PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether any stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is associated with levels of plasma erythropoietin and other plasma parameters. METHODS: It was examined a representative sample of 180 type 2 diabetes patients aged 40 to 79 years. Ophthalmic examination including a funduscopic examination, performed by an experienced ophthalmologist and the retinal finding were classified according to the grading system for diabetic retinopathy of ETDRS (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study). It was measured the levels of plasma erythropoietin, cholesterol, triglyceride, apolipoproteins A and B, C-reactive protein, fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) in 88 DR patients and 92 controls without DR. Risk factors correlated with DR were compared between groups. RESULTS: The study group of 180 patients included 72 males and 108 females. The mean age of the patients with and without DR was 57.36 ± 8.87 years and 55.33 ± 8.28 years, respectively. Of the 88 patients with DR, only 9 (10%) had proliferative DR and the rest suffered from non-proliferative DR. The mean plasma levels of erythropoietin in proliferative DR group showed a significant difference in comparison to other groups. The mean plasma levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, apolipoproteins A and B, C-reactive protein, and fasting blood glucose were not significantly different in the three groups except for HbA1C. The absolute relative risk (ARR) also showed that erythropoietin was an increasing risk for proliferative DR (ARR, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.060 to 1.420; odds ratio,1.060). CONCLUSIONS: Of the factors studied, erythropoietin level showed significant increase in proliferative DR group. The stepwise raised in mean plasma erythropoietin level which demonstrates significant correlation with proliferative DR versus remaining two groups, will be an indication of its role in proliferative DR.
Adult ; Aged ; Blood Glucose/metabolism ; Cholesterol/blood ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications ; Diabetic Retinopathy/*blood/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Erythropoietin/*blood ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated/metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors

Oxidative stress maybe involved in the patho-etiology of menstrual-associated complications. Curcuminoids, are polyphenolic natural compounds that have potentially important functional activities. This triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was performed to investigate the effects of a curcuminoids on oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity in girls with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and dysmenorrhea.Eighty young girls with both PMS and dysmenorrhea were randomly given either curcuminoids (500 mg+5 mg piperine) or a placebo daily, for a period from 7 days pre- until 3 days post- initiation of menstrual bleeding for 3 successive menstrual cycles. The total antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging activity of serum and urine were quantified via ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods, respectively. There were no significant differences between the placebo and curcumin groups, with respect to the age, dietary intake and biochemical/anthropometric indices (p＞0.05). The curcumin treatment significantly increased the free-radical scavenging activity of serum compared to the treatment with placebo (p=0.031). Although, no significant changes were found in serum and urinary levels of FRAP, DPPH and MDA between the groups (p＞0.05). Curcumin treatment did increase free-radical scavenging activity and antioxidant potential in girls with PMS and dysmenorrhea. Investigations with higher doses and duration of curcumin are required to verify our findings.

AIM:To investigate the comparison of total antioxidant capacity in the serum of patients with pterygium and control subjects.METHODS:This case-control study was conducted on all persons referred to Ophthalmology Clinic of teaching Hospital of Vali-Asr (peace upon to him) with clinical symptoms of pterygium during the year 2016.The control group was selected among patients referred to the Ophthalmology Clinic of Vaii-Asr (peace without pterygium) that the two groups were matched in terms of age,gender and place of residence.Sixty-six persons [31 people (47％) in patient group and 35 people (53％) in the control group] were enrolled by convenience sampling.Venous blood sample was taken from all patients after the sampling using ferric reducing antioxidant power(FRAP);FRAP-as a quick 10min measurement,the antioxidant power measurement of samples according to the conversion of ferric iron (Fe3+) to ferrous iron (Fe2+) was checked.The collected data ware entered to software SPSS 21 and were analyzed by chi-square and MannWhitney tests at the level of α =0.05.RESULTS:The mean of antioxidant capacity in patients was 842.55 ± 161.46 μ mol/L and antioxidant capacity in healthy controls was 856.77±209.41 μ mol/L (P=0.8).In the comparison of mean serum antioxidant capacity in healthy individuals and in the serum of people with pterygium based on gender the results showed that the antioxidant capacity mean in male control subjects has been 894.05 ± 176.82 μmol/L and in females control 780.01±118.33 μmol/L that the observed difference have been reported statistically significant (P=0.008) but the other comparison according the gender between cases and control does not show any significant difference.CONCLUSION:The results of this study showed that the full level of serum antioxidant capacity in patients has been less than the mean of antioxidant capacity in control subjects,however the observed difference has not been significant.The results of this study were consistent with basic results carried out on the damaging effects of oxidative stress in the pterygium pathogenesis.Recommending diet with minerals and vitamins containing antioxidants may be preventing the onset and progression of pterygium.