No abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the major cause of joint pain and disability. This research was planned to examine the effects of Krocina™, aherbal medicine made of crocin, an ingredient of saffron, in patients with OA. Forty patients suffering from OA were enrolled in our study and randomly divided into two groups, receiving Krocina™ and placebo, and the clinical trial continued for four months.Peripheral blood was taken from all patients and the percentage ofvarious subsets of T cells in addition to the levels of forkhead box protein P3 (FOXP3) and interleukin (IL)-17 were measured by flow cytometry technique. The visualan alog scale (VAS) index analysis decreased significantly in both groups (krocinaTM and placebo) (p<0.05). Assessment of the C-reactive protein (CRP) level in serum showed a significant decrease in the krocinaTM group (p<0.05). Moreover, we found a meaningful increase in the percentage of regulatory T cells (Tregs)cellin samples gathered from Krocina™ group (P=0.02) patients. The mean percentages of T helper (Th) 17 cellsinthe Krocina™ group and CD8+ T cellsin the placebo group patients were also meaningfully reduced (p<0.05). The geometric mean fluorescence intensity (GMFI) for IL-17 showed a significant decrease and increase in Krocina™ and placebo groups, respectively (p<0.05). No noticeable difference was observed in the percentages of Th cells and GMFI-FOXP3 in either group. Treg/Th17 ratio was shifted towards Tregscell in Krocina™ group at the end of the intervention. It is concluded that Krocina™ has immunoregulatory effects on patients with OA, ameliorating the disease.

Background: inflammatory chemokines such as CCL2 and CCL5 are involved in the progress of osteoarthritis. Crocin with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA). This study was performed investigate the effect of Krocina™, on the gene expressions and plasma levels of CCL2 and CCL5 in OA patients . Methods: The study included 35 patients that were randomized in the Krocina TM and placebo groups . The intervention was Krocina™ 15 mg daily for four months. Clinical and paraclinical parameters were measured. CCL2 and CCL5 genes expression and plasma levels were determined using the SYBR Green Real-Time RT-PCR and Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) techniques. Results:The C-reactive protein (CRP) value in the Krocina TM group and the visual analogue scale (VAS) value in the Krocina TM and placebo groups decreased significantly after the intervention. The gene expression of CCL2 in the Krocina TM and placebo groups decreased significantly. On the contrary, the gene expression of CCL5 in the Krocina TM and placebo groups increased significantly. Moreover, the plasma levels of CCL2 in the Krocina TM and placebo groups decreased meaningfully. There was no difference regarding the plasma levels of CCL5 within the Krocina™ and placebo groups before and after the intervention in either of the groups. Conclusions: Administration of Krocina™ reduced the clinical signs of inflammation and CRP and VAS value. Also, Krocina™ significantly decreased the plasma levels and gene expression of CCL2 in osteoarthritis patients.

It has been reported that patients with arthritis, osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, brain ischemia, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) suffer from pro-inflammatory and oxidant related responses. Therefore, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant therapies are used to improve the quality of life of the patients. Saffron is a herbal drug that has immunomodulatory and antioxidant properties. Hence, Saffron and its components have been proposed as therapeutic agents for the treatment of the diseases. Therefore, this review article was designed to collect recent information regarding the effects of saffron and its components on the amelioration of the inflammatory symptoms in the autoimmune and non-autoimmune diseases and anti-cancerous effects from 1999 up to now via searching the Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases. Due to fact that several investigations have reviewed the roles played by Saffron on autoimmune and non-autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, mood disorders, and Alzheimer's disease, this review article focuses on other diseases to keep the novelty of the present review for readers.

A set of fungal (candida (c.) albicans), bacterial and parasitic agents have a role in the incidence of Vulvovaginitis infectious form. To investigate Candida species incidence in east Iran, sixty-five Vulvovaginitis patients (20-50 years old) entered the study. Vaginal specimens were obtained and cultured. The PCR was performed to expand the ITS1-5.8s-ITS2 rDNA gene regions. Of the whole patients, 64% with c. albicans showed moderate and 36% severe symptoms. In non-albicans groups, 60% were moderate and 40% had severe symptoms. In the negative group, 28.6% were mild, 68.6% had moderate, and 2.8% had severe symptoms. Individuals under a diploma were the most frequent of the education level. 56% of the c. albicans group, and 40% of the non-albicans groups had taken fluconazole. 20% of the non-albicans groups also had taken azithromycin. 40% had not any taken. In sum, 2.9% had taken azithromycin, and 2.9% also two drugs of the azithromycin-metronidazole in the negative group. In sum, in the negative group, 2.9% were azithromycin, 2.9% the azithromycin-metronidazole, and 94.3% were without a history of antibiotic takes. 56% of the c. albicans and 40% non-albicans also were with a history of fluconazole takes (P<0.005). 60% of the albicans and 2.9% of the negative groups had relapses. After the PCR-RFLP technique, 13.4% of isolates were identified as c. dublinensis and 86.95% as c. albicans. In the end, c. albicans and then glabrata was introduced as the most common species. The incidence rate of albicans species also was higher than the other studies.