Effect of calcitonin on lipid peroxidation in ovariectomized rats

Calcitonin is one of the active substances which is recently used effectively in osteoporosis treatment. In literature there is no information whether calcitonin cause oxidative stress or not. In this study, subcutaneous calcitonin is applied to rats having experimental postmenopausal osteoporosis and the effects of calcitonin on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system were investigated. Forty-five healthy adult female Swiss albino Wistar rats were used in this study. The rats were divided into three equal groups as control, ovariectomized (Ovx) and ovariectomized+calcitonin (Ovx-CAL). The rats in Ovx and Ovx-CAL were anaesthetized and underwent a bilateral ovariectomy via ventral incision. Ten weeks after ovariectomy, salmon calcitonin (2 IU/kg body weight) was administered via s.c. at a volume of 1 mL per week for 12 weeks to the Ovx-CAL group. At the end of the drug treatment, livers and kidneys of rats were removed and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and catalase (CAT) activities were determined by biochemical analysis methods. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by the post-hoc LSD multiple test. The liver and kidney MDA levels were increased whereas the activity of CAT enzyme was decreased as a result of ovariectomy compared to values in the control group. Similar results were observed in Ovx-CAL group; however, the decline in the CAT activity in the kidney was not significant. In conclusion, we may suggest that calcitonin treatment increases the oxidative stress in osteoporotic rats

Screening for Cushing’s Syndrome in Obese Patients

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the frequency of Cushing's syndrome (CS) in obese patients devoid of specific clinical symptoms of Cushing's syndrome. METHODS: A total of 150 obese patients (129 female, 21 male; mean age 44.41 ± 13.34 yr; mean BMI 35.76 ± 7.13) were included in the study. As a first screening step, we measured 24-h urinary free cortisol (UFC). An overnight 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test was also performed on all patients. Urinary free cortisol levels above 100 &#956;g/24 h were considered to be abnormal. Suppression of serum cortisol <1.8 &#956;g/dL after administration of 1 mg dexamethasone was the cut-off point for normal suppression. The suppression of the serum cortisol levels failed in all of the patients. RESULTS: Measured laboratory values were as follows: ACTH, median level 28 pg/ml, interquartile range (IQR) 14-59 pg/ml; fasting glucose, 100 (91-113) mg/dL; insulin, 15.7 (7.57-24.45) mU/ml; fT4, 1.17 (1.05-1.4) ng/dL; TSH, 1.70 (0.91-2.90) mIU/L; total cholesterol, 209 (170.5-250) mg/dL; LDL-c, 136 (97.7-163) mg/dL; HDL-c, 44 (37.25-50.75) mg/dL; VLDL-c, 24 (17-36) mg/dL; triglycerides, 120.5 (86-165) mg/dL. The median UFC level of the patients was 30 &#956;g/24 h (IQR 16-103). High levels of UFC (>100 &#956;g/24 h) were recorded in 37 patients (24%). Cushing's syndrome was diagnosed in 14 of the 150 patients (9.33%). Etiologic reasons for Cushing's syndrome were pituitary microadenoma (9 patients), adrenocortical adenoma (3 patients), and adrenocortical carcinoma (1 patient). CONCLUSION: A significant proportion (9.33%) of patients with simple obesity were found to have Cushing's syndrome. These findings argue that obese patients should be routinely screened for Cushing's syndrome

Allele frequency distributions of Apo BVNTR locus in Cukurova, Turkey

WOS: 000251002300010PubMed ID: 16981218The highly polymorphic minisatellites contain a variable number of tandemly repeated (VNTR) DNA sequences. They are extremely useful and informative markers to study genetic variation among human populations. We have analysed the allele frequency distribution at the highly polymorphic apolipoprotein B (Apo B) VNTR locus in order to obtain the population data for the Cukurova region in Turkey by using the polymerase chain reaction and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We observed 10 different alleles and 21 genotypes in a sample of 100 unrelated individuals. The allele frequencies ranged from 0.01 to 0.4, with an expected heterozygosity of 0.69 for the Apo B locus. Alleles 37 (frequency = 0.4) and 35 (frequency = 0.17) were the most common in the Cukurova population. There was a significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) for genotype frequencies (chi(2) = 29.12; df = 1; p = 0.000). This study possesses novelty as it is the first DNA polymorphism study conducted at the Cukurova population using an Apo B minisatellite locus. Copyright (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Calciphylaxis: A Report of Six Cases and Review of Literature

