No Effect of Selenium Supplementation on Serum Glucose Levels in Men with Prostate Cancer

Background

Literature indicates a relationship between selenium supplementation and risk of diabetes. However, because these data are inconclusive, we investigated the effect of selenium supplementation on serum glucose levels in men with prostate cancer enrolled in a clinical trial testing of the effect of selenium on prostate cancer progression.

Methods

Subjects were randomized to receive placebo (n = 46), selenium 200 μg/day (n = 47), and selenium 800 μg/day (n = 47). Serum glucose levels were obtained every 6 months for up to 5 years. Longitudinal analysis was carried out to assess whether rate of change of serum glucose levels was significantly different in the selenium-supplemented groups as compared with placebo. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of findings.

Results

Changes in serum glucose levels during the course of the trial were not statistically significantly different as compared with placebo for the selenium 200 μg/day (P = .56) or selenium 800 μg/day (P = .91) treatment groups.

Conclusion

These results do not support a relationship between selenium supplementation and changes in serum glucose levels. Recommendations about selenium supplementation and risk of diabetes will require more definitive studies.     

rh-Erythropoietin stimulates immature reticulocyte release in man

The pharmacodynamics of single intravenous dosing with recombinant human erthropoietin (rhEPO) was investigated in eight healthy volunteers (150U/kg, n = 2; 300 U/kg, n = 6) with respect to reticulocyte subdivisions (by fluorescence flow cytometry) and serum ferritin over 6.5 d. The present study shows that bolus rhEPO injection produces an immediate release of high and middle fluorescence (immature) reticulocytes with a high RNA content from the marrow into the circulation, whereas the low fluorescence (more mature) reticulocytes were at first not affected. Serum ferritin decreased markedly within 24 h, reaching a nadir 50% of baseline after 120h (5 d), with no increase in haemoglobin. Our data suggests that rhEPO triggers premature expulsion of immature reticulocytes from the bone marrow into the circulation independent of its effect in stimulating erythropoiesis and that rhEPO has an effect on serum ferritin concentration which in this dynamic situation is dependent not only on the iron stores.     

Serum Carboxypeptidase Activity and Genotype-Stratified CA19-9 to Detect Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer

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Preparation,characterization and storage of human ferritin for use as a standard for the assay of serum ferritin

Summary. This paper describes studies on the source, preparation, characterization and storage of human ferritin for use as a standard for the immunoassay of serum ferritin. Ferritin was prepared from the liver or spleen by methods including either ultracentrifugation or cadmium sulphate crystallization. Preparations were characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in dissociating and non-dissociating buffers, iso-electric focusing, analysis of amino acid composition and measurement of protein content. The protein content of solutions of liver or spleen ferritin may be determined by the method of Lowry with bovine serum albumin as standard. Lyophilization under carefully controlled conditions in buffer containing high concentrations of albumin provides a stable preparation of ferritin. Accelerated degradation and collaborative immunological studies of two lyophilized preparations of ferritin, one from liver and one from spleen, indicate that either is an acceptable reference material.     

拉米夫定停药后肝炎的临床观察

目的　探讨拉米夫定停药后肝炎的发生率、临床特点、机制及防治。方法　对长期应用拉米夫定治疗后停药的患者进行 1年以上的随访。结果　拉米夫定停药后肝炎的总发生率为 13 .5 %。其发病原因是HBV复制失抑制后的再活动。已发生HBeAg/抗 HBe血清转换的患者停药后仍有可能发生拉米夫定停药后肝炎。 结论　对长期应用拉米夫定治疗的患者无论是否因发生血清转换而停药 ,都应继续监测肝功能。对发生停药后的肝炎患者 ,可再次使用拉米夫定或用甘草酸类制剂治疗     

急性冠状动脉综合征患者早期血清胆红素水平的变化

目的观察急性冠状动脉综合征(ACS)患者早期血清胆红素水平的动态变化并探讨其临床意义。方法选择稳定型心绞痛(SAP)患者28例,发病在24h内的ACS患者88例,包括不稳定性心绞痛(UAP)36例和急性心肌梗死(AMI)52例。测定其血清总胆红素(Tbil)、直接胆红素 (Dbil)和间接胆红素(Ibil)水平,并与40例健康人进行对照比较。ACS患者于发病第7天和第14天时分别复查上述指标。结果 SAP患者其血清Tbil和Ibil均显著低于对照组(P<0．05);而ACS患者无论是UAP还是AMI,其Tbil和Ibil均明显高于对照组(P<0．05),ACS患者发病第7天即显著下降(P<0．05),第14天时又有进一步降低。而Dbil水平在各组间均无显著性差异(P>0．05)。结论 ACS患者在发病后其Tbil和Ibil水平明显升高,发病7-14天后即显著降低。Tbil和Ibil水平的升高可能与斑块活化、不稳定有关。     

Comparison of modern marker proteins in serum and synovial fluid in patients with advanced osteoarthrosis and rheumatoid arthritis

Numerous studies have focused on the significance of modern marker proteins in the synovial fluid of the knee joint and in the serum both, for osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The relationship between the serum concentrations and the concentrations in the synovial fluid is still unclear. Synovial fluid and serum samples were obtained from 13 patients with advanced OA and from 8 patients with severe RA and concentrations of MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-13, TIMP-1, COMP and MIA/CD-RAP were determined. All values were normalized against the total protein concentrations. Serum concentrations of MMP-13 in the RA-group were statistically higher than the synovial values (P<0.05). MMP-13 was the only marker protein that revealed distinct higher levels in the serum than in the synovial fluid. The study design allows only conclusions about advanced stages of RA and OA. Longitudinal investigations may provide further information about the value of MMP-13 as a potential marker to monitor the course of RA and OA.     

