The aim of the study was the evaluation of the plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) in persons with the neoplastic disease: colorectal or breast cancer in the relation to the smoking habit.the cancer group: 72 persons with the colorectal (n=30) or breast cancer (n=42), the control group: 62 healthy persons. In cancer group 16 persons were smokers, in the control group also 16 persons were smokers. The plasma total antioxidant status was measured by colorimetric method with the use of Randox Total Antioxidant Status (TAS) kit.in the control group TAS concentration was significantly lower in smokers than in nonsmokers whereas in the cancer group the difference was nonsignificant. TAS level in the cancer group was decreased when compared to the controls. TAS concentration was lower in the nonsmoking cancer patients than in the nonsmoking controls. TAS level in nonsmoking cancer subgroup was similar to that in the smoking controls.cigarette smoking in healthy persons and the neoplastic disease in nonsmokers results in the decreased capacity of the plasma nonenzymatic antioxidants to the similar degree.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetically determined disease that significantly influences and shortens life. Treatment with CFTR modulators (CFTR-T) is a new hope for patients. It can change the predictive values of a poor prognosis (e.g., exacerbation rate and FEV1 value). The aim of the study was to analyse exacerbation incidence and spirometry data before and after one year (+/- 2 weeks) of CFTR-T in 85 CF patients at the CF Centre in Poznań. To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of CFTR-T efficiency in the Central-Eastern Europe population.
The aim of the study was to analyze the correlation of multiples of the normal median of PAPP-A, free β-hCG levels and nuchal translucency values in prenatal, first trimester screening of trisomy 21 in pregnant women.251 pregnant women underwent antenatal screening at 11-13+6 weeks of pregnancy which was composed of the measurement of free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP-A) levels in the maternal serum and an ultrasound assessment of nuchal translucency (NT). The pregnant women with a high risk of trisomy 21 (≥ 1:300) were given amniocentesis to verify fetal defects. There were 217 cases of normal fetal karyotype and 34 cases of trisomy 21. PAPP-A, β-hCGMoM and NT values were analyzed for the predefined ranges.85% cases of trisomy 21 had elevated free β-hCGMoM (> 1.5) and only 53% of these had a PAPP-AMoM result below 0.5 (p < 0.05). Analysis of NT in selected ranges of β-hCG (> 1.5) and PAPP-AMoM (< 0.05), which are typical for Down Syndrome values, showed that not all fetuses with Down Syndrome presented with an increased NT. Respectively 44.15% and 26.5% of fetuses presented with increased NT. Characteristic for trisomy 21, a correlation with all 1st trimester screening tests' parameters occurred in only 23.5% of cases. In 53% of cases the results were atypical.The PAPP-A and β-hCG values in the selected MoM ranges did not shown a correlation to the NT measurement, therefore they are independent factors in the diagnosis of trisomy 21. Simultaneous biochemical and ultrasound testing is an indispensable condition for prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21 in the 1st trimester of pregnancy.
<b>Introduction:</b> There are two commercially available tests for measurement of serum free light chains (sFLC) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients – Freelite and N Latex FLC. The aim of this study was to perform an assessment and direct comparison of the usefulness of the methods in routine clinical practice.<br/><b>Methods:</b> 40 refractory/relapsed MM patients underwent routine disease activity assessment studies, along with sFLC analysis using both assays. Correlation and concordance between the tests and sensitivity of studied methods of sFLC assessment were established. Special attention was focused on sFLC results in patients finally evaluated after completing the treatment. <br/><b>Results:</b> A weak correlation for the measurement of both κ [Passing–Bablok slope (PB) = 0.7681] and λ chains [(PB) = 1.542] was found. Using Bland–Altman plots, a bias of 0.0467 (κ) and -0.2133 (λ) between the measurements was documented. The concordance coefficient equaled 0.87 for κ, 0.62 for λ and 0.52 for κ/λ ratio. Ten patients had an abnormal Freelite assay κ/λ ratio and normal N Latex FLC κ/λ ratio. Three of these patients had negative serum protein electrophoresis results and fulfilled diagnostic criteria of stringent complete remission (sCR) according to N Latex FLC (but not according to Freelite). When the κ/λ ratio obtained by both methods was compared to patients’ serum/urine protein electrophoresis and immunofixation results, sensitivity of Freelite and N Latex FLC was established to be 62.5% and 41%, respectively. <br/><b>Conclusions:</b> There was no strong correlation or concordance between the two assays, and the sensitivity in terms of sFLC detection was different. This may cause problems when diagnosis of sCR is considered.
Cytokines are mediators of inflammatory processes in the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and participate in the bone metabolism. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) initiates osteoclastogenesis by modulating the activity of soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (sRANKL) and osteoprotegerin.The aim of the study was to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) by densitometry and the concentration of interleukin 6, osteoprotegerin (OPG) and sRANKL protein (sRANKL) by ELISA in patients with IBD in relation to the control group; to assess the relationship between IL-6, OPG, sRANKL and BMD; and to assess the impact of disease duration and number hospitalization on BMD.The studied group included 37 patients with Crohn's disease (I - CD), 37 patients with ulcerative colitis (II - UC) and 37 healthy subjects - control group (III - CG).The prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia was as follows: in I - CD, 18.92% and 32.43% in L2-L4; 13.51% and 35.13% in the neck, and in II - UC, 2.7% and 37.84% in L2-L4; 2.7%, and 29.73% in the femoral neck. The concentration of IL-6 correlated negatively with T-scores in the neck for the whole group, and in group I - CD, there was a significant positive correlation between serum OPG and IL-6.The incidence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in patients with IBD is high and increases with the duration of the disease and the number of hospitalizations. Patients with CD are at a higher risk of skeletal pathology than patients with UC. IL-6 can modulate bone mineral density in the femoral neck especially in the course of CD.
<i>Background:</i> The severity of neurological deficits arising from ischemic stroke may be related to serum redox homeostasis. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of serum paraoxonase (PON), arylesterase (ARE) activities and conjugated dienes (CD) on patient outcome during a 1-year follow-up period. <i>Methods:</i> The study included 468 consecutive ischemic stroke patients (251 males, 217 females) with an average age of 67.5 ± 12.4 years. Clinical evaluation was based on vital signs, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scored at the time of admission and on the 7th day after stroke, as well as modified Rankin scale (mRS) and Barthel index (BI) scored at 30, 90, 180 and 360 days after stroke onset. Serum PON, ARE activities and CD concentration were measured with the use of spectrophotometric methods. <i>Results:</i> Serum PON activity alone correlated directly with a favorable outcome during a 3-month observation period. Serum ARE activity correlated directly only with the mRS score in a 1-year observation. PON/ARE ratio showed the strongest direct correlation with favorable stroke outcome expressed by BI and inverse correlation with mRS as compared to serum PON or ARE activities assessed alone. PON/ARE affected the NIHSS score on admission (rS = –0.119, p = 0.014) and on the 7th day after stroke (rS = 0.120, p = 0.015); it also showed an association with the BI and mRS on the 30th (rS = 0.145, p = 0.007 and rS = –0.098, p = 0.049, respectively), 90th (rS = 0.147, p = 0.009, rS = –0.133, p = 0.008, respectively), as well as 180th, and 360th day after stroke. We did not find correlations between the serum CD concentration and stroke outcome. <i>Conclusion:</i> The PON/ARE ratio is an important predictor of ischemic stroke outcome and can be used in clinical practice rather than evaluating either PON or ARE activity alone.
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