Relationships among Bone Metabolic Markers, Body Fat Composition and Carotid Intima–Media Thickness in Premenopausal Obese Women

Osteocalcin (OC) is inversely related to body fat distribution and fasting glucose levels. We sought to observe the effect of OC on fat distribution and subclinical atherosclerosis as measured by carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in premenopausal obese women. In this prospective observational study, totally, 73 premenopausal obese women (aged 17-55 years) and 53 healthy women (aged 20-50 years) with normal weight were included as controls. Anthropometric measurements, total fat and fat ratio, insulin, fasting blood glucose, and OC levels were estimated. Ultrasonography was used to assess fat distribution, and fat thickness was measured in 4 regions. Subcutaneous fat (SCF), visceral fat (VF), and preperitoneal fat (PPF) thicknesses were considerably higher in obese subjects (p<0.01) than healthy controls, while OC levels were significantly lower. No correlation was observed between OC levels and SCF, VF, or PPF. In a multiple regression analysis, OC was significantly positively associated with SCF (p=0.04, Beta=0.284). No associations were observed between OC levels and VF, PPF, or CIMT. A significant association was observed between parathyroid hormone (PTH) and VF (p=0.021, Beta=0.284), and vitamin D levels were inversely associated with VF (p=0.002, r=−0.366). OC levels were lower in premenopausal obese women than normal-weight healthy controls, but OC exhibited no correlation with VF or PPF, and only a weak positive association with SCF. Additionally, VF was positively correlated with PTH and inversely correlated with vitamin D. These results suggest that OC may be an early indicator of lipid accumulation in te subcutaneous area and development of atherosclerosis

Relationship between CHA2DS2-VASc and CHADS2 scores with pulmonary hypertension in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

Introduction: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is the most important prognostic factor after acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Therefore, determination of patients who will develop PH after acute PE is crucial.  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive value of the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores for PH in patients with acute PE.Material and methods: Seventy-nine adults who presented with acute PE, had an admission systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) measured on echocardiogram and no previous history of PE, were retrospectively identified from the computerized database. 31 patients who had sPAP ≤ 40 mm Hg were categorized as a  “normal pulmonary pressure” group, whereas 48 patients who had sPAP &gt; 40 mm Hg were categorized as a “PH” group.Results: SPAP was &gt; 40 mm Hg in 48 patients (60.8%), with a mean sPAP of 60.9 ± 16.1 mm Hg (median = 60, min–max = 41–100 mm Hg). In multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc score components, only age was found to be related with the development of PH. SPAP was weakly positively correlated with CHADS2 (p = 0.047; r = 0.224) and CHA2DS2-VASc (p = 0.023; r = 0.256) scores. SPAP values were increasing with the severity of the scores.Conclusions: Both CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores could be useful in the determination of which patients should be closely followed up in order to prevent the development of PH after acute PE

Atrial Function in Patients with Breast Cancer After Treatment with Anthracyclines

Abstract Background: Atrial electromechanical delay (EMD) is used to predict atrial fibrillation, measured by echocardiography. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess atrial EMD and mechanical function after anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. Methods: Fifty-three patients with breast cancer (48 ± 8 years old) who received 240 mg/m2of Adriamycin, 2400 mg/m2 of cyclophosphamide, and 960 mg/m2 of paclitaxel were included in this retrospective study, as were 42 healthy subjects (47 ± 9 years old). Echocardiographic measurements were performed 11 ± 7 months (median 9 months) after treatment with anthracyclines. Results: Left intra-atrial EMD (11.4 ± 6.0 vs. 8.1 ± 4.9, p=0.008) and inter-atrial EMD (19.7 ± 7.4 vs. 14.7 ± 6.5, p=0.001) were prolonged; LA passive emptying volume and fraction were decreased (p=0.0001 and p=0.0001); LA active emptying volume and fraction were increased (p=0.0001 and p=0.0001); Mitral A velocity (0.8 ± 0.2 vs. 0.6 ± 0.2, p=0.0001) and mitral E-wave deceleration time (201.2 ± 35.6 vs. 163.7 ± 21.8, p=0.0001) were increased; Mitral E/A ratio (1.0 ± 0.3 vs. 1.3 ± 0.3, p=0.0001) and mitral Em (0.09 ± 0.03 vs. 0.11 ± 0.03, p=0.001) were decreased; Mitral Am (0.11 ± 0.02 vs. 0.09 ± 0.02, p=0.0001) and mitral E/Em ratio (8.8 ± 3.2 vs. 7.6 ± 2.6, p=0.017) were increased in the patients. Conclusions: In patients with breast cancer after anthracycline therapy: Left intra-atrial, inter-atrial electromechanical intervals were prolonged. Diastolic function was impaired. Impaired left ventricular relaxation and left atrial electrical conduction could be contributing to the development of atrial arrhythmias

Evaluation of the relationship between viral load and biochemical parameters in Covid-19 patients

In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the viral load detected by PCR and the biochemical and demographic data of patients who were admitted to our hospital and positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Data from 132 laboratory-confirmed adult patients were retrospectively analyzed. COVID-19 patients were classified in different groups as pneumonia-non pneumonia and symptomatic- asymptomatic patients. In all, 77.2% patients were symptomatic and 39.4% had pneumonia. The most common laboratory abnormalities of all patients were elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, Fibrinogen and Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Statistically significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) were found between the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups regarding CRP, NLR, Prothrombin Time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), D-dimer and Fibrinogen. Additionally of these parameters significantly higher aspartate amino-transferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) observed in pneumonia group compared to non-pneumonia group. The cycle threshold (Ct) values in all patients were 32.42 ± 6.03 and there were no significant differences in Ct values between the groups. There was a negatively significant correlation between Ct and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (r=-0,205, P=0.019). Abnormalities of several hematologic and biochemical biomarkers were associated with SARSCoV-2 infection and disease severity. To investigate the association with disease severity and viral load, quantitative PCR results would be more accurate than semi-quantitative Ct results. [Med-Science 2021; 10(2.000): 469-73

A Novel Mutation of AMHR2 In Two Siblings with Persistent Mullerian Duct Syndrome

WOS: 000424206100010PubMed ID: 29332065Persistent mullerian duct syndrome (PMDS) is characterized by the presence of mullerian duct derivatives in otherwise phenotypically normal males. It is caused in approximately 85% of the cases by mutations in the AMH gene or its type II receptor (AMHR2). We report on 2 brothers with normal external genitalia but high serum AMH levels. Sequence analysis of the AMHR2 gene in the 2 siblings revealed a novel homozygous missense mutation in exon 10 (p.V458L, c.1372G>T). PMDS is a rare condition, but it has to be considered in differential diagnosis of cryptorchidism with normal male genitalia. (C) 2018 S. Karger AG, Base