Longitudinal analysis of astrocyte-derived protein levels in the blood of drug-naive and relapsed patients with schizophrenia.

The potential influence of astrocytes on neuronal circuitry and psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia have recently been highlighted. Human postmortem studies have observed reduced astrocyte numbers in schizophrenia, but whether this pathology is present at disease onset or accumulates progressively with further psychotic episodes remains unclear. Therefore, we analysed serum levels of the astrocyte-derived proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and fatty acid-binding protein 7 (FABP7) in acutely ill first-episode (n = 60) and relapsed (n = 34) schizophrenia patients compared to 94 matched controls.

CCL2 Predicts Survival in Patients with Inoperable Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Selective Internal Radiotherapy.

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the largest subgroup of primary liver tumors. Ablative therapies, such as selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), are used in late stages for patients with unresectable liver metastases and no response to other therapies. CCL2 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 2) is a potent monocyte chemoattractant.

Aging Influences Fracture Healing on the Cellular Level and Alters Systemic RANKL and OPG Concentrations in a Murine Model.

Clinical complications frequently follow polytrauma and bleeding fractures, increasing the risk of delayed fracture healing and nonunions, especially in aged patients. Therefore, this study examines age's impact on fracture repair with and without severe bleeding in mice. Young (17-26 weeks) and aged (64-72 weeks) male C57BL/6J mice (n = 72 in total, n = 6 per group) are allocated into 3 groups: the fracture group (Fx) undergoes femur osteotomy stabilized via external fixator, the combined trauma group (THFx) additionally receives pressure-controlled trauma hemorrhage (TH) and Sham animals are implanted with catheter and fixator without blood loss or osteotomy.

Elevated extracellular particle concentration in plasma predicts in-hospital mortality after severe trauma.

Background: Extracellular particles (EPs), particularly extracellular vesicles, play a crucial role in regulating various pathological mechanisms, including immune dysregulations post-trauma. Their distinctive expression of cell-specific markers and regulatory cargo such as cytokines or micro-ribonucleic acid suggests their potential as early biomarkers for organ-specific damage and for identifying patients at risk for complications and mortality. Given the critical need for reliable and easily assessable makers to identify at-risk patients and guide therapeutic decisions, we evaluated the early diagnostic value of circulating EPs regarding outcomes in severely injured multiple-trauma patients.

Naturalistic comparison of clomethiazole and Diazepam treatment in alcohol withdrawal: effects on oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines and hepatic biomarkers.

Ethanol is metabolized by alcohol dehydrogenase to acetaldehyde and induces cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), which generates reactive oxygen species that cause inflammatory liver damage. Clomethiazole, a drug approved for alcohol withdrawal treatment (AWT) in some European countries, inhibits CYP2E1. We hypothesized that clomethiazole would lead to a faster reduction in oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines, and liver enzymes compared to diazepam treatment.

Age-related exacerbation of lung damage after trauma is associated with increased expression of inflammasome components.

Background: Trauma, a significant global cause of mortality and disability, often leads to fractures and hemorrhagic shock, initiating an exaggerated inflammatory response, which harms distant organs, particularly the lungs. Elderly individuals are more vulnerable to immune dysregulation post-trauma, leading to heightened organ damage, infections, and poor health outcomes. This study investigates the role of NF-κB and inflammasomes in lung damage among aged mice post-trauma.

Gemfibrozil Improves Microcirculatory Oxygenation of Colon and Liver without Affecting Mitochondrial Function in a Model of Abdominal Sepsis in Rats.

Recent studies observed, despite an anti-hyperlipidaemic effect, a positive impact of fibrates on septic conditions. This study evaluates the effects of gemfibrozil on microcirculatory variables, mitochondrial function, and lipid peroxidation levels with regard to its potential role as an indicator for oxidative stress in the colon and liver under control and septic conditions and dependencies on PPARα-mediated mechanisms of action. With the approval of the local ethics committee, 120 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 12 groups.

Utilizing predictive machine-learning modelling unveils feature-based risk assessment system for hyperinflammatory patterns and infectious outcomes in polytrauma.

Purpose: Earlier research has identified several potentially predictive features including biomarkers associated with trauma, which can be used to assess the risk for harmful outcomes of polytraumatized patients. These features encompass various aspects such as the nature and severity of the injury, accompanying health conditions, immune and inflammatory markers, and blood parameters linked to organ functioning, however their applicability is limited. Numerous indicators relevant to the patients` outcome are routinely gathered in the intensive care unit (ICU) and recorded in electronic medical records, rendering them suitable predictors for risk assessment of polytraumatized patients.

Impact of age on liver damage, inflammation, and molecular signaling pathways in response to femoral fracture and hemorrhage.

Background: Trauma causes disability and mortality globally, leading to fractures and hemorrhagic shock. This can trigger an irregular inflammatory response that damages remote organs, including liver. Aging increases the susceptibility to dysregulated immune responses following trauma, raising the risk of organ damage, infections, and higher morbidity and mortality in elderly patients.

