Response of Macroprolactinemia to Dopamine Agonists

Macroprolactinemia, defined as hyperprolactinemia with a predominance of the big big prolactin (macroprolactin) isoform, is considered idiopathic and poorly symptomatic. Although macroprolactinemia has been considered to be a cause of apparent resistance to antiprolactinemic drugs, prolactin (PRL) normalization with dopaminergic treatment cannot exclude macroprolactinemia. We report three cases with macroprolactinemia, whose PRL and macroprolactin levels were decreased and hyperprolactinemic symptoms were improved with dopamine agonists

The relation between salivary IgA and caries in renal transplant patients

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of immunosuppressive drugs on the level of salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) in patients who have received kidney transplants and the relation between the levels of salivary IgA and dental caries incidence

Determination of oxidative protein and lipid damage in adult hypopituitary patients with GH deficiency

The aim of this study is to determine oxidative protein and lipid damage in adult hypopituitary GH-deficient patients. Eighteen hypopituitary GH-deficient-otherwise healthy adults on conventional replacement therapy other than GH (9 male, 9 female, age 41.8+/-16.4 yr) and 18 healthy subjects (6 male, 12 female, age 40.3+/-16.2 yr) participated in the study. Plasma products of oxidative protein damage [protein carbonyl (PCO) and nitrotyrozine (NT)], plasma oxidized LDL (oxLDL), plasma product of oxidative lipid damage [lipid hydroperoxide (LHP)] and antioxidant status of the plasma [total thiol (T-SH)] were measured. Body fat percentage, total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in the hypopituitary group. Plasma PCO, NT, LHP and T-SH concentrations did not differ significantly between patients and controls. OxLDL concentration was significantly higher in the hypopituitary patients (62.4+/-17.8 vs 43.1+/-11.3 U/l, p=0.001). In the patients, oxLDL correlated significantly with the duration of hypopituitarism (r=0.6323, p=0.01). In the controls, oxLDL correlated significantly with blood pressure, total and VLDL-cholesterol concentrations. Increased oxLDL concentration may indicate increased oxidative stress within the vascular compartment and may contribute to the proatherogenic state in GH-deficient hypopituitary patients independent from conventional risk factors. (C) 2003, Editrice Kurtis

Comparison of the metabolic and antioxidant effects of diltiazem and vitamin E on streptozotocin-diabetic rats

In this study, solitary and combined effects of vitamin E and the calcium-channel blocker diltiazem were investigated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Thirty male Wistar albino rats, weighing approximately 200 g were used. Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intravenous injection of STZ at a dose of 65 mg/kg body weight. Five experimental groups were established as STZ-diabetic, STZ-diabetic + vitamin E, STZ-diabetic + diltiazem and STZ-diabetic + vitamin E + diltiazem. Vitamin E was injected intraperitoneally three times a week at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight. Diltiazem was given orally every day at a dose of 25 mg/kg body weight. At the end of the study (10 weeks) blood glucose levels of diabetic rats, which had received vitamin E and diltiazem, had significantly decreased when compared with untreated diabetic rats (P < 0.02). Similarly.. HbA(1)c levels had significantly decreased in diabetic rats which had received vitamin E (P < 0.05), diltiazem (P < 0.01) and vitamin E + diltiazem (P < 0.02) when compared with Untreated diabetic rats. Liver glutathione levels of diabetic rats, which had received vitamin E (P < 0.01) and vitamin E + diltiazem (P < 0.05) had significantly increased when compared with untreated diabetic rats. Liver lipid peroxide levels had significantly decreased in diabetic rats. which had received vitamin E (P < 0.001) and diltiazem (P < 0.01). With respect to their metabolic and antioxidant effects, vitamin E proved superior to diltiazem

Effect of alpha-lipoic acid supplementation on oxidative protein damage in the streptozotocin-diabetic rat

