Serum triiodothyronine level as an indicator of inflammation in patients undergoing dialysis

INTRODUCTION. It has been shown that inflammation affects thyroid function. In patients with end-stage renal disease, low plasma triiodothyronine (T3) may be an unsuspected expression of the inflammatory state of these patients. This study evaluated the correlation between T3 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HSCRP) levels in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This is a cross-sectional study aiming at the correlation between T3 and HSCRP levels among 30 patients on PD, 30 patients on hemodialysis, and 20 healthy individuals. Serum levels of HSCRP, T3, thyroxine (T4), thyroid stimulating hormone, T3 resin uptake, and free T3 index (FT3I) and free T4 index (FT4I) were compared between the three groups. RESULTS. There were no significant differences between hemodialysis and PD patients in respect to T3, T4, FT3I, and FT4I. In PD and hemodialysis patients, T3 and FT3I were lower than in controls (P < .001), but there was no significant difference between PD and hemodialysis patients. T3 resin uptake and thyroid stimulating hormone differed significantly between PD and hemodialysis patients. There was a significant inverse correlation between HSCRP and T3 and FT3I among hemodialysis patients (P = .04); however, there was no such correlations in PD patients. CONCLUSIONS. The relationship between T3 and HSCRP suggests that inflammation might be involved in the low T3 syndrome in hemodialysis patients, but we did not find a significant correlation between T3 and HSCRP levels in patients on peritoneal dialysis.     

Are there racial disparities in the use of restraints and outcomes after motor vehicle collisions in Los Angeles County?

Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) continue to be a leading cause of traumatic death, yet there is a paucity of data regarding racial/ethnic differences in injury severity, use of restraints, and outcomes. This study determines whether racial/ethnic disparities exist in adult MVC victims. A retrospective review of patients (age older than 18 years) involved in MVC in Los Angeles County from 2004 to 2009 was performed. Main outcome measures were hospital length of stay, mortality, and complication rate. Independent variables evaluated included race/ethnicity, use of restraints, age, gender, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and Glasgow Coma Scale. During the 5-year study period, 22,444 patients were involved in an MVC in Los Angeles County. Overall restraint use was 69 per cent, lowest in blacks (67%) and Hispanics (68%). Mortality and morbidity rates were both 3 per cent for all racial/ethnic groups. On multivariable analysis, higher ISS, older age, male gender, not wearing a seatbelt, and being Asian increased the risk of death. In conclusion, our study demonstrated racial/ethnic differences in MVC victims, particularly identifying that Hispanics and blacks were less likely to be restrained and thus could be the target of future injury prevention programs.     

HLA-A*26 and Susceptibility of Iranian Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Background: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) includes a wide range of diseases with different clinical and biological features. NHL is usually presented as localized or generalized lymphadenopathy. It has been suggested that the HLA class I and II are associated with susceptibility to NHL. Different ethnic groups have been found to have different HLA class I and II alleles which affect NHL. Objective: To evaluate the association of HLA class I and class II with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Iranian patients. Methods: We performed a case-control genotyping study on 75 Iranian NHL patients who were selected from among the patients referred to the Bone Marrow Transplantation Department of Taleghani Hospital and 120 apparently healthy control subjects using the SSP-PCR by a commercial kit. Results: Our results demonstrated that the HLA-A*26 (p: 0.026; OR: 8.5) and HLA-B*35 (p: 0.022; OR: 0.375) alleles had positive and negative associations with NHL disease, respectively. HLA-DRB1*13 allele showed decrease of frequency in patients in comparison with the controls, but it did not remain significant after correction. Conclusions: Our results conclude that HLA-A*26 may represent as a genetic susceptibility factors in Iranian patients with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a finding which generally supports contribution of genetic factors in the etiology of this disorder. In addition, these results may be useful in designing a peptide based vaccine for the Iranian NHL patients with HLA-A*26.     

Assessment of Protein Prenylation Pathway in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder with several genetic and environmental factors being implicated in its pathogenesis. Protein prenylation as one of the important posttranslational modifications of proteins has crucial role in immune system regulation. In the current case–control study, we compared expression of five genes coding for the different subunits of proteins implicated in protein prenylation in 50 Iranian MS patients with those of healthy subjects. No significant difference has been found in FNTA and PGGT1B expressions between cases and controls. Spearman correlation analysis between FNTA relative expression and disease duration showed significant correlation in male patients (r?=???0.671, P?=?0.024) but not female patients (r?=?0.253, P?=?0.12). FNTB expression was significantly higher in MS patients compared with healthy subjects. Spearman correlation analysis between FNTB relative expression and disease duration showed significant correlation in male patients (r?=??0.876, P?=?0.004) but not female patients (r?=?0.296, P?=?0.06). RABGGTA was significantly upregulated in total MS patients, total male patients, female patients aged between 30 and 40 and male patients aged >40 compared with corresponding control groups. RABGGTB was significantly downregulated in total MS patients, total female patients, and female patients aged >?40 compared with corresponding control groups. Totally, we demonstrated dysregulation of protein prenylation pathway in MS patients compared with healthy subjects. Future studies are needed to find the clinical implication of this pathway in MS patients.     

Histopathology study on pulp response to glass ionomers in human teeth

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the pulpal response to a resin-modified glass ionomer, a conventional glass ionomer and calcium hydroxide. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Fifty-five deep Class V cavities were lined with Vivaglass Liner, Chembond Superior and Dycal. After seven, 30, and 60 days the teeth were extracted and a histological assessment was performed. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in pulpal response among the three groups for the same time interval (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Light-cured glass ionomers have similar advantages to conventional glass ionomers.     

Higher Frequency of Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping but Not Heart Rate Dipping in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background

Masked hypertension (MHTN) and lack of nocturnal dipping in blood pressure (BP) have been linked to the state of inflammation.

Aims

We aimed to assess the frequency of nocturnal patterns of BP and heart rate (HR) in patients with IBD.

Methods

Sixty-three normotensive patients with confirmed IBD during remission and 63 healthy subjects were enrolled in a case–control study. All subjects were monitored for BP and HR over a period of 24 h under ambulatory setting. Means for BP and HR were calculated for nighttime and daytime periods. Daytime BP ≥ 135/85 mmHg, nighttime BP ≥ 120/70 mmHg, and 24-h average BP ≥ 130/80 mmHg were defined as MHTN. The main end points of this study were lack of >10% nocturnal decrease in the systolic BP (NDP-BP) and in HR (NDP-HR).

Results

After exclusion of 8 patients with IBD from analysis, 55 patients and 63 control subjects (49% men) with a mean age of 37.5 ± 11.0 years were enrolled. NDP-BP was more common in the IBD group compared to controls (55 vs. 33%; P = 0.026). MHTN was detected in 24% of IBD patients compared to 8% among controls (P = 0.017). Meanwhile, NDP-HR was observed in 22% of the IBD patients and 30% of the control group (P = 0.402). IBD remained a significant predictor of NDP-BP (odds ratio 2.60, 95% confidence interval 1.19–5.51) following an adjustment for age and gender.

Conclusions

IBD is associated with higher frequency of NDP-BP and MHTN; however, nocturnal changes in HR were similar in both groups.