Levothyroxine and lung cancer in females: the importance of oxidative stress

BACKGROUND: Levothyroxine (LT(4)) treatment can lead to iatrogenic hyperthyroidism and oxidative stress that can cause patient discomfort. Oxidative stress is also recognized as one of the causes of chronic diseases and cancer. METHODS: The prevalence of breast, colorectal, gastric and lung cancer in 18 Italian Regions during 2010 was correlated with the sales of LT(4) in 2009. The cancer prevalence was analyzed in women aged 30–84. This age range corresponds to more than 80% of the consumers of the drug and to about 99% of all malignant cancers. The correlation between sales of LT(4) and cancers was determined with the technique of Density Ellipses. The age and smoking contribution for lung cancer was determined with the Sequential test. RESULTS: No significant correlation was seen between LT(4) sales and breast, colorectal and gastric cancers. A significant correlation was instead found for lung cancer (p < 0.05) corrected for smoking and age. CONCLUSIONS: LT(4) consumption in Italy is about 0.7 boxes/women/year. There is a correlation between lung cancer and LT(4) treatment and oxidative stress caused by LT(4) supplementation can be one of the causes. Although we cannot exclude that dysthyroidism needing LT(4) supplementation might be the ground for lung cancer itself and measuring oxidative stress could be helpful in avoiding excessive use of the drug

Determination of Plasma Antioxidant Power in Capillary Blood through the Innovative system PAT (Plasma Antioxidant Test)

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Validation of a patented method to determine the antioxidant capacity of human saliva based on the reduction of iron: the SAT test

The defense against damaging attack at mouth level caused by reactive species, in particular reactive oxygen species (ROS), is guaranteed by saliva, the main constituent of the antioxidant barrier. The aim of the performed tests was to establish the precision, linearity, and accuracy of the new patented test, SAT, on saliva samples taken from healthy volunteers. The analysis also provided useful information on storage conditions of the sample at low temperatures and on the normality range and defined the influences of interferences (in particular phosphates) in the determination

RESEARCH Open Access

Analysis of oxidative stress during the menstrual cycl

Performance evaluation of the innovative PAT test, comparison with the common BAP test and influence of interferences on the evaluation of the plasma antioxidant capacity

Antioxidants (AOs) represent the main barrier of defense against damaging aggression due to reactive species, in particular by reactive oxygen species (ROS). The plasma AO capacity is a measure of physiological, environmental, and nutritional factors (exposure to ROS and antioxidant supplementation) determining the redox status in humans and can underline the oxidative stress (OS) conditions in the progression/development of many diseases. Moreover, changes in AO plasma content after supplementation may provide information on the absorption and bioavailability of nutritional compounds and efficacy of AO therapy

Activity of 30 different cheeses on cholesterol plasma levels and Oxidative Balance Risk Index (OBRI) in a rat model

Background: Cheese is considered to increase the total cholesterol levels (CH) due to the high-saturated fat content. New models are needed to measure the relationship between cholesterol and cheese. Methods: Thirty different cheeses produced in Val Brembana, Italy ("furmai da mut'', "caprino'' and "stracchino''), were added to the diet of 30 groups of 4 rats. Cheeses were analyzed to differentiate the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the cholesterol content (Ch(f)). The body weight, CH, urine volume and oxidative balance were measured. Three new indexes in relation to CH were calculated: OI (oxidative index), PI (protective index) and OBRI (oxidative balance risk index). Results: None of the cheeses increased CH. Some of the "furmai de mut'' were significantly decreasing CH and improved the oxidative balance. Ch(f) was not affecting the CH levels in plasma. In terms of VOCs, the acetic acid content was correlated (p<0.05) with the CH reduction and PI improvement. OBRI was reduced mainly in the "stracchino group''. Conclusions: The model shows that some cheese can reduce significantly CH levels and improve the antioxidant capacity