Selective Internal Radiotherapy Alters the Profiles of Systemic Extracellular Vesicles in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing globally. Radioembolization (RE)/selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) is a promising treatment for inoperable HCC. RE triggers an immune response, involving extracellular vesicles (EVs) which are crucial for cell communication and tumor development.

CoNiCrMo Particles, but Not TiAlV Particles, Activate the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Periprosthetic Cells.

Aseptic loosening is the main reason for arthroplasty failure. The wear particles generated at the tribological bearings are thought to induce an inflammatory tissue response, leading to bone loss and the subsequent loosening of the implant. Different wear particles have been shown to activate the inflammasome, thereby contributing to an inflammatory milieu in the direct vicinity of the implant.

NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF TRAUMA AND HEMORRHAGE.

Circulatory shock from trauma and hemorrhage remains a clinical challenge with mortality still high within the first hours after impact. It represents a complex disease involving the impairment of a number of physiological systems and organs and the interaction of different pathological mechanisms. Multiple external and patient-specific factors may further modulate and complicate the clinical course.

Fracture Healing in Elderly Mice and the Effect of an Additional Severe Blood Loss: A Radiographic and Biomechanical Murine Study.

Femoral fractures and severe bleeding frequently occur in old patients showing a delayed healing. As there are no studies investigating the combined effect of high age and severe blood loss on fracture healing, this was examined radiographically and biomechanically in this study. Therefore, young and old male mice were randomly assigned to three operation groups.

COL10A1 allows stratification of invasiveness of colon cancer and associates to extracellular matrix and immune cell enrichment in the tumor parenchyma.

Background: Treatment options for metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) are mostly ineffective. We present new evidence that tumor tissue collagen type X alpha 1 (COL10A1) is a relevant candidate biomarker to improve this dilemma.

Methods: Several public databases had been screened to observe COL10A1 expression in transcriptome levels with cell lines and tissues.

TNF-α Indicates Radiation-induced Liver Injury After Interstitial High Dose-rate Brachytherapy.

Background/aim: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the early systemic markers of inflammation, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), respond to high dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, and their possible correlation with radiation-induced liver injury of patients with liver metastases.

Patients And Methods: This prospective study included 20 tumor patients (TP) undergoing irradiation-based interstitial HDR brachytherapy (iBT) of liver metastases, who received total radiation ablative doses to the planning target volume ranging from 15 to 25 Gy, depending on the tumor entity. Hepatobiliary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed 6 weeks after iBT to assess the maximum extent of focal radiation-induced liver injury (fRILI).

I-FABP as a Potential Marker for Intestinal Barrier Loss in Porcine Polytrauma.

Polytrauma and concomitant hemorrhagic shock can lead to intestinal damage and subsequent multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. The intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) is expressed in the intestine and appears quickly in the circulation after intestinal epithelial cell damage. This porcine animal study investigates the I-FABP dynamics in plasma and urine after polytrauma.

Selective Internal Radiotherapy Changes the Immune Profiles of Extracellular Vesicles and Their Immune Origin in Patients with Inoperable Cholangiocarcinoma.

The incidence of cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCA) is rising worldwide. As there are no specific early symptoms or specific markers of CCA, it is often diagnosed in later inoperable stages. Accumulating evidence underlines the importance of radiation therapy in the induction of antitumor immunity.

A Barrier to Defend - Models of Pulmonary Barrier to Study Acute Inflammatory Diseases.

Pulmonary diseases represent four out of ten most common causes for worldwide mortality. Thus, pulmonary infections with subsequent inflammatory responses represent a major public health concern. The pulmonary barrier is a vulnerable entry site for several stress factors, including pathogens such as viruses, and bacteria, but also environmental factors e.

Cigarette Smoke Extract Disturbs Mitochondria-Regulated Airway Epithelial Cell Responses to Pneumococci.

Mitochondrial functionality is crucial for the execution of physiologic functions of metabolically active cells in the respiratory tract including airway epithelial cells (AECs). Cigarette smoke is known to impair mitochondrial function in AECs. However, the potential contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction in AECs to airway infection and airway epithelial barrier dysfunction is unknown.

Acute Intoxication With Alcohol Reduces Trauma-Induced Proinflammatory Response and Barrier Breakdown in the Lung the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

Background: Trauma is the third leading cause of mortality worldwide. Upon admission, up to 50% of traumatized patients are acutely intoxicated with alcohol, which might lead to aberrant immune responses. An excessive and uncontrolled inflammatory response to injury is associated with damage to trauma-distant organs.

Correlation of chemokines and growth factors with radiation-induced liver injury after interstitial high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy of liver metastases.

Background: Locoregional therapies, as imaging-guided tumor-directed procedures, are emerging treatment strategies in the management of primary and secondary liver malignancies such as e.g. colorectal cancer liver metastases.