Background: Abnormality in metabolism of lipids and hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for atherosclerosis which is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Several herbal drugs are used for the treatment of dyslipidemia. The present study investigates the effects of hydroalcoholic extracts of Senna extract on serum lipid profile among hyperlipidemic rats. Methods: Forty eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups of 8 animals, including group 1) normal pellet diet (control), group 2) high fat diet (HFD), group, 3) HFD with 100 mg/kg Senna extract treatment, group 4) HFD with 200 mg/kg Senna extract treatment, group 5) 100 mg/kg pure Senna extract, and group 6) 200 mg/kg pure Senna extract. All the dietary regimens and Senna extract treatments were continued for 30 days. At the end of the experiment, blood samples collected from heart of rats and the lipid profile levels were measured. Results: The results indicated that short-term treatment by hydroalcoholic of Senna extract produced a significant reduction in the level of cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-C (P < 0.05), as well as an increase in HDL-C. The body weight in the HFD group was significantly higher than the other groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Prescription of hydroalcoholic extracts of Senna is effective in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, and can inhibit the weight gain induced by HFD in rats. Some of these effects could be attributed to antioxidants activities, biological and pharmaceutical properties and other protective properties of the Senna extract requiring further investigations.

Background: The risk of bone fractures, particularly hip fractures is increasing in the elderly. One of the known factors for predicting fractures is body mass index (BMI) and abdominal obesity. Thus, this study aimed to determine the association between obesity (general and abdominal) with femoral and hip fractures according to gender and age. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 100 patients with femoral or hip fractures admitted to the orthopedic ward of Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital in Zahedan were selected between March 2018 and May 2019.  Waist circumference (WC), wrist circumference, BMI, and body size were measured. A P-value of <0.05 was considered as statistical significant. All the analyses were performed by SPSS software version 21. Results: The highest rate of hip fracture was observed in people aged over 70 years (61.9%, P < 0.01). The highest rate of hip and femoral fractures were observed in individuals with BMI < 23 kg/m2 (P < 0.001) and taller people (>167 cm) (P < 0.0001). The risk of fractures decreased with increasing WC (P < 0.01). Approximately half of those with hip fractures (52.4%) and femoral fractures (51.9%) had small size. Conclusion: On the basis of our findings, taller height, lower BMI and smaller body size have been suggested as potential contributions to the risk of femoral and hip fractures. It is suggested that abdominal fat may be protective against the risk of hip and femoral fractures at older ages, which requires further research.

Background: Diabetes and obesity are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Irisin is a newly recognized peptidic myokine with anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties. This study aims to investigate the relationship between serum irisin levels with cardiometabolic biomarkers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: In this comparative cross- sectional study, 80 T2DM patients and 80 control participants (adjusted by age, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity) referring to Bou Ali Hospital in Zahedan, Iran, were enrolled. Serum irisin concentrations, anthropometric, and biochemical parameters were assessed. Results: Serum irisin level was significantly lower in T2DM patients compared to control group. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that after adjustment for age, irisin was negatively associated with waist circumference (WC, P < 0.01) and waist to height ratio (WHtR, P < 0.01), homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR, P = 0.009), triglycerides (TG, P = 0.016), and positively associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c, P = 0.03) in diabetic patients. Conclusion: The findings suggest that irisin can be used as a marker for predicting of obesity-related cardiometabolic biomarkers, insulin resistance, and incidentT2DM.