Homocysteine and nitric oxide in patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography.

We evaluated the plasma homocysteine (tHcy) and nitric oxide metabolites (nitrite plus nitrate; NOx) data of consecutive patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography (n=79) with respect to the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD), the presence of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and the risk status of patients. Hyperhomocysteinemia (&#62;15 micromol/L) was detected in 11% of the controls (n=19) and 37% of CAD patients (n=60) (p=0.03). Plasma tHcy in CAD patients was not significantly different from controls, but those with 3-vessel disease had a significantly higher tHcy concentrations than did controls (p=0.049). The patients with 3-vessel disease and ACS had the highest concentrations of tHcy (16.9 +- 4.4 micromol/L), and the difference from the ACS patients with 1- and 2-vessel involvement was significant (p=0.03). In patients with 1-vessel involvement, tHcy was correlated with NOx (r=0.62, p=0.005); in patients with 2- and 3-vessel disease this correlation could not be observed. The high-risk patients (n=51) had a higher mean number of vessel involvement and tHcy (p&#60;0.001, p&#60;0.05, respectively) but lower NOx (p&#60;0.05) when compared to the low-risk patients (n=28). It appears that in the early stages of atherosclerosis hyperhomocysteinemia causes an increase in NOx production, but with progression of the disease this compensatory increase disappears.</p

The effects of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on AGEs and sRAGE in type 2 diabetes mellitus

In diabetes mellitus, chronic hyperglycemia leads to formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Binding of AGEs to receptors of AGE (RAGE) causes deleterious effects. In populations with a high consumption of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, a lower prevalence of diabetes mellitus has been reported. We aimed to investigate the effects of n-3 fatty acid (EPA and DHA) supplementation on the levels of AGEs (carboxymethyl lysine (CML) and pentosidine), sRAGE, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). T2DM patients (n = 38) treated with oral hypoglycemic agents, without insulin were supplemented with n-3 fatty acids (1.2 g/day) for 2 months. Plasma CML, pentosidine, sRAGE, and NF-kB levels were measured by ELISA both before and after the supplementation. n-3 fatty acid supplementation significantly reduced fasting glucose (p < 0.01), glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) (p < 0.05), and pentosidine (p < 0.05) levels. The supplementation induced percentage changes in pentosidine and HbA(1c) and in pentosidine and creatinine were observed to be correlated (r = 0.349, p < 0.05) and (r = 0.377, p < 0.05), respectively. Waist circumference and systolic and diastolic pressures were significantly decreased due to n-3 supplementation (p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.01), respectively. Our results show that supplementation with n-3 fatty acid has beneficial effects on waist circumference; systolic and diastolic blood pressures; and the levels of glucose, HbA(1c), and pentosidine in T2DM patients. However, the supplementation failed to decrease these parameters to the reference ranges for healthy subjects. In addition, the supplementation did not appear to induce any significant differences in CML, sRAGE, or NF-kB

Oxidative damage to nuclear DNA in streptozotocin-diabetic rat liver

1. Accumulating evidence suggests that oxidative and glycative stress is enhanced in diabetes. Oxidative stress induces DNA damage. In the present study, we assessed the 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) content of DNA, an indicator of oxidative DNA damage, in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic (n=21) and control rats (n=18)

TRACHEAL RUPTURE DURING TRANSHIATAL ESOPHAGECTOMY AND ANESTHETIC PROBLEMS - A CASE-REPORT

Tracheal rupture is a rare but potentially serious complication of transhiatal esophagectomy (THE). In this situation, ventilation of the patient can be extremely difficult, even impossible, due to excessive gas leakage from tracheal tear. In this case report, we present such a patient in whom emergency thoracotomy and patching of the trachea were performed in order to maintain ventilation and oxygenation

Increased formation of 8-hydroxy-2 '-deoxyguanosine in peripheral blood leukocytes in bladder cancer

Introduction: Reactive oxygen species-induced damage to DNA plays a major role in carcinogenesis. Methods: In order to estimate the level of oxidative damage in bladder cancer, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was determined in DNA isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes of healthy adults and patients with superficial transitional cell carcinoma. Patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and control individuals were similar in age. In this study, the level of 8-OHdG in DNA in male subjects was measured by the high-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detector method. Results: The 8-OHdG levels in DNA from leukocytes of bladder cancer patients were significantly higher than those in controls. Conclusion: Reduction of oxidative stress is thought to be a very important measure for primary prevention of bladder cancer. Copyright (C) 2003 S. KargerAG, Basel