Objective: Fordyce's granules present as multiple yellowish white or white papules which can be seen within oral mucosa especially buccal mucosa and upper lip. They are ectopic sebaceous gland covered by epithelium. This condition is seen in approximately 82% of the population. Fordyce's granules can be diagnosed clinically and no biopsy is usually required. The main objective of this research was to compare blood cholesterol and triglycerides levels in subjects with Fordyce's granules and the ones without Fordyce's granules.Subjects and Methods: In this case-control study 98 samples were allocated into two group: group A, included 50 subjects (45 males and 5 Females) with Fordyce's granules and group B, included 48 subjects (38 males and 10 females) without Fordyce's granules. Blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels were measured in both of groups. The results were analyzed by t-test.Results: The results showed that there was no significant difference in blood triglycerides and cholesterol levels in both groups.Conclusion: The finding of this study suggest that Fordyce's granules are only ectopic sebaceous glands with normal anatomical variations and their presence or absence has no relationship with the diagnostic index for increased blood triglycerides and cholesterol.

Background and Objectives: Ostrich oil is a valuable source for use as edible oil in the food industry and production of cosmetic products due to its high nutrients and contents of essential fatty acids. However, the quality of ostrich oil is important for use in products containing this oil. Materials and Methods: In methods of this study, ostrich oil in liquid and solid phases was first extracted from tallow by wet melting. Then, their physicochemical characteristics including iodine number, moisture, hexane residue, peroxide value, volatile matter, saponification number, un-saponifiable matter, stability, acidity, melting point, smoke point, refractive index, specific weight, quantity of α-tocopherol (vitamin E) were assessed. In addition, fatty acid composition and triglyceride content were assessed. All experiments in this study were carried out in triplicate based on valid methods. The means were compared with independent sample T test (P ≤ 0.05). Results: Results of peroxide value and free fatty acid tests showed efficiency of the fat extraction method. Results also showed that this oil contained high quantities of α-tocopherol that can protect the oil against oxidation and its most important fatty acid is oleic acid (36.99 mg ml-1 in liquid oil and 37.40 mg g-1 in solid oil. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, ostrich oil with high contents of unsaturated fatty acids, acidity, melting point and smoke point, makes it appropriate for introduction and use in the food industry (production of frying products due to its appropriate smoke point and high-fat products due to its high antioxidant content). Therefore, use and consumption of this oil as edible human oil is recommended.

Drug addiction is one of the most important problems of the present age and one of the four major crises destroying millions of lives and devastating huge national wealth. It is commonly believed, among those suffering from CVD and diabetes, that opium affects blood sugar and fat and reduces the risk of CVD and diabetes. We carried out this study to test this commonly-believed assumption. 100 drug - dependent and 100 drug-independent subjects were studied for their fasting blood sugar and triglyceride. Both groups were homogeneous as for age, height and weight; those with history of CVD, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and other chronic diseases were excluded from the study. Drug-dependence was determined through morphine quick test. Findings revealed a significant difference in the rate of blood sugar in cases (94.76) and controls (106.31).Also, the difference of cholesterol level in case and control groups (162.4VS.   185.1)was found to be significant. However, no significant relationship was found between the two groups as for their triglyceride level. Therefore, we recommend further extensive studies as there are no generalizable findings proving the effect of morphine on the reduction of blood sugar and triglyceride.

Introduction: Genetic load may indirectly influence on cardiovascular risk. This work aimed to analyze the influence of polymorphisms (APOA5 C56G‑ Ser19Trp, Prothrombin‑ G20210A, F5 Arg506Gln, MTHFR‑ C677T, LIPC‑ C‑ 514T, LPA‑ I4300M, PPAR_ALPHA‑ L162V, APOA5‑ 1131T > C, APOE‑ APOE2/3/4, and APOE‑ APOE2, 3, 4) in plasma triglyceride (TG) levels of patients ingesting plant sterols. Materials and Methods: Double‑ blind, crossover, controlled clinical trial was performed in 45 individuals (25 women). About 2. 24 g sterols in milk and placebo milk were ingested daily during 3 weeks each, separated by a 2‑ week washout period. Blood draws and saliva genomic DNA was extracted. Results: APOA5‑ C56G‑ Ser19Trp, MTHFR‑ C677T, and PPAR_ALPHA‑ L162V greatly benefit from sterols intake. APOA5‑ C56G‑ Ser19Trp GG homozygous carriers lowered their TGs more than CG heterozygote carriers (P = 0. 003). TT homozygous carriers of gene LIPC C‑ 514T experienced an increase of TGs. Conclusions: Further studies are needed to establish which genotype combinations is the most protective against hypertriglyceridemia.

Dear Editor, The current scientific literature states that Intralipid 10% emulsion has a higher ratio of phospholipids to triglycerides, and contains more lypozomal phospholipids as compared to Intralipid 20% and Intralipid 30%, so it causes higher plasma concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol and phospholipids.