Optimizing ischemic preconditioning for esophagogastric anastomosis: A standardized rat model to evaluate histological changes.

Introduction: A reproducible and simple model is essential for verifying gastric conduit vitality before esophagectomy. Ischemia is a major cause of esophagogastric anastomotic dehiscence and leakage. Ischemic conditioning of the stomach prior to esophageal surgery has been shown to lower the incidence of postoperative complications, including anastomotic leakage.

The Association Between Three Adipocytokines (Adiponectin, Resistin and Visfatin) And Thyroid Status in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Autoimmune Thyroiditis.

Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) are the most common endocrinological diseases worldwide. Relation between these diseases explains several hypotheses. One of them is influence of some adipocytokines.

Positive association between abdominal aortic diameter and serum collagen XVIII levels.

Background: The identification of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) biomarker offers a perspective to determine disease progress and rupture risk. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between selected circulating biomarkers and diameter of abdominal aorta.

Methods: One hundred and two patients (88 men and 14 women) with mean age 70.

Humoral predictors of ankle-brachial index in patients with peripheral arterial disease and controls.

Introduction: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common condition due to atherosclerosis with high prevalence in population over 55 years. Although its pathophysiology is well recognized, the role of inflammatory markers is still not fully known.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the relation of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factors-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) to ankle-brachial index (ABI) and metabolic variables in patients with PAD.

Arterial pH and blood gas values in rats under three types of general anesthesia: a chronobiological study.

The aim of study was to review the status of arterial pH, pO(2) and pCO(2) under general anesthesias in dependence on the light-dark (LD) cycle in spontaneously breathing rats. The experiments were performed using three- to four-month-old pentobarbital(P)-, ketamine/xylazine(K/X)- and zoletil(Z)-anesthetized female Wistar rats after a four-week adaptation to an LD cycle (12 h light:12 h dark). The animals were divided into three experimental groups according to the anesthetic agent used: P (light n=11; dark n=8); K/X (light n=13; dark n=11); and Z (light n=18; dark n=26).

Circulating lipopolysaccharide-binding protein and carotid intima-media thickness in obstructive sleep apnea.

Circulating lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), a metabolic endotoxemia marker, was identified as an independent predictor of atherosclerosis. Although increases in carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) were repeatedly reported in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), neither the role of OSA in metabolic endotoxemia nor of LBP in early atherosclerosis were explored in patients with OSA. At a tertiary university hospital we investigated the relationships between OSA, LBP and CIMT in 117 men who underwent full polysomnography and CIMT assessment by B-mode ultrasound.

Increased resting energy expenditure and insulin resistance in male patients with moderate-to severe obstructive sleep apnoea.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has been associated with disturbances in energy metabolism and insulin resistance, nevertheless, the links between OSA severity, resting energy expenditure (REE) and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment, HOMA-IR) remained unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the effects of OSA severity on REE, and relationships between REE and HOMA-IR in patients with OSA. Forty men [mean (SD) age 49.

Surgical Anatomy of the Gastrointestinal Tract and Its Vasculature in the Laboratory Rat.

The aim of this study was to describe and illustrate the morphology of the stomach, liver, intestine, and their vasculature to support the planning of surgical therapeutic methods in abdominal cavity. On adult Wistar rats corrosion casts were prepared from the arterial system and Duracryl Dental and PUR SP were used as a casting medium and was performed macroscopic anatomical dissection of the stomach, liver, and intestine was performed. The rat stomach was a large, semilunar shaped sac with composite lining.

Biomarkers associated with obesity and overweight in the Roma population residing in eastern Slovakia.

Background: Obesity and overweight are major contributors to the global burden of chronic diseases and disability in both majority and minority populations.

Methods: Data from the cross-sectional population-based HepaMeta study conducted in Slovakia in 2011 were used. The sample comprised a total of 452 Roma.

Circulatory osteoprotegerin is related to osteoporosis of the hip in patients with COPD.

Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a potent inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis, decreases bone resorption and has protective effects on bone mineral density (BMD). Recently we have shown that the adipose-tissue derived OPG relates to BMD in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition associated with increased risk of osteoporosis.

Objective: Here we aimed to investigate the potential of circulatory OPG to reflect hip BMD in patients with COPD.

Effect of dietary microbially produced gamma-linolenic acid and plant extracts on enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in various broiler chicken organs.

Plant extracts and fungal fermented feed with gamma-linolenic acid-rich microbial oils are perspective additives for use in animal nutrition as appetite and digestion stimulants, stimulants of physiological functions, for the prevention and treatment for certain pathological conditions, and as antioxidants. The activity of antioxidant enzymes and the level of reduced glutathione were measured in the plasma and in liver, heart and kidney mitochondria after 42 days of feeding broiler chickens both regular and combination diets. These were selected based on our previous experience.

Left ventricular morphology and function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Congestive heart failure (CHF) and inflammation are important contributors to the excess of overall morbidity and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). CHF rather than ischaemic heart disease (IHD) appears to participate on the mortality in these patients. However, there are controversial results about significance of plasma N-terminal of pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and other inflammatory markers investigation for an early detection of heart dysfunction.

