thrombotic events in polycythemia vera patients may be related to increased oxidative stress

This study was designed to compare the oxidative stress parameters of patients with polycythemia vera [PV] to those of healthy volunteers and to investigate the probable relationship between vascular events and parameters of oxidative status such as total oxidative status [TOS], total antioxidant status, oxidative stress index [OSI] and malondialdehyde [MDA] in PV patients. Thirty-five PV patients [20 males and 15 females] and 20 healthy volunteers [11 males and 9 females] were enrolled. The oxidative status parameters of the patients were measured by spectrophotometric analyses at the time of diagnosis and at 6 months after treatment which consisted of phlebotomy and 100 mg/day acetyl salicylic acid with or without hydroxyurea for the high- and low-risk disease group, respectively. These parameters were compared both to healthy controls and to each other, in order to obtain the values before and after treatment. In addition, during diagnosis, the oxidative status parameters of patients with PV and a history of a vascular event were compared with those of patients with no history of a vascular event. The TOS, OSI and MDA values were significantly higher in the patients than in the control group at the time of diagnosis. At 6 months after phlebotomy and 100 mg/day acetyl salicylic acid therapy, the TOS, OSI and MDA values were significantly lower in the patients when compared to the pretreatment values. The TOS and OSI levels were notably higher in the patients with a vascular-event history than in those without this history. Oxidative stress parameters were increased in PV patients

Anti-carbonic anhydrase II antibodies in end-stage renal disease patients

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of anti-carbonic anhydrase [CA II] autoantibodies in patients with end-stage renal disease [ESRD] and relationships between the autoantibody titers and ghrelin, glucose, blood urea nitrogen [BUN] and creatinine. Serum CA II autoantibody titers, malondialdehyde [MDA], BUN, creatinine and ghrelin levels were measured in 45 ESRD patients and 45 healthy subjects. The CA II autoantibody titers in the ESRD group [0.170 +/- 0.237] were significantly higher than those in the control group [0.079 +/- 0.032; p = 0.035]. MDA and ghrelin levels were also significantly higher in the ESRD group [p < 0.001]. A weak positive correlation was determined between anti-CA II antibody titers and MDA, and a negative correlation was observed between ghrelin levels and anti-CA II antibody titers [r = 0.287, p = 0.028 and r = -0.278, p = 0.032, respectively].In ESRD patients, the results showed the development of an autoimmune response against CA II. This suggests that anti-CA II antibodies could be involved in the pathogenesis of ESRD

Ischemia-Modified Albumin Levels in Children with Chronic Liver Disease

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels have been shown to correlate with the severity of liver failure in adults. However, the role of IMA levels has not been evaluated in children with chronic liver disease (CLD). We analyzed the clinical significance of IMA levels in children with CLD. METHODS: Thirty-three children with CLD and 33 healthy children were included in the study. Blood was collected to analyze biochemical parameters, oxidant status, and IMA. Liver biopsies were re-evaluated for liver fibrosis; severe fibrosis (SF) was defined as fibrosis stage > or =4. RESULTS: The IMA and and IMA to albumin ratios (IMARs) were significantly higher in children with CLD than in those without (IMA: 0.545+/-0.095 vs 0.481+/-0.062, p=0.003; IMAR: 0.152+/-0.046 vs 0.126+/-0.018, p=0.04). The IMAR was positively correlated with the pediatric end-stage liver disease score (p=0.03, r=0.503) and fibrosis score (p=0.021, r=0.400). Patients with SF had higher IMARs compared to patients with mild fibrosis (0.181+/-0.056 vs 0.134+/-0.025, p=0.003). The area under the receiver operation curve (AUROC) for predicting SF was 0.78 (p=0.006). Using a cutoff ratio value of 0.140, the sensitivity and specificity were 84% and 70%, respectively. The AUROC for predicting the need for liver transplantation and/or death was 0.82 (p=0.013). With a cutoff value of 0.156, the sensitivity and specificity was 83% and 82%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed increased morbidity and/or mortality in the group with an IMAR>0.156 (50% vs 4.3%, p=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: IMARs have been shown to provide important clues in predicting the fibrosis stage of the disease and determining the outcome in children with CLD.