Maternal serum thrombospondin-1 is significantly altered in cases with established preeclampsia

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate whether maternal serum TSP-1 level was associated with PE.

Materials and methods: In our case control study, 84 pregnant women in the third trimester were included. Forty-one of them were healthy and 43 of them were with the diagnosis of PE. The diagnosis was based on the definitions of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program working Group on High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy. Preeclamptic patients were divided into two subgroups as mild and severe. Blood pressure (BP) of pregnant women were obtained in left-side lying position using a mercury sphygmomanometer after at least 10 minutes of rest. Ten milliliters of venous blood was taken from every pregnant women and dispensed into lithium heparin and serum was obtained. Samples were stored at ?80?°C until analyzed. Serum TSP-1 level was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All tests were two-tailed and p < .05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: TSP-1 level was significantly lower in PE group than in controls (p?=?.003). Platelet counts were similar in two groups (p = .26). TSP-1 levels were significantly lower in severe PE than in mild PE cases. According to the subgroup analysis, TSP-1 level was found significantly lower in severe preeclampsia group compared to control group (p = .015).

Conclusions: In light of the association between endothelial dysfunction and preeclampsia, we claim that lower levels of TSP-1 which is released mostly from endothelial cells seem to reflect disease severity in PE. Our study reveals that maternal serum TSP-1 levels decrease in pregnant women presenting with PE and TSP-1 may be a new biomarker for the detection of PE and even severity of it. Further studies especially prospective ones with greater numbers of cases are needed.     

Extraarticular manifestations in Turkish patients with rheumatoid arthritis: impact of EAMs on the health-related quality of life in terms of disease activity, functional status, severity of pain, and social and emotional functioning

The aim of our study was to investigate extraarticular manifestations (EAMs) in Turkish patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and also assess the impact of EAMs on various health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains, including physical, social, emotional, mental functioning, and bodily pain. A total of 150 patients were included in the study. EAMs were identified clinically. Pulmonary involvement was confirmed by using pulmonary function tests (PFT) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), atlantoaxial subluxation by cervical spine X-rays. Peripheral neuropathy, rheumatoid nodules, and Sicca symptoms were picked up on clinical examination. Peripheral neuropathy was also confirmed by electroneurophysiologic studies. Patients were evaluated by Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life (RAQoL), and Short form-36 (SF36). The quadrivariate Disease Activity Score- 28 (DAS28) was used for measuring disease activity. Functional status was evaluated by using the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). The severity of pain was documented by using 10-cm Visual Analog Scale-Pain (VAS-pain). EAMs were observed in 50 patients (33.3%). These were pulmonary involvement (28.7%), rheumatoid nodules (14.7%), Sicca Syndrome (8%), peripheral neuropathy (2.7%), and atlantoaxial subluxation (0.7%), respectively. It was not recorded any statistically significant difference in HAQ, DAS28, VAS-pain, and RAQoL scores between the patient groups with and without EAMs. Patients with EAMs scored significantly lower in physical functioning, role-physical, and role-emotional subgroups of SF36 (P?<?0.01). Presence of EAMs is not directly associated with disease activity and functional status, but influences negatively HRQoL including physical and emotional functioning.     

Neural tissue engineering: Adrenal chromaffin cell attachment and viability on chitosan scaffolds

Abstract

This study introduces chitosan-based matrices as cell substrates for bovine chromaffin cell attachment in transplantation procedures. Chitosan ([1 → ] linked 2-amino-2-deoxy-β-O-glucopyranose), having structural similarity to glycosaminoglycans, was modified using several proteins (collagen, albumin and gelatin) to increase surface area and improve biocompatibility. In vitro, collagen-blended chitosan (CC) matrices were found to attach more readily to chromaffin cells than to gelatin- or albumin-blended matrices. Morphological evidence showed that the chromaffin cells attached to CC substrates integrated well with the hydrogel matrix and survived for at least two weeks, under in vivo culture conditions. The chromaffin cells within chitosan scaffolds also survived for at least two weeks in vitro and after subarachnoid grafting to rats. [Neural Res 1998; 20: 648–654]     

A multicenter retrospective study defining the clinical and hematological manifestations of brucellosis and pancytopenia in a large series: Hematological malignancies, the unusual cause of pancytopenia in patients with brucellosis

