Predictive value of biochemical markers in pregnancy induced hypertension

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy complicate 10% of all pregnancies. They include gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, and chronic hypertension. The aim of this study was to identify predictive markers for early diagnosis of women who are at risk of gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. This study was conducted on a total of 64 cases. Twenty nine were pregnant females who developed pregnancy induced hypertension and 35 females were normotensive throughout pregnancy with normal pregnancy outcome taken as controls. Subjects were recruited from the Prenatal Diagnosis Clinic, at the National Research Center. Maternal blood samples were taken as part of the department's routine second trimester biochemical screening program at 14- 20 weeks gestation. All cases were subjected to the estimation of human chorionic gonadotropin [hCG], tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF- alpha], C-reactive protein [CRP], nitric oxide [NO] and the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde [MDA], in addition to the estimation of lipid profiles [cholesterol [Ch], high density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDLc], low density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDLc] and triglycerides [TG]], urea and creatinine. The study showed significant increase of [beta-hCG, TNF-alpha, CRP, MDA, urea, creatinine, TG, Ch and LDLc in women who developed PIH compared with normotensive pregnant women, while NO was significantly decreased in women who developed PIH compared with normotensive pregnant women. It could be concluded that the elevated levels of TNF-alpha, beta-hCG, CRP and MDA, in addition to decreased levels of NO and abnormal lipid profiles were implicated in subsequent risk for PIH. Furthermore TNF-alpha and MDA may be considered as important predictive markers for early detection of PIH

Wheat germ oil attenuates gamma radiation-induced skeletal muscles damage in rats

Muscular strength is important in sport as well as in daily activities. Exposure to ionizing radiation is thought to increase oxidative stress and damage muscle tissue. Wheat germ oil is a natural unrefined vegetable oil. It is an excellent source of vitamin E, octacosanol, linoleic and linolenic essential fatty acids, which may be beneficial in neutralizing the free oxygen radicals. The present study was designed to investigate the efficacy of wheat germ oil, on radiation-induced oxidative damage in rat's skeletal muscle. Wheat germ oil was supplemented orally via gavages to rats at a dose of 54 mg/ kg body weight/day for 14 successive days pre- and 7 post-exposure to 5 Gy [one shot dose] of whole body gamma irradiation. Animals were sacrificed 7, 14 and 21 days post radiation exposure. The results revealed that whole body gamma-irradiation of rats induces oxidative stress in skeletal muscles obvious by significant elevation in the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TEARS] associated with significant decreases in the content of reduced glutathione [GSH], as well as decreases in superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT] and glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px] activities. Irradiated rats showed, also, significant decreases in creatine phosphokinase [CPK], glutamate dehydrogenase [GDH] and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G-6-PD] activities. Furthermore, total iron, total copper and total calcium levels were significantly increased in skeletal muscles of irradiated rats group compared to control group. Wheat germ oil treated-irradiated rats showed significantly less severe damage and remarkable improvement in all the measured parameters, compared to irradiated rats. It could be concluded that wheat germ oil by attenuating radiation-induced oxidative stress might play a role in maintaining skeletal muscle integrity

Biomarkers for rheumatoid arthritis in textile workers and the role of sex hormones

Rheumatoid arthritis [RA] is a common systemic chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of unknown origin. There was an evidence of increased rate of RA in textile workers, and was higher among women. Fifty two textile workers [have worked for more than two years] and sixty two control subjects of both sexes were included in the study. The studied biomarkers of RA were rheumatoid factor [RF], specific immunoglobulins [IgM-RF and IgA-RF], anti cyclic citrullinated peptide [anti-CCP], C- reactive protein [CRP] and antinuclear antibodies [ANA], in addition to measurement of the sex hormones [estradiol, testosterone, and prolactin] in the two groups. The most prominent symptom among the examined workers was painful big joints. The percent of textile workers with positive CRP was significantly higher compared to their controls, but there was no significant difference according to the total RF positive test. The levels of ANA, IgA RF and anti-CCP of the workers were significantly higher than their controls. There is no significant difference between the workers and their controls regarding sex hormones