The relationship between anaemia and cognitive function was evaluated among 35 Chinese elderly (24 men and 11 women) aged 60 to 85 years (mean age 70.1 ± 6.7 years) from five old folks homes in Klang Valley. They were interviewed to obtain information on social and health status, habitual dietary intake and cognitive function. Hodkinson's Abbreviated Mental Test was used to measure the cognitive function. Haematological indices which included Full Blood Count (FBC), serum iron, serum ferritin, Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC), serum folate and serum cobalamine (vitamin B12) were measured using an automated analyzer. Anthropometric measurements and clinical signs of anaemia were also examined. The findings indicated that the prevalence of anaemia as assessed using haemoglobin alone was 22.9%, while iron deficiency anaemia based on low serum iron, microcytic and hypochromic criterion was detected among 5.7% of the sample. Subclinical folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies were diagnosed among 34.3% and 8.6% of the subjects. However, there was no occurrence of megaloblastic anaemia. There was a positive correlation between cognitive score with mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) (r=0.547, p
This study was conducted to evaluate the oxidative damage in diabetic mellitus induced rats. The evaluation of DNA damage was carried out by the Alkaline Comet Assay using peripheral lymphocyte cells taken from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (50 mg/kg) and control rats. The levels of malondealdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c were also measured. All the induced diabetic rats were hyperglycemic until the end of the study with significantly higher levels of FBG and HbA1c as compared to the control rats. The results showed the percentage of tail DNA and tail moment values were also significantly higher in the diabetic induced rats. The same observations were made on the levels of plasma MDA and 4-HNE. In conclusion, this study indicated that hyperglycemic condition in diabetic induced rats could generate oxidative DNA damage.
In this study, the effects of palm vitamin E (PV) supplementation on glycemic control and lipid profile in diabetic-induce Sprague-Dawley rats have been evaluated. Diabetes in the rats was induced by a single intravenous streptozotocin (50 mg/kg body weight). The diabetic rats were divided into two groups; supplemented with 200 mg/kg body weight/day of PV and non-supplemented with PV (No PV group). Non-diabetic rats (NDM) formed the control group and only received saline injection. After eight weeks of daily supplementation, PV significantly lowered the fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels (p