Folic acid effects on s-adenosylmethionine, s-adenosylhomocysteine, and DNA methylation in patients with intermediate hyperhomocysteinemia.

Objective: Folic acid (FA) supplementation decreases homocysteine (tHcy) levels. However, little is known about the effects of FA treatment on DNA methylation or plasma S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy) concentrations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of FA supplementation on AdoMet, AdoHcy, and genomic DNA methylation in hyperhomocysteinemic subjects without end-stage renal disease.

Celiac disease in a rheumatology unit: a case study.

The objective of the study is to present a series of 20 patients who have been attending a rheumatology unit and were diagnosed with celiac disease in adult life. The record-charts of 20 Italian not consanguineous patients affected by celiac disease (1 man and 19 women, mean age of 46.7), diagnosed at >16 years of age, followed by a rheumatology unit were reviewed (group 1).

[Erdheim-Chester disease: normal skeletal radiography in a patient with extensive bone involvement].

Erdheim-Chester disease is a rare disorder of unknown cause, characterized by systemic histiocytic infiltration; the long bones of the limbs are usually affected symmetrically, and a direct radiography of the involved skeletal segments is able to show a pattern of typical abnormalities. However, the patient we describe suffered of serious clinical symptoms in the lower limbs, but the direct radiography of the legs did not show any abnormality; this finding seems very remarkable and, to our knowledge, has not been reported previously in the literature. Therefore we discuss the role of the imaging procedures in the diagnosis of Erdheim-Chester disease.

Serum selenium concentrations in chronic pancreatitis and controls.

Background: In the light of the recent hypothesis that one cause of pancreatic damage may be related to the toxic action of oxygen free radicals [Braganza JM. The pathogenesis of pancreatitis. Manchester: Manchester University Press; 1991; Braganza JM.

[Pyogenic sacroiliitis complicated by iliopsoas muscle abscess].

Both pyogenic sacroiliitis and iliopsoas muscle abscess are uncommon infectious entities, and their coexinstence has been reported in very few patients. We present here the case of a woman who developed a large iliopsoas abscess as a consequence of a pyogenic sacroiliitis, initially misdiagnosed as a common sciatica and treated with corticosteroids. The patient was cured by the surgical drainage of the abscess and a long-lasting antibiotic treatment.

Urinary nitrite/nitrate concentrations and total antioxidant capacity in patients with chronic hepatitis C in therapy with interferon and ribavirin.

In this study we tried to elucidate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in chronic hepatitis C in relation to antioxidant status, since the mechanisms by which hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes cell damage and the factors underlying its resistance to therapy are not well understood. Before and after one and six months of therapy with alpha-interferon and ribavirin, we measured nitrite/nitrate urinary levels, total antioxidant capacity and selenium serum concentrations in 14 patients with chronic hepatitis C and in 9 healthy subjects. Before therapy, mean urinary nitrite/nitrate levels of patients were not different from those of healthy subjects, but after a 6-month treatment with alpha-interferon and ribavirin, these NO metabolites were higher in virologically negative patients (responders).

Liver stellate cells and aminoterminal peptide of type III procollagen in chronic hepatitis C treated with interferon.

Background/aims: Fibrogenesis plays a crucial role in development of cirrhosis, and liver stellate cells, activated to myofibroblasts expressing alpha-smooth muscle actin, are responsible for deposition of fibrous matrix; aminoterminal peptide of type III procollagen is a serum marker of active fibrogenesis. Interferon can slow ongoing fibrogenesis in chronic viral hepatitis, but it remains unclear whether the drug acts by a direct effect on stellate cells or by inhibiting the necro-inflammatory process. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in selected cases of chronic hepatitis C, whether changes in stellate cell expression induced by interferon correlated with changes in serum levels of procollagen or with clinical response to the therapy, in order to further investigate the mechanism of interferon's effect on fibrogenesis.

[Visceral leishmaniasis: a rarely diagnosed disease in northern Italy. Report of a case].

