Determination of red blood cell fatty acid profiles: Rapid and high-confident analysis by chemical ionization-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Cellular fatty acid (FA) profiles have been acknowledged as biomarkers in various human diseases. Nevertheless, common FA analysis by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) requires long analysis time. Hence, there is a need for feasible methods for high throughput analysis in clinical studies.

Homeostatic equilibria between free thyroid hormones and pituitary thyrotropin are modulated by various influences including age, body mass index and treatment.

Objective: We examined the interrelationships of pituitary thyrotropin (TSH) with circulating thyroid hormones to determine whether they were expressed either invariably or conditionally and distinctively related to influences such as levothyroxine (L-T4) treatment.

Design And Methods: This prospective study employing 1912 consecutive patients analyses the interacting equilibria of TSH and free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) in the circulation.

Results: The complex interrelations between FT3, FT4 and TSH were modulated by age, body mass, thyroid volume, antibody status and L-T4 treatment.

How accurately do we measure blood glucose levels in intensive care unit (ICU) patients?

Hyperglycaemia is commonly found in critically ill patients as a result of numerous processes such as increased gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis caused by elevated levels of corresponding hormones and insulin resistance. As the clinical consequence of hyperglycaemia has been shown to increase morbidity and mortality in various clinical settings, many hospitals by now use tight glycaemic control protocols for their patients in intensive care units to maintain normoglycaemia. The success of the intensive insulin therapy depends crucially on frequent and accurate blood glucose measurements with immediate feedback of results.

Blood glucose measurements in the critically ill: more than just a blood draw.

A crucial determinant for the success of intensive insulin therapy in critically ill patients is the frequent and accurate measurement of blood glucose values with immediate feedback of results. In general, therefore, this is achieved by point-of-care testing, raising the question of the best way of monitoring blood glucose. Corstjens and coworkers, in the previous issue of Critical Care, demonstrate that, in spite of good correlation to "conventional" laboratory glucose assessment, absolute glucose levels may differ systematically.

Biochemical markers of bone turnover in patients with localized and metastasized prostate cancer.

Objective: To evaluate and compare the value of several markers of bone turnover in different stages of prostate cancer, as bone metastases are a common feature in this disease, and for assessing bone metastases both bone formation and bone resorption markers are diagnostic.

Patients And Methods: The prospective study included 219 men, i.e.

Palmitate-induced interleukin-6 expression in human coronary artery endothelial cells.

Obesity-linked insulin resistance is associated with chronic inflammation and cardiovascular complications. Free fatty acids (FFAs) are prominent candidates for the molecular link between these disorders. In this study, we determined whether FFAs contribute to vascular inflammation via induction of interleukin (IL)-6 in coronary artery endothelial cells (CAECs) and coronary artery smooth muscle cells (CASMCs) and whether this is reflected in vivo.

Discrimination of Type 2 diabetic patients from healthy controls by using metabonomics method based on their serum fatty acid profiles.

Metabonomics, the study of metabolites and their roles in various disease states, is a novel methodology arising from the post-genomics era. This methodology has been applied in many fields, including work in cardiovascular research and drug toxicology. In this study, metabonomics method was employed to the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) based on serum lipid metabolites.

4-Heptanone is a metabolite of the plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in haemodialysis patients.

Background: There is an ongoing discussion about the risks of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure for the general population as well as for specific subgroups in various medical settings. Haemodialysis patients certainly belong to the group with the highest exposure taking into account the repeated treatments over a long period of time. Many studies have shown that DEHP metabolites are more active with regard to cellular responses than DEHP itself.

Liquid chromatography-based determination of urinary free and total N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine excretion in normal and diabetic subjects.

We propose a specific, reproducible and sensitive HPLC method for the determination of N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) excreted in urine. Total CML was measured in acid hydrolysates of urine samples, while free CML was measured in acetonitrile-deproteinised urine samples using a RP-HPLC method with ortho-phtaldialdehyde (OPA)-derivatisation and fluorescence detection suited for automation. We compared the CML excretion of 51 non-proteinuric patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (age 57+/-14 years, HbA1c 8.

Acute effect of glimepiride on insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism in glucose-tolerant insulin-resistant offspring of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: This study addressed whether acute infusion of glimepiride influences glucose metabolism independent of its effect on insulin secretion.

Research Design And Methods: Ten healthy, glucose-tolerant but insulin-resistant probands were subjected to a placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over study. Each individual received infusions of either 0.

Troglitazone downregulates delta-6 desaturase gene expression in human skeletal muscle cell cultures.

Delta-6 Desaturase, one of the rate-limiting enzymes, catalyzes the conversion of linoleic acid (C18:2 omega6) into gamma-linolenic acid (C18:3 omega6), arachidonic acid (C20:4 omega6), and further metabolites. Recently, it has been shown that human Delta-6 desaturase is expressed not only in liver but in a variety of human tissues, including muscle. Skeletal muscle is a major site of insulin action, and insulin sensitivity may be related to the fatty acid composition of muscle lipids.