Electron Pathways through Erythrocyte Plasma Membrane in Human Physiology and Pathology: Potential Redox Biomarker?

Erythrocytes are involved in the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body. Since pH is the influential factor in the Bohr-Haldane effect, pHi is actively maintained via secondary active transports Na+/H+ exchange and HC3−/Cl− anion exchanger. Because of the redox properties of the iron, hemoglobin generates reactive oxygen species and thus, the human erythrocyte is constantly exposed to oxidative damage. Although the adult erythrocyte lacks protein synthesis and cannot restore damaged proteins, it is equipped with high activity of protective enzymes. Redox changes in the cell initiate various signalling pathways. Plasma membrane oxido-reductases (PMORs) are transmembrane electron transport systems that have been found in the membranes of all cells and have been extensively characterized in the human erythrocyte. Erythrocyte PMORs transfer reducing equivalents from intracellular reductants to extracellular oxidants, thus their most important role seems to be to enable the cell respond to changes in intra- and extra-cellular redox environments

The Enlarging List of Phenotypic Characteristics That Might Allow the Clinical Identification of Families at Risk for Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease whose aetiology and pathogenesis remain not completely understood. Most diabetic cases are complex diseases resulting from interactions between genetic and environmental determinants in genetically predisposed individuals. Genome-wide association studies allowed understanding a genetic architecture of many genetic loci with many variants of small effect. Hence, genetic risk modelling to derive prediction of individual risk and risk to relatives are difficult to reconcile. Testing for multiple antibodies can individuate individuals at very high risk for autoimmune type 1 diabetes with good sensitivity. However, currently no intervention can effectively prevent or delay diabetes, and awareness of risk is useless or even stressful. Moreover, both genetic risk and serum autoantibody profiling are uneconomical when applied in the general population. Over the years, our research efforts have sought primarily to gain a comprehensive understanding of the common phenotypic elements that characterise families with a sporadic case of type 1 diabetes. The chapter provides a research-based overview of these familial peculiarities that include multifaceted, easily detectable, clinical perturbations: physical (BMI), cardiovascular (blood pressure response to exercise and circadian blood pressure pattern), biochemical (fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, lipids, homeostasis model assessment of insulin sensitivity, plasma markers of oxidative damage), cellular (cellular markers of oxidative damage, transplasma membrane electron transport systems, mirochondrial membrane potential), and immunological (lymphocyte subsets). First question: may insulin-resistance be their common denominator? Therefore, second question: could an early correction of one/some of these common clinical abnormalities modify the natural history of the disease and thence its epidemiology? A proper (more realistic) public health intervention (by general and family practitioners) should be designed beyond the conventional boundaries that have for so long limited the visual field

Can Mediterranean Diet Counteract Metabolic Syndrome Diffusion?

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The point-of-care testing in diabetology

In diabetic patients glucose, haemoglobin A1c, ketones, lipids, and urinary albumin monitoring allows prevention, early detection, and treatment of diabetes-related acute and chronic complications. The point-of-care testing (PoCT) technology offers convenient aspects, as long as pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical errors are minimised. The overview summarises the current state-of-the-art of PoCT in diabetes care

Bruxism and Cardio Vascular Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Clinical Efficacy of A Nutraceutical Approach for the Management of Dyslipidemia in Metabolic Disorders: A One-Year Treatment With Armolipid Plus

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Insulin administration: present strategies and future directions for a noninvasive (possibly more physiological) delivery

nsulin is a life-saving medication for people with type 1 diabetes, but traditional insulin replacement therapy is based on multiple daily subcutaneous injections or continuous subcutaneous pump-regulated infusion. Nonphysiologic delivery of subcutaneous insulin implies a rapid and sustained increase in systemic insulin levels due to the loss of concentration gradient between portal and systemic circulations. In fact, the liver degrades about half of the endogenous insulin secreted by the pancreas into the venous portal system. The reverse insulin distribution has short- and long-term effects on glucose metabolism. Thus, researchers have explored less-invasive administration routes based on innovative pharmaceutical formulations, which preserve hormone stability and ensure the therapeutic effectiveness. This review examines some of the recent proposals from clinical and material chemistry point of view, giving particular attention to patients' (and diabetologists') ideal requirements that organic chemistry could meet

Regulatory T Cells with Effector Memory Phenotype and Glycaemic Control in Adult Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

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