scholarly journals Role of Serum Chromogranin A in Early Diagnosis of Diabetic Nephropathy

Author(s):  
Hui Yu ◽  
Hong-Ping Wang ◽  
Xue Su ◽  
Ai-Li Cao ◽  
Xing-Mei Yao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Kidney is the main site for the removal of Chromogranin A (CgA). Previous studies have found that patients with renal impairment displayed elevated concentrations of CgA in plasma and the CgA concentrations reflect deterioration of renal function. In this study, we aimed to estimate the serum CgA levels and to evaluate the role of serum CgA in early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN).Methods: A total of 219 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were included in this cross-sectional study. They were classified into normoalbuminuria (n = 121), microalbuminuria (n = 73), or macroalbuminuria (n = 25) groups based on their urine albumin to creatinine ratios (UACR). A control group consisted of 45 healthy subjects. The serum CgA levels were measured by ELISA and other key parameters were assayed.Results: The serum CgA levels were higher in patients with T2DM compared to control subjects and a statistically significant difference among studied subgroups regarding CgA was found (P<0.05). Levels of serum CgA were increasing gradually with the degree of DN (P<0.001). Serum CgA levels were moderate intensity positively correlated with UACR (P<0.001). A cut-off level of 3.46 ng/ml CgA showed 69.86% sensitivity and 66.12% specificity to detect DN in early stage.Conclusions: Levels of serum CgA increased gradually with the degree of DN, and can be used as a biomarker in early detection of DN.

Author(s):  
ARIYANI NOVIANTARI ◽  
RADIANA DHEWAYANI ANTARIANTO ◽  
LUTFAH RIF’ATI ◽  
RATIH RINENDYAPUTRI ◽  
MASAGUS ZAINURI ◽  
...  

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the role of NT-3 as a single neurotrophic factor in the expression of nestin in the neural differentiation of MSCs. Methods: MSCs were isolated from rat bone marrow and induced with NT-3 at concentrations of 20, 25, and 30 ng/ml for 7 and 14 d (the control was no NT-3). Nestin underwent immunocytochemical analysis on days 7 and 14. Five high-power random fields were documented. Results: A post-hoc analysis using LSD after one-way ANOVA test yielded a statistically significant difference in the percentage of nestin-positive cells in MSCs with NT-3 at concentrations of 20, 25, and 30 ng/ml for 7 d compared to the control group (p<0.05). The percentages of nestin-positive cells at concentrations of 20, 25, and 30 ng/ml, and in the control data on day 7 were 14.55±1.26%, 16.20±1.07%, 13.78±1.19%, and 9.81±0.79%, respectively. NT-3 at 25 ng/ml induced the highest MSCs neural differentiation on day 7 and remained constant until day 14. Conclusion: NT-3 plays a role in the early stage of differentiating MSCs from rat bone marrow into neurons, with the optimal concentration being 25 ng/ml.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-241
Author(s):  
Irena Kostovska ◽  
Katerina Tosheska Trajkovska ◽  
Svetlana Cekovska ◽  
Sonja Topuzovska ◽  
Julijana Brezovska Kavrakova ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroduction. Podocyte injury has been reported as an early feature of DN therefore, the assessment of podocyte injury can be accomplished by estimation of podocalyxin in urine. This study aimed to estimate the urinary podocalyxin levels and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this biomarker for early detection of DN.Materials and methods. A total of 90 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were included in this cross-sectional study. Sixty of them were without diagnosed DN, and 30 with diagnosed DN. A control group consisted of 30 healthy subjects. All patients with T2DM were divided into three subgroups according to urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio (UM/CR): normoalbuminuric, microalbuminuric and macroalbuminuric patients. Urine samples, were used for measurement of podocalyxin by ELISA, creatinine and microalbumin. Fasting venous blood samples was collected for biochemical analyses.Results. The levels of urinary podocalyxin (u-PDX) were higher in patients with T2DM compared to control subjects and a statistically significant difference among studied subgroups regarding u-PDX was found (p < 0.05). Levels of u-PDX are increasing gradually with the degree of DN (p < 0.029). u-PDX levels were positively correlated with UM/CR (r = 0.227, p = 0.002). A cut-off level of 43.8 ng/ml u-PDX showed 73.3% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity to detect DN in early stage. A cut-off level of 30 mg/g UM/CR showed 41.5% sensitivity and 90% specificity in predicting DN. u-PDX was elevated in 48,2% of normoalbuminuric patients.Conclusion. Urinary podocalyxin be useful and more sensitive and specific marker in early detection of DN than microalbuminuria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Serpil Gonca ◽  
Mehmet Sami Serin ◽  
Ayca Yilmaz ◽  
Ozgun Oktay ◽  
Ayse Serin ◽  
...  

