No abstract

Our findings indicate an inverse association between a Western dietary pattern and serum adiponectin levels but not for serum leptin or L/A ratio.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases all over the world. Early screening and start of chemotherapy is effective in decreasing mortality. This type of cancer can be controlled to some extent via a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables. Ginseng is a plant which has been consumed as a herbal medicine for thousands of years in Asian countries. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that this plant not only reduces the incidence of colorectal cancer, but also improves patient's status by enhancing the effects of chemotherapy drugs. However, further studies are needed to prove this relationship. We briefly review ginseng and its components such as ginsenosides reported anticancer effects and their mechanisms of action. Understanding these relationships may produce insights into chemical and pharmacological approaches for enhancing the chemo preventive effects of ginsenosides and for developing novel anticancer agents.

Background: Oral and dental problems are preventable with regular examinations. Among the barriers to utilizing health services, lack of financial resources is too important. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the type of insurance of 7-12 year old children and their dental health status in Tehran. Materials and methods:In this study 456 students were selected from 10 schools in 5 districts of Tehran. The study was conducted on 4 groups of health insurance: Medical services insurance fund (MSIF), social security insurance organization (SSIO), military insurance and supplemental insurance. At the first visit the questionnaires were given to the students and completed by the parents. At the next visit, the children were examined and dft (decayed, filled primary teeth) and DMFT (Decayed, Missing, Filled permanent teeth) indices were recorded. Then the relationship between insurance type and these indices were investigated using One-way ANOVA and Tukey. Results:The d and f indices in the primary teeth were correlated with the type of insurance respectively p<0.001, p=0.003; but there was not significant relation between dft index and any of the insurance groups (p=0.582). F and DMFT indices in permanent teeth were correlated with type of insurance (p = 0.035 and p <0.001, respectively) but no significant difference was found between D index and insurance groups (p = 0.504). No significant difference was observed in the number of fissure sealants in the four insurance groups (p = 0.094) but in the number of SSCs there was a significant difference (p <0.001) and in the military insurance was more than the other three insurances.Conclusion: Type of the insurances of primary school students in Tehran has impact on their dental health.

Objective: Leptin/adiponectin (L/A) ratio is considered a predicting factor of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its related morbidities. In the present study, we determined the association of serum L/A ratio with MetS parameters in apparently healthy Iranian adults. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 apparently healthy adults aged 25 to 50 years, who were selected by random sampling from different medical centers of Tabriz city, Iran. Our criteria for being a healthy individual were based on self-report of the participants. Anthropometric measures, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and lipid profile, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and fasting serum L/A levels were measured. Results: There were significant differences (p<0.05) in weight, height, waist circumference (WC), SBP, triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), serum leptin concentration, and L/A ratio between males and females. Univariate linear regression model revealed a significant positive association of serum leptin concentration with WC (p=0.024) and FBS (p=0.046). A similar result was obtained using the multiple regression model after adjusting for confounding factors (p<0.001 and p=0.045). A significant positive correlation was found between the L/A ratio and WC (p=0.010) in the adjusted model. However, no significant association was observed between adiponectin and MetS indices. Conclusion: Our findings indicated a significant positive association of serum leptin concentration with WC and FBS and between L/A ratio and WC in apparently healthy adults. Therefore, compared to adiponectin, leptin, and L/A ratio could be useful predictors of MetS.