Vanadium may or may not be a cholesterol-lowering agent. It could potentially be used as an additional therapy or alone in therapies for treatment of dyslipidemia. This study aimed to investigate the effect of vanadium on hypercholesterolemia in the presence and absence of statins. Sixty rats were divided into five groups. The first group was kept on a normal diet and the second group was kept on a high fat diet. The three remaining groups of rats were prepared for the treatment; one group received simvastatin, one was given vanadium, and the third group was tested with both. Blood samples from all groups were investigated. Body functions were considered a tool in expressing efficacy and toxicity for the three types of treatment and were compared with the control groups. Vanadium alone causes marked increases in cholesterol levels. When added to statins, all lipid values were negatively affected as compared to the statins-only treated group. Rats with high fat diets showed significant (P≤ 0.05) elevation in the levels of serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein concentration (LDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein concentration (VLDL-C) as compared to the control group. All generated data proved that vanadium is impracticable for treating dyslipidemia. Vanadium is not safe or efficient in therapies for lowering cholesterol and other lipid levels.

Background: Hemodialysis [HD] patients are more prone to blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B virus [HBV], hepatitis C virus [HCV] and to a lesser extent, Human Immunodeficiency Virus [HIV]. Chronic HBV and HCV infections are associated with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and early graft failure after kidney transplantation. As there was no recent information, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infection in HD patients in Fars province, southern Iran. This could help health policy makers to run more effective infection control practices for reducing such blood-borne virus infections if necessary. Method: This cross-sectional study was performed on 906 HD patients in Fars province, southern Iran. A total of 906 blood samples were obtained from patients and diagnostic tests of HBV, HCV and HIV were done. Demographic data and some other information such as duration of dialysis were extracted from the patients' medical records. Data were analyzed in SPSS, version 18. Result: Out of the patients enrolled in the study, 547 [60.4%] were male and 359 [39.6%] female. The mean ± SD age of the patients was 58.0 ± 15.8 years. The prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infection was 0.88%, 0.55% and 0.44% respectively. HIV-infected subjects were significantly younger than HIV-negative group [P <0.017]. Conclusion: It seems that Fars is among the provinces with low HBV and HCV prevalence in HD patients in comparison to other provinces of Iran. On the other hand, HIV prevalence here is higher than other provincial studies. Strict adherence to preventive infection control measures is recommended in HD centers.