Hair cortisol and changes in cortisol dynamics in chronic kidney disease.

Objective: We compared hair cortisol (HC) with classic tests of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and assessed its association with kidney and cardiometabolic status.

Design And Methods: A cross-sectional study of 48 patients with CKD stages I-IV, matched by age, sex, and BMI with 24 healthy controls (CTR) was performed. Metabolic comorbidities, body composition, and HPA axis function were studied.

Real-time PCR on skin biopsies for super-spreaders' detection in bovine besnoitiosis.

Background: Bovine besnoitiosis, an emerging disease in Europe that can be transmitted by vectors, is caused by the apicomplexan Besnoitia besnoiti. Bovine besnoitiosis is difficult to control due to the complexity of its diagnosis in the acute stage of the disease, poor treatment success and chronically asymptomatic cattle acting as parasite reservoirs. When serological prevalence is low, detection and specific culling of seropositive cattle is feasible; however, economic considerations preclude this approach when serological prevalence is high.

Does bovine besnoitiosis affect the sexual function of chronically infected bulls?

Bovine besnoitiosis is a reemerging disease in Europe. The clinically Besnoitia besnoiti infection in bulls is characterized by fever, nasal discharge, and orchitis in the acute phase and by scleroderma in the chronic phase. However, in many bulls, B besnoiti infection remains at a subclinical stage.

No detection of Besnoitia besnoiti DNA in the semen of chronically infected bulls.

Bovine besnoitiosis is a chronic and debilitating disease observed in many European countries that may cause important economic losses in cattle. The recent widespread of the parasite in Europe had led the European Food Safety Authority to declare bovine besnoitiosis as a re-emerging disease in Europe. Many aspects of the epidemiology of bovine besnoitiosis such as the main routes of transmission are still unclear and need to be further studied.

Advanced glycation end products are associated with arterial stiffness in type 1 diabetes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and arterial stiffness (AS) in subjects with type 1 diabetes without clinical cardiovascular events. A set of 68 patients with type 1 diabetes and 68 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were evaluated. AGEs were assessed using serum concentrations of N-carboxy-methyl-lysine (CML) and using skin autofluorescence.

Impaired endothelial function is not associated with arterial stiffness in adults with type 1 diabetes.

Aim: This study investigated the relationship between endothelial dysfunction (ED) and arterial stiffness (AS) in adults with type 1 diabetes and no clinical cardiovascular (CV) disease.

Methods: A total of 68 patients with type 1 diabetes and 68 age- and gender-matched healthy (non-diabetic) subjects were evaluated. ED was assessed by reactive hyperaemia peripheral arterial tonometry (RH-PAT) and by serum concentrations of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) and E-selectin.

Arterial stiffness is increased in patients with type 1 diabetes without cardiovascular disease: a potential role of low-grade inflammation.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between arterial stiffness and low-grade inflammation in subjects with type 1 diabetes without clinical cardiovascular disease.

Research Design And Methods: Sixty-eight patients with type 1 diabetes and 68 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were evaluated. Arterial stiffness was assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV).

Men with hyperferritinemia and diabetes in the Mediterranean area do not have a higher iron overload than those without diabetes.

Aim: To assess the role of iron overload in type 2 diabetic men with hyperferritinemia.

Methods: 150 men were recruited from a genetic screening programme for hereditary hemocromatosis (HH) and were tested for type 2 diabetes, other components of the metabolic syndrome, beta cell function (BCF), insulin sensitivity, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and iron overload.

Results: Fifty-one men had type 2 diabetes.

Thalidomide decreases gelatinase production by malignant B lymphoid cell lines through disruption of multiple integrin-mediated signaling pathways.

Background: Thalidomide and its analogs are effective agents in the treatment of multiple myeloma. Since gelatinases (matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9) play a crucial role in tumor progression, we explored the effect of thalidomide on gelatinase production by malignant B lymphoid cell lines.

Design And Methods: We investigated the effect of therapeutic doses of thalidomide on integrin-mediated production of gelatinases by malignant B lymphoid cell lines by gelatin zymography, western-blot, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and invasive capacity through Matrigel-coated Boyden chambers.

Adult subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome show more low-grade systemic inflammation than matched obese subjects.

Aim: Adult subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) may show several conditions that are associated with an activation of innate immunity such as obesity, deficient GH secretion or hypogonadism. Our aim was to study whether obese adult PWS subjects show an additional low-grade systemic inflammation (LGSI) in relation to obese adult non-PWS subjects and lean healthy control subjects before and after a standardized liquid meal.

Methods: Seven obese adult PWS subjects, 7 matched obese non-PWS subjects and 7 lean healthy control subjects were studied for 6 h from the administration of a standard liquid meal.

[Is diabetes mellitus a coronary heart disease equivalent? Results of a meta-analysis of prospective studies].

Introduction And Objectives: Several guidelines on the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors base their recommendations on the assertion that diabetes mellitus (DM) is a coronary heart disease (CHD) or cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk equivalent. To date, no systematic review of studies substantiating this assertion has been carried out.

Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed database up to February 2006 was performed to identify prospective studies meeting the following criteria: a) follow-up was >5 years; b) groups of subjects with DM and without CHD (i.

