1,721,113 research outputs found
A normal calcium, low protein, low salt diet reduced recurrence of renal stones over 5 years
No full text
Epidemiological and biological evidence of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in cancer.
No full textNeutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), also known as lipocalin-2, is a 178-amino acid protein which exists in three molecular forms, including a 25-kDa monomer, a 45-kDa homodimer, and a 135-kDa heterodimer complexed with matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). Polymorphonuclear neutrophils and tubular cells of the kidney are the most representative cellular sources. As such, NGAL is now considered the biochemical gold standard for early diagnosis of acute kidney injury. Recent evidence suggests, however, that ectopic or enhanced expression of NGAL may occur in many other pathologic conditions including cancer. Several epidemiologic studies, as reviewed in this chapter, showed that a variety of malignant tumors consistently overexpressed NGAL with increased concentration in blood, urine, and other biologic fluids. In addition, NGAL was frequently associated with tumor size, stage, and invasiveness. These features thus make it a potential biomarker for malignancy. A number of experimental studies also demonstrated that the ability to bind MMP-9, to scavenge iron into cancer cells along with the effect on subcellular localization of transmembrane proteins such as cadherins and catenins, confers this protein the potential to enhance cancer aggressiveness and makes it an appealing target of future anticancer research
Cystinuria: description of a simple method of determination and our 5-year clinical experience
No full textIon exchange chromatography is the best method for the determination of cysteine in urine, but it requires an expensive apparatus, specialized technicians and a long time. The major colorimetric procedure is the nitroprusside color reaction first described by Brand, but it involves the reaction with toxic cyanide reagent. Moreover commercial stick are not available. We have experienced a colorimetric procedure in which the sulfhydryl group of cystine reduces phosphotungstic acid to tungstic blue, which is determined photometrically. This procedure avoids the use of cyanide. We used this screening test during 5 years of ambulatory evaluation of nephrolithiasis and we found these results: urine cystine 191 controls: 87 +/- 57 mg/day, 870 stone oxalate and uric acid patients: 99 +/- 57 mg/day, 11 stone cystine patients: 479 +/- 379 mg/day (p 0.001). A close correlation was found in stone cystine patients between our data obtained in the same sample with ion exchange chromatography. We conclude that this inexpensive and simple method can be recommended as a screening test for cystinuria
Adiponectin and migraine: systematic review of clinical evidence.
No full textAlthough the pathogenesis of migraine is very complex and has not been thoughtfully elucidated, general consensus exists to date that this condition should be considered a primary neurovascular disorder with an important inflammatory component. Due to epidemiological evidence of increased risk of migraine in overweight and obese subjects and to the inverse relationship that exists between serum adiponectin concentration and obesity, we performed an electronic search on Medline, Scopus and Web of Science, using the keywords “migraine” and “adiponectin” with no language or date restriction to explore the existence of an association between serum adiponectin and migraine. According to our search criteria, five studies were finally included in this systematic review, four cross-sectional (totalling 300 patients with migraine and 177 controls) and one interventional. Collectively, the results of our analysis suggest that a link between serum adiponectin and migraine remains elusive, at the best. Three of the four cross sectional studies failed to find any significant association, whereas the outcome of the single interventional study reported a rather modest variation of serum adiponectin concentration in a very limited sample size. Further larger studies are needed to firmly establish the existence of a relationship between adiponectin metabolism and migraine
Interference from heterophilic antibodies in troponin testing. Case report and systematic review of the literature.
No full textHeterophilic antibodies, comprising both "true" heterophilic antibodies and human anti-mouse antibodies (HAMA), represent an important source of interference in laboratory medicine, thus including cardiospecific troponin(s) testing. We describe the case of a 76-years-old woman with implausible and persistent elevation of cardiospecific troponin I, which was finally attributed to interference from heterophilic antibodies. According to literature data, the frequency of this interference ranges between 0.1 and 3.1%, is almost unpredictable and unsuspected, may involve both cardiospecific troponins I and T, and may virtually affect any type of immunoassay, either one- or two-step. The presence of interfering antibodies should always be suspected when test results do not go hand in hand with the clinics, or with the results of additional radiological and laboratory investigations. Once other causes of interference have been ruled out, test repetition with an alternative assay and removal of interfering antibodies with heterophilic antibodies blocking reagent, normal mouse serum, immobilized protein A column or polyethylene glycol may be advisable. As a simple alternative, measurement of serial dilutions of suspected samples usually shows nonlinearity of test results in the presence of heterophilic antibodies
Human gut microbiome: The hypothesis of a gut-muscle axis in the elderly
No full text›› In the last decade, scientists have accumulated increasing evidence showing that the human gut microbiota, i.e. the ensemble of bacteria symbiotically living in the intestinal lumen of every individual, is involved in many aspects of human physiology and, possibly, disease. ›› In fact, specific alterations of the gut microbiota, generally referred with the term of “dysbiosis”, have been detected in a large number of acute and chronic diseases, not involving only gastroenteric system. The microbiota may exert its influence on distant organs with multiple mechanisms, involving modulation of inflammation, anabolism, insulin sensitivity, bioavailability of nutrients, release of toxins, and metabolically active mediators. ›› In this short review, we summarize the basis of the “gut-mu-scle axis” hypothesis, that is, the possible influence exerted by gut microbiota composition on skeletal muscle metabolism and function. This hypothesis is particularly focused on the pathophysiology of sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and function associated with a large number of adverse outcomes in older people. ›› Although no human studies support the possible involvement of gut microbiota in the onset of sarcopenia, some studies performed on mouse models seem to support the assumption that the age-related decline in muscle mass and function is associated with a distinct gut microbiota composition towards dysbiosis. ›› More studies should thus investigate the possible connections between gut microbiota and muscle health
Pathophysiology, clinics, diagnosis and treatment of heart involvement in carbon monoxide poisoning.
No full textThe toxicity of carbon monoxide has been recognized for long throughout history and is unquestionably the leading cause of unintentional poisoning deaths in the Western countries. The severity of poisoning is dependent upon environmental and human factor. The leading pathophysiological mechanism resides in the ability of carbon monoxide to bind to hemoglobin molecules with high affinity, displacing oxygen and generating carboxyhemoglobin, which is virtually ineffective to deliver oxygen to the tissues. The organs with the highest demand for oxygen such as the brain and the heart are more vulnerable to injury. Myocardial involvement is commonplace in moderate to severe carbon monoxide poisoning and is associated with a substantially higher risk of mortality. Besides hypoxic damage, carbon monoxide produces myocardium injuries with cardiospecific mechanisms, mostly attributable to direct damage at cellular or subcellular level. The clinical spectrum of heart involvement is broad and encompasses cardiomyopathy, angina attack, myocardial infarction, arrhythmias and heart failure up to myocardial stunning, cardiogenic shock and sudden death. Patients with underlying cardiac disease, especially coronary heart disease, are at greater risk of infarction and arrhythmias. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is the technique of choice for diagnosing cardiac involvement, whereas the recent introduction of the highly sensitive troponin immunoassays seems promising for the early triage of patients. No specific treatment other than oxygen delivery can be advocated for cardiac toxicity at present, and 100% oxygen therapy should be continued until the patient is asymptomatic and carboxyhemoglobin levels decrease below 5-10%. © 2012 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
