YKL-40 in serum: a promising biomarker of juvenile SLE and strongly correlated with disease duration.

BACKGROUND: The biological function of YKL-40 is not well determined in different inflammatory and autoimmune diseases; however, some data highlighted its possible connection with disease activity. AIM: We investigated the diagnostic utility of serum YKL-40 in patients with SLE and examined its correlation with disease activity. Additionally, we examined any differences in serum YKL-40 levels between juvenile and adult SLE patients. METHODS: We included 78 female patients with SLE and 42 controls. The level of YKL-40 in serum was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: The serum YKL-40 level in SLE patients was significantly higher compared to the control group (9 (3) ng/mL vs. 5.5 (0.1) ng/mL; p < 0.001). YKL-40 showed excellent diagnostic utility with an AUC of 1 (p < 0.001) and a cutoff point of 5.6, providing sensitivity and specificity of 100%. YKL-40 was higher in adolescents and those with a positive family history of SLE (p = 0.01 for both) and positively correlated with disease duration (r = 0.45, p < 0.001). YKL-40 level was significantly higher in patients with photosensitivity, fever, vasculitis, blood disorders, positive anti-dsDNA, and APL ab (p < 0.05 for all). Conversely, patients with skin manifestations had a significantly lower YKL-40 (p = 0.004). In juvenile SLE, the AUC was 0.65 and a p-value of 0.01, and at a cutoff value of (8.7) ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity were 72% and 60%, respectively. CONCLUSION: YKL-40 in serum could be a promising biomarker in patients with SLE, especially in adolescent-onset cases. It is independently influenced by disease duration, anemia, thrombocytopenia, positive anti-dsDNA, and APL ab features.

Efficacy of Laser Acupuncture for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Clinical, Molecular, and Biochemical Study.

BACKGROUND: Low-level laser acupuncture (LLLA) biostimulation could contribute to improving the symptoms and communication of children manifesting autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Photobiomodulation might influence the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and miR-320 expression. The aim was to investigate the influence of LLLA biostimulation on the severity, language abilities, BDNF levels, and miR-320 in a sample of children with ASD. METHODS: The participants with ASD (N = 30) were randomly divided equally into groups: Group I received LLLA therapy twice a week for 12 sessions and Group II did not receive it. Assessments of the severity, language abilities, BDNF level by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and miR-320 expression by reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed before and after the intervention. A comparison between ASD cases (N = 30) before starting the therapy and neurotypical children (N = 15) regarding miR-320 expression was performed. RESULTS: Following the intervention, the severity of ASD was reduced and language performance was elevated in both groups. The improvement in Group I was higher with (P = 0.002; 0.03). The plasma BDNF level was reduced only in Group I (P < 0.001). The expression level of miR-320 in Group I did not show a change (P = 0.641). A significant difference in miR-320 expression between children with ASD and the neurotypical group (P = 0.000) was observed. CONCLUSION: This study introduces LLLA therapy as a safe and promising therapeutic procedure for improving the core manifestations and communication abilities and for modulating BDNF levels in children with ASD. The reduced expression of miR-320 showed a good diagnostic value in children with ASD.

Improvement of asthma control after laser acupuncture and its impact on exhaled 8-isoprostane as an oxidative biomarker in chronic bronchial asthma.

Traditional medicine may not control bronchial asthma. Many patients have uncontrolled symptoms and the underlying ongoing inflammation is persistent. OBJECTIVE: to assess efficacy of laser acupuncture in improving asthma symptoms and underlying oxidative stress through monitoring exhaled 8-isoprostane. METHOD: 48 asthmatic (case group) received successive low level laser acupuncture sessions to stimulate acupoints for chronic asthma and 24 asthmatics received deactivated laser acupuncture sessions (control group). Asthma symptoms, asthma control questionnaire, concentration of 8-Isoprostane in exhaled breath condensate and airway resistance were assessed before and after laser acupuncture therapy. RESULTS: After the completion of the course of laser acupuncture therapy, we observed significant improvement of asthma symptoms. Asthma control questionnaire improved from 9.7 ±â€¯3.3 to 21.8 ±â€¯3.6 (p 0.001). EBC 8-Isoprostane dropped from 14.7 ±â€¯5.4 to 8.1 ±â€¯5.0 (p 0.001). The airway resistance at R5 and R20 significantly decreased from 116.6 ±â€¯25.8 & 124.5 ±â€¯31.2 to 101.5 ±â€¯25.6 &110.9 ±â€¯29.9 respectively (p 0.001). Control patients who received sham acupuncture therapy did not show such improvement. CONCLUSION: Laser acupuncture is an effective modality in treating bronchial asthma as evidenced by improved symptoms, airway resistance, and oxidative biomarkers.

Evaluation of the improvement effect of laser acupuncture biostimulation in asthmatic children by exhaled inflammatory biomarker level of nitric oxide.

Variable therapy of asthma is not sufficient yet to achieve good asthma control. Therapy decision requires serial investigations. Low-level laser acupuncture is a suitable non-invasive modality of complementary medicine. The exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is easy and useful to evaluate the efficacy of drugs or novel therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of low-level laser biostimulation of acupuncture points on asthma improvement in children. Forty-eight asthmatic children were subdivided into case (laser) group, which received 12 direct contact low-power laser acupuncture sessions (three sessions/week) on specific traditional Chinese acupuncture points for bronchial asthma, and control asthmatic group, which received sham laser acupuncture on the same acupoints and number of sessions of the case (laser) group. Low-power Multichannel Aculas-AM laser (grade II) of wave length 780 nm, output power 800 mw, and beam spot size 0.1 cm2 with continuous mode was used. Eighteen acupoints were stimulated for 2 min, giving energy of 9.6 J/cm2/acupoint. The total session time was 3 min. Both groups were evaluated pre- and post-laser acupuncture intervention by recording levels of asthma control, pulmonary function, and EBC nitric oxide. In the case (laser) group, 91.7 % of patients experienced an improvement in the level of asthma control versus 25 % in the control group (p < 0.001). This was associated with a significant decrease of the breath condensate FENO concentration (p < 0.001) and significant increase of spirometry parameters (p < 0.001) in the case (laser) group. Application of laser acupuncture treatment given with conventional therapy can effectively improve bronchial asthma more than prescription of medications alone could.