Background: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PES) is a systemic disease characterized by the aggregation of fibrillar extracellular material in intraocular and extraocular tissues with unknown etiology. Clarifying the etiopathogenesis of PES would be important for public health. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the possible role of Chlamydia in the etiology of PES. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the ophthalmology clinic of a tertiary hospital. The study included two groups, including the patient group (PES patients with nuclear cataracts) and the control group (patients with nuclear cataracts). Patients with other ophthalmic problems and systemic diseases were excluded. Blood samples and conjunctival swabs taken from 49 patients and 42 controls were used in the study. Anti-Chlamydia trachomatis IgG and IgM, anti-C. pneumoniae IgG and IgM, Interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-20 were studied in the serum samples. The PCR study was performed with conjunctival swab samples and sequence analysis of PCR-positive samples was performed. Results: According to the results of the study, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of anti-C. trachmatis IgG, anti-C. trachmatis IgM, anti-C. pneumoniae IgM, IL-6, and PCR results. There was a statistically significant difference between patient and control groups in terms of anti-C. pneumoniae IgG and IL-20 levels. The DNA sequencing of all PCR products was found to be compatible with C. pneumoniae. Conclusions: It seems that C. pneumoniae might have an important role in the etiology and development of PES. However, further studies in larger groups are needed to clarify these results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
Hafiko Andresni ◽  
Zahtamal Zahtamal ◽  
Winda Septiani ◽  
Mitra Mitra ◽  
Lita Lita

ABSTRACT Toilet training is an effort to train children to be able to control and urinate (BAK) and defecate (BAB). Toilet training is one of the main tasks of children at toddler age. Toilet training is one of the main tasks of children in toddler age which is very important to be done to create independence in children in controlling BAK and BAB and children know the parts of the body and their functions. Data in 2012 shows that ± 60% of parents do not teach toilet training to children from an early age. The aim of the study was to find out the effectiveness of toilet training education on maternal behavior and toilet skills in toddler age training (18-36 months). The study was conducted in July-August 2018. This type of quantitative research used the design of the Quasy pretest and posttest experiment with non-equivalent control group design. Samples were 36 mothers and 36 children with purposive sampling technique. Data analysis used Paired t test, Wilcoxon test, Man-Whitney test an Independent t test. The results showed that toilet training education through lecture methods, modules and maze games was more effective than toilet training education through lecture and leaflet methods on children's knowledge and abilities. Conversely, for the role of mothers in supervision there is no significant difference in effectiveness. Health education is recommended in health promotion programs to increase maternal knowledge, the role of mothers and the ability of toilet training children independently. Keywords: Toilet training, Lecture method, Module, Maze game, Leaflet, Knowledge, Role of mother, Children's ability.


Author(s):  
Zeina A Munim Al-Thanoon ◽  
Zeina A Munim Al-Thanoon ◽  
Mustafa Basil ◽  
Nasih A Al-Kazzaz

