International Journal of Nutrition Sciences
Volume:9 Issue: 4, Dec 2024

Systemic sclerosis is an incurable autoimmune fibrotic skin disease. Many factors were described as aetiology of SS, but the impact of nutritional factor is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional status and gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with systemic sclerosis in Ilam, Iran. In a case-control study, 47 people confirmed with systemic sclerosis disorders were enrolled as case group and 47 subjects as control group; while they were matched for age and BMI and compared statistically. Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and demographicvariables were collected for all participants. Meat and dairy consumption was higher among case group (Adjusted OR=5.1, p<0.01, CI=1.08-24.64; Adjusted OR=4.2, p<0.01,CI=1.23-14.29, respectively); while there was a reduction for vegetables intake (Adjusted OR=0.09, p<0.05, CI=0.01-0.876). An increase in meat and dairy consumption and reduction in intake of vegetables seems to be the causes for systemic sclerosis in patients in the area. Further evaluations in a large sample size with a longer follow-up duration are needed to verify these findings. The results can help health authorities when planning for patients with systemic sclerosis.

Vitamin D can inhibit hyper-inflammatory responses, and there are mechanistic reasons for vitamin D’s beneficial effects in COVID-19 patients. The aim of the present study was to assess how a single high dose of vitamin D can affect inflammatory markers among COVID-19 patients in critical conditions.

A single center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 61 COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs). The intervention group received 300,000 IU vitamin D intramuscularly and identically placebo patients were monitored for one week. The levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, IU/mL), C-reactive protein (CRP, mg/L), interleukin-6 (IL-6, Pg/L), lymphocytes, neutrophils, and neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratios were measured at the start and end of the study.

This trial included 44 patients with COVID-19 who had vitamin D deficiency at the start. After a high vitamin D dose intervention, lymphocyte level increased while LDH (IU/mL) and neutrophil levels, and N/L ratio decreased. CRP (mg/L) and IL-6 (Pg/L) levels significantly declined following intervention with a high-dose vitamin D.

These findings suggest that high doses of vitamin D may improve inflammatory indices in COVID-19 ICU patients.

In order to design better management for anti-diabetic medication, pharmacoepidemiological studies are required to have an update on the drug utilization. Therefore, the present study was performed with the aim of pharmacoepidemiological analysis on utilization of antidiabetic drugs based on PERSIAN cohort data. In this study, 10138 participants were included by baseline data. Use of anti-diabetic medications based on Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) code A10 was provided. Quantitative and qualitative variables were illustrated using mean±standard deviation (SD) and frequency (percent). Logistic regression was employed to define associated factors with categorical outcomes. The descriptive analysis showed that 12.3% (n=1249) of the participants had diabetes, while only 5.3% (n=540) of them had utilized anti-diabetic medications. Totally, 94.7% of the participants did not take any anti-diabetic drug, 3% received monotherapy and 2% reported a combination of anti-diabetic medication therapies. Also, the higher ages showed a more chance for use of anti-diabetic medications (40-59 years: OR=3.72, 95% CI: 2.38-5.81; ≥60, OR=5.61, 95% CI: 3.41-9.22).In addition, married and employed participants were more likely to take anti-diabetic medications. Also, having cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), fatty liver and pregnancy were associated with a higher significant chance of using anti-diabetic medications. Less than half of the patients diagnosed with diabetes received anti-diabetic drugs indicating the importance of medication adherence training programs in this group of patients.

The rise in morbid obesity has prompted the development of new bariatric surgery techniques, including the Single Anastomosis Sleeve Jejunal Bypass (SASJ). This study aimed to compare the effects of SASJ and conventional Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) on weight loss, biochemical markers, and comorbidities and to provide essential insightsfor tailored interventions.

In a multicenteric observational-analytical retrospective cohort study from January 2019 to January 2024 at Faghihi, Mother and Child and Abou Ali Sina hospitals in Shiraz, Southern Iran; 61 patients (32 underwent SASJ and 29 underwent SG) were enrolled to assess weight, anthropometric indices, lipid profile and metabolic outcome.

Both SASJ and SG groups showed significant reductions in mean body mass index (BMI) (p<0.001); a significant decrease in mean waist circumference [SASJ from 115.76±11.72 to 84.12±12.87 (p<0.001); SG from 126.68±10.44 to 98.95±11.37 (p<0.001)]. Significant improvements were noted in triglycerides and HDL cholesterol levels among both groups, while the SASJ group showed changes in LDL cholesterol too. Both SASJ and SG groups demonstrated a significant improvement in patients withtype II diabetes mellitus (p=0.017 and p=0.046, respectively).

Both procedures significantly could reduce weight and improve comorbidities; however, SASJ was shown to have more benefits, especially in reduction of waist circumference and improvement of lipid profile.

Amongst different therapeutic interventions, exercise can improve and control inflammatory and non-inflammatory diseases. This study investigated the effect of L-carnitine supplementation on serum levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-4, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), nitric oxide (NO), and blood pressure after resistance exercise in young men. Twenty male volunteers were selected by targeted sampling, and were randomly divided into an experimental (L-carnitine supplement) and a control (placebo) groups. The subjects participated in a session of resistance exercise after taking 2 g/day of L-carnitine or a placebo for two weeks. Blood pressure was measured and blood samples after fastingwere obtained in four stages of baseline, pre-exercise, immediately, and 24 hours post-exercise. Consumption of L-carnitine could significantly increase serum levels of L-carnitine, IL-4 levels and decrease IL-8 and TNFα levels in the experimental group in comparison to the control group. In the control group, a significant decrease in IL-4 level and an increase in TNFα level were observed. NO and IL-8 increased significantly in both groups immediately after exercise, and then decreased significantly in both groups 24 hours post-exercise. There were significant differences in IL-4, TNFα, and IL-8 levels between the groups at pre-exercise, immediately and 24 h post-exercise in favor of the experimental group, while no significant changes were seen in blood pressure between the groups. It is likely that 2 weeks of L-carnitine supplementation may prevent the increase of inflammation caused by acute resistance exercise.