Fever, splenomegaly and pancytopenia may arise from a large range of infectious, hematologic or systemic diseases, and therefore represent a difficult diagnostic challenge. A possible cause of this syndrome is visceral leishmaniasis, an infectious disease due to intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania, which is endemic in many countries of both the Old and New World, but is quite uncommon in northern Italy. In particular, no "native" case of visceral leishmaniasis has so far been observed in the province of Verona.

[Costal osteolytic lesions and multiple hepatic neoformations in a patient with inflammatory pseudotumor].

Inflammatory pseudotumor is a rare disease, that is regarded as a benign reactive inflammatory process, although its etiology and pathogenesis are still unknown. The liver is one of the organs most frequently involved, but inflammatory pseudotumors have been reported in many other sites in the body. Inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver presents as a solitary or, less frequently, multiple space-occupying lesion, which the common imaging techniques do not clearly distinguish from primitive or metastatic hepatic malignancies.

Hemolytic anemia induced by ribavirin therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: role of membrane oxidative damage.

The antiviral drug ribavirin (RBV) is widely used in combination with interferon (IFN) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. A major side effect of RBV is a reversible hemolytic anemia. We have evaluated the in vitro effects of RBV on erythrocyte adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and on hexosemonophosphate shunt (HMS).

Role of iron load on fibrogenesis in chronic hepatitis C.

Background/aims: In chronic viral hepatitis, an enhanced iron load is related to lower response to interferon. Furthermore, iron, through the production of oxygen radicals, may stimulate hepatocyte necrosis and the activation of cells responsible for synthesis and deposition of extracellular matrix. We investigated the relationship between iron load, evaluated by serum assays, and liver fibrogenesis in chronic active viral hepatitis.

Erythrocyte membrane lipids and serum selenium in post-viral and alcoholic cirrhosis.

Erythrocyte-membrane fatty acid composition and cholesterol content were evaluated along with serum selenium in 33 patients with liver cirrhosis and in 40 normal subjects. Thirteen patients were suffering from post-viral (group V) and 20 from alcoholic (group A) cirrhosis. The aim of the study was to elucidate whether membrane lipid abnormalities in cirrhosis were linked to the aetiology of the disease or whether they were the results of the cirrhotic process itself.

[Intermittent chyluria in a young man].

Chyluria is the passage of chylus into urine resulting in fistulization through the lymphatic system and the urinary system. This rare condition is usually caused by filaria infestation or malformations, neoplasia or trauma. We report a case of a 18-year-old man.

Selenium, zinc, and thyroid hormones in healthy subjects: low T3/T4 ratio in the elderly is related to impaired selenium status.

Iodothyronine 5' deiodinase, which is mainly responsible for peripheral T3 production, has recently been demonstrated to be a selenium (Se)-containing enzyme. The structure of nuclear thyroid hormone receptors contains Zinc (Zn) ions, crucial for the functional properties of the protein. In the elderly, reduced peripheral conversion of T4 to T3 with a lower T3/T4 ratio and overt hypothyroidism are frequently observed.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring parameters in patients with mild essential hypertension.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of low doses of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring parameters in a group of mild essential hypertensives.

Patients: We studied 24 consecutive essential hypertensive patients from our outpatient clinic with mild hypertension (diastolic blood pressure < or = 105 mmHg), no previous treatment for 4 weeks at least and no other disease.

Methods: After a 3-month run-in period, the patients entered an intervention phase and were given 3 g omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (85% eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid concentrate) daily for 4 months; this phase was followed by a 4-month washout period.

Low selenium status in the elderly influences thyroid hormones.

1. Iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase, which is mainly responsible for peripheral triiodothyronine (T3) production, has recently been demonstrated to be a selenium-containing enzyme. In the elderly, reduced peripheral conversion of thyroxine (T4) to T3 and overt hypothyroidism are frequently observed.

Fatty acids and antioxidant micronutrients in psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: Red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid composition and micronutrient status were investigated in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), with special regard to their relationship to clinical variables.