Iron chelation therapy with deferoxamine (DFO),the current standard for the treatment of iron overload in patients with betathalassemia,requires regular subcutaneous or intravenous infusions. This can lead to reduced quality of life and poor adherence,resulting in increased morbidity and mortality in iron-overloaded patients with beta-thalassemia. Deferasirox (DFX) is an orally administered iron chelator that has been approved for use in many countries. The requirement of an effective,well tolerated iron chelator with a less demanding mode of administration has led to the development of deferasirox. The present study was aimed to compare the satisfaction and compliance with deferoxamine versus deferasirox (Exjade®),a novel oral iron chelator in patients with transfusion - dependent beta- thalassemia. A cross-sectional,single-center investigation study was carried out in the Thalassemia Center of Ibn-Atheer Teaching Hospital in Nineveh province,Iraq. One hundred and eight thalassemic patients aged between 2- 20 years old having received multiple blood transfusions and a serum ferritin greater than 1500 ng/ml. Patients were randomised into two groups. Group 1 received deferoxamine at a dose of 20-50mg/kg/day and group 2 received deferasirox at the dose of 10-30 mg/kg/day. Another 56 apparently healthy volunteers were used as a control group. The assessment of chelation was done during the period between November 2013 and February 2014 by measurement of serum ferritin. Satisfaction and compliance was assessed by using a special questionnaire prepared by the researcher. Out of the 108 thalassemic patients enrolled there was no discontinuation in treatment with the two drugs under study. The serum ferritin did not change significantly in any of the chelation groups. In comparison with the patients who were treated with DFO,those receiving DFX reported a significantly higher rate of compliance and satisfaction (P < 0.05). However,no significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding their satisfaction (P > 0.05).Compliance with deferasirox (50 %) was more than that with deferoxamine (20 %). Satisfaction with deferoxamine was significantly lower than deferasirox (p= 0.00).


Author(s):  
Sanjeeva Kumar Goud T ◽  
Rahul Kunkulol

The present study was aimed to study the effect of Sublingual Vitamin D3 on Serum Vitamin D level in Vitamin D deficiency patients. This was a cross-sectional and interventional study. All the Vitamin D deficiency patients of age 18-60years and either gender, willing to participate in the study were included. Patients who had greater than 20 ng/ml were excluded from the study. The total number of participants in our study was 200, out of these 111 males and 89 females, the mean age in our study was 51.07 ± 7.39Yrs. All volunteers were given sublingual vitamin D3 (60,000IU) in six doses every fifteen days of follow up for 3 months. The subject’s serum 25(OH)D levels were estimated before and after the treatment of sublingual vitamin D3. There was a statistically significant difference in serum vitamin D3 level before 16.61±6.71 ng/ml and after 35.80±7.80 ng/ml after treatment with Sublingual Vitamin D3. Six doses of 60,000IU of Vitamin D3 sublingual route having improved the role of serum 25(OH)D levels in the treatment of Vitamin D3 deficiency patients.Keywords: Vitamin D3; Sublingual route


2021 ◽  
pp. 037957212110254
Author(s):  
Harleen Kaur ◽  
Neerja Singla ◽  
Rohini Jain

Objective: India is the second country after China having the highest population prevalence of diabetes. Several research studies investigating diabetes have been done, but not much work has been done on prediabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nutrition and lifestyle modification on prediabetic females. Methods: A total of 120 prediabetic females from Ludhiana city were divided into 2 matched groups: control group (n = 60) and experimental group (n = 60). Impact of nutrition intervention for dietary and lifestyle modification (for 3 months) was assessed on the anthropometric, dietary, biochemical parameters, and diabetes risk score of the experimental group and control group (no intervention). Results: All the selected 120 subjects completed the study (experimental group = 60; control group = 60). There was significant difference in the changes between the 2 groups throughout the study. The fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1c levels of the experimental group subjects reduced significantly ( P ≤ .01). However, no change was observed among the control group subjects. The lipid profile of the experimental group showed a significant improvement ( P ≤ .01). Conclusion: Nutrition counselling of the prediabetics regarding dietary and lifestyle modification is recommended so as to improve their metabolic control, thus preventing them from being diabetics.


Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
Fernando Salvador ◽  
Beatriz Lobo ◽  
Lidia Goterris ◽  
Carmen Alonso-Cotoner ◽  
Javier Santos ◽  
...  