Relation of ferritin levels to pulmonary function in patients with thalassemia major and the acute effects of transfusion

We studied 36 patients (17 males and 19 females) with thalassemia major by performing pulmonary function testing (PFT), arterial blood gas analysis (ABG), as well as determining the serum ferritin level. In addition, 19 of these patients were transfused with two units of packed cells, and a repeat ABG and PFT were performed. Twenty-three patients had normal PFTs, eleven patients (30.6%) showed a restrictive pattern (significant decrease in both TLC and DLCO), and only two patients (5.6%) showed an obstructive pattern. A significant negative correlation was found between serum ferritin and restrictive parameters, DLCO and TLC (p = 0.01 and p = 0.03, respectively). This correlation was even stronger after transfusion. Controlling for age, ferritin was still negatively correlated with DLCO (p = 0.04), but no longer with TLC. There was no correlation between age and DLCO or age and TLC; however, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between age and FVC (p = 0.003). Analysis of patients who were transfused revealed a significant decrease in forced vital capacity (89 +/- 4% vs. 74 +/- 5% of predicted; p-value < 0.001) and in maximum midexpiratory flow rate (79 +/- 4% vs. 67 +/- 5% of predicted; p-value = 0.004). For patients older than 15 yr of age, there was a statistically significant decrease in FEV1/FVC (84 +/- 2 vs. 83 +/- 2%; p-value = 0.04). The ABGs showed no significant change post-transfusion. In this study, PFT findings in thalassemia major were restrictive and correlated with serum ferritin level. Transfusion had an acute effect on the obstructive parameters of PFT.     

ELISA法检测人体血清中HIV-1+2型抗体结果不确定度评定

目的 对酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)法检测人体血清中艾滋病病毒(HIV)1 2型抗体结果的不确定度进行评定，降低初筛试验出现假阴性结果的风险。方法 按照JJF1059-1999《测量不确定度评定与表示》，对采用ELISA法、使用生物梅里埃中国有限公司提供的HIV-1 2型抗体检测诊断试剂盒，进行人体血清中HIV-1 2型抗体检测(初筛)结果所产生的不确定度进行评定。结果 通过对影响检测结果不确定度分量的分析和量化，求出被测量的标准不确定度[uc(△A)=0．005]和扩展不确定度(U=0．010，k=2)，给出各分量对检测结果不确定度的相对贡献，对检测结果进行了表述(△A=0．191-0．097-0．010，k=2)。结论 用包含有测量不确定度的结果对检测结果做完整表述，可为避免假阴性结果的出现提供科学依据。     

Evaluation of serum ferritin in screening for iron deficiency in tuberculosis

Serum ferritin (SF) values 10 µg/l are diagnostic of absent Bone Marrow Iron (BMI) stores and therefore of iron deficiency (ID). However, SF, which may be elevated as a part of acute phase reaction, is an unreliable indicator of BMI stores in the setting of chronic disorders, making it difficult to diagnose ID in these patients. Thus, in chronic disorders (CD) such as tuberculosis, bone marrow examination is the only reliable way to establish ID. This study was done in order to identify levels of SF that would be indicative of absent BMI stores and also to study a combination of hematological and biochemical parameters that would be helpful in raising the predictive power of SF in patients of tuberculosis. Fifty-five tuberculosis patients were studied and classified into Iron Deplete (ID) and Iron Replete (IR) based on BMI. Raising the cut-off values of SF from 10 µg/l to 30 µg/l diagnosed 88% of ID cases correctly, as compared with 61% when cut-off levels of 10 µg/l were used. At cut-off values higher than 30 µg/l, the sensitivity was markedly reduced. Therefore, raising cut-off levels of SF to 30 µg/l was most effective in predicting absent BMI, especially in a population where ID is highly prevalent. Combination of SF 30 µg/l with mean corpuscular volume (MCV), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) did not improve the predictive power of SF further. Also, 89.5% cases could be correctly classified by logistic regression equations using SF with ESR and C- reactive protein (CRP).Abbreviations SF Serum ferritin - BMI Bone marrow iron - ID Iron deplete - IR Iron replete - CD Chronic disorders - MCV Mean corpuscular volume - TIBC Total iron binding capacity - ESR Erythrocyte sedimentation rate - ACD Anemia of chronic disorders - IDA Iron deficiency anemia - Hb Hemoglobin concentration - TLC Total leukocyte count - RBC Red blood cell - RDW Red cell distribution width - % TS Percent transferrin saturation - SI Serum iron