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Statins, widely used antihyperlipidemic drugs, also have immunomodulatory properties independent from their lipid lowering effect. Even with slight modulations in the immune system, pteridine levels can display changes. The effect of statins on pteridines and related pathways has been demonstrated in a limited number of studies. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible changes in neopterin and folate levels, and tryptophan (Trp) degradation in hyperlipidemic patients. Patients who were admitted to the cardiology clinic were randomly grouped if they were having statin treatment (n=69) or not (n=36). Serum Trp and kynurenine (Kyn), erythrocyte folate, and urinary neopterin levels were measured. It was found that urinary neopterin levels were significantly higher in patients on statin treatment (p0.05). The correlation of the measured parameters was also evaluated and neopterin, folate and tryptophan degradation were found to be positively correlated. According to the results, neopterin levels, folate status and Trp degradation were altered in patients with statin treatment in comparison with the patients not receiving statin therapy. In order to point out the direct effect of statins on pteridines, further studies presenting both pre- and post-statin treatment of these parameters are needed.

Increased neopterin concentrations and altered tryptophan degradation are observed in diseases concomitant with cellular immune activation. This may be involved in the pathogenesis of several age-related disorders such as neurodegenerative disorders, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular system disorders and malignancies. Therefore, in the present study, the evaluation of immune system activation by determination of tryptophan degradation and serum neopterin levels was carried out in volunteers aged ≥65 and 0.05). Effects of gender, smoking habit, pathology and drug use on measured parameters were also evaluated. In conclusion, our findings show that aging is associated with immune activation, and immune activation may be induced by the number of existing pathologies as well as the number of drugs used.

Copyright of Academic Food Journal / Akademik GIDA is the property of Sidas Medya Ajans Tanitim Danismanlik Ltd. Sti 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.)

Today it is known that neopterin is mainly produced by activated macrophages and a marker of immune activation and macrophage activity. Increased neopterin concentrations are observed in diseases related to cellular immunity including occupational pathologies.

It has been claimed that inhalational anesthetics affect many phases of immune response. Although, there are a lot of studies on the effects of widely used anaesthetic agents and methods on the immune system, there are only a few studies to show the effects by evaluation of neopterin concentrations as an important marker of cellular immunity. This study was done to evaluate possible effects of inhalation anesthetics, such as desflurane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane on the immune system by measuring urinary neopterin concentrations in patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The study is randomized, prospective and double blind. Urinary neopterin was measured in patients submitted to general anesthesia with either desflurane (n = 20) or isoflurane (n = 11), or sevoflurane (n = 13) in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Urine samples were collected preoperatively, at 2nd and 24th hours post-operatively and the neopterin per creatinine concentrations were measured by using high-performance liquid chromatography.

The profiles of unconjugated pteridines such as neopterin and biopterin and of tryptophan metabolism change in many pathologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, malignancies and autoimmune diseases and are related to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, studies on potential effects of drugs are very limited. This study investigates whether meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, may cause any alteration of the pteridine pathway and tryptophan metabolism in 22 patients who admitted to the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine outpatient clinic in the Hacettepe University Hospital and suffering from various musculoskeletal pain conditions without systemic inflammation. Urine concentrations of neopterin, biopterin and xanthopterin, and serum concentrations of neopterin, tryptophan, and kynurenine, and the activity of dihydropteridine reductase were measured at the beginning of the therapy and after a 15 days treatment with meloxicam. Average urine concentrations (± S.E.M.) of pterins before therapy (neopterin: 263 ± 15.6 μmol/mol creatinine, biopterin: 72.4 ± 13.4 μmol/mol creatinine, and xanthopterin: 675 ± 93.0 μmol/mol creatinine) were not changed during meloxicam therapy (neopterin: 230 ± 30.7 μmol/mol creatinine = 88% of baseline, biopterin 115 ± 26.5 μmol /mol creatinine = 159% of baseline, and xanthopterin 684 ± 88.0 μmol/mol creatinine = 101% of baseline; all differences not significant). The activity of dihydropteridine reductase was 6.02 ± 0.21 nmol/cytochrome C reduced/min/5 mm disc before and 6.28 ± 0.18 nmol/cytochrome C reduced/min/5 mm after treatment (= 104% of baseline; p = 0.088). Serum concentrations of neopterin 6.04 ± 0.33 nmol/L before treatment increased to 6.89 ± 0.48 nmol/L after treatment (= 114% of baseline; p

