A hazardous link between malnutrition, inflammation and oxidative stress in renal patients

BackgroundAtherosclerosis is the main cause of mortality in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients.Design and methodsMalnutrition, inflammation and diminished paraoxonase activity were used to calculate the sum of risk factors for atherosclerosis development in a cohort of 141 chronic renal disease patients. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was implemented to assess risk of death.ResultsKaplan–Meier analysis (Log rank = 12.06, P = 0.0072) showed higher risk of death with increasing number of risk factors in haemodialysis patients.ConclusionsMalnutrition in combination with inflammation and oxidative stress is associated with higher mortality in patients on long-term haemodialysis.     

Serum Leptin and Skeletal Differences between Obese and Non-Obese Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

ObjectiveChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects body composition, adipokine secretion, and skeletal integrity. The aim was to determine the association between leptin, body mass (BM) and body composition parameters - fat mass (FM) and fat mass index (FMI), lean tissue mass (LTM), lean tissue mass index (LTMI) and bone mineral density (BMD) in 67 male COPD patients.MethodsBM, body composition and biochemical indicators were measured or calculated using standard methods. Data were analyzed according to groups: non-obese (N = 48, BMI 21.0-29.9 kg/m²) and obese (N = 19, BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m²).ResultsIn the non-obese group statistically significant correlations were observed: negative ones of age with most BMD T scores, positive ones of BMI with all T scores, FM, FMI, LTMI and leptin, of FMI with leptin and all T scores, and of LTMI with most T scores. In the obese group also statistically significant correlations were found: positive ones of BMI with FMI, LTM, leptin and T scores (trochanter, total hip); of FMI with leptin; and of leptin with total hip T score.ConclusionA positive relationship between FMI and BMD was found only in non-obese but not in obese COPD patients. Leptin concentration was associated positively with the total hip T score only in obese COPD patients, suggesting its protective role on the skeleton of obese COPD patients.Key Words: Body mass, Body mass index, Fat mass, Fat mass index, Lean tissue mass, Lean tissue mass index, 25-OH vitamin D, Leptin, Bone mineral density     

Study of quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological impairment mostly affecting younger adults substantially decreasing their working and living abilities. Different rating scales to determine disabilities are being used: EDSS, NRS, and CAMBS. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of life in MS patients, with reference to the disease itself and its treatment, comparing patients with MS and a matching healthy control group. METHODS AND SUBJECTS: Subjects were divided into two groups, a group of patients with MS and a control group of healthy subjects. There were 37 MS patients, 25 women and 12 men. Control group consisted of 51 subjects, 39 women and 12 men. There was no statistically significant sex difference. The mean age of the MS patients was 45.9 +/- 12.4 years, and of control group 42.4 +/- 10.3 years; yielding no statistically significant difference. The severity of impairment in MS patients according to EDSS scale was 3 to 3.5. The quality of life determined by the prediction and criterion variables was studied in both MS patients groups and control group. All variables were graded on a 1 to 5 scale. On statistical data processing chi2 test and t-test were used. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Predictors referring to family history, sexual life, social life, satisfaction with education, job, social environment, religious life, housing status, financial status and present family life did not differ between the MS and control group. MS patients were less satisfied with their place in society, their state of health and ways of spending their free time. The decrease of satisfaction correlated with the areas generally known to be directly or indirectly affected by MS. As to the criterion variable of 'satisfaction with former way of life' no significant differences were found, since the disease did not affect previous life achievements. MS patients were less satisfied with their status in society, their state of health and ways of spending their free time. Changes occurred as a consequence of substantial life changes caused by the disease, results of treatments and circumstances in which the patients lives. Results obtained indicated that patients were aware of their disease, lower quality of life that limited their daily activities and future plans. Answers referring to the state of health, social status, and sexual activities did not show any statistically significant difference between the groups of MS patients and healthy controls, although it could have been expected according to the experience and customary expectations in such cases. CONCLUSION: MS patients are mainly satisfied with what they have achieved previously as young people; they become dissatisfied in relation to the possible economic and social prospects, and they are aware of their disabilities and weaknesses, inability for professional development, working and workplace relationships, more difficult money acquisition, etc.     

ELISA inhibition assay for the quantitation of antigenic protein in natural rubber latex

Evaluating allergenicity of natural rubber latex (NRL) products is essential for the successful reduction of the consumer's exposure to potentially allergenic NRL proteins. We have developed an ELISA Inhibition method for the quantitation of extractable proteins from NRL products which has good sensitivity and specificity. The method utilizes rabbit anti-NRL protein serum as a detection mechanism. The source of NRL proteins for immunization and as a reference protein in the assay is ammoniated raw latex (AL). By comparison with the Western blot analysis of the rabbit sera, it appears that the ELISA detects most of the latex proteins present in extracts. To investigate, further, this assumption, we compared the ELISA Inhibition test with two other methods for total protein measurement. We also compared the values generated by the ELISA Inhibition test with other immunological methods for quantitation of antigenic and allergenic proteins. Comparisons were performed with 15 extracts from randomly selected surgical and examination gloves. The samples were coded separately for each test to insure the objectivity of evaluation. The antigenic protein values obtained by the ELISA Inhibition test correlated best with the HPLC amino acid analysis (correlation coefficient (cc) = 0.79) and with the LEAP assay (cc = 0.97). The antigenic protein levels obtained by the ELISA test were 3-10 times lower than those obtained by the HPLC analysis. A lesser correlation was observed with the Modified Lowry assay (cc = 0.45), which is likely due to chemical interference bias in the Lowry method. Our findings suggest that the antigenic proteins measured by the ELISA Inhibition test described here more closely represent the measure of the total protein content in the extracts. It is important to note that the relative values obtained by this method are lower than the values obtained by other total protein methods, possibly due to a large number of small peptides present in NRL products, that would only be measured by the chemical method.     