Lower heart rate variability is associated with higher plasma concentrations of IL-6 in type 1 diabetes.

Objective: In type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors related to insulin resistance, which in turn are associated with low-grade systemic inflammation. Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) is considered one of the first indicators of CAN. Since the autonomic nervous system interacts with systemic inflammation, we evaluated CAN to study its possible association with low-grade systemic inflammation.

Association between increased CCL2 (MCP-1) expression in lesions and persistence of disease activity in giant-cell arteritis.

Objective: Patients with giant-cell arteritis (GCA) usually respond dramatically to corticosteroid treatment. However, recurrences are frequent and corticosteroid requirements are highly variable among patients. The aim of our study was to identify genes potentially involved in disease persistence.

[Low reporting of clinical characteristics of patients with diabetes mellitus included in the main clinical trials on hypertension].

Background And Objective: Subjects with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at high risk of cardiovascular events. However, their cardiovascular risk varies according to several clinical characteristics like age, sex, ethnicity, type and duration of the DM, quality of glycemic control, type of hypoglycemic treatment, or the presence of nephropathy or previous cardiovascular events. It is not known if these characteristics have been sufficiently reported in clinical trials on hypertension including subjects with DM.

Circulating ghrelin in thyroid dysfunction is related to insulin resistance and not to hunger, food intake or anthropometric changes.

Objective: Ghrelin is a gastric peptide that plays a role in appetite stimulation, energy balance and possibly in insulin resistance. Hyperthyroidism is a situation where negative energy balance and insulin resistance coexist, while in hypothyroidism a positive energy balance and normal insulin sensitivity predominate. We investigated ghrelin levels and their relationship with hunger, food intake and both anthropometric and insulin resistance parameters in patients with thyroid dysfunction.

Tissue production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1beta, TNFalpha and IL-6) correlates with the intensity of the systemic inflammatory response and with corticosteroid requirements in giant-cell arteritis.

Objectives: To investigate proinflammatory cytokine expression in temporal arteries from patients with giant-cell arteritis (GCA) and to analyse its relationship with the intensity of the initial systemic inflammatory reaction and response to corticosteroid therapy.

Methods: Quantification of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA by real-time quantitative PCR in temporal artery samples from 36 patients with biopsy-proven GCA and 11 controls. Immunohistochemical detection of IL-1beta, TNFalpha, and IL-6 in temporal artery sections from 74 patients with GCA and 15 controls.

Elevated production of interleukin-6 is associated with a lower incidence of disease-related ischemic events in patients with giant-cell arteritis: angiogenic activity of interleukin-6 as a potential protective mechanism.

Background: Patients with giant-cell arteritis (GCA) who develop a strong acute-phase response are at low risk of disease-related ischemic events.

Methods And Results: To assess the potential protective role of proinflammatory cytokines in the development of ischemic events in GCA, we measured tissue expression (66 individuals) and/or circulating levels (80 individuals) of interleukin (IL)-1beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and IL-6 in patients with biopsy-proven GCA. Tissue expression was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.

Tissue targeting and disease patterns in systemic vasculitis.

The systemic vasculitides include a group of diseases with highly heterogeneous organ distribution and disease expression patterns. The mechanisms mediating tissue targeting in systemic vasculitis are largely unknown. Mechanical forces may contribute to the distribution of lesions in immune complex-mediated vasculitis.

Genomic characterization of CD84 reveals the existence of five isoforms differing in their cytoplasmic domains.

CD84, a new member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, shows high homology with several molecules belonging to the CD2 family of differentiation antigens. By screening a peripheral blood leukocyte cDNA library four CD84 isoforms were obtained differing in their 3' sequence. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis confirmed that these isoforms were normally found on leukocytes and a new isoform was identified.

Regulation of ICAM-3 and other adhesion molecule expressions on eosinophils in vitro. Effects of dexamethasone.

Background: ICAM-3 has been recently identified as the third leukocyte-function associated-1 (LFA-1) ligand. ICAM-3 is expressed in eosinophils, but its regulation has not been studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the differential expression of ICAM-3 and other adhesion molecules (AM) on the surface of eosinophils.

Fibronectin upregulates gelatinase B (MMP-9) and induces coordinated expression of gelatinase A (MMP-2) and its activator MT1-MMP (MMP-14) by human T lymphocyte cell lines. A process repressed through RAS/MAP kinase signaling pathways.

T-lymphocyte migration into tissues requires focal degradation of the basement membrane. In this study, we show that transient adherence to fibronectin induces the production of activated forms of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9, as well as downregulation of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) by T-cell lines. MMP-2 activation was likely achieved by inducing a coordinated expression of membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-14), a major activator of MMP-2.

Circulating soluble adhesion molecules in patients with giant cell arteritis. Correlation between soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) concentrations and disease activity.

Objective: To evaluate whether changes in concentrations of circulating adhesion molecules are related to disease activity in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA).

Methods: A sandwich ELISA was used to measure soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), sICAM-3, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), E-selectin (sE-selectin), and L-selectin (sL-selectin) in serum and plasma samples from patients with GCA. A cross sectional study was performed on 64 GCA patients at different activity stages and on 35 age and sex matched healthy donors.