Effect of infliximab against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

To investigate whether infliximab [Ib], an inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-alpja], prevents cisplatin [Cis] -induced nephrotoxicity. The study was performed in the Department of Internal Medicine, RecepTayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey, between November 2012 and May 2013. Thirty male Wistar albino rats were divided into 3 groups, a control group, a Cis group, and a Cis+Ib group. The animals of the Cis group were injected with a single dose [7 mg/kg] of Cis intraperitoneally. The animals of the Cis+Ib group were injected with a single dose [7 mg/kg] of Ib 72 hours prior to Cis injection. The TNF-a, interleukin-1 beta [IL-1J3], nitric oxide [NO] and adenosine deaminase [ADA] levels of the Cis group were higher than both the control group TNF-alpha [p<0.001], IL-la [p<0.001], NO [p<0.001] and ADA [p<0.001], and the Cis+Ib group TNF-alpha [p<0.001], IL-1[3 [p<0.001], NO [p<0.001], and ADA [f=0.003]. Histopathological examination revealed extensive damage in the Cis group, while the damage in the Cis+Ib group was lower. While the carbonic anhydrase II [CA-II] level of the Cis group was lower than both groups, it was similar in the Cis+Ib and the control groups. Infliximab acts against Cis-induced nephrotoxicity by a strong inhibition of TNF-alpha. Additionally, the combination of these 2 drugs does not obviously change the level of CA-II

Mean Platelet Volume and Vitamin D Level

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency and a high mean platelet volume (MPV) are related to cardiovascular disease. We investigated whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with high MPV. METHODS: This study included 434 patients without chronic disease who were not taking vitamin D or calcium supplements. Vitamin D was measured by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay on the Architect-I2000 system (Abbott Diagnostics, USA), and MPV was measured on the Cell-Dyn Ruby analyzer (Abbott Diagnostics). Patients were divided into Groups 1 (138 [men/women, 46/92]), 2 (148 [men/women, 54/94]), and 3 (148 [men/women, 50/98]) according to vitamin D levels of 20 ng/mL, respectively. RESULTS: The vitamin D level in Group 1 (7.7+/-1.9 ng/mL) was lower than that in Group 2 (15.1+/-1.6 ng/mL, P<0.001) and Group 3 (25.6+/-6.3 ng/mL, P<0.001). The MPV in Group 3 (7.5+/-1.0 fL) was lower than that in Group 1 (8.1+/-1.1 fL, P<0.001) and Group 2 (7.9+/-1.0 fL, P=0.009). Linear regression analysis showed that low levels of vitamin D (beta=-0.109, P=0.019) was independently associated with increased MPV. CONCLUSIONS: There was a strong association between a low vitamin D level and a high MPV; therefore, vitamin D deficiency may be associated with increased MPV.

Is the Mean Platelet Volume Predictive of Hip Fractures in the Elderly?

No abstract available.