Development of a Master of Health Policy and Management programme in the framework of the Tempus project at the Centre School of Public Health,Belgrade

Background  

The most important instrument of EU support for the reforms of higher education in the European countries with the final goal of joining the European Higher Education (HE) Area by the year 2010 is TEMPUS (Trans-European Mobility Programme for University Studies). So far, Tempus is the only EU programme providing support for the reform of HE in the Western Balkans.     

Does simultaneous determination of LDL and HDL particle size improve prediction of coronary artery disease risk?

BACKGROUND: Alterations in plasma lipoprotein subclass distribution affect the risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it is unclear whether the determination of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) phenotypes may or may not improve the ability to predict CAD development. METHODS: Polyacrylamide gradient (3-31%) gel electrophoresis was used to simultaneously determine size and distribution of lipoprotein subclasses in 181 CAD patients and 178 controls. RESULTS: Mean LDL and HDL subclass sizes were significantly smaller in patients than in controls (p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that small dense LDL particles were independent CAD risk predictors (OR = 2.867, p < 0.01), even when adjusted for other traditional risk factors, while small HDL particles lost their significance after adjustment (OR = 2.071, p = 0.054). The area under the ROC curve for LDL (0.671) and HDL (0.643) particle size measurement demonstrated low clinical accuracy when compared to the combination of traditional lipid risk factor measurements. CONCLUSIONS: CAD is associated with the predominance of smaller LDL and HDL particles. However, simultaneous determination of these two lipoprotein phenotypes provides no additional power in discriminating CAD and non-CAD subjects, beyond that obtained by the traditional risk factors.     

Computerized EEG topography of normal preadolescent twins—Correlating similarity of background activity with genetic relatedness

Summary The influence of genetic relatedness on the similarity degree of topographical EEG parameters was studied in a sample of 26 sets of monozygotic (MZ) and 46 sets of dizygotic (DZ) twins. All 144 subjects were healthy, primary school children, aged 7–15 years, 69 boys and 75 girls. Correlation coefficients were calculated for 50 quantitative EEG parameters of paired values obtained at each of 16 active electrode sites, in four groups of paired tracings: 1. MZ twins, 2. DZ twins, 3. The autocorrelated (A) group formed by correlating the spectral parameters from the same subjects in two different analyzed sequences, 4. The random (R) control group of 1200 unrelated pairs formed from DZ twin pairs. Sets of MZ twins and A group showed the highest degrees of similarity of spectral parameters over all brain areas except for significant differences only for some background features over posterior regions. In contrast, highly significant differences in topographic parameters were evident in comparison of MZ sets with DZ sets, particularly when MZ sets were compared with DZ subsets of opposite sex. Both number and degree of significant differences increased progressively in comparisons with groups 3 vs 2,1 vs 4, and 3 vs 4. The data gave strong evidence for a complex polygenic determination of normal human EEG topography.     

Vitamin B2 content determination in liver paste by using acid and acid-enzyme hydrolysis

BACKGROUND/AIM: Vitamin B2 is available in foodstuff in the form of coenzyme and in free form. For its content determination a few procedures should be performed (deliberation from a complex, extraction of free and deliberated form) and detection, identification and quantification. There is a particular problem in determination of vitamin B2 in the meat products. For a determination of total vitamin B2 content in liver paste two preparation procedures are compared: acid and acid-enzymatic hydrolysis. The aim of this study thus, was to compare the effectivenes of these two different procedures for vitamin B2 content determination in liver paste. METHODS: High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with fluorescence detector, as specific and adequately sensitive for the foodstuff of a complex composition with a natural vitamin content, was used for determination of vitamin B2 in liver paste. Acid hydrolysis was performed with the application 0.1 M hydrochloric acid in a pressure cooker, and enzymatic hydrolysis was performed with the 10% takadiastase on 45 degrees C within four hours. Ten samples of liver paste from the supply of the Serbian Army were examined. Separation was performed on the analytical column Nucleosil 50-5 C18 with mobile phase 450 ml CH3OH + 20 ml 5 mM CH3COONH4, and detection on the fluorescent detector with the variable wave length. Both methods were validated: examining a detection limit, quantification limit, specificity (because of a possible B2 vitamin interference with reagents), linearity of a peak area and standard concentration of B2 vitamin ratio in the range from 0.05 microg/ml to 2 microg/ml, precision for the 0.05 microg/ml concentration and recovery. RESULTS: All the previously examined parameters validated both methods as specific, precise and reproductive, with a high recovery (98.5% for acid and 98.2% for acid-enzymatic hydrolysis), as well as linearity in a range that significantly superseded the expected content in the samples (r = 0.9994, and r = 0.99987). Hydrolysis procedures make a sample suitable for vitamin B2 determination. In the liver paste samples a high content of vitamin B2 was determined: 0.83 mg/100 g after acid hydrolysis, and 0.909 mg/100 g after acid-enzyme hydrolysis. There were statistically significantly higher values determined after the acid-enzyme hydrolysis (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Using acid-enzyme hydrolysis and separation instrument technique (liquid chromatography) with a fluorescent detector as detection system, statistically significantly greater vitamin B2 quantities were determined than after using acid hydrolysis procedure. Vitamin B2 content determined in ten liver paste samples was high (0.881-0.936 mg/100 g) indicating that this meat product is a good vitamin B2 source.