Getting an Insight into the Complexity of Major Chronic Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases: A Potential New Systemic Approach to Their Treatment.

As the modern society is troubled by multi-factorial diseases, research has been conducted on complex realities including chronic inflammation, cancer, obesity, HIV infection, metabolic syndrome and its detrimental cardiovascular complications as well as depression and other brain disorders. Deterioration of crucial homeostatic mechanisms in such diseases invariably results in activation of inflammatory mediators, chronic inflammation, loss in immunological function, increased susceptibility to diseases, alteration of metabolism, decrease of energy production and neuro-cognitive decline. Regulation of genes expression by epigenetic code is the dominant mechanism for the transduction of environmental inputs, such as stress and inflammation to lasting physiological changes.

Endocrine, metabolic, and immunologic components of HIV infection.

It is generally accepted that the progression of HIV infection is the consequence of increased HIV virus load and defective CD4(+) T cell-mediated immunity. Previous studies have shown that T helper-directed cellular immunity is suppressed in hypercortisolemic HIV patients, while it is activated in cortisol-resistant HIV patients. This is suggestive of a cytokine system intimately linked with cortisol and its receptors.

The stress of competition dissociates neural and cortisol homeostasis in elite athletes.

Aim: Stressful situations affect autonomic nervous system activity and hormonal responses. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the stress of sports competition on both endocrine system functioning and neurovegetative control of heart rate (HR) in elite athletes.

Methods: In 7 top-level pentathletes salivary cortisol levels and autoregressive power spectral analysis of HR variability (HRV) were assessed in the morning and in the afternoon on a regular training day (control) and on the day of a competitive selection trial, held 4 weeks apart.

Cytokine production in women with antiretroviral treatment-associated breast fat accumulation and limb wasting.

Objective: To test the cytokine production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in a group of HIV-infected women with breast enlargement and lower limb wasting while receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) including a protease inhibitor.

Design: Case-control study including 20 women with fat tissue alterations and 20 matched controls treated with comparable ART.

Methods: Adipose tissue alterations (ATA) were defined by increased breast size (> or = 2 bra sizes) accompanied by lower limb fat wasting.

Comparative measurement of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and brain natriuretic peptide in ambulatory patients with heart failure.

It is not clear whether brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) is superior as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator in cardiac diseases. Here, we compare the clinical correlations of both peptides in a population of 92 ambulatory patients with heart failure, using a well-established immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) for BNP and an automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay for NT-proBNP. The analytical correlation between the two peptides was satisfactory over a wide range of concentrations (1-686 pM for BNP) with the equation: NT-proBNP = 3.