Dietary habits have been suggested to play a role in incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC). The current study aimed to evaluate the relationship between dietary patterns (Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) and Dietary Quality Index International (DQI-I)) and CRC risk among Iranian population. This case-control study was performed in the CRC Surgery Department of Imam Khomeini Hospital enrolling simultaneously 71 participants with CRC as cases and 142 subjects without neoplastic and acute diseases from the same hospital as controls. Participants’ food intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Also, the scores of each of the dietary patterns (HEI-2015 and DQI-I) were classified into tertiles and analyzed. In the crude model, the odds of developing CRC in the third tertile was significantly lower than those in the first tertile of both HEI-2015 (Odds ratio (OR)=0.41; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.20-0.83) and DQI-I (OR=0.48; 95%CI=0.23-0.98). In the adjusted model, the odds of developing CRC was significantly lower in the last tertile of HEI-2015 (OR=0.37; 95%CI=0.17-0.80) and second (OR=0.45; 95%CI=0.20-0.99) and last tertile of DQI-I (OR=0.30; 95%CI=0.12-0.74) in comparison to the first tertile. A higher score of HEI-2015 and DQI-I was found to be significantly associated with a lower CRC risk. Further prospective studies in diverse populations are recommended to validate these findings.

Nutrition labeling is a health promotion strategy to improve nutrition information and help consumers make healthier food choices at the point of purchase. This study aimed to assess the association between knowledge of Nutritional Traffic Light Labels (NTLL) and food choicesin Shiraz, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 418 individuals were randomly selected from chain stores. Nutrition knowledge including general nutrition awareness and NTLL knowledge were assessed by a validated questionnaire. The participants’ purchase patterns were determined based on the color code of NTLL. Almost half of the participants (48.8%) had high levels of NTLL knowledge. Age of participants (p=0.012) and their level of education (p=0.003) were related to the NTLL knowledge. The findings revealed that males (p=0.037) and participants with a previous disease (p=0.029) had higher food basket score. However, no significant association wasobserved between the NTLL knowledge and food basket score. Despite the relatively good knowledge of participants on NTLL, the efficiency of using the labels was paradoxically low. In addition, having knowledge did not necessarily led to a successful performance in healthy food choices.

Tiri bread is one of the oldest known bread types in the Middle East. It is single layer, unleavened, soft, and flat traditional bread baked at home. Dry bread has a long shelf life if stored appropriately at room temperature, but a fresh bread gets moldy with off-flavor 3-4 days after baking. This study has assessed physicochemical properties and microbial storage stability of Tiri bread as traditional flat bread in Iran.

Twenty samples of fresh home-baked Tiri bread were examined for their physicochemical characteristics and shelf life stability at 4°C and 25°C. Their most common spoiling factors, morphological and molecular attributes were investigated. The breads were assumed unhealthy for consumption when the first sign of mold strains appeared.

The thickness (0.4-0.9 mm), water activity (0.82-0.90), moisture content (18.08-24.13%), salt content (1.59-3.24%), pH (5.75-5.95), and total titrable acidity (2.00-2.90 mL;0.1 N NaOH) were determined. The shelf life of fresh Tiri bread was 10 and 4 days at 4°C and 25°C, respectively. The main factors limiting the shelf life of these breads were appearance of mold as well as development of an off-odor. The most common isolated species were Aspergillus niger (31.38%), A. flavus (16.12%), A. tubingensis (15.12%), A. awamori (12.10%), A. ochraceus (10.14%), and Penicilliumcorylophilum (16.26%).

As some types of fungi produce harmful toxins which may trigger allergic reactions and can cause harmful infections, it is vital to set out principles concerning safety and health during production and storage of these breads to pay attention to the production and storage conditions of Tiri bread to inhibit mold growth.

MicroRNAs expressions that are known as Posttranscriptional repressors of gene expression in animals and plants have an important role in diabetic consequences and pathogenesis. This research aimed to investigate the expression of miR-34a, miR-126, and miR-125a-5p levels for diagnosis of diabetes, and the effect of α-L-guluronic acidand β-D-mannuronic acid supplementation on expression patterns of these MicroRNAs in diabetic rats.

Total MicroRNAs levels were measured by Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method. Body weight, fasting insulin level, food intake and Vitamin D level in four groups were also assessed after 4 weeks.

The analyses illustrate marked declines in expression of miR-126 (p=0.009) and miR-125a-5p (p=0.019) levels in the control diabetic group when compared to the control healthy group. Expression levels of miR-126 (p=0.026) and miR-125a-5p (p=0.041) were upregulated considerably in diabetic rats after treatment with β-D-mannuronic acid and α-L-guluronic acid, respectively.

These results suggest that use of miR-126 and 125a-5p is a sensible criterion for diagnosing diabetes. β-D-mannuronic acid is also considered a new therapeutic agent to correct disturbances in the MicroRNAs profile of diabetic rats.