Soluble CD30 serum levels before and after treatment with alpha-interferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

It has been suggested that soluble CD30 (sCD30) serum levels in chronic hepatitis C are correlated with the activity of the disease and with the outcome of interferon (IFN) treatment. In this study, sCD30 serum levels in 25 patients with chronic hepatitis C, before and after treatment with IFN-2alpha, were measured. A total of 20 healthy subjects were used as controls.

Increased serum thyroglobulin concentrations and impaired thyrotropin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone in euthyroid subjects with endemic goiter in Sicily: their relation to goiter size and nodularity.

Serum thyroglobulin (Tg), T4, T3, FT4, FT3, TSH concentrations and TSH response to iv TRH (delta TSH) were measured in 56 consecutive patients with (multi) nodular goiter from a severely iodine-deficient endemic goiter area in Northeastern Sicily and in 11 non goitrous euthyroid individuals living in the same area. Serum Tg concentrations were sharply increased in goitrous subjects (453 +/- 476 ng/ml) and related to thyroid size and the presence of nodules (chi 2 = 43.5, p less than 0.

Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and alkaline phosphatase serum activities: their relation to the outcome of Graves' disease.

Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were assayed in the sera of 27 patients affected with Graves' disease prior to conventional (12-18 months) methimazole (30-5 mg/day) treatment, who were subsequently followed up over 36 +/- 1.5 months (m +/- SEM). Twelve patients underwent recurrence of thyrotoxicosis (relapsers) at variable intervals from withdrawal of treatment, whereas the remaining 12 remained euthyroid (nonrelapsers).

Failure to find evidence of immunoglobulin inhibitor(s) of thyroid hormone binding to serum proteins in non-thyroid illnesses.

In order to verify the hypothesis of the presence of IgM (or an IgM-like substance) capable of inhibiting thyroid hormone binding to serum proteins and, therefore, capable of enhancing serum free thyroid fractions in non-thyroid illnesses (NTI), we measured TBG and TBPA maximum binding capacities and TBG concentration by an immunoradiometric system in normal pooled sera (NPS) before and after enrichment with purified immunoglobulins (IgM and IgG) from euthyroid NTI sera (free T4, free T3 and TSH levels were normal). A known amount of TBG was diluted 1:2-1:6 with deionized water or with IgM from NPS or from each of 6 NTI sera; the measured values were not different from these expected on theoretical grounds. Likewise, IgM or IgG from normal or from each of 7 NTI sera failed to modify both TBG and TBPA capacities of different NPS, and NTI immunoglobulins showed no binding activity directed to [125I]T4, [125I]T3 or [125I]TBG.