Magnesium, zinc and iron serum levels as potential parameters significant for effective glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes

Background. Various trace elements contribute to the development of diabetes and its complications through their roles in glucose metabolism and the oxidative stress response. The aim of this study was to ascertain the difference in serum magnesium, zinc and iron concentrations between healthy children and children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). This study also aimed to determine whether serum concentrations of magnesium, zinc, and iron in children with T1DM correlated with the duration of the disease and the quality of glycemic control in this group. Material and methods. A total of 99 children with T1DM and 40 healthy children were included in this study. Magnesium, zinc and iron serum levels were assessed using the photometric method. Results. Significantly lower levels of magnesium and zinc (P < 0.001) were observed, between the T1DM group and the healthy control group but no statistically significant differences were found in iron levels (P = 0.13) between the two groups. While there were no statistically significant differences in serum concentrations with respect to the duration of disease, it was, however, discovered that children with poorer glycemic control had significantly lower serum zinc concentrations (P < 0.001) while magnesium and iron levels remained similar (P = 0.07 and 0.21 respectively). Conclusion. This study found that while there was no significant difference in iron serum levels in children with T1DM compared to healthy controls, children with T1DM did have more significantly decreased magnesium and zinc serum levels than the control group. Serum zinc levels in this study also directly correlated to poorer glycemic control. Further studies are required to explore whether magnesium and zinc supplementa­tion, or nutritional intake, could potentially be used to achieve better glycemic control in children with T1DM

Analytical bias of automated immunoassays for six serum steroid hormones assessed by LC-MS/MS

Introduction: There is a growing amount of evidence showing the significant analytical bias of steroid hormone immunoassays, but large number of available immunoassays makes conduction of a single comprehensive study of this issue hardly feasible. Aim of this study was to assess the analytical bias of six heterogeneous immunoassays for serum aldosterone, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), testosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (OHP) and progesterone using the liquid chromatography coupled to the tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Materials and methods: This method comparison study included 49 serum samples. Testosterone, DHEAS, progesterone and cortisol immunoassays were performed on the Abbott Architect i2000SR or Alinity i analysers (Abbott Diagnostics, Chicago, USA). DiaSorin’s Liaison (DiaSorin, Saluggia, Italy) and DIAsource’s ETI-Max 3000 analysers (DIAsource ImmunoAssays, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium) were chosen for aldosterone and OHP immunoassay testing, respectively. All immunoassays were evaluated against the LC-MS/MS assay relying on the commercial kit (Chromsystems, Gräfelfing, Germany) and LCMS-8050 analyser (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). Analytical biases were calculated and method comparison was conducted using weighted Deming regression analysis. Results: Depending on the analyte and specific immunoassay, mean relative biases ranged from -31 to + 137%. Except for the cortisol, immunoassays were positively biased. For none of the selected steroids slope and intercept 95% confidence intervals simultaneously contained 0 and 1, respectively. Conclusions: Evaluated immunoassays failed to satisfy requirements for methods’ comparability and produced significant analytical biases in respect to the LC-MS/MS assay, especially at low concentrations

Anti-Citrullinated Antibodies, Radiological Joint Damages and Their Correlations with Disease Activity Score (DAS28)

Determination of anti-citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) specificity as a predictor of joint erosive changes, correlation between their serum level and radiological damages as well as disease activity score (DAS28). A trial has been conducted on a 211 patient sample fulfilling ACR criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There was assigned anti-CCP serum level, disease activity score by the formula for DAS28(3)-CRP and assessed radiological changes degree after Steinbrocker score. In 132 patient (62,559%) the serum anti-CCP concentration was positive for RA. Specificity of the test was 100% and sensitivity 65% (Z=0,731, p=0,465). There is a medium intensity correlation between variables representing anti- -CCP and Steinbrocker score. Pearson’s coefficient was 0,479 and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was 0,614, i.e. statistically significant (p=0,000). There is no statistically significant correlation between variables representing anti- -CCP and DAS28(3)-CRP. Anti-CCP are good RA predictor and their concentration correlate with radiological damages degree

Stężenia magnezu, cynku i żelaza w surowicy jako parametry mogące mieć istotne znaczenie w skutecznej kontroli cukrzycy typu 1 u dzieci

Wstęp. Pierwiastki śladowe przyczyniają się do rozwoju cukrzycy i jej powikłań w związku z ich rolą w metabolizmie glukozy i reakcji na stres oksydacyjny. Celem niniejszego badania było ustalenie różnicy w stężeniach magnezu, cynku i żelaza w surowicy między zdrowymi dziećmi a dziećmi z cukrzycą typu 1 (T1DM). Badanie to miało również na celu ustalenie, czy stężenia magnezu, cynku i żelaza w surowicy u dzieci z T1DM są skorelowane z czasem trwania choroby i jakością kontroli glikemii w tej grupie. Materiał i metody. W badaniu wzięło udział 99 dzieci chorych na T1DM i 40 dzieci zdrowych. Stężenia mag­nezu, cynku i żelaza w surowicy oceniono za pomocą metody fotometrycznej. Wyniki. W grupie dzieci z T1DM stężenia magnezu i cynku (p < 0,001) były istotnie niższe niż w grupie kontrolnej, ale nie stwierdzono statystycznie istotnych różnic między grupami w stężeniach żelaza (p = 0,13). Mimo że stężenia badanych pierwiastków w surowicy nie różniły się istotnie w zależności od czasu trwania choroby, odkryto, że u dzieci z gorszą kontrolą glikemii stężenia cynku w surowicy były znacznie niższe (p < 0,001), podczas gdy stężenia magnezu i żelaza pozostawały zbliżone (p = odpowiednio 0,07 i 0,21). Wnioski. W badaniu wykazano, że chociaż nie było istotnej różnicy w stężeniach żelaza w surowicy między dziećmi z T1DM a zdrową grupą kontrolną, u dzieci z T1DM stężenia magnezu i cynku w surowicy były istotnie niższe niż w grupie kontrolnej. Stężenia cynku w surowicy bezpośrednio korelowały również z gorszą kontrolą glikemii. Konieczne są dalsze badania w celu ustalenia, czy można wykorzystać suplementację magnezu i cynku lub ich spożycie w diecie do uzyskania lepszej kontroli glikemii u dzieci z T1DM

Is Yessotoxin the Main Phycotoxin in Croatian Waters?

With the aim of investigating whether yessotoxin (YTX) is responsible for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) events in Croatian waters, three different methods were combined: a modified mouse bioassay (MBA) that discriminates YTX from other DSP toxins, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method (ELISA) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Among 453 samples of mussels and seawater analyzed in 2007, 10 samples were DSP positive. Results obtained by the modified MBA method revealed that most of the samples were positive for YTX, with the exception of samples from Lim Bay (LB 1) The ELISA method also identified the presence of YTX in these samples. DSP toxin profiles showed the presence of okadaic acid (OA) in three, and YTX in four out of nine samples that were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. The phytoplankton community structure pattern revealed Lingulodinium polyedrum (Stein) Dodge, which was present in the water prior to and/or during toxicity events at low concentrations (80 to 1440 cells L-1), as a potential YTX producing species. It is proposed that L. polyedrum cells accumulated in mussels and the subsequently observed toxicity may be related to metabolism after ingestion, resulting in carboxy YTX as the major analog in the mussel