Background: The aim of the present study is to describe the occurrence of Blastocystis sp. detection among asymptomatic subjects and patients with irritable bowel syndrome in order to evaluate the potential association between irritable bowel syndrome and the parasitic infection. Methods: Cross-sectional study where adult patients with irritable bowel syndrome diagnosed according to Rome IV criteria were included. A control group was formed by asymptomatic subjects older than 18 years. Exclusion criteria were: immunosuppressive condition or having received any drug with demonstrated activity against Blastocystis sp. within the last 6 months before study inclusion. Epidemiological and clinical information was collected from all included participants. Two stool samples were obtained from all participants: one sample for microscopic examination and one sample for Blastocystis sp. PCR detection. Blastocystis sp. infection was defined by the positivity of any of the diagnostic techniques. Results: Seventy-two participants were included (36 asymptomatic subjects and 36 patients with irritable bowel syndrome). Thirty-five (48.6%) were men, and median age of participants was 34 (IQR 29–49) years. The overall rate of Blastocystis sp. carriage was 27.8% (20/72). The prevalence assessed through microscopic examination was 22.2% (16/72), while the prevalence measured by PCR was 15.3% (11/72). When comparing the presence of Blastocystis sp. between asymptomatic subjects and IBS patients, we did not find any statistically significant difference (36.1% vs. 19.4% respectively, p = 0.114). Conclusions: regarding the occurrence of Blastocystis sp., no differences were found between asymptomatic participants and patients with irritable bowel disease irrespective of the diagnostic technique performed.


Author(s):  
Marina Concilio ◽  
Federica Fossataro ◽  
Daniela Montorio ◽  
Mariapaola Giordano ◽  
Gilda Cennamo

Abstract Purpose To quantitatively investigate the role of deep capillary plexus (DCP) in patients affected by type 3 macular neovascularization (MNV), compared to patients with reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) eyes and healthy controls, using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods In this prospective observational study, a total of seventy-eight eyes of 78 patients were included. Group 1 consisted of 40 eyes of 40 patients with stage 1 of type 3 MNV (22 males, 18 females, mean age 73.7, SD ± 6.60) and group 2 included 38 eyes of 38 patients with RPD (17 males, 21 females, mean age 73.2, SD ± 4.55). The control group included 40 eyes of 40 healthy subjects (20 males, 20 females, mean age 71.4, SD ± 6.36 years). We evaluated the retinal vessel density (VD) of superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) using OCTA. Results Patients with diagnosis of type 3 MNV showed statistically lower values of VD in DCP with respect to controls and to RPD group (p < 0.001), while there were no statistical differences between RPD and control group in macular region. No significant differences in VD of SCP were detected among the three study groups. Conclusion OCTA provides a reproducible, non-invasive detailed quantitative analysis of retinal vascular features and changing in early-stage type 3 MNV patients, which allowed to shed the light on the main role of DCP ischemia in the development of type 3 MNV.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Lombardo ◽  
A. Vigezzi ◽  
G. Ietto ◽  
C. Franchi ◽  
V. Iori ◽  
...  

AbstractPatients afflicted with melanoma show lower vitamin D serum levels (VDSL) than the healthy population. This hypothesis agrees with its well-known antiproliferative features. An observational study was carried out to collect VDSL in patients suffering from melanoma. Our aim was to identify a potential connection between low VDSL and the risk to incur melanoma. Furthermore, we studied the association between VDSL at the diagnosis of melanoma and other germane prognostic factors. The population held in regard was composed of 154 patients with a diagnosis of melanoma between 2016 and 2019. These patients were retrospectively collected from our follow-up storage. We compared VDSL to clinical and pathological parameters (age, sex, tumour location, Breslow’s depth, Clark’s level, histological subtype, ulceration, et aliqua). Moreover, we recruited a control group with negative melanoma history. Mean and median of VDSL were significantly lower in the melanoma group. Instead, we found a negative association between melanoma and VDSL > 30 ng/L (OR 0.11; p < 0.0001). No correlation between VDSL and both Breslow’s depth and Clark’s level was discovered, but the VDSL comparison between thin (depth ≤ 1 mm) and thick tumours (depth > 1 mm) revealed a statistically significant difference (21.1 ± 8.2 ng/L vs 17.8 ± 8.1; p = 0.01). Moreover, VDSL were significantly lower in melanomas with mitotic rate ≥ 1/mm2 (22.1 ± 8.3 ng/L; p < 0007). Nevertheless, no connection was found between VDSL and both ulceration and positive sentinel nodes (p = 0.76; p = 0.74). Besides, our study revealed no association between VDSL and histological subtype (p = 0.161). Lower VDSL correlate with thick and high mitotic rate tumours. Future prospective studies would investigate if appropriate upkeep of suitable VDSL can decrease the risk of primary and recurrent melanoma diagnosis.


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