Insight into infection-mediated prostate damage: Contrasting patterns of C-reactive protein and prostate-specific antigen levels during infection

Introduction: Intravenously administered vitamin C (IVC) may have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Many studies demonstrated evidence of a good safety profile of IVC treatments and improvement of the quality of life in cancer patients. IVC has been proposed as a treatment for cancer as an adjuvant in conjunction with other therapies. To investigate high dose ascorbic acid potential in treating prostate cancer, a retrospective study was conducted using clinical data from the Riordan Clinic database (1994-2015).Methods: We collected data, when available, on the following patient characteristics at diagnosis and during the courses of IVC therapy: age, tumor stage, Gleason score, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, and location of metastases. In particular, PSA, ALP, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are analyzed in prostate cancer patients given IVC therapy during several years. Results: We found that PSA, CRP, and ALP correlate with tumor staging as measured by Gleason scores. Moreover, peak plasma ascorbate levels attained during the patients first IVC infusions are reduced in patients with elevated PSA and CRP levels. Tracking the changes in PSA and ALP with time in patients for whom data are available indicates that the rate of increase in these variables over time can be reduced by incorporating IVC therapy and by increasing the frequency of IVC treatments.Conclusion: There appeared to be a relation between the frequency of IVC treatments and the rate of PSA change, with PSA rate of growth decreasing as the frequency of IVC increases. Further research into the use of IVC in prostate cancer patients is warranted.Key words: High dose vitamin C, prostate cancer, prostate specific antigen, alkaline phosphatase, C-reactive protein.

Download Full-text

Neutrophil and monocyte receptor expression in patients with sepsis: implications for diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis

Pathogens and Disease ◽

10.1093/femspd/ftz055 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 77 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Mariam Onsy F Hanna ◽

Asmaa M Abdelhameed ◽

Amany A Abou-Elalla ◽

Reem M Hassan ◽

Inas Kostandi

Keyword(s):

Mortality Risk ◽

Clinical Syndrome ◽

Receptor Expression ◽

C Reactive Protein ◽

Surface Receptors ◽

Reactive Protein ◽

Diagnosis And Prognosis ◽

Neutrophil Cd64 ◽

Combination Approach ◽

Insight Into

ABSTRACT Understanding the complex immune responses in sepsis is crucial to provide insight into the clinical syndrome. We evaluated the changes in the surface receptors of the cells of innate immunity, neutrophils and monocytes, in patients with sepsis. Since sepsis remains a clinical challenge, we aimed to assess the significance of altered receptor expression in diagnosis and prognosis. Critically ill patients with sepsis (n=31) were investigated for the expression of receptors for IgG heavy chain CD64 and CD16 on neutrophils and CD64 and the lipopolysaccharide receptor CD14 on monocytes by flow cytometry and compared to 23 patients with no sepsis. Patients with sepsis had increased expression of neutrophil CD64. Neutrophil CD64 was specific for discriminating patients with sepsis but showed weak sensitivity. When integrated in a scoring system, neutrophil CD64 in combination with C-reactive protein (CRP) and SOFA score showed a diagnostic accuracy of 0.93 for sepsis and significantly predicted increased mortality risk. While neutrophil CD16 did not discriminate for sepsis, decreased expression was associated with increased mortality risk. In contrast, monocyte CD64 and CD14 expression was unaltered in sepsis and was not associated with mortality risk. Our study demonstrates that unlike monocytes, neutrophil receptor expression is altered in patients with sepsis receiving intensive care. It is promising to apply a combination approach to diagnose sepsis especially in time-limited conditions.

Download Full-text

Procalcitonin Increase Is Associated with the Development of Critical Care-Acquired Infections in COVID-19 ARDS

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10111425 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1425

Author(s):

Owen Richards ◽

Philip Pallmann ◽

Charles King ◽

Yusuf Cheema ◽

Charlotte Killick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Infection ◽

Secondary Infection ◽

Ventilator Associated Pneumonia ◽

C Reactive Protein ◽

Comparative Efficacy ◽

Blood Cell Count ◽

Single Centre ◽

Secondary Bacterial Infection ◽

Reactive Protein ◽

Insight Into

Secondary bacterial infection in COVID-19 patients is associated with increased mortality and disproportionately affects critically ill patients. This single-centre retrospective observational study investigates the comparative efficacy of change in procalcitonin (PCT) and other commonly available biomarkers in revealing or predicting microbiologically proven secondary infection in critical COVID-19 patients. Adult patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 9 March 2020 and 5 June 2020 were recruited to the study. For daily biomarker and secondary infection, laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection (LCBI) and ventilator-associated pneumonia/tracheobronchitis (VAP/VAT) data were collected. We observed a PCT rise in 53 (81.5%) of the patients, a C-reactive protein (CRP) rise in 55 (84.6%) and a white blood cell count (WBC) rise in 61 (93.8%). Secondary infection was confirmed in 33 (50.8%) of the patients. A PCT rise was present in 97.0% of patients with at least one confirmed VAP/VAT and/or LCBI event. CRP and WBC rises occurred in 93.9% and 97.0% of patients with confirmed VAP/VAT and/or LCBI, respectively. Logistic regression analysis found that, when including all biomarkers in the same model, there was a significant association between PCT rise and the occurrence of LCBI and/or VAP/VAT (OR = 14.86 95%CI: 2.20, 342.53; p = 0.021). Conversely, no statistically significant relationship was found between either a CRP rise (p = 0.167) or a WBC rise (p = 0.855) and the occurrence of VAP/VAT and/or LCBI. These findings provide a promising insight into the usefulness of PCT measurement in predicting the emergence of secondary bacterial infection in ICU.

Download Full-text

The Clinical Course of Patients With Prostate-Specific Antigen ≥100 ng/ml: Insight Into a Potential Population for Targeted Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening

Urology ◽

10.1016/j.urology.2018.01.059 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 117 ◽

pp. 101-107

Author(s):

Andrew K. Leung ◽

Lee Hugar ◽

Dattatraya Patil ◽

Lisa Wong ◽

Bradley Carthon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prostate Specific Antigen ◽

Clinical Course ◽

Specific Antigen ◽

Prostate Specific Antigen Screening ◽

Potential Population ◽

Insight Into

Download Full-text

Recent Advances in Biomarker Discovery — from Serum to Imaging-based Biomarkers for a Complex Assessment of Heart Failure Patients

Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine ◽

10.1515/jim-2016-0045 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 125-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andreea-Luciana Chiotoroiu ◽

Corneliu-Florin Buicu ◽

Claudiu Neagu ◽

Theodora Benedek

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Biomarker Discovery ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

C Reactive Protein ◽

Ribonucleic Acids ◽

Reactive Protein ◽

New Information ◽

Galectin 3 ◽

Imaging Markers ◽

Insight Into

AbstractOver the last years, a vast majority of serum biomarkers and imaging techniques have been used alone or combined in the diagnosis, management and prognosis of numerous pathologies. This review provides a brief insight into the novelties from the last 6 years (2010–2016) regarding serum and imaging markers in heart failure (HF). New information about natriuretic peptides (NPs), soluble ST2 (Sst2), growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), myeloperoxidase (MPO), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), troponins (Tns), myoglobin (Mb), galectin-3 (Gal-3), micro ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) and long non-coding ribonucleic acids (IncRNAs), copectin and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) measurements were summarized in this review in order to guide the practitioner.

Download Full-text