Melatonin levels decrease in type 2 diabetic patients with cardiac autonomic neuropathy.

The present study has been designed to determine melatonin levels in type 2 diabetic patients and test the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and melatonin dynamics. Thirty-six type 2 diabetic patients and 13 age-matched healthy subjects were recruited for the study. Circadian rhythm of melatonin secretion was assessed by measuring serum melatonin concentrations between 02:00-04:00 and 16:00-18:00 hr.

Leptin and neuropeptide Y plasma levels in children with cancer.

This study investigated leptin and neuropeptide Y levels in children with cancer, the relationship of those levels to cachexia, and their usefulness as prognostic indicators. Twenty-three newly diagnosed children with cancer were included in the study. The median age at diagnosis was 8 years (range 1.

Propofol offers no advantage over isoflurane anesthesia for cerebral protection during cardiopulmonary bypass: a preliminary study of S-100beta protein levels.

Purpose: Despite advances in anesthesia, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and surgical techniques, cerebral injury remains a major source of morbidity after cardiac surgery. We compared the effects of two different anesthetic techniques, isoflurane vs propofol on neurological outcome by serum S-100beta protein and neuropsychological tests after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: Twenty patients undergoing CABG, randomly allocated into two groups, were enrolled in this prospective, controlled, preliminary study.

Circulating and local bone marrow renin-angiotensin system in leukemic hematopoiesis: preliminary evidences.

Until last the decade, the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) was considered as a circulating endocrine system. It is now known that there are local RASs in many tissues. It has also recently been hypothesized that there exists a local bone marrow (BM) RAS with paracrine/autocrine pathobiological functions.

Co-administration of metformin during rFSH treatment in patients with clomiphene citrate-resistant polycystic ovarian syndrome: a prospective randomized trial.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the impact of metformin on ovarian response when co-administered during recombinant (r)FSH using the low-dose step-up protocol in clomiphene citrate-resistant polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) patients with normal glucose tolerance.

Methods And Results: Thirty-two patients were randomized to metformin (n = 16) and placebo (n = 16) groups. Hormonal assessment, a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and a frequently sampled i.