Adiponectin and sex hormone-binding globulin in preeclampsia: Relationship to insulin resistance

Preeclampsia [PE] which is characterized by pregnancy-induced hypertension and proteinuria complicates 3-4% of pregnancies and this is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The present study was designed to investigate the circulating levels of adiponectin, sex hormone-binding globulin [SHBG], total and free testosterone in preeclamptic women in comparison with normotensive pregnant controls. The aim of this work was extended to study the correlations between these biochemical indices, and the insulin resistance parameters and clinical data. The study included 20 preeclamptic women and 20 normotensive pregnant women as controls. The levels of adiponectin and SHBG were significantly lower while that of total and free testosterone were significantly higher in PE as compared with the levels in normotensive pregnant women. Also the fasting levels of glucose and insulin were significantly higher in PE than normotensive pregnant women. There was a significant negative correlation [p < 0.05] between adiponectin and each of F. insulin, glucose, Homeostatic model assessment [HOMA] index, Body mass index [BMI], systolic and diastolic blood pressure in PE. Also, there was a significant negative correlation [P < 0.05] between SHBG and each of F. insulin, F. glucose, HOMA, BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in PE. A significant positive correlation [P < 0.05] was found between adiponectin and SHBG in PE

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism and relation ship with coronary artery disease

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase [MTHFR] is involved in the reduction of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. A 677 C/T single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] localized in the MTHFR gene was associated with both thermo ability and reduced activity of the enzyme and is associated with increased homocysteine levels. The aim of this study was to establish the genetic frequency of MTHFR SNP and whether this MTHFR SNP may affect a homocysteine level and if it is considered as a risk factor for Coronary artery disease [CAD]. This study included 65 subjects [40 cases and 25 controls]. For all participants in this study total lipids profile, Apo Al, homoysteine, blood glucose, folic acid and genetic polymorphism of MTHFR were done. The percentage distribution of the different genotypes in the study population [all subjects] showed that the CC genotype was the most prevalent one followed by CT and then TT [45%, 35%, 20%] respectively. There was no significant association of T Allele in CAD group when compared to control group although plasma homocysteine level was higher in the CAD compared to the control. It seemed that the high levels of homocysteine in CAD are not only dependent on MTHFR activity but also on many factors such as age, sex, and other vitamins which were not measured in this study such as B12 and B6

Prognostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum interleukin -6 in patients with lung cancer

Interleukin -6 [IL-6] is a multifunctional cytokine that may be involved in lung cancer oncogenesis. To assess whether measurement of serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid [BALF] levels of IL-6 might be useful in evaluating stage progression of lung cancer, this study was designed to determine seurm and BALF levels of IL-6 in 3/4 patients with lung cancer with different clinical stages classified according to the new international staging system. The study included also ten healthy volunteers for statistical comparison of results, and serum and BALF IL-6 were measured by ELISA. Results showed statistically significant elevation of serum IL-6 levels in patients with lung cancer compared to healthy volunteers [70 +/- 5 vs 12 +/- 6 pg/ ml, p < 0.001]. Serum II-6 levels increased also significantly with the progression of the disease with significant positive correlation between serum IL-6 levels and the clinical staging of the disease [r = 0.46, P < 0.01]. It also decreased significantly in 7 patients 3 months after surgical resection of the tumors compared to preoperative levels[35 +/- 4 vs 20 +/- 2 pg/ml, p<0.02]. Meanwhile BALF IL-6 levels correlated insignificantly with serum IL-6 levels and failed to discriminate between clinical stages of lung cancer. Our results suggest that measurement of serum IL-6 levels may be useful to evaluate lung cancer progression and follow up, but this requires further studies to be verified