Evaluation of serum heat shock protein 70 concentration in women with recurrent miscarriages

Background. Heat shock proteins (Hsp) were discovered over 50 years ago and are commonly called ‘stress proteins’. Hsp proteins play an important role in a cell, in that they provide protection against cellstress factors and environmentally negative factors. The most conservative, and the best known, heat shock proteins are Hsp 70 subfamily proteins. It has been suggested that an increase of Hsp 70 in the blood during pregnancy has a negative impact. The aetiology of recurrent miscarriages in more than 60% of women remains unexplained. Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of Hsp 70 assessment in the diagnosis of recurrent miscarriages.Material and methods. The study group consisted of 100 women (aged 36.0 ± 4.9 years) who had experienced repeated miscarriages. The reference group consisted of 60 women (aged 36.1 ± 3.6 years), who had been pregnant at least twice and who had given birth by a spontaneous labour without complications. Hsp 70 was determined in the serum.Results. We found no significant differences in the Hsp 70 concentration between the women with recurrent miscarriages and the reference group. While median serum Hsp 70 was the most elevated in the women with the highest number of miscarriages, this difference was not significant.Conclusion. Based on the obtained results, it is difficult to determine whether Hsp 70 plays a causative role in recurrent miscarriages. However, taking into account the fact that the role of Hsp 70 in the course of normal and pathological pregnancy is not yet completely understood, it may be worth expanding the study to include a larger group of women with recurrent miscarriages

A Quantum Probability Perspective on Borderline Vagueness

The term “vagueness” describes a property of natural concepts, which normally have fuzzy boundaries, admit borderline cases, and are susceptible to Zeno's sorites paradox. We will discuss the psychology of vagueness, especially experiments investigating the judgment of borderline cases and contradictions. In the theoretical part, we will propose a probabilistic model that describes the quantitative characteristics of the experimental finding and extends Alxatib's and Pelletier's () theoretical analysis. The model is based on a Hopfield network for predicting truth values. Powerful as this classical perspective is, we show that it falls short of providing an adequate coverage of the relevant empirical results. In the final part, we will argue that a substantial modification of the analysis put forward by Alxatib and Pelletier and its probabilistic pendant is needed. The proposed modification replaces the standard notion of probabilities by quantum probabilities. The crucial phenomenon of borderline contradictions can be explained then as a quantum interference phenomenon

Usefulness of C-reactive protein as a marker of early post-infarct left ventricular systolic dysfunction

Objective To assess the usefulness of in-hospital measurement of C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration in comparison to well-established risk factors as a marker of post-infarct left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) at discharge. Materials and methods Two hundred and four consecutive patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were prospectively enrolled into the study. CRP plasma concentrations were measured before reperfusion, 24 h after admission and at discharge with an ultra-sensitive latex immunoassay. Results CRP concentration increased significantly during the first 24 h of hospitalization (2.4 ± 1.9 vs. 15.7 ± 17.0 mg/L; p\0.001) and persisted elevated at discharge (14.7 ± 14.7 mg/L), mainly in 57 patients with LVSD (2.4 ± 1.8 vs. 25.0 ± 23.4 mg/L; p\0.001; CRP at discharge 21.9 ± 18.6 mg/L). The prevalence of LVSD was significantly increased across increasing tertiles of CRP concentration both at 24 h after admission (13.2 vs. 19.1 vs. 51.5 %; p\0.0001) and at discharge (14.7 vs. 23.5 vs. 45.6 %; p\0.0001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated CRP concentration at discharge to be an independent marker of early LVSD (odds ratio of 1.38 for a 10 mg/L increase, 95 % confidence interval 1.01–1.87; p\0.04). Conclusion Measurement of CRP plasma concentration at discharge may be useful as a marker of early LVSD in patients after a first STEMI

Clinical Study Value of C-Reactive Protein in Predicting Left Ventricular Remodelling in Patients with a First ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Objective. To assess the value of C-reactive protein (CRP) in predicting postinfarct left ventricular remodelling (LVR). Methods. We measured in-hospital plasma CRP concentrations in patients with a first ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Results. LVR was present at 6 months in 27.8% of 198 patients. CRP concentration rose during the first 24 h, mainly in LVR group. The prevalence of LVR was higher in patients from the highest quartile of CRP concentrations at 24 h as compared to those from any other quartile (odds ratio (OR) 3.48, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.76-6.88). Multivariate analysis identified CRP concentration at 24 h (OR for a 10 mg/L increase 1.29, 95% CI 1.04-1.60), B-type natriuretic peptide at discharge (OR for a 100 pg/mL increase 1.21, 95% CI 1.05-1.39), body mass index (OR for a 1 kg/m 2 increase 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.21), and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (OR for a 1 mL increase 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.99) as independent predictors of LVR. The ROC analysis revealed a limited discriminative value of CRP (area under the curve 0.61; 95% CI 0.54-0.68) in terms of LVR prediction. Conclusions. Measurement of CRP concentration at 24 h after admission possesses a significant but modest value in predicting LVR after a first STEMI

Serum 25(OH) Vitamin D Levels in Polish Women during Pregnancies Complicated by Hypertensive Disorders and Gestational Diabetes

Background: An association between the level of vitamin D and the risk of pregnancy-related complications remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine concentrations of 25(OH) vitamin D in Polish women with normal pregnancies and pregnancies complicated by gestational hypertension, preeclampsia or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Moreover, we analyzed an association between maternal serum 25(OH)D and the risk of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and GDM. Material and Methods: The study included 207 pregnant women, among them 171 with pregnancy-related complications: gestational hypertension (n = 45), preeclampsia (n = 23) or GDM (n = 103). The control group consisted of 36 women with normal pregnancies. Concentrations of serum 25(OH)D were measured at admission to the hospital prior to delivery Results: Patients with hypertension did not differ significantly from the controls in terms of their serum 25(OH)D concentrations (18.20 vs. 22.10 ng/mL, p = 0.15). Highly significant differences were found in 25(OH)D concentrations of women with preeclampsia and the controls (14.75 vs. 22.10 ng/mL, p = 0.0021). GDM was not associated with significant differences in 25(OH)D concentration. A low level of 25(OH)D turned out to be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy on both univariate and multivariate regression analysis, and was a significant predictor of this condition on ROC (receiver operating characteristic) analysis (AUC = 0.70, p < 0.01). Conclusions: 25(OH)D deficiency is common among pregnant Polish women. Low concentrations of 25(OH)D may play a role in the etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia. Routine assessment of the 25(OH)D level during pregnancy may be crucial for the identification of women at increased risk of preeclampsia