An increase in oxidative stress may contribute to the development of oxidative protein damage in streptozotocin diabetic rats. In the present study, the influence of alpha-lipoic acid supplementation on plasma protein carbonyl, plasma thiol, and plasma lipid hydroperoxide levels was examined in order to characterize the relationship between the oxidative stress and the oxidative protein damage. Rats were randomly divided into three groups of equal body weight. Chronic hyperglycemia was induced by intravenous streptozotocin injection in both the group of male Wistar rats to be supplemented with alpha-lipoic acid and the group that was not to receive alpha-lipoic acid. Nondiabetic rats formed the control group and received a saline injection. In streptozotocin diabetic rats with and without alpha-lipoic acid supplementation, plasma carbonyl levels were significantly increased, while plasma thiol levels were significantly decreased compared with those of the control group. Plasma lipid hydroperoxide levels were significantly increased in diabetic rats without alpha-lipoic acid supplementation compared with those of the controls, but the lipid hydroperoxide levels in the alpha-lipoic acid supplemented group were no different from those of the controls. In streptozotocin-diabetic rats, oxidative stress was significantly decreased in the alpha-lipoic acid-supplemented group. The results of this study suggest that alpha-lipoic acid, by decreasing oxidative stress, may be effective in preventing oxidative protein damage, which may contribute to the development of diabetic complications

Serum adipokines and low density lipoprotein subfraction profile in hypopituitary patients with growth hormone deficiency

The aim was to evaluate the concentrations of lipid subfractions in relation to adipokines and metabolic parameters in adult growth hormone (GH)-deficient hypopituitary patients on conventional replacement therapy. The study included 21 GH deficient-hypopituitary patients (age: 36.0 +/- A 15.1 years, male/female: 7/14) on conventional replacement therapy other than GH and 20 comparable controls (age: 37.3 +/- A 14.0 years, male/female: 6/14). Lipid subfractions (Lipoprint system), serum adipokine (leptin, adiponectin, resistin) concentrations, body composition, a surrogate marker for insulin resistance (HOMA) and conventional lipid profile were evaluated. No statistically significant difference was found with respect to HOMA, adipokine concentrations and anthropometric parameters between patients and controls except for significantly increased waist-to-hip ratio in hypopituitary group. Total and LDL cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in the patients. LDL particle size (268.88 +/- A 3.16 vs. 271.31 +/- A 3.11 a"<<, P = 0.151) and small-dense LDL subfraction did not differ significantly. According to logistic regression analysis, triglyceride concentrations a parts per thousand yen1.69 mmol/L was the sole parameter significantly and independently predicted small (< 268 a"<<) LDL particle size (P = 0.019) in the whole group. Increased triglyceride concentrations affect LDL particle size in GH-deficient hypopituitary patients. Small dense LDL seems not directly contribute to atherogenic potential in hypopituitarism

Schnitzler syndrome: a rare cause of difficult to treat chronic urticaria

Schnitzler syndrome is a rare cause of urticaria and is defined by monoclonal gammopathy and chronic urticaria or urticarial vasculitis combined by at least two of the following features: fever, arthralgia or arthritis, bone pain, hepato-and/or splenomegaly, palpable lymph nodes, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and leukocytosis. Although the pathophysiology is not completely evaluated, it usually presents with resistance to corticosteroids and many patients respond to anakinra, an IL-1 receptor antagonist. The mean age of onset is 51, but very few cases have been documented in elderly patients. Here we describe a 79-year-old woman diagnosed as Schnitzler syndrome who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the syndrome with multiple mediastinal lymph nodes, fever and arthralgia, bone pain, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, urticarial vasculitis and a IgG kappa monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. On capillary serum protein electrophoresis of the patient with the Capillarys System, the morphology of the.-region was disturbed. Although there wasn't any obvious monoclonal peak on Capillarys (immunotyping), the result was diagnosed as an IgG kappa type monoclonal immunoglobulin. For the confirmation of our finding we performed immunofixation electrophoresis which is accepted as the gold standard method for the characterization of monoclonal proteins, although it failed to detect an IgG kappa type band. Both kappa and lambda free light chain concentrations were within the reference range, however the kappa/lambda ratio was abnormal. The patient initially responded well to corticosteroids, but later needed to be treated with azathioprine as a corticosteroid sparing drug. After total clinical improvement methylprednisolone was discontinued with tapering and azathioprine was kept on. At the end of 3 months of therapy, she was accepted to be in clinical remission. During her follow up she has remained in remission approximately for a year with the low dose of azothiopurine