Introduction: To date, there is not generally accepted and universal indicator of activity, and functional integrity of the small intestine in patients with coeliac disease. The aim of our study was ...to investigate whether serum concentrations of the non-essential amino acids citrulline and ornithine might have this function. Methods: We examined serum citrulline and ornithine concentrations in a subgroup of patients with proven coeliac disease and healthy controls (blood donors). Results: A total of 94 patients with coeliac disease (29 men, mean age 53 ± 18 years; 65 women, mean age 44 ± 14 years) and 35 healthy controls (blood donors) in whom coeliac disease was serologically excluded (10 men, mean age 51 ± 14 years; 25 women, mean age 46 ± 12 years) were included in the study. Significantly lower concentrations of serum ornithine were found in patients with coeliac disease (mean 65 ± 3 μmol/L; median 63 μmol/L, IQR 34 μmol/L, p < 0.001). No statistically nor clinically significant differences were found in the citrulline concentrations between the study and control group. Conclusions: Serum ornithine (but not citrulline) may be useful for assessing the functional status of the small intestine in uncomplicated coeliac disease. Further studies involving more detailed analysis of dietary and metabolic changes in patients will be needed to reach definitive conclusions.
Our aims were to isolate and cultivate mesenchymal dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) in various media enriched with human blood components, and subsequently to investigate their basic biological ...properties.
DPSC were cultivated in five different media based on α MEM containing different concentrations of human plasma (HP), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), or fetal calf serum (FCS). The DPSC biological properties were examined periodically.
We cultivated DPSC in the various cultivation media over 15 population doublings except for the medium supplemented with 10% HP. Our results showed that DPSC cultivated in medium supplemented with 10% PRP showed the shortest average population doubling time (DT) (28.6 ± 4.6 hours), in contrast to DPSC cultivated in 10% HP which indicated the longest DT (156.2 ± 17.8 hours); hence this part of the experiment had been cancelled in the 6th passage. DPSC cultivated in media with 2% FCS+ITS (DT 47.3 ± 10.4 hours), 2% PRP (DT 40.1 ± 5.7 hours) and 2% HP (DT 49.0 ± 15.2 hours) showed almost the same proliferative activity. DPSC's viability in the 9th passage was over 90% except for the DPSC cultivated in the 10% HP media.
We proved that human blood components are suitable substitution for FCS in cultivation media for long-term DPSC cultivation.
Interleukin 6 plays an important role in chronic heart failure (HF), but little is known about its involvement in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). The aim of our study is to evaluate the ...prognostic role of interleukin 6 (IL-6) in the patients with ADHF.
Plasma levels of interleukin IL-6, N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide levels, and clinical covariates were measured in 92 patients with ADHF. Survival was followed up to 12 months, and prognostic factors were evaluated.
Elevated plasma IL-6 levels were increased in nonsurvivors and were associated with 1-year mortality (p < 0.01). Plasma IL-6 levels were associated with plasma NT-proBNP levels. In multivariate analysis, increased plasma IL-6 and NT-proBNP levels remained strong independent predictors of 1-year mortality.
Plasma IL-6 levels provide important prognostic information in the patients with ADHF. Measurement combining plasma IL-6 and NT-proBNP should serve as a powerful prognostic tool of multimarker strategy in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.
: The aim of this work is to arbitrate the incidence of side effects and tolerability of long lasting LDL‐apheresis in familial hyperlipoproteinemia. 1200 procedures were performed and the last 463 ...of them were evaluated. An immunoadsorption method of LDL‐apheresis was used (continuous blood cell separator Cobe Spectra; secondary device: automated adsorption‐desorption ADA, Medicap; absorption columns: Lipopak). As a whole, 6.26% adverse events were found and subsequently resolved by standard symptomatic therapy. Vaso‐vagal reactions (symptoms of neurovegetative lability) were the most common adverse effects, presented as malaise, weakness, slight and short‐term drop in blood pressure or other general signs. They were all well controlled by symptomatic therapy. We conclude that LDL‐apheresis in the hands of experienced personnel is a safe procedure. An acceptable procedure duration limit, balancing the possibility to achieve a targeted cholesterol level while still maintaining an acceptable patient tolerance, was confirmed to be 4 hours.
The increasing threat of nuclear incidents and the widespread use of ionizing radiation (IR) in medical treatments underscore the urgent need for effective radiation countermeasures. Despite the ...availability of compounds such as amifostine, their clinical utility is significantly limited by adverse side effects and logistical challenges in administration. This study focuses on the synthesis and evaluation of novel piperazine derivatives as potential radioprotective agents, with the aim of overcoming the limitations associated with current countermeasures. We designed, synthesized, and evaluated a series of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine derivatives. The compounds were assessed for cytotoxicity across a panel of human cell lines, and for their radioprotective effects in the MOLT-4 lymphoblastic leukemia cell line and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) exposed to gamma radiation. The radioprotective efficacy was further quantified using the dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) to measure DNA damage mitigation. Among the synthesized derivatives, compound 6 demonstrated the most significant radioprotective effects in vitro , with minimal cytotoxicity across the tested cell lines. Compound 3 also showed notable efficacy, particularly in reducing dicentric chromosomes, thus indicating its potential to mitigate DNA damage from IR. Both compounds exhibited superior safety profiles and effectiveness compared to amifostine, suggesting their potential as more viable radioprotective agents. This study highlights the development of novel piperazine derivatives with promising radioprotective properties. Compound 6 emerged as the leading candidate, offering an optimal balance between efficacy and safety, with compound 3 also displaying significant potential. These findings support the further development and clinical evaluation of these compounds as safer, and more effective radiation countermeasures.
We carried out a retrospective analysis on a series of 1743 plasma donors during the period from January 1999 to February 2004 to determine the frequency of monoclonal gammopathies occurrence. In the ...whole group, we observed 0.68% occurence and in the subgroup of donors over 40 years of age even 1.18% occurrence of the serum paraprotein. We have presented our recommendations for the screening of monoclonal gammopathies in blood donors.
The aim of this study was to find the influence of blood withdrawals and diet iron on elective surgery. Male Wistar rats (n=24) were divided: 1. group (SLD) ate standard laboratory diet (SLD), 2. ...group (FE) an iron enriched diet (FE) with one blood withdrawal after 9 weeks. 3. group (SLD-w) SLD and 4. group (FE-w) ate the FE diet; with 9 withdrawals once a week. The rats were sacrificed 18 hour after partial hepatectomy (PH) in the 10th week. Liver DNA synthesis (3H-thymidin - kBq/mg DNA) was performed. Serum hepcidin (pg/ml), iron concentration, respiratory burst of polymorfonucleares (RB, spontaneous; stimulated, %), count of blood cells were determined. FE-w had a higher (2.36+/-0.36) liver DNA synthesis after PH vs. SLD (1.21+/-0.49). Higher hemoglobin in erythrocytes (pg) was in FE-w and SLD-w vs. FE and SLD. PMN count in SLD-w, FE-w increased vs. SLD, FE. Hepcidin after PH decreased in SLD (78.0), FE (68.0), FE-w (97.0), but increased in SLD-w (217). Serum iron increased in SLD-w. RB after PH increased in FE-w (4.5; 47.6) vs. SLD (1.15; 29.1), FE (3.20;17.8), SLD-w (3.30;13.7).
The iron diet with stimulation of haematopoesis by withdrawals improves an organism's condition expressed as better response to elective surgery and better PMN functions.
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