Evaluation of adiponectin as a risk factor in cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular disease [CVD] represents one of the worldwide major problems with increasing deaths every year. Diseases like diabetes, hypertension, chronic renal failure and other environmental and genetic factors can compromise the CVD patients. Clinically, the screening and monitoring of CVD requires several biochemical parameters as well as medical ones. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assay the usefulness of adiponectin as a risk factor in CVD. Adiponectin is synthesized and secreted by the adipose tissue and it was supposed to have anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperlipidemic activity making it a promising risk factor in CVD patients. Here, we examined the associations between plasma levels of adiponectin and body mass index, fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides and hypertension. Forty-three individuals from Ain Shams Specialized Hospital were classified into three groups according to their medical coronary implications, AMI, UAP and SAP, in addition to 15 healthy subjects as a control group. The results indicate a high significant decrease [p < 0.001] in the plasma levels of adiponectin in AMI and UAP compared to the control group. In addition, we found that at AMI, UAP and SAP patients there is a high significant negative correlation between adiponectin and BMI, FBS, total cholesterol, triglycerides and the major cardiac risk factor cTn-T. Also high significant positive correlation with HDL-cholesterol was observed. Therefore, we assume that adiponectin can be a promising risk factor other than the well-known traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease patients and it can represent a good way to screen CVD through monitoring and assaying its plasma level

Biochemical effects of lead pollution in male albino rats

Lead pollution is considered as one of the major risk factors for pregnant women and children. In addition to its dangerous effect on growing youth, lead can accumulate in different organs in the human body. The biological effects of lead exposure in drinking water at different lead doses on male albino rats were investigated. Lead was given to rats in drinking water at 100, 500 and 1000 ppm for 7 weeks. It was observed that lead content was increased in kidneys, liver, brain, RBC's and serum by 26.7, 9.2, 10.7, 12.3 and 5.4-folds respectively at 1000 ppm lead dose compared with control group. It was observed that kidney accumulated very high concentration of lead as compared with other organs with a concomitant increase in serum creatinine in all lead exposed groups with the possibility of producing chronic renal failure. AST, ALT and creatinine were significantly increased by increasing the lead exposure dose. Also, the activity of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase [delta ALAD] was significantly decreased by increasing lead exposure with a concomitant significant decrease in hemoglobin and hematocrite levels but with non-significant decrease in iron indicating the possibility that chronic lead exposure could produce anemia