Pteridines are natural heterocyclic compounds and they are generally divided into two main groups which are denominated as conjugated and unconjugated pteridines. Conjugated pteridines are the folate derivatives containing p-aminobenzoate and glutamate. Folate is a normal component of the cell. Folate derivatives play a crucial role in important biochemical pathways such as purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis, conversion of serine to glycine, histidine catabolism, methionine synthesis and detoxification reactions of certain xenobiotics, in which single carbon transfer is required. Folate deficiency has been proven to play a role in the pathogenesis of certain diseases. Additionally, exposure to some xenobiotics and prolonged use of some drugs may lead to folate deficiency. Serum, plasma and especially erythrocyte folate concentrations are generally used as biomarkers of folate pool. Therefore the present study was undertaken to establish an easy applicable, economic, accurate, sensitive, specific and reproducible microbiological method by using L. rhamnosus in our laboratory. Following the establishment of the method its application was carried out in blood samples of 46 volunteers. Mean value of folate levels in erythrocyte were found 359.7 ± 133.3 ng/ml, while mean plasma folate levels were determined 27.3 ± 12.4 ng/ml. In erythrocyte, the average recovery was 103.0 ± 17.7% (mean ±SD), in plasma the average recovery was 101.0 ± 1.7% (mean ±SD) for folinic acid concentrations at 10, 25 and 50 ng/ml. The CVs were 15.1 ± 5.6% (mean ± SD) for within-run and 7.2 ± 3.9% (mean ± SD) for between-run precisions. In the present study, a modified microbiological method for folate analysis which can be applied to biological material, has been established.

Periodontal disease results from the interaction of the host defence mechanisms with the microbial dental plaque. Analysis of gingival crevicular Huid (GCF) provides a non-invasive means of evaluating the role of the host response in periodontal disease. Based on our previous study, demonstrating increased levels of neopterin in GCF and saliva from patients with aggressive periodontitis (AgP), the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of periodontal treatment on the levels of neopterin in GCF, saliva and urine of patients with AgP.

Folate supplementation is becoming increasingly popular not only to decrease homocystein, a long with the finding that moderate hyperhomocysteinaemia is a cardiovascular risk factor but also diminish some other risks related to folate depletion. The aim of the study was to investigate whether folic acid supplementation leads to behavioural and electrophysiological changes in rats. Therefore, 30 male Wistar rats were divided to three groups. Each of animal groups was consisted of 10 animals. Folic acid was applied to rats by gavage for 8 weeks. Group I as a control group was taking folic acid-free water by gavage throughout the duration of the experiment. Groups II and III were treated with 2.0 mg/kg/day and 20.0 mg/kg/day of folic acid, respectively. Behavioural effects were evaluated by open field motor activity and by acoustic startle response. Electrophysiological examination was done by recording spontaneous activity and sensory evoked potentials from the visual, somatosensory, as weil as auditory cortex. No significant effects on motor activity or acoustic startle response were observed. Both doses of folic acid shortened the latency of the visual cortical evoked potential (p

