Vitamin D in blood serum and chronic pancreatitis.

Unlabelled: Patients with chronic pancreatitis are at risk of developing malabsorption and malnutrition. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is accompanied by decreased serum micronutrient levels and low vitamin D levels are a frequent finding in up to 60-80% of patients. The aim of our prospective study was to investigate vitamin D in the blood serum of subjects with chronic pancreatitis with the possibility of influencing the reduced vitamin D levels with supplementation therapy.

Emergency medicine pharmacotherapy compromises accuracy of plasma creatinine determination by enzyme-based methods: real-world clinical evidence and implications for clinical practice.

Background: Assessment of kidney function in emergency settings is essential across all medical subspecialties. Daily assessment of patient creatinine results from emergency medical services showed that some deviated from expected values, implying drug-related interference.

Methods: Real-time clinical evaluation of an enzyme method (Roche CREP2) in comparison with the Jaffé gen.

Haplotype analysis of the interleukin-18 gene in Czech patients with allergic disorders.

The interleukin-18 (IL-18) gene on chromosome 11q22 has been suggested as a susceptibility factor for allergies. To test for a possible role of IL-18 polymorphisms in Czech population, case-control study including 958 subjects (633 allergic patients and 325 healthy controls) was performed. An allele-specific polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze variants at positions -607 C/A (rs1946518) and -137 G/C (rs187238) in the promoter region together with the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method for the detection of polymorphism at position -140 C/G (previously -133 C/G, rs360721) in intron 1 of the IL-18 gene.

Polymorphisms of the CD14 gene and atopic phenotypes in Czech patients with IgE-mediated allergy.

IgE-mediated allergy is a common chronic disorder resulting from interactions between genetic and environmental factors. The gene encoding CD14 is a positional candidate gene for allergic diseases as it is localised on chromosome 5q31.1, a region linked to asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

Polymorphisms in the +252(A/G) lymphotoxin-alpha and the -308(A/G) tumor necrosis factor-alpha genes and susceptibility to chronic periodontitis in a Czech population.

Background: Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that leads to irreversible attachment loss, bone destruction and eventually tooth loss. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a pluripotent proinflammatory cytokine that is able to induce tissue destruction and bone resorption, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.

Methods: In this study, we investigated an association between chronic periodontitis and two previously described bi-allelic polymorphisms in the TNF locus: a G to A transition at position -308 in the 5'promoter region of the TNF-alpha gene and an NcoI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in the first intron (position +252A/G) of the lymphotoxin alpha (LT-alpha) gene.

The role of the IKAP gene polymorphisms in atopic diseases in the middle European population.

Over ten genome-wide screens and many candidate genes studies were performed worldwide to elucidate genetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma and other atopic diseases. Results from these studies were often discordant, which might have reflected complexity and heterogeneity of these multifactorial diseases. Among a variety of other loci, specific variants of the gene for IKAP (IKK complex-associated protein) were shown to be associated with bronchial asthma in children in a Japanese study.

Lack of association between atopic asthma and the tumor necrosis factor alpha-308 gene polymorphism in a Czech population.

Susceptibility to the development of asthma and other atopic diseases is known to be associated with genetic components. Several investigators have linked the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) genes and nearby markers located on chromosome 6p to atopy and asthma. A recent study has demonstrated that the TNF-alpha*2 allele of a polymorphism in the TNF-alpha gene promoter region (G-308 A) is associated with a higher risk for the development of atopy in Spanish patients.