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Oxidant/antioxidant status and endothelial dyfunction in obese and hypertensive models of insulin resistance

Dawlat Salem, Fadya Abdel Hamid, Nagwa El Husseini, Manal MM Abdel Fattah*, Azab M
*Departments of Biochemistryand Cairo Faculty of Medicine, Egypt

Biochimica Clinica: 2006; 30(1): 8-14 [Article in english]

ABSTRACT. We studied the oxidant/antioxidant status and nitric oxide (NO) production in healthy controls (group I), essential hypertensive (group II), normotensive obese (group III) and hypertensive obese (group IV) subjects. The levels of these blood parameters in the insulin resistant (IR) patients were also compared with those of insulin sensitive (IS) subjects. We measured serum malondialdehyde (MDA) (a marker of lipid peroxidation) and total plasma nitrites and nitrates (Nox) (an index for NO production). Erythrocytic reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), blood vitamin C and plasma selenium were also estimated. Our results showed a significant increase in mean levels of MDA and reduction in Nox, GSH, vitamin C and SOD in all patients’ groups. Significant reduction in GSH-PX was detected only in the obese groups III and IV. Significant increase in MDA and decrease in Nox, GSH and vitamin C were detected in IR versus IS patients. Significant positive correlation was found between MDA and MABP, BMI and WHR respectively; negative correlation was found between Nox, GSH and vitamin C and MABP, BMI and WHR. The correlations were higher with WHR than BMI. The F.G/I ratio was negatively correlated with MDA and positively correlated with Nox, GSH and vitamin C. By multiple regression analysis, the WHR was an independent variable concerning F.G/I ratio and MABP, suggesting that body fat distribution is related to IR and hypertension. In conclusion the present study showed that the activation of the lipid peroxidation processes and depression of some antioxidants (especially GSH and vitamin C) proceed more or less in parallel with declining NO bioavailability, the severity of hypertension, the extent of obesity, the distribution of body fat and the degree of IR.

Serum neopterin, soluble interleukin 2- receptor (sIL-2Rα) and lung computed tomography in differentiation between pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchogenic carcinoma

El Kholy* Omayma, Saad Reda, Hegazy Adalat
*Medical Biochemistry Departments Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University

Biochimica Clinica: 2006; 30(1): 15-20 [Article in english]

ABSTRACT. In this study, serum levels of neopterin and soluble interleukin 2- receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα) were determined in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and lung cancer (bronchogenic carcinoma stage I and II) in order to differentiate between active pulmonary TB, inactive pulmonary TB and lung cancer, and in order to determine the relationship between those findings with the corresponding Computed Tomographic scanning (CT chest) findings. The study included 15 patients with active pulmonary TB, 15 patients with inactive pulmonary TB, 15 with lung cancer and 15 healthy subjects served as control group. History taking, clinical examination, estimation of ESR, serum neopterin, serum sIL-2Rα and CT chest were performed for each subject. Serum Levels of neopterin and sIL-2Rα were significantly higher in TB patients with active disease compared to patients with inactive TB, lung cancer patients and controls (P < 0.001). Levels of neopterin and sIL-2Rα in inactive TB and lung cancer patients were significantly higher compared to controls (P<0.001); with significantly higher levels in TB patients with inactive disease than lung cancer patients (P< 0.05). Serum neopterin and sIL2-Rα in moderate/advanced TB lesions (according to CT findings) were significantly higher than in mild TB. In addition, serum neopterin and sIL2-Rα in bronchogenic carcinoma stage I and II with larger tumors (accordingto CT findings) were significantly higher than those with smaller tumors. Serum Levels of neopterin and sIL-2Rα significantly positively correlated to each other in all studied groups. In conclusion, serum neopterin and sIL-2Rα levels might be of value in differentiating between pulmonary TB and bronchogenic carcinoma stages I and II; significantly higher levels are in favor of active pulmonary TB. Serum neopterin and sIL-2Rα levels also seem to be sensitive markers of TB disease activity. Since CT may be, in few cases, non conclusive in diagnosis of TB activity, therefore combining CT chest with serum neopterin and sIL-2Rα may increase the accuracy of diagnosis of pulmonary TB activity.

