Circulating Preptin as a Marker for Osteoblast Inhibition in Rheumatoid Arthritic Patients Treated with Corticosteroids

Preptin is a newly isolated 34 amino acid peptide hormone co-secreted with insulin and amylin from pancreatic β-cells as a regulatory element in bone metabolism with an unclear yet mechanism Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints Two classes of medications are used in the management of RA: fast-acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteoids, and slow-acting drugs. Corticosteroids are well known to have several adverse effects on bone metabolism. Aim The aim of the present study is to assess the association of corticostroids when used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritic patients, with circulating preptin, in an attempt to shed a light on the mechanism of induced osteoporosis in such patients. Subjects and methods Ninety subjects were enrolled in this study. Divided into three groups: G1= Thirty RA lean patients taking DMARDs + corticosteroids G2= Thirty RA lean patients taking DMARDs without corticosteroids G3= Thirty healthy weight and aged matched controls Circulating serum preptin was measured in all groups using ELISA technique. Results Results showed that circulating serum preptin was elevated in patients with RA. However it was lower in G1 than in G2 In conclusion Results showed that preptin was affected in such patients when compared to arthritic patients not treated with corticosteroids. This suggests that this newly discovered hormone could be considered as a new marker for bone mineral density and osteoporosis

The role of sex hormones, waist circumference, BMI and Leptinemia in patients with acute renal failure.

Background: Acute renal failure is characterized by impaired excretory endocrine homeostatic and metabolic functions of the kidneys. Objective: The aim of this study is to look for the role of sex hormones, waist circumference and leptinemia in patients with acute renal failure. Subjects and Methods: 55 subjects were involved in this study, 30 had acute renal failure and the remaining 25 subjects were normal healthy individuals who served as a control. The age range of the patients was between 25 and 45 years with a mean of 37±8.2 years. Five mls of blood were withdrawn from each subject by vein puncture. Enzyme linked immuno assay (ELISA) was used for the measurement of serum leptin level. Radio immuno assay (RIA) technique was used for the measurements of testosterone  and estradiol levels. Data were expressed as mean±SD. Results were evaluated using the student t-test for paired data. Conventional methods were used for the correlation and regression analyses. Results: Patients with acute renal failure show a significant increase in leptin level, BMI and waist circumference than healthy group. On the other hand, testosterone level shows significant decrease while estradiol serum level shows a significant increase when compared with the healthy group in both genders although more significant in females. Females with acute renal failure have significantly higher level of leptin than in males with acute renal failure as well as the anthropometrical measurements (BMI & waist circumference). Conclusion: Increased level of serum leptin and estradiol in acute renal failure is a reflection of increased waist circumference of the patients and the effected renal parenchyma which make the ability of the kidney for biodegradation very poor. On the other hand testesteron has a significant effect on serum leptin levels as can be seen through its positive effect in males rather in females

oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation as markers of oxidative stress type 2 diabetic patients

Background: type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that is accompanied by  the production of free radicals which will ultimately increase the level of oxidative stress