Selenoprotein P-1 (SEPP1) as an Early Biomarker of Myocardial Injury in Patients Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

: Biomarkers development for prognostication or prediction of perioperative myocardial disease is critical for the evolution of treatment options in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The aim of our prospective monocentric study was to investigate the role of selenoprotein 1 (SEEP 1) as a potential biomarker for assessing the risk of myocardial injury after cardiac surgery. : Circulating SEPP1 was measured in the blood of 45 patients before surgery and at 4 h, 8 h and 12 h after CPB by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); (3) : circulating SEPP-1 levels measured 4 h after surgery were strongly correlated with CK-MB levels measured at 48 h (R = 0.

Role of Gut Microbiota in Overweight Susceptibility in an Adult Population in Italy.

Although the gut microbiota is known to affect body weight, its relationship with overweight/obesity is unclear. Our aim was to characterize microbiota composition in a cohort from the southernmost area of Italy. We investigated whether an altered gut microbiota could play an etiological role in the pathogenesis of overweight/obesity.

Dermal Substitutes and Skin Grafts in the Reconstruction of Post-Traumatic Total Scalp Avulsion: A Case Series.

Although scalp defects can vary in size and thickness, scalp avulsion represents a rare occurrence. This type of lesion may have different origins, but it is usually related to long hair being caught in agricultural machinery. The management of full-thickness scalp defects poses a challenge to the head and neck surgeon due to the possible involvement of neurovascular structures and scar retraction, which can affect the esthetic restoration of the area.

Selenoprotein P-1 (SEPP1) as an Early Biomarker of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Background: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a frequent, dangerous complication in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with oxidative stress playing a crucial role. In this pilot study we evaluated the possible role of the selenoprotein-p1 (SEPP1), a circulating, anti-oxidant selenium transporter, as a predictive biomarker of AKI in this population setting.

Methods: Circulating SEPP1 was measured in the blood of 45 patients before surgery and at 4 h, 8 h and 12 h after CPB by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

Reducing salt intake by urine chloride self-measurement in non-compliant patients with chronic kidney disease followed in nephrology clinics: a randomized trial.

Background: Adherence to low salt diets and control of hypertension remain unmet clinical needs in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.

Methods: We performed a 6-month multicentre randomized trial in non-compliant patients with CKD followed in nephrology clinics testing the effect of self-measurement of urinary chloride (69 patients) as compared with standard care (69 patients) on two primary outcome measures, adherence to a low sodium (Na) diet (<100 mmol/day) as measured by 24-h urine Na (UNa) excretion and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (ABPM) monitoring.

Results: In the whole sample (N = 138), baseline UNa and 24-h ABPM were143 ± 64 mmol/24 h and 131 ± 18/72 ± 10 mmHg, respectively, and did not differ between the two study arms.

FGF23 and the PTH response to paricalcitol in chronic kidney disease.

Background: The parathyroid glands are endowed both with receptors responsive to FGF23 and to 1,25 vitamin D. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) activation, besides lowering PTH, also raises serum FGF23. FGF23 has been implicated in parathyroid resistance to VDR activation but the issue has never been investigated in predialysis CKD patients.

Serum Erythroferrone Levels Associate with Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in Hemodialysis and in CKD Patients: A Two Cohorts Study.

Erythroferrone (ERFE) is a hepcidin inhibitor whose synthesis is stimulated by erythropoietin, which increases iron absorption and mobilization. We studied the association between serum ERFE and mortality and non-fatal cardiovascular (CV) events in a cohort of 1123 hemodialysis patients and in a cohort of 745 stage 1-5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Erythroferrone was measured by a validated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Urine chloride self-measurement to monitor sodium chloride intake in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background Excessive sodium intake is a risk factor for hypertension, cardiovascular disease and the risk for kidney failure in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Methods We tested the diagnostic performance and the feasibility of an inexpensive method based on urine chloride strips for self-monitoring sodium intake in a series of 72 CKD patients. Results Twenty-four hour urinary chloride as measured by the reactive strips and 24 h urinary sodium were interrelated (r=0.

Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR) and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Diverse Hemodialysis Patients.

Introduction: The soluble receptor of urokinase plasminogen activator (suPAR) is an innate immunity/inflammation biomarker predicting cardiovascular (CV) and non-CV events in various conditions, including type 2 diabetic patients on dialysis. However, the relationship between suPAR and clinical outcomes in the hemodialysis population at large has not been tested.

Methods: We measured plasma suPAR levels (R&D enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) in 1038 hemodialysis patients with a follow-up of 2.

Vitamin D receptor activation raises soluble thrombomodulin levels in chronic kidney disease patients: a double blind, randomized trial.

Background: Thrombomodulin (TM) is a proteoglycan highly represented in the endothelial glycocalix that regulates the haemostasis and the endothelial response to inflammation. High soluble TM levels underlie a lower risk for coronary heart disease in population studies. Activation of vitamin D receptor (VDR) upregulates TM, but the effect of this intervention on soluble TM has never been tested in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.

Effect of Vitamin D Receptor Activation on the AGE/RAGE System and Myeloperoxidase in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) activation has been reported to increase circulating levels of the advanced glycation end products (AGE) and their decoy receptor (RAGE). However, until now, the effect of VDR activation on AGE and RAGE has not been tested in the setting of a randomized, double-blind clinical trial. We have therefore analyzed the effect of VDR activation by paricalcitol on pentosidine, S100A12/ENRAGE, and RAGE and on established biomarkers of oxidative stress like myeloperoxidase in CKD patients in the PENNY trial.

Vitamin D and methylarginines in chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Background: Vitamin D associates with the plasma concentration of the endogenous inhibitor of the nitric oxide system asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) and cross-sectional studies in CKD patients treated with the vitamin D receptor activator paricalcitol show that plasma ADMA is substantially less than in those not receiving this drug.

Methods: In the frame of a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial, the Paracalcitol and ENdothelial fuNction in chronic kidneY disease (PENNY), we investigated whether vitamin D receptor activation by paricalcitol (2 μg/day x 12 weeks) affects the plasma concentration of ADMA and symmetric dimethyl arginine (SDMA) in 88 patients with stage 3 to 4 CKD.

Results: Paricalcitol produced the expected small rise in serum calcium and phosphate and a marked PTH suppression.

Intact FGF23 and α-Klotho during acute inflammation/sepsis in CKD patients.

Background: High FGF23 and low α-Klotho levels associate with systemic inflammation and reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, but the dynamics of this relationship in patients with CKD has not been investigated.

Methods: We sequentially measured serum intact FGF23 and carboxyl-terminal (iFGF23, cFGF23), the iFGF23/cFGF23 ratio, αKlotho, biomarkers of inflammation (hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α) and sepsis (procalcitonin), nitrotyrosine (reflecting NO synthesis and oxidative stress), serum iron and ferritin and CKD-MBD biomarkers, PTH, 25(OH)VD, 1,25(OH)2 VD at peak of intercurrent sepsis and after complete resolution in a series of 17 patients with CKD.

Results: At peak infection, biomarkers of inflammation/sepsis, ferritin and nitrotyrosine were all very high (all P < 0·01) and declined towards the normal range thereafter (P < 0·01).

Association of IL-6 and a functional polymorphism in the IL-6 gene with cardiovascular events in patients with CKD.

Background And Objectives: High serum IL-6 is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population. This cytokine is substantially increased in patients with CKD, but it is still unknown whether the link between IL-6 and CVD in CKD is causal in nature.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: In a cohort of 755 patients with stages 2-5 CKD, consecutively recruited from 22 nephrology units in southern Italy, this study assessed the relationship of serum IL-6 with history of CVD, as well as with incident cardiovascular (CV) events (mean follow up±SD, 31±10 months) and used the functional polymorphism (-174 G/C) in the promoter of the IL-6 gene to investigate whether the link between IL-6 and CV events is causal.

Paricalcitol and endothelial function in chronic kidney disease trial.