[An association between adiponectin and renal dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus].

Introduction: Adiponectin is a hormone of adipose tissue produced exclusively by adipocytes. According to recent studies its serum concentrations are negatively associated with obesity and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM). The aim of the study was to clarify the relationship between renal functions and serum adiponectin in patients suffering from diabetic nephropathy.

[Is there a relationship between inflammatory markers, oxidative stress and postoperative atrial fibrillation?].

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common complications following heart surgery. The aim of this work was to verify the relationship between inflammatory markers, oxidative stress and postoperative arrhythmia.

Methods: 45 patients with ischemic heart disease (12 women and 33 men, mean age 62.

Acute and long-term effect of infliximab on humoral and echocardiographic parameters in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases, i.e., rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Crohn's disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC).

Genes of intestinal Escherichia coli and their relation to the inflammatory activity in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Escherichia coli gene fimA was the most frequent gene that occurred in the intestine of all investigated groups. All subjects with fimA gene had significantly higher values of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and CRP than those with other E. coli genes.

Serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, retinol binding protein 4 and leptin/adiponectin molar ratio as another possible marker of insulin resistance in obese.

Aim: To determine the relationship between some adipokines and insulin resistance (IR) in obese.

Materials And Methods: 47 individuals were divided--1. according to BMI to subgroups with normal weight, overweight and obesity, 2.

The effect of probiotic microorganisms and bioactive compounds on chemically induced carcinogenesis in rats.

Diet interventions and natural bioactive supplements have now been extensively studied to reduce risks of colon cancer, which is one of the major public health problem throughout the world. The objective of our investigation was to study the effects of probiotic, prebiotic, nutritional plant extract, and plant oil on selected biochemical and immunological parameters in rats with colon cancer induced by N,N dimethylhydrazine (DMH). Male and female Wistar albino rats were were fed by a high-fat (HF) diet (10% fat in the diet) and were divided into 9 groups: Control group; PRO group - HF diet supplemented with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum to provide 3 x 109 c.

Nutritional status in relation to respiratory impairment and systemic inflammation in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.

Background: Knowledge of the effects of undernourishment on the severity of respiratory impairment, systemic inflammation and oxidative stress during acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) is limited. In patients with AECOPD, we assessed the relationships between BMI, lung function, and markers of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress.

Material/methods: We measured pulmonary function, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, malondialdehyde (MDA), erythrocytic glutathione-peroxidase (GPx), superoxiddismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in 113 patients admitted to the hospital due to an AECOPD (80 males, age 66.

Use of probiotics for prevention of radiation-induced diarrhea.

Probiotics can be applied in therapy and mainly in prevention of many civilization disorders. Experimental studies in animal models and clinical trials of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have consistently shown that the use of probiotic organisms may effectively down-modulate the severity of intestinal inflammation by altering the composition and metabolic and functional properties of indigenous flora of the gut. Previous studies showed a protective effect of probiotic administration after radiation therapy, and probiotic may play an important role in the pathogenesis of radiation enteropathy.

Effects of continuous positive airway pressure on cardiovascular risk profile in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome.

Background: The increased risk of atherosclerotic morbidity and mortality in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked to arterial hypertension, insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, and oxidative stress. We aimed to determine the effects of 8 weeks of therapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on glucose and lipid profile, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and global cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with severe OSA and metabolic syndrome.

Methods: In 32 patients, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fibrinogen, apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B (ApoB), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, leptin, malondialdehyde (MDA), and erythrocytic glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks of CPAP.

Oxidative stress in patients with COPD and pulmonary hypertension.

Objective: Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Oxidant/antioxidant imbalance has also been reported in various forms of pulmonary hypertension. The present study aimed to assess systemic oxidative stress, as reflected by serum malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and activities of antioxidant enzymes in erythrocytes [glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)] in patients with and without pulmonary hypertension secondary to COPD.

Systemic inflammation and systemic oxidative stress in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.

Background: In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the inflammatory processes and oxidative stress are closely linked in the lung compartment. However, the relationships between systemic inflammation and parameters of oxidative stress in the systemic circulation during acute exacerbations of COPD remain to be explored.

Objective: To analyze relationships between erythrocytic glutathione peroxidase (GPx), a marker of systemic oxidative stress, and parameters reflecting systemic inflammation, such as circulating neutrophils, C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin (IL)-6, in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.

Nutrition, body weight and deterioration of familial combined hyperlipidemia.

Lipid and apolipoprotein serum levels as a consequence of excessive nutrition in the overweight individuals with familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) in comparison with the obese ones are studied only sporadically. In this study, the effect of overweight and obesity in subjects with FCHL on serum lipids and apolipoproteins was investigated. The participants were 36 overweight and 10 obese men.

Adiponectin as a biomarker of clinical manifestation of metabolic syndrome.

Objectives: To search whether there are differences in serum levels of adiponectin in subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS) as compared to the healthy controls.

Methods: Serum levels of adiponectin were measured by ELISA in 22 subjects with MS (MS group: 9 males and 13 females, average age +/- SD 43.19 +/- 6.