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Mechanical stress determines bone mass and structure. It is not known whether mechanical loading affects expression of bone regulatory genes in a combined deficiency of estrogen and vitamin D. We studied the effect of mechanical loading on the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of bone regulatory genes during vitamin D and/or estrogen deficiency. We performed a single bout in vivo axial loading with 14 N peak load, 2 Hz frequency and 360 cycles in right ulnae of nineteen weeks old female control Wistar rats with or without ovariectomy (OVX), vitamin D deficiency and the combination of OVX and vitamin D deficiency (N = 10/group). Total bone RNA was isolated 6 hours after loading, and mRNA expression was detected of Mepe, Fgf23, Dmp1, Phex, Sost, Col1a1, Cyp27b1, Vdr, and Esr1. Serum levels of 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)2D and estradiol were also measured at this time point. The effect of loading, vitamin D and estrogen deficiency and their interaction on bone gene expression was tested using a mixed effect model analysis. Mechanical loading significantly increased the mRNA expression of Mepe, and Sost, whereas it decreased the mRNA expression of Fgf23 and Esr1. Mechanical loading showed a significant interaction with vitamin D deficiency with regard to mRNA expression of Vdr and Esr1. Mechanical loading affected gene expression of Mepe, Fgf23, Sost, and Esr1 independently of vitamin D or estrogen, indicating that mechanical loading may affect bone turnover even during vitamin D deficiency and after menopause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Zinc deficiency is a major public health problem in many developing countries including Nepal. The present study was designed to assess the prevalence of zinc deficiency and to study the association of zinc deficiency with anthropometric and socio-demographic variables, in school children of Eastern Nepal. Methods This cross-sectional study included total 125 school children of age group 6-12 years from Sunsari and Dhankuta districts of eastern Nepal. Plasma zinc level was estimated by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Results The Median interquartile range (IQR) values of zinc in the two districts Sunsari and Dhankuta were 5.9 (4.4, 7.9) μmol/L and 5.8 (4.3, 8.4) μmol/L respectively. A total of 55 children (87.3%) in Sunsari and 52 (83.9%) in Dhankuta had zinc deficiency, no significant difference was observed in the Median (IQR) plasma zinc levels (p = 0.9) and zinc deficiency patterns (p = 0.3) of the two districts. Significant differences were observed in the plasma zinc levels (p = 0.02) and zinc deficiency patterns (p = 0.001), of the school children having age groups 6-8 years than in 9-10 and 11-12 years of age, and zinc deficiency patterns between male and female school children (p = 0.04) respectively. Conclusions The present study showed higher prevalence of zinc deficiency among school children in eastern Nepal. In our study, zinc deficiency was associated with both sex and age. The findings from the present study will help to populate data for policy implementation regarding consumption and supplementation of zinc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microalbuminuria in hypertension has been described as an early sign of kidney damage and a predictor for end stage renal disease and cardiovascular disease. Thus, it is of great importance to study urinary albumin creatinine ratio and progression of kidney disease in hypertensive patients. Aims: The present study was undertaken to find out the prevalence and association of microalbuminuria in newly diagnosed essential hypertension. Materials and Methods: Newly diagnosed essential hypertensive cases (n = 106) and normotensive controls (n = 106) were enrolled. Hypertension was defined according to Joint national committee-VII definitions. Microalbuminuria was measured using an U-Albumin (NycoCard, Norway) and adjusted for urine creatinine. Descriptive statistics and testing of hypothesis were used for the analysis using SPSS 16 software. Results: 51.88% of hypertension cases and 13.2% of normotensive controls had microalbuminuria in total population (odds ratio 7.086, P-value <0.001). 46.67% of cases and 12.08% of controls had microalbuminuria in male population (odds ratio 6.375, P-value <0.001). Similarly, 58.7% of cases and 14.58% of controls had microalbuminuria in female population (odds ratio 8.32, P-value <0.001). Conclusions: By showing strong association between microalbuminuria and hypertension, our findings suggest that microalbuminuria could be a useful marker to assess risk management of cardiovascular disease and renal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]