Assessing allergy by measurement of serum immunoglobulin (Ig) E antibodies is fast and safe to perform. Serum antibodies can preferably be assessed in patients with dermatitis and in those who regularly use antihistamines and other pharmacological agents that reduce skin sensitivity. Skin tests represent the easiest tool to obtain quick and reliable information for the diagnosis of respiratory allergic diseases. It is the technique more widely used, specific and reasonably sensitive for most applications as a marker of atopy. Measurement of serum IgE antibodies and skin-prick testing may give complimentary information and can be applied in clinical and epidemiological settings. Peripheral blood eosinophilia is less used, but is important in clinical practice to demonstrate the allergic aetiology of disease, to monitor its clinical course and to address the choice of therapy. In epidemiology, hypereosinophilia seems to reflect an inflammatory reaction in the airways, which may be linked to obstructive airflow limitation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/09031936.01.17407730 | DOI Listing |
Obstet Gynecol
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California; and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Mount Sinai Health System & Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, New York City Health and Hospitals - Elmhurst Hospital Center, Elmhurst, New York.
Although peak serum total bile acid (TBA) levels guide management of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), whether ICP progresses in severity and when or how to assess bile acid levels serially remains unclear. We conducted a secondary analysis of a single-institution retrospective cohort study to assess bile acid trends across pregnancy among individuals diagnosed with ICP and to evaluate whether there was progression to higher ICP severity. We defined ICP severity as mild (peak TBA less than 40 micromol/L), moderate (peak TBA between 40 and 100 micromol/L), or severe (peak TBA 100 micromol/L or greater).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPostgrad Med J
January 2025
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Niğde Omer Halisdemir University, Niğde, 51000, Turkey.
Background: Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are closely associated with lipoprotein metabolism, and changes in lipid profiles potentially affect their levels and functions. Given the alterations in lipid metabolism after cholecystectomy, this study aimed to investigate the levels of four EET regioisomers (free and esterified) and lipid profiles in patients with cholelithiasis after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and explore correlations between these parameters.
Methods: This prospective study involved 40 patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis who underwent LC.
Acta Neuropsychiatr
January 2025
Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Chemistry, University of Tartu, Tartu, Tartumaa, Estonia.
Rewards are rewarding owing to their hedonic or metabolic value. Individual differences in sensitivity to rewards are predictive of mental health problems but may reflect variation in metabolic types. We have assessed the association of two distinguishable aspects of reward sensitivity, openness to rewards (the striving towards multiple rewards) and insatiability by reward (the strong pursuit and fixation to a particular reward), with measures of metabolism and activity in a longitudinal study of representative birth cohort samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
January 2025
Cardiovascular Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine Solna and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. (A.S., R.M.F., F.M.v.H.).
Background: Binding of ANGPTL (angiopoietin-like protein)-3 to ANGPTL8 generates a protein complex (ANGPTL3/8) that strongly inhibits LPL (lipoprotein lipase) activity, as compared with ANGPTL3 alone, suggesting that ANGPTL3/8 concentrations are critical for the regulation of circulation lipoprotein concentrations and subsequent increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. To test this hypothesis in humans, we evaluated the associations of circulating free ANGPTL3 and ANGPTL3/8 complex concentrations with lipoprotein concentrations and CHD risk in 2 prospective cohort studies.
Methods: Fasting blood samples were obtained in conjunction with the baseline evaluation of 9479 subjects from 2 population-based Swedish cohorts of middle-aged men and women.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat
January 2025
Unit of Bipolar Disorder, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
Purpose: We aimed to verify the impact of functional remediation (FR) on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) levels, to explore the biomechanism of FR intervention in patients with euthymic bipolar disorder (BD).
Patients And Methods: This is a randomized controlled, 12-week intervention study with participants randomized into the FR group (n=39) and the treatment as usual group (TAU, n=42) at the 1∶1 ratio. 17-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HDRS-17), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), and Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) were used to assess affective symptoms and cognitive functioning both at baseline and week 12, respectively.
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