Objectives An evaluation the effects of curcumin on inflammatory markers and lipid profiles among patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD). Methods The electronic databases such as PubMed, and Scopus were searched systematically up until 12 December 2021. To evaluate the quality of the included studies, the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials was utilized. Likewise, data pooling was performed using a random effects model, also called a variance components model. Also, the findings were calculated as weighted mean difference (WMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results In the end, this meta-analysis comprised a total number of nine studies. Curcumin intake significantly reduced total cholesterol (TC) (WMD=−13.77 mg/dL; 95% CI, −26.77, −0.77; p=0.04) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (WMD=−18.87 pg/mL; 95% CI, −28.36, −9.38; p<0.001) compared with controls. The results did not confirm the significant effect of curcumin intake on triglyceride (TG) (WMD=−6.37 mg/dL; 95% CI, −26.59, 13.85; p=0.54), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-C) (WMD=−5.65 mg/dL; 95% CI, −20.81, 9.50; p=0.46), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) (WMD=0.16 mg/dL; 95% CI, −2.55, 2.88; p=0.91), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (WMD=−0.13 mg/L; 95% CI, −3.25, 3.30; p=0.93). Conclusions Our study showed that curcumin significantly impacts TC and TNF levels in CKD patients.

Context: Pituitary adenomas are amongst the most common tumors with a low mortality rate compared to other intracranial malignancies. Delayed hyponatremia (DH) is a common finding after transsphenoidal resection (TSS), which is the basis for the management of these tumors. Although DH is one of the leading causes of readmission after TSS, no unified guidelines exist with regard to the prevention of this electrolyte disturbance. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate and compare existing preventive protocols for DH in order to identify and signify their common grounds. Methods: After a search in electronic databases, including PubMed (NCBI), Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar with the keywords of “pituitary adenoma,” “hyponatremia,” “transsphenoid surgery”, “water electrolyte balance,” “patient readmission", six original articles were included in the study. Results: We found that a protocol that both identifies groups susceptible to DH (males, older individuals, and those with a lower BMI) and consists of fluid restriction, sodium supplementation, and regular serum sodium monitoring could be utilized to prevent DH in patients with pituitary adenomas after TSS. Conclusions: Further studies with a larger sample size must be conducted to compare existing protocols for preventing DH and also investigate post-surgery optimal fluid-restricted diets and corticosteroid therapy in these patients.

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Background The involvement of the central nervous system is a frequent yet underestimated complication of diabetes mellitus. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) are a simple, sensitive, and noninvasive method for detecting early alterations in central optic pathways. The objective of this paralleled randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the impact of ozone therapy on visual pathways in diabetic patients. Methods Sixty patients with type 2 diabetes visiting clinics of Baqiyatallah university in Tehran (Iran) hospital were randomly assigned to two experimental groups: Group 1 (N = 30) undergoing a cycle of 20 sessions of systemic oxygen-ozone therapy in addition to standard therapy for metabolic control; Group 2 (N = 30)—serving as control—receiving only standard therapy against diabetes. The primary study endpoints were two VEP parameters; P100 wave latency and P100 amplitude at 3 months. Moreover, HbA1c levels were measured before the start of treatment and three months later as secondary study endpoint. Results All 60 patients completed the clinical trial. P100 latency significantly reduced at 3 months since baseline. No correlation was found between repeated measures of P100 wave latency and HbA1c (Pearson’s r = 0.169, p = 0.291). There was no significant difference between baseline values and repeated measures of P100 wave amplitude over time in either group. No adverse effects were recorded. Conclusions Ozone therapy improved the conduction of impulses in optic pathways of diabetic patients. The improved glycemic control following ozone therpay may not fully explain the reduction of P100 wave latency though; other mechanistic effects of ozone may be involved.

: Considering that there are different reports about the effects of angiotensin II type-I receptor blockers (ARB) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) on the outcomes of the patients with COVID-19, we aimed to conduct this retrospective study on 138 hypertensive patients (81 ACEI/ARB users) to assess the patients’ outcomes by comparing ACEI/ARB and non-ACEI/ARB users. Multivariate adjusted cox regression model, by considering the effect of other variables, demonstrated that increased age (HR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01 -1.07, P =0.003) and non- ACEI/ARB users (HR = 2.12 95% CI = 1.12 - 4.13, P = 0.021) were associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality in about one week follow-up. In conclusion, we found that in-hospital mortality was lower in ACEI/ARB users, showing the positive effect of these treatments on patients’ outcomes.