Copyright of Archives of Industrial Hygiene & Toxicology / Arhiv za Higijenu Rada I Toksikologiju is the property of Sciendo 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: To investigate whether lipid and protein oxidation products are elevated and correlated with routine clinical markers of hepatic and renal function in patients anesthetized with halothane, isoflurane, or sevoflurane. Methods: Urine and blood samples were collected from patient groups. Excretion of aldehydes, acetone, and o,o'-dityrosine was measured before and after anesthesia. Blood samples were analysed for clinical markers. Results: Urinary concentrations of aldehydes, acetone, o,o'-dityrosine and glucose were significantly increased after anesthesia in halothane and sevoflurane groups earlier than clinical markers. Significant correlations were found in sevoflurane group. Conclusion: Lipid and protein oxidation contributes to subclinical sevoflurane nephrotoxicity. Oxidation products may serve as early biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the in vivo effects of ochratoxin A (OTA) and/or lycopene on the levels of selenium, zinc, and copper in the liver, kidneys, and testes of male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were treated with OTA (0.5 mg kg-1 day-1) and/or lycopene (5 mg kg-1 day-1) by gavage for 7 or 14 days. Trace element levels were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. OTA significantly lowered selenium (20 % in the liver, 17 % in the kidney, and 40 % in the testis), zinc (24 % in the liver, 23 % in the kidney, and 26 % in the testis), and copper levels (40 % in the liver and 10 % in the kidney). Lycopene alone did not affect the trace element levels in any of the organs. In combination with OTA, however, it significantly restored liver, kidney, and testis selenium and zinc levels compared to the group treated with OTA alone. Our results have confirmed that depletion of trace elements in different organs is one of the mechanisms of action of OTA. They also suggest that lycopene interferes with this depleting effect and restores trace element levels, the implications of which need to be further investigated.

Background: Liver is one of the most important organs affected by exercise. According to the literature a few study to date has investigated the effects of estrogen supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress in liver tissue of rats., Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effects of estrogen supplementation on oxidative stress markers in liver tissue of exercised rats., Materials and Methods: Male rats (n = 35) were divided as estrogen supplemented (n = 18) and non-supplemented groups (n = 17); these groups were further divided as rest and eccentric exercised groups. Eccentric exercise groups were further divided as rats killed after 1 hour and 48 hours of eccentric exercise. Estrogen (10 mg/kg) was administered subcutaneously for 30 days. Eccentric exercise was applied as treadmill run (15° downhill, 20 m/min) consisting of periods of "5 min" run and 2 min rest repeated 18 times. The rat liver was examined biochemically and histologically. Activities of GST, GSH-Px, CAT, SOD and MDA concentration were also measured spectrophotometrically., Results: Some disruptions were detected in experimental groups compared with the control group. Additionally, exercise training caused an increase in SOD and decrease in GSH-Px activities in some experimental groups. SOD activities increased significantly in group 3 (Estrogen (-), eccentric exercise (+) killed (after 1 h), compared with group 5 (Estrogen (-), eccentric exercise (+) killed (after 48 h). On the other hand, GSH-Px activities were also significantly decreased in groups 3, 4 and 5 compared with the control group. Leukocyte infiltration in liver increased after 48 hours compared with after 1 hour and estrogen supplementation was not able to prevent this infiltration., Conclusions: Estrogen seemed to be not very effective to prevent eccentric exercise-induced liver damage.

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the morphometric and histopathologic changes associated with experimental periodontitis in rats in response to systemic administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC)., Methods: Forty-three Wistar rats were divided into five experimental groups: non-ligated (NL) group (n = 10), ligature only (LO) group (n = 10), and groups that were administered NAC systemically (7, 35, or 70 mg/kg body weight per day [NAC7, NAC35, and NAC70 groups, respectively]; n = 8, 9, and 6). Silk ligatures were placed at the gingival margin of the lower first molars in a mandibular quadrant. The study duration was 11 days, and the animals were sacrificed at the end of this period. Changes in alveolar bone levels were measured clinically and tissues were histopathologically examined to assess the differences among the study groups., Results: At the end of 11 days, the alveolar bone loss was significantly higher in the LO group compared to NL, NAC7, NAC35, and NAC70 groups (P <0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the osteoclast numbers among the study groups (P >0.05), whereas the effect of NAC was dose-dependent., Conclusion: NAC prevented alveolar bone loss in the rat model, in a dose-dependent manner, when administered systemically.