Oxidative-stress biomarkers in patients with pulmonary hypertension.

This controlled, prospective, nonrandomized clinical investigation has as its chief strength the fact that it was done in humans with active disease and apparently on fairly modest therapeutic regimens. The aim was to present the results of oxidative-stress biomarkers in humans suffering from pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). Inflammation and oxidative stress are essential in PAH with increased lipid peroxidation and reduced antioxidant defenses.

Exhaled and plasma nitrite: a comparative study among healthy, cirrhotic and liver transplant patients.

Context: There is a relative lack of studies about exhaled nitrite (NO2-) concentrations in cirrhotic and transplanted patients.

Objective: Verify possible differences and correlations between the levels of NO2-, measured in plasma and exhaled breath condensate collected from patients with cirrhosis and liver transplant.

Method: Sixty adult male patients, aged between 27 and 67 years, were subdivided into three groups: a control group comprised of 15 healthy volunteers, a cirrhosis group composed of 15 volunteers, and a transplant group comprised of 30 volunteers.