Misura di Calprotectina fecale: un prezioso esame non invasivo nella Malattia Infiammatoria Cronica Intestinale (MICI)

Gino Ciarrocchi*, Luisita Marinelli, Massimo Tocchini, Caterina Todeschini, Antonio Benedetti, Giuseppe Feliciangeli
*U.O. Laboratorio analisi, Settore Sierologia, Azienda Ospedaliera Policlinico "Ospedali Riuniti", Ancona

Biochimica Clinica: 2006; 30(1): 21-25 [Article in italian]

ABSTRACT. Measurement of calprotectin in stool: a valuable non-invasive test for active Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Calprotectin is a calcium binding leukocyte-derived protein, accounting for 60% in the cytosol of neutrophil leukocytes; it has stability in faeces, thus rendering suitable the assessment of protein in stool samples. Calprotectin is considereda biomarker of intestinal inflammation and recent studies have demonstrated a close correlation among increased levels of protein in stool and an active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), whereas normal or slightly altered values are found in healthy subjects and in patients with functional irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A total of 130 patients suffering for a lot of intestinal symptoms were submitted to clinical evaluation and to colonoscopic examination ("gold standard"); they were diagnosed as follows: 51 with CD, 21 with UC, 21 with intestinal pathology other than IBD, 37 with IBS. Assessment of calprotectin was performed in stool samples collected from all enrolled patients and from a group of 30 healthy asymptomatic subjects. Median calprotectin value was significantly elevated in CD patients (330 µg/g) and in UC patients (385 µg/g); normal values were found in IBS patients (40 µg/g) and in ASY subjects (18 µg/g), with statistical difference among groups (p<0,0001). Assessment of faecal calprotectin seems to be a suitable, not expensive and non-invasive biomarker of intestinal inflammation causing intestinal mucosal damage, especially in active inflammatory bowel disease. It also provides a useful tool in follow up of diagnosed patients.

Facteurs de risque liés à la survenue de microangiopathies chez le diabétique sénégalais

P. Lopez-Sall, A. Cissé, P.A. Diop, A. Amoussou-Kpeto1, N.D. Sall
*Laboratoire de Biochimie Pharmaceutique Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD)

Biochimica Clinica: 2006; 30(1): 26-30 [Article in english]

ABSTRACT. Risk factors for microangiopathy senegalese diabetics. Microangiopathy is one of the cardiovascular complications accountable for an important morbidity and mortality amongthe diabetic population. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and microalbumin, considered as predictive markers of retinopathy and nephropathy respectively, were studied among senegalese diabetics. Urinary microalbumin was assayed by the red pyrogallol method and HbA1c by microcolumn ion exchange chromatography. Regarding the assessment of retinopathy’s risk, our results revealed for HbA1c rates over 10% a glycemia desequilibrium in 60.7% of type 1 diabetes versus 14.8% of control population ( p<0.001; OR=8.8 ). In type 2 diabetes this risk was 60% of patients versus 17.6% of controls (p<0.01; OR=7). Moreover the ratio of risk subjects is greater during the first twenty years of the condition for type 1 rather than the first fifteen years for type 2. The nephropathy risk depending on microalbuminuria rates (ranging from 80 to 320 mg/L) did not show any significant difference no matter the diabetes type. This could be related to the fact that during control people recruitment we did not take into account any other condition likely to interfere with albumin urinary excretion (urinary tract infection, kidney pathology, hereditary nephropathy, lithiasis). However, we noticed a microalbuminuria frequency peak at 33.3% for type 1 between the tenth and fourteenth year of the condition and a ratio of about 25% in all age groups apart from the band 15-19 years for type 2. Nevertheless, this frequency becomes nil after 15 years of condition for type 1 diabetes and after 25 years for type 2. It appears therefore that the microangiopathy risk is high among senegalese diabetics. Thus, it should be recommended to assay both HbA1c

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