مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 726 (هفته دوم شهریور 1402)

Vitamin D and zinc play an essential role in growth and health of children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the vitamin D and zinc deficiency prevalence in adolescents in Mashhad.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 3380 adolescents in the age range of 10-19 years from October 2020 to September 2022. Vitamin D level was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography and zinc level was investigated by colorimetric technique. The studied subjects were divided into three groups in terms of vitamin D levels: deficiency: <10 ng/mL, insufficient levels: 10-30 ng/mL, normal levels: 30-100 ng/mL, and according to the amount of zinc, they are divided into two groups: deficiency: <60 µg/dL and normal: 60-120 µg/dL. The results were analyzed using chi-square and regression tests.

Out of 3380 adolescents, 69.1% were girls and 30.9% were boys. In studied adolescents, 11.4% had vitamin D deficiency, 51.9% had insufficient vitamin D, and 36.7% had normal vitamin D levels. Zinc deficiency was observed in 7.4% of the studied groups. The prevalence of vitamin D and zinc deficiency was higher in girl adolescents than in boy adolescents (P < 0.001). The results of the study showed that the low level of zinc in the studied adolescents is not a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency.

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in adolescents, especially girls, is high in the city of Mashhad. It is recommended to use enrich food and supplements to control malnutrition.

This study aimed to compare the tumor control probability (TCP) and the normal tissue complications probability (NTCP) of three-dimensional adaptive radiation therapy (3D-CRT) and tomotherapy for left pendular breast cancer using radiobiological models.

The current study was conducted on 20 patients with left pendular breast cancer who underwent treatment planning using the treatment planning system for 3D-CRT and tomotherapy. A prescribed dose of 50 Gy was implemented for the planning target volume (PTV) in both 3D-CRT and tomotherapy designs. The Equivalent Uniform Dose (EUD) of the Niemierko model was used to estimate the tumor control probability (TCP) and the normal tissue complications probability (NTCP).

According to the results, the average TCP values for 3D-CRT and tomotherapy plans were 99.07 ± 0.13 and 99.32 ± 0.09, respectively, which did not show a statistically significant difference. The NTCP values for the lung and heart were significantly lower in tomotherapy plans compared to 3D-CRT plans.

From a radiobiological point of view, the results showed that 3D-CRT resulted in a lower NTCP for the ipsilateral lung. In contrast, for TCP calculations, tomotherapy plans showed higher values compared to 3D-CRT plans.

The disturbance of the myelination process and myelin tissue destruction leads to central nervous system dysfunction. The neuroprotective role of lithium chloride in the treatment of neurological diseases has been proven. In the present study, the effects of lithium chloride in preventing the destruction of myelin tissue induced by cuprizone in the corpus callosum of the mouse brain were investigated.

In this study, 40 female C57BL/6 mice weighing 20-25 grams were randomly divided into four groups including control, sham, cuprizone and lithium chloride/cuprizone groups. The compound of lithium chloride was used intra peritoneally at a dose of 50 mg/kg daily. At the end of the study, in order to check the average myelin density and myelin gene expression, toluidine blue staining, immunohistochemistry and Real Time-PCR were used.

The results of immunohistochemistry and toluidine blue staining showed that, the density of myelin and the percentage of cells which expressing the Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) marker increased significantly in the group which receiving lithium compared to the cuprizone group. In addition, Real Time-PCR results showed that the use of lithium can increase myelin gene expression.

The results of the present study showed that neuroprotective factors, such as lithium chloride, have the ability to prevent the destruction of myelin tissue, and therefore, the use of this combination can be a suitable manner to prevent and reduce the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.