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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the osteoprotegerin (OPG), receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), oxidant, and antioxidant status in untreated active pulmonary tuberculosis patients (PTB). Serum was obtained from 42 patients with different forms of untreated active PTB and 41 healthy subjects, as the control group. The serum levels of OPG, RANKL, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and the lipid profiles were determined using standard methods. Patients with PTB were detected to have significantly higher plasma MDA, TNFα, OPG, and RANKL levels, and lower TAC levels, when compared to the healthy controls(p

BACKGROUND Pregnancy Associated Osteoporosis (PAO) can lead to serious difficulties such as fragility fractures, elongated back pain and height loss in affected women. Soluble Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-Kappa B ligand (sRANKL) to Osteoprotegerin (OPG) ratio is chosen as a bone metabolism equation in many bone diseases characterized by bone resorption, such as post-menopausal osteoporosis and would be modified with folic acid supplementation. This study was done to compare the effects of high dose (5mg/day) and low dose (0.5 mg/day) folic acid in the RANKL/OPG ratio and Tumor Necrosis Factorα (TNFα) concentration during pregnancy. METHODS Forty-five pregnant women who visited the AL-Zahra Hospital, Tabriz Iran, from September 2013 to November 2014 were assigned into two groups in this randomized, double-blind, clinical trial, included women who took 5 mg/day (group1) and who took 0.5 mg/day (Group 2) folic acid supplementation before pregnancy until 36th pregnancy. The biochemical variables in serum of pregnant women were measured before and at the end of the study. The study was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) as ID, IRCT2013122315903N1. RESULTS OPG levels were significantly higher compared with the baseline value (P=0.008), although sRANKL (P

Malnutrition, anemia and increased atherosclerosis are the main causes of mortality in hemodialysis patients. Therapies designed to improve the disorders might therefore be expected to improve outcome. The effects of Nandrolone Decanoate (ND), in 64 stable hemodialysis patients, were studied with respect to the following parameters: nutritional status, hematological indexes, lipid profiles including serum levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] in terms of differences in apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)]. The patients were treated with ND at dose of 100 mg/I.M./week for 4 months. After 2 and 4 months of treatment the elevations in the serum levels of albumin (p 30 mg/dl) than those of with low Lp(a) (