Calciphylaxis is usually a fatal condition that develops in a few chronic renal failure patients, and it is characterized by calcifications in subcutaneous arteries, infarcts in skin, and the neighboring subcutis. Calciphylaxis, once considered as a rare condition, has been reported to have an annual incidence of 1% and a prevalence of 4% in dialysis patients. We describe our clinical experience in six end-stage renal disease patients on dialysis that presented with calciphylaxis and died due to sepsis, and review the pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical and histopathologic features, and treatment of calciphylaxis. Physicians should initially consider the possibility of calciphylaxis in case of development of skin lesions in chronic renal failure patients with impaired calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone levels. The most important cause of mortality in this condition is infection. Therefore, differential diagnosis of these lesions from systemic vasculitis in their early stages and withdrawal of immunosuppressive therapy that increases the tendency to infections are essential

Investigation of IL-1 Beta, IL-1 Receptor Antagonist and IL-8 Gene Polymorphisms in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B and C

WOS: 000336195500008PubMed: 24819264The host immune response is closely related to the prognosis of disease and viral persistence in hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Althought it is well known that cytokines and genetic factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of chronic HBV and HCV infections, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study was conducted to determine the role of interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-1 receptor antagonist (1L-1RA) and IL-8 gene polymorphisms in chronic hepatitis B and C infections. A total of 361 subjects, 171 with chronic hepatitis B (62 female, 109 male; age range: 18-74 yrs) and 104 with chronic hepatitis C (63 female, 41 male; age range: 25-79 yrs), and a control group of 86 healthy subjects (41 female, 45 male; age range: 18-72 yrs) were included in the study. Following the DNA extractions from peripheral blood leukocytes of the study groups, single nucleotide polymorphisms of 1L-1 beta -31, -511, +3954; IL-1RA and IL-8 -251, -353, -738, -845 gene regions were investigated by using specific primers with real-time PCR method. It was found that the genotype frequency of IL-8 -251 AT (OR: 7.895, p= 0.003) and IL-8 -738 TA (OR: 6.317, p= 0.007) in patients with chronic hepatitis B and the genotype frequency of IL-1 beta -31 CT (OR: 6.757, p= 0.001), IL-1 beta -511 CT (OR: 4.060, p= 0.004), IL-8 -251 AT, (OR: 13.622, p= 0.001), IL-8 -738 TA (OR: 14.058, p= 0.001), and IL-8 -845 TC (OR: 2.539, p= 0.004) in patients with chronic hepatitis C was significantly higher than the control group. When the allelic frequency was compared between chronic hepatitis B patients and the control group, it was determined that IL-1 beta +3954 T allel increased the disease risk 1.5 times (p 0.05). In conclusion, IL-1 beta -31, -511 and IL-8 -251, -738, -845 gene polymorphisms may play a role in the chronicity of hepatitis B and C infection. In order to determine the importance of this cytokine polymorphisms in hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections, large-scale studies with different patient groups such as carriers, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma should be conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease process

Serum levels of p53 and cytochrome c in subjects with type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance

Purpose: To examine apoptotic markers in serum of subjects with diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Serum levels of p53 and cytochrome c, regulator molecules for apoptosis, were measured in subjects with type 2 diabetes, subjects with IGT and healthy controls. Methods: Forty one subjects with type 2 diabetes, 27 with IGT and 27 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Serum level of cytochrome c and p53 were measured with competitive ELISA. Results: Serum levels of p53 were lower in the group of subjects with type 2 diabetes (085±0.39 U/ml) than in controls (1.09±0.49 U/ml) (P < 0.05) and in the subjects with IGT (0.98±0.37 U/ml) (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the group with IGT and controls. Also, there was no difference for serum level of cytochrome c among the groups. In the group of subjects with type 2 diabetes, serum level of cytochrome c was mildly correlated with HbA1c (r:0.39, P < 0.05). Conclusion: The present study shows that the serum level of p53 is lower in the patients with type 2 diabetes than in controls or in subjects with IGT. No difference was seen among the the groups for the serum level of cytochrome c