 women) aged 46.3±6.1 years completed the study. After 12 weeks supplementation, systolic and diastolic blood pressures were decreased in the group receiving brewer''s yeast (4.1±1.5, P=0.007 and 5.7±0.6, P=0.001 respectively). No-significant changes in LDL-c, HDL-c, Triglyceride and Cholesterol were shown. Supplementation with Brewer''s yeast besides the usual treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressures in diabetic patients.

Biliary cirrhosis is a chronic disease marked by the progressive destruct-tion of liver. There is no known cure for this disease; however، medications may slow its progression. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of quercetin as a plant derived flavonoid on the hepatic injury reduction of biliary cirrhotic rats.

Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6-7 months were randomized into three groups of ten each. One group served as control (sham operated)، while the other two groups underwent a complete bile-duct ligation (BDL). Four weeks after the opera-tion، serum bilirubin، alkaline phosphatase (ALP)، alanine amino-transferase (ALT)، and aspartate amino-transferase (AST) were measured in two BDL groups to confirm the occurrence of cirrhosis. Then one of the BDL groups received placebo and the other one injected intraperitoneally with 50mg/kg of quercetin once a day for a period of four weeks. At the end of the study، hepatic enzymes and serum bilirubin were measured again. Liver species were tested for histological characteristics.

Quercetin could decrease serum level of bilirubin (7. 4±0. 9 vs. 8. 9±1. 6 mg/dL; P<0. 05)، ALP (1387±76. 9 vs. 2273±65. 3 IU/L; P<0. 001) and ALT (601. 9±38. 1 vs. 644. 8±37. 4 IU/L; P<0. 05) compared to cirrhotic group. AST was higher in cirrhotic groups compared to control both in the 4th and 8th week. However، the difference between BDL and BDL+Q groups was not statistically significant. Quercetin decreased ALT/AST ratio، as an indicator of liver damage. No significant histological changes were observed in quercetin group.

These data suggest that although quercetin did not change histological characteristics of liver، it could significantly decrease bilirubin، alkaline phosphatase and alanine amino-transferase، indicating less liver injury.