The Role of Osteoprotegerin as a Cardioprotective Versus Reactive Inflammatory Marker: the Chicken or the Egg Paradox.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most frequent causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Several variables have been identified as risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Recently, the role of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B, receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand, and the osteoprotegerin system has been recognized as more important in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.

Phrenic neuropathy in diabetic and prediabetic patients without neuromuscular complaint.

Neuropathy, one of the major reasons of morbidity in diabetes mellitus (DM), is associated with prediabetic conditions as well as DM. The present study aims to compare phrenic and peripheral nerves in prediabetic, diabetic patients and healthy controls. A total of 37 diabetic, 40 prediabetic patients and 18 healthy controls were enrolled in the study.

An evaluation of glucose tolerance in essential hypertension.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes prevalence in patients with essential hypertension (HT) and to compare the developed microvascular complications of these groups.

Materials And Methods: An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed on 338 essential hypertensive cases and glucose tolerances were classified according to ADA-2002 criteria.

Results: Of the 338 cases, 32 people had diabetes (DM, 9.

Sympathetic skin response and RR interval variation in patients with cardiac syndrome X.

Sympathetic skin response (SSR) and R-R interval variation (RRIV) are noninvasive electrophysiological tests used in the assessment of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system function, respectively. Cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is usually diagnosed in the presence of typical angina pectoris, a positive response to exercise testing, and normal-appearing coronary angiograms without spasm induced by hyperventilation or ergonovine. Alterations of autonomic nervous system control of cardiac function have been described in CSX.

Silent myocardial ischemia in middle-aged asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes in Turkish population.

The authors investigated silent myocardial ischemia in unselected consecutive middle-aged asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes without any evidence of coronary heart disease documented by treadmill exercise test. Ninety asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes (48 men; mean age: 49 +/-6 years) were included in the study. Mean duration of diabetes in the study group was 4 +/-4.

Circulating leptin and osteoprotegerin levels affect insulin resistance in healthy premenopausal obese women.

We investigated the relationship between circulating leptin and osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels and insulin resistance assessed by HOMA-IR in premenopausal obese and normal weight women. Thirty four obese women (age 31 +/- 8 years) (BMI 35 +/- 4 kg/m(2)) with 19 healthy controls (age 31 +/- 7 years) (BMI <25 kg/m(2)) (BMI 21 +/- 2 kg/m(2)) were included in the study. Women were healthy and had no osteoporosis.

Regional cerebral blood flow abnormalities in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

Introduction: We assessed the alterations in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) before parathyroidectomy by semiquantitative analysis of brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images.

Methods: Included in this prospective study were 14 patients (mean age 47.6 +/- 10.

Frequency of rheumatic diseases in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease.

We aimed to investigate the frequency of rheumatic diseases in patients suffering from autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATD). Sixty-five patients (56 F, 9 M), who were followed by diagnosis of ATD, were questioned and examined for the presence of rheumatic disease. Basic laboratory tests and antithyroid antibodies, antinuclear antibody and rheumatoid factor (RF) levels were also measured by appropriate methods.

Comparative neurophysiological study for the diagnosis of mild polyneuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus and glucose intolerance.

This article evaluates diagnostic sensitivity of minimal F-wave latency, sural/radial amplitude ratio (SRAR), dorsal sural/radial amplitude ratio (DSRAR), sympathetic skin response (SSR), and R-R interval variability (RRIV) for detecting early polyneuropathy in patients with glucose intolerance and diabetic patients. F-wave latencies were more prolonged in diabetic patients with normal and abnormal nerve conduction studies than control subjects (p < .001).

Global fibrinolytic capacity in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.

Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) represents the earliest stages of hypothyroidism but the benefits of detecting and treating SH are not well known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the alterations in global fibrinolytic capacity (GFC), which indicates the overall fibrinolytic activity, in patients with SH. The study group comprised of 15 patients with SH and 15 healthy controls.

The relationship between insulin resistance assessed by HOMA-IR and serum osteoprotegerin levels in obesity.

Aim: We investigated the relationship between insulin resistance and serum osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in healthy obese subjects and healthy lean controls.

Methods: Fifty obese subjects (age: 31+/-8 years) and 24 lean controls (age: 30+/-7 years) were included in the study. We used the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index as the index of insulin resistance.

Factors related to exercise capacity in asymptomatic middle-aged type 2 diabetic patients.

Aim: We aimed to look at the relationship between exercise capacity and metabolic variables in unselected consecutive asymptomatic middle-aged type 2 diabetic patients as a potential marker for undiagnosed coronary heart disease.

Method: Ninety patients (49 +/- 6 years) were included in the study. All patients performed a treadmill exercise test using the Bruce protocol.

Deaths due to hunger strike: post-mortem findings.

Hunger strike is described as voluntary refusal of food and/or fluids. Prolonged starvation may produce many adverse events including even death in rare circumstances. Here, we present three fatal cases (all males, 25-38 years) died from hunger strike.

Relationships existing between the serum cytokine levels and bone mineral density in women in the premenopausal period affected by Graves' disease with subclinical hyperthyroidism.

We examined the relationships existing between serum cytokine levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in women of premenopausal age affected by Graves' disease with subclinical hyperthyroidism. The study population consisted of 21 women with untreated hyperthyroid Graves' disease (group H) (age, 36 +/- 2 years), eight women with untreated subclinical hyperthyroid status (group SH) (age, 33 +/- 5 years) and 10 healthy women (group N) (age, 35 +/- 3 years). The following measurements were made in all patients: free T4 (fT4), free T3 (fT3), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), TSH receptor antibody (TRab), anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (anti-TPO), anti-thyroglobulin antibody (anti-Tg), interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2r), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and interleukin-13 (IL-13).

Increased P wave dispersion: a new finding in patients with syndrome X.

The present clinical study was undertaken in patients with syndrome X, namely angina with normal coronary arteries, to investigate the presence of increased P wave dispersion by comparing patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and healthy control subjects. Three groups were studied - group A, 21 patients (48 6 years) with syndrome X; group B, 16 patients (56 9 years) with CAD; and group C, 16 healthy subjects (49 8 years). Patients with CAD were older than those in groups A and C (P=0.

Impaired nocturnal synthesis of melatonin in patients with cardiac syndrome X.

We investigated nocturnal secretion pattern of melatonin in patients with cardiac syndrome X and healthy subjects. The present study performed in five patients with cardiac syndrome X and in nine healthy controls. Blood samples from all subjects were collected every 2 h intervals between 22:00 and 08:00 h.