Search

To investigate the cellular and apoptotic effects of food additive calcium propionate by in vitro methods.

Pseudothrombocytopenia (PTCP) can be an analytical error in the automatic blood cell count. Blood samples containing autoantibodies against platelets collected in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes can lead to platelet accumulation at room temperature. Agglutinated platelets are detected as larger cells using automated counters, which incorrectly leads to falsely low results. Hence, when a low platelet count is noted, PTCP must also be considered. In this study, we report a case of EDTA-dependent PTCP in a patient who has Hashimoto's thyroiditis with the current literature review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We evaluated ocular hemodynamic changes, malondialdehyde(MDA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in patients with IBD. Methods: We used ocular color Doppler ultrasonography to analyze 56 eyes with Crohn's disease (CD), 62 eyes with ulcerative colitis (UC), 68 eyes of healthy volunteers. We measured peak systolic velocity (PSV),end-diastolic velocity (EDV),and the resistivity index (RI) of ophthalmic artery (OA) and central retinal artery (CRA). MDA and VEGF levels were measured in the plasma samples. Results: MDA levels were significantly higher in both UC and CD patients, whereas VEGF levels were only higher in the CD group (p =.003,p <.001,p =.01).The PSV and EDV of the OA were significantly lower in CD patients (p =.017,p =.001). The EDV of the CRA was significantly lower in CD patients than UC patients and controls (p =.014,p <.001). Conclusions: CD patients exhibited decreased blood flow in both the OA and CRA. Ocular vascular flow was only affected in CD patients. We found that ocular ischemia may occur in CD patients even in the absence of any clinical finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The inflammatory mechanisms underpinning asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS) have not been fully elucidated. Here, we examined the levels of cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys-LTs), prostaglandin D2 (PG-D2), prostaglandin E2 (PG-E2), interleukin 5 (IL-5), and a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain (ADAM 33) in ACOS patients to determine the relationship between levels of these inflammatory markers and pulmonary functions. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from asthma, COPD, and ACOS patients who received combined therapy and were stable for the last month to measure cys-LTs, PG-D2, PG-E2, IL-5, and ADAM33 levels. Differences between groups and their correlations with pulmonary function tests were evaluated. Results: In total, 24 ACOS, 27 asthma, and 35 COPD patients were included.. PG-D2 levels were higher in ACOS (120.9 ± 117.2 ng/L) and asthma (119.6 ± 111.7 ng/L) patients than in COPD (82.6 ± 46.7 ng/L) patients (p = 0.036 and p = 0.038, respectively). In ACOS patients, PG-D2, cys-LTs, and ADAM33 levels were negatively correlated with FEV1/FVC% values (p = 0.021, p = 0.008, and p = 0.028, respectively). In COPD patients, a negative correlation was detected between PG-E2 and FEV1/FVC% (p = 0.007), whereas positive correlations were detected between IL-5 and pulmonary function tests, including FVC, FVC%, FEV1, FEV1%, FEF25-75, and FEF25-75% (p = 0.047, p = 0.005, p = 0.002, p = 0.002, p = 0.010, and p = 0.005, respectively). In asthma patients, cys-LTs levels were negatively correlated with FEV1 and FEF25-75 values (p = 0.045 and p = 0.037, respectively). Conclusions: PG-D2 levels may be a valuable biomarker to differentiate COPD in asthma and ACOS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Biochemistry / Turk Biyokimya Dergisi is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim The association of increased resistin levels in chronic kidney disease with diabetic nephropathy has not yet been clarified. Our aim was to analyze the relationship between serum resistin levels and various diabetic microvascular complications in patients. Methods A total of 83 patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The subjects were divided into 3 groups: 27 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) having no diabetic retinopathy (DRP) or microalbuminuria and having normal renal function were included in Group-1, 28 patients with T2DM having DRP and normal renal function in Group-2, and 28 patients with T2DM with DRP and microalbuminuria and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of<60 ml/min/1.73 m2 in Group-3. Serum resistin levels were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The mean age of the patients [46 female (55.4%)] was 54.8±9.1 years. The resistin level in Group-3 was significantly higher than in Group-1 and Group-2 (p<0.001).However the resistin level was not different between Group-1 (without microvascular complications) and Group-2 (with microvascular complications). The resistin level was found to be correlated negatively with eGFR (r=−0.459; p<0.001) and albumin (r=−0.402; p<0.001), and positively with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (r=0.366; p=0.001). In multivariate analysis, it was observed that eGFR and hs-CRP were independent determinants of plasma resistin level. Conclusion The main determinants of resistin level in patients with T2DM are the level of renal function and inflammation rather than presence of microvascular complications, obesity and insulin resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Biochemistry / Turk Biyokimya Dergisi is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: In this study, we investigated the correlation between coronary lesion complexity as characterized by syntax score (SS) with circulating adiponectin and adipocyte-fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP4) concentrations in the presence of stable coronary artery disease affecting three coronary vessels (three-vessel stable CAD). Methods: The study groups consisted of 41 control subjects (28 males and 13 females, non-CAD group) and 115 affected subjects (79 males and 36 females, three-vessel stable CAD group). We divided into tertiles the three-vessel stable CAD group according to SS and estimated circulating concentrations of adiponectin and A-FABP4. Results: We did not find any correlation between the coronary lesion complexity with either the adiponectin and/or A-FABP4. We found lower the A-FABP4 of the non-CAD group than those of the groups with three-vessel stable CAD (p<0.001). Adiponectin were lower in DM subjects (p<0.05 for each group); though A-FABP4 were found to be higher (p<0.05 for each group) according to non-DM subjects in intra-group comparisons. Conclusion: Adiponectin is not a suitable parameter for demonstrating the existence of CAD or predicting coronary lesion complexity. A-FABP4 is more useful for the proof of the presence of CAD but A-FABP4 are not correlated with the severity of CAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Recent studies showed high plasma homocysteine levels in patients treated with Levodopa for Parkinson's disease (PD). Homocysteine, due to its exotoxic effect, might be the cause of polyneuropathy seen in PD. In this study, our aim was to show the correlation between high concentration of plasma homocysteine levels and polyneuropathy associated with PD. Material and Methods: Forty-one patients with PD receiving levodopa treatment (patient group) and 30 healthy subjects (control group) were included in this study. We compared the two groups in terms of electrophysiological findings. Twelve patients had high plasma homocysteine levels and 29 of them had low plasma homocysteine levels. Results: Six of the 41 patients had sensorial polyneuropathy and decreased compound muscle action potantiel amplitude compared to controls. Two patients had high plasma homocysteine levels, two patients had nearly high plasma homocysteine levels, two patients had low plasma homocysteine levels who had sensorial polyneuropathy. Conclusion: Although in our study, we did not show any correlation between polyneuropathy and high plasma homocysteine levels, further studies including homogeneous groups of younger patients with PD are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]