Methods: RBC fatty acid composition, selenium status--serum selenium and RBC glutathione-peroxidase activity (GSH-Px)--plasma copper, plasma and RBC zinc, plasma vitamins A and E, and RBC thiobarbiturate reactive substances (TBARS) after H2O2 exposure as an index of susceptibility to lipoperoxidation were measured in 25 patients with PsA and in 25 sex and age matched controls.

Results: A significant increase in C16:0 (p < 0.

Selenium status, fatty acids, vitamins A and E, and aging: the Nove Study.

To investigate the relationships between aging and selenium status, vitamins A and E, and plasma and erythrocyte fatty acids, we studied 105 healthy subjects (53 women, 52 men) living in Nove, a village near Vicenza (Veneto Region, northern Italy). The subjects were distributed equally for age and sex into four groups: group 1, 20-39 y; group 2, 40-59 y; group 3, 60-75 y; and group 4, > 75 y. A careful selection of subjects to exclude those with chronic or acute diseases was obtained with the collaboration of the three general practitioners operating in Nove.

Factors affecting the thiobarbituric acid test as index of red blood cell susceptibility to lipid peroxidation: a multivariate analysis.

The relationship between formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in red blood cells (RBC) after exposure to H2O2 and factors potentially able to modulate it was investigated by a multivariate analysis in 92 healthy volunteers. The independent covariates considered were: RBC membrane fatty acids and cholesterol, RBC antioxidant enzymes and zinc, plasma vitamins A and E and serum selenium, zinc and copper. The stepwise multiple-linear-regression analysis revealed RBC membrane fatty acids and cholesterol as predictors of a consistent proportion of the RBC-TBARS variability whereas none of the antioxidants entered the equation.

Decreased activity of scavenger enzymes in human hepatocellular carcinoma, but not in liver metastases.

To investigate the role of oxygen free radicals in hepatocellular carcinoma we assayed tissue scavenger enzymes (superoxide dismutase and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase) in liver homogenate, plasma concentrations of vitamins A and E and the serum selenium level from 19 control patients, 23 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and 18 cases of metastases to liver from different carcinomas. In hepatocellular carcinoma tissue the enzyme activities were all significantly lower than in control liver and in metastases-bearing liver; the enzyme activities of the latter tissues were not different from control liver. In contrast, normal liver adjacent to the hepatocellular carcinoma had decreased activity of superoxide dismutase.

Seronegative spondyloarthropathy associated with megarectum.

In this report we describe a case of a 19-year-old man with a two-year history of polyarthritis affecting the lower limbs and dactylitis of the toes. His clinical picture fulfilled the new European diagnostic criteria for spondyloarthropathies. Systemic examination revealed a big mass in the left iliac fossa that was found to be due to an acquired functional megacolon.

Low platelet glutathione peroxidase activity and serum selenium concentration in patients with chronic renal failure: relations to dialysis treatments, diet and cardiovascular complications.

1. Selenium status was investigated in patients with chronic renal failure, with special regard to its relations to the dialysis treatments, dietary habits and clinical signs of atherosclerosis. 2.

Red blood cell susceptibility to lipid peroxidation, membrane lipid composition, and antioxidant enzymes in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

Objective: To investigate the overall susceptibility of red blood cells (RBC) to lipid peroxidation from patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).

Methods: The following parameters were measured: RBC malondialdehyde (MDA) production after oxidative stress with H2O2, RBC antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and RBC membrane lipid composition. The levels of plasma vitamin E and serum selenium were also assayed.

Erythrocyte and platelet fatty acids in retinitis pigmentosa.

The fatty acid composition and the glutathione-peroxidase activity (GSH-Px) of erythrocytes and platelets, the production of malondialdehyde (MDA) by platelets and the activity of the main systems of transmembrane cation transport in erythrocyte have been studied in 12 patients (5 males and 7 females) affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP). A remarkable increase of saturated fatty acids (SFA), particularly of stearic acid (C18:0), has been noted in these patients. The reduced unsaturated/saturated fatty acids ratio (PUFA/SFA) observed in both erythrocytes and platelets and the decrease of arachidonic acid in platelets may depend by an active peroxidation process as documented by the increase of MDA.