Relationship between serum bilirubin levels and metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Objective: We investigated the relationship between serum bilirubin levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS), and the longitudinal effects of baseline serum bilirubin concentrations on MetS in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders undergoing atypical antipsychotics. Methods: The sample of this study consisted of 131 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Waist circumference, blood pressure, and levels of triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, and insulin were evaluated at baseline and at month six. Serum bilirubin levels were measured at baseline. Serum bilirubin levels of the patients with and without MetS criteria were compared. We also compared patients with high and low bilirubin levels (upper and lower 50th percentiles of serum bilirubin levels) in terms of MetS criteria, MetS frequency, and course of MetS. Results: Serum direct bilirubin levels were more consistently related to MetS and MetS-related variables. The waist circumference and triglyceride criteria for MetS were significantly related to low serum direct bilirubin at baseline; waist circumference and fasting glucose criteria, and insulin resistance were associated with low serum direct bilirubin at follow-up. MetS diagnosis and the presence of the waist circumference criterion were more frequent at the baseline and the follow-up in low bilirubin group. At the end of the follow-up period, the rate of reverse MetS was significantly higher in the high bilirubin group. Conclusion: Our results have suggested that serum direct bilirubin levels showed a more reliable and stable relationship with abdominal obesity for MetS components.in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders using antipsychotics. Further studies are required. Copyright © 2017, Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Candida glabrata : a review of its features and resistance

Candida species belong to the normal microbiota of the oral cavity and gastrointestinal and vaginal tracts, and are responsible for several clinical manifestations, from mucocutaneous overgrowth to bloodstream infections. Once believed to be non-pathogenic, Candida glabrata was rapidly blamable for many human diseases. Year after year, these pathological circumstances are more recurrent and problematic to treat, especially when patients reveal any level of immunosuppression. These difficulties arise from the capacity of C. glabrata to form biofilms and also from its high resistance to traditional antifungal therapies. Thus, this review intends to present an excerpt of the biology, epidemiology, and pathology of C. glabrata, and detail an approach to its resistance mechanisms based on studies carried out up to the present.The authors are grateful to strategic project PTDC/SAU-MIC/119069/2010 for the financial support to the research center and for Celia F. Rodrigues' grant

Makrofaj mikroagregasyonunun i?nflamatuvar kolit tanısında rolü

Aim: Recent studies have advocated that the presence of macrophage microaggregations (MMA) may be a criterion in the diagnosis of Crohn's colitis (CC). In our study we aimed to investigate the role of MMA to differenti-ate ulcerative colitis (UC) and (CC). Material and Method: We analyzed the role of MMA in 29 patients with UC, 26 patients with CC and 22 healthy subjects without diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease. For all subjects, esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed. Biopsies were taken from non-lesion regions of stomach and duodenum. Biopsy materials underwent immunohistochemical staining for the microscopic investigation of the presence of MMA. Also, determination of Perinuclear Anti-Neutropil Cytoplasmic Antibodies (pANCA) and Anti-Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Antibodies (ASCA) (Immunoglobulin G and A) was done with ELISA in serum samples. In patient and control groups, presence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) positivity was histopathologically evaluated. Results: MMA was higher in patients with both CC and UC compared with control groups (46.2%, 41.3%, and 9.1% respec-tively). There was statistically significant difference between patient groups and the control group in terms of MMA but there was no difference between CC and UC groups (p=0.007). No statistically significant difference was ob-tained between the groups in terms of ASCA and p-ANCA. H.pylori positivity was determined in 41.3% of MMA patients with CC, in 75% of patients with UC, and in 50% of healthy subjects. There was no significant difference between the three groups (p=0.344). Discussion: MMA positivity increases in patients with both CC and UC. In patients with inflammatory colitis, H. pylori existence, pANCA and ASCA positivity was similar to healthy subjects

Relationship between serum bilirubin levels and metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Objective: We investigated the relationship between serum bilirubin levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS), and the longitudinal effects of baseline serum bilirubin concentrations on MetS in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders undergoing atypical antipsychotics. Methods: The sample of this study consisted of 131 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Waist circumference, blood pressure, and levels of triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, and insulin were evaluated at baseline and at month six. Serum bilirubin levels were measured at baseline. Serum bilirubin levels of the patients with and without MetS criteria were compared. We also compared patients with high and low bilirubin levels (upper and lower 50th percentiles of serum bilirubin levels) in terms of MetS criteria, MetS frequency, and course of MetS. Results: Serum direct bilirubin levels were more consistently related to MetS and MetS-related variables. The waist circumference and triglyceride criteria for MetS were significantly related to low serum direct bilirubin at baseline; waist circumference and fasting glucose criteria, and insulin resistance were associated with low serum direct bilirubin at follow-up. MetS diagnosis and the presence of the waist circumference criterion were more frequent at the baseline and the follow-up in low bilirubin group. At the end of the follow-up period, the rate of reverse MetS was significantly higher in the high bilirubin group. Conclusion: Our results have suggested that serum direct bilirubin levels showed a more reliable and stable relationship with abdominal obesity for MetS components.in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders using antipsychotics. Further studies are required. Copyright © 2017, Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology

The serum bilirubin levels and metabolic syndrome in schizophrenia patients: a prospective study

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