Altered vitamin D metabolism and low levels of the active form of this vitamin, 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D, is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but there is still no randomized controlled trial testing the effect of active forms of vitamin D on vascular function in patients with CKD. Paricalcitol and ENdothelial fuNction in chronic kidneY disease (PENNY) is a double-blinded randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01680198) testing the effect of an active form of vitamin D, paricalcitol (2 μg/d×12 weeks) on endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilatation in 88 patients with stage 3 to 4 CKD and parathormone >65 pg/mL (paricalcitol, n=44; placebo, n=44).

Resistin and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: effect modification by adiponectin in end-stage kidney disease patients.

Background: Resistin is a major adipose tissue cytokine implicated in insulin resistance, inflammation and vascular damage. This cytokine is raised in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) but the relationship between resistin and major clinical outcomes has not been investigated in this population.

Methods: We studied the mutual relationship between resistin and the two major adipokines (adiponectin and leptin) and the interaction between resistin and adiponectin (ADPN) and all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in a cohort of 231 haemodialysis patients followed up for 57 ± 44 months.

Procalcitonin and the inflammatory response to salt in essential hypertension: a randomized cross-over clinical trial.

Objectives: Inflammation is considered as a major effector of arterial damage brought about by salt excess in animal models. In a randomized, single masked, cross-over study in 32 uncomplicated essential hypertensive patients, we assessed the effect of a short-term low-salt diet on biomarkers of innate immunity [procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)], adiponectin (ADPN, an anti-inflammatory cytokine), and leptin.

Methods: Patients were randomized to either a 10-20 mmol sodium diet and sodium tablets (180 mEq/day) to achieve a 200 mmol intake per day or the same diet and identical placebo tablets, each for 2 weeks.

Smoking and hyperparathyroidism in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Background And Methods: Smoking is associated with hyperparathyroidism in the elderly general population and nicotine, the main component of tobacco smoke, stimulates PTH release in experimental models. Although smoking is a persisting problem in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the association between smoking and PTH has never been specifically examined in these patients. We investigated the relationship between smoking and hyperparathyroidism in a well-characterized group of 161 nondiabetic dialysis patients.

Circulating soluble receptor of advanced glycation end product inversely correlates with atherosclerosis in patients with chronic kidney disease.

The soluble receptor of advanced glycation end product (sRAGE) prevents vascular damage in experimental animal models, and observational studies in the general population support the hypothesis that sRAGE may exert a protective role on the vasculature. To test this in patients with chronic kidney disease, we determined the relationship between plasma sRAGE and carotid atherosclerosis in 142 patients with an average estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 32 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) and 49 healthy control individuals matched for age and gender.

Vitamin D levels and patient outcome in chronic kidney disease.

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to cardiovascular disease and early mortality in patients on hemodialysis; however, it is not known if the same association exists at earlier stages of chronic kidney disease. To determine this we enrolled 168 consecutive new referrals to a chronic kidney disease clinic over a 2 year period and followed them for up to 6 years. All patients were clinically stable and had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at stage 2 or less and were without an imminent need for dialysis.

Vascular endothelial growth factor, left ventricular dysfunction and mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Objectives: Vascular endothelial growth factor induces nitric oxide-dependent angiogenic effects and participates in the inflammatory response. This cytokine is over-expressed in the myocardium in experimental models of pressure overload and renal mass ablation, and vascular endothelial growth factor is increased in end-stage renal disease. We investigated the relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor, left ventricular function (by midwall fractional shortening) and mortality in a prospective cohort study in 228 hemodialysis patients.

Effect of simvastatin on plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine concentration in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: The endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), is a strong cardiovascular (CV) risk marker in patients with chronic renal insufficiency. Statins have pleiotropic effects and are currently considered as potential ADMA-lowering agents.

Methods: We investigated the effect of simvastatin on plasma ADMA levels in 35 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) by performing a secondary analysis of a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial where patients were randomized to receive simvastatin or placebo for 6 months.