The aim of the study is to review the clinical manifestations and the hematological findings of brucellosis and pancytopenia, with or without hematological malignancies. The records of 202 patients with brucellosis were evaluated retrospectively. Among these cases of brucellosis seen in a 6 year period between April 1999 and June 2005, 30 patients with pancytopenia were identified. The most common manifestation was fever, followed by weight loss, anorexia, malaise, arthralgia, and hepatosplenomegaly. Bone marrow biopsies revealed hypercellularity or normocellularity. The most common findings in the bone marrow evaluation were histiocytic hemophagocytosis and granulomas. Among all cases, we diagnosed 5 hematological malignancies (1 acute myelogenous leukemia, 2 acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 2 multiple myeloma) concurrently with brucellosis. The clinical symptoms and findings were similar in patients with and without malignancies. In cases with malignancies, the bone marrow biopsy revealed predominant primary disease involvement. Significant increases in ESR and CRP, severe anemia and thrombocytopenia were observed in patients with malignancies. Peripheral blood counts in patients without malignancies returned to normal after antibiotic treatment for brucellosis. However, pancytopenia in two patients with malignancies did not recover because of primary resistant disease. We conclude that while histiocytic hemophagocytosis may be considered as a major cause of pancytopenia, leukemic infiltration can also be an extreme and unusual cause of pancytopenia in patients in whom brucellosis was concurrently diagnosed with hematological malignancies.     

Evaluation of the thyroid disorders in children with familial Mediterranean fever

Clinical Rheumatology - Although it is well-known that autoimmune thyroid diseases are more common in most of the autoimmune connective tissue diseases, the relationship between autoinflammatory...     

Physical activity intensity and surrogate markers for cardiovascular health in adolescents

We examined the impact of physical activity (PA) on surrogate markers of cardiovascular health in adolescents. 52 healthy students (28 females, mean age 14.5 ± 0.7 years) were investigated. Microvascular endothelial function was assessed by peripheral arterial tonometry to determine reactive hyperemic index (RHI). Vagal activity was measured using 24 h analysis of heart rate variability [root mean square of successive normal-to-normal intervals (rMSSD)]. Exercise testing was performed to determine peak oxygen uptake ( $ \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{2{\text{ peak}}}} $ ) and maximum power output. PA was assessed by accelerometry. Linear regression models were performed and adjusted for age, sex, skinfolds, and pubertal status. The cohort was dichotomized into two equally sized activity groups (low vs. high) based on the daily time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA, 3,000–5,200 counts^.min^?1, model 1) and vigorous PA (VPA, >5,200 counts^.min^?1, model 2). MVPA was an independent predictor for rMSSD (β = 0.448, P = 0.010), and VPA was associated with maximum power output (β = 0.248, P = 0.016). In model 1, the high MVPA group exhibited a higher vagal tone (rMSSD 49.2 ± 13.6 vs. 38.1 ± 11.7 ms, P = 0.006) and a lower systolic blood pressure (107.3 ± 9.9 vs. 112.9 ± 8.1 mmHg, P = 0.046). In model 2, the high VPA group had higher maximum power output values (3.9 ± 0.5 vs. 3.4 ± 0.5 W kg^?1, P = 0.012). In both models, no significant differences were observed for RHI and $ \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{ 2 {\text{ peak}}}} $ . In conclusion, in healthy adolescents, PA was associated with beneficial intensity-dependent effects on vagal tone, systolic blood pressure, and exercise capacity, but not on microvascular endothelial function.     

Thymoquinone protects end organs from abdominal aorta ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat model

Introduction

Previous studies have demonstrated that thymoquinone has protective effects against ischemia reperfusion injury to various organs like lungs, kidneys and liver in different experimental models.

Objective

We aimed to determine whether thymoquinone has favorable effects on lung, renal, heart tissues and oxidative stress in abdominal aorta ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Methods

Thirty rats were divided into three groups as sham (n=10), control (n=10) and thymoquinone (TQ) treatment group (n=10). Control and TQ-treatment groups underwent abdominal aorta ischemia for 45 minutes followed by a 120-min period of reperfusion. In the TQ-treatment group, thymoquinone was given 5 minutes. before reperfusion at a dose of 20 mg/kg via an intraperitoneal route. Total antioxidant capacity, total oxidative status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) in blood serum were measured and lung, kidney, and heart tissue histopathology were evaluated with light microscopy.

Results

Total oxidative status and oxidative stress index activity in blood samples were statistically higher in the control group compared to the sham and TQ-treatment groups (P<0.001 for TOS and OSI). Control group injury scores were statistically higher compared to sham and TQ-treatment groups (P<0.001 for all comparisons).

Conclusion

Thymoquinone administered intraperitoneally was effective in reducing oxidative stress and histopathologic injury in an acute abdominal aorta ischemia-reperfusion rat model.