Serum interleukin 15 in anorexia nervosa: Comparison to normal weight and obese girls.

Background: Interleukin 15 (IL-15) plays a key role in the muscle-fat interaction, reducing adipose tissue mass without changes in the lean body mass and reduction of food intake. Here we assess serum IL-15 levels in girls with anorexia nervosa (AN) relative to obese and normal weight female adolescents.Methods: Serum IL-15 concentrations were evaluated using a commercially available ELISA kit in 32 Polish girls with restrictive AN, 29 girls with obesity (O), and 21 healthy controls (C). Anthropometric measurements (weight, height, BMI) and laboratory assays (serum fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein (CRP)) were performed.Results: Mean serum IL-15 in the AN group was significantly higher than in C, but lower than in O. In all examined girls, significant positive correlations between IL-15 and body weight, BMI, insulin, HOMA, LDL, triglycerides and CRP were noted. We also observed an inverse relationship between IL-15 and HDL.Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that serum IL-15 concentrations in adolescent girls with AN and obesity are significantly elevated in comparison to normal weight controls. However, the role of IL-15 in the pathogenesis of AN and obesity remains still unclear.

The Factors Significantly affecting the Quality of Life of Patients Who undergo Radical Cystectomy due to Bladder Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Bladder cancer is, in Poland, the fourth most common malignancy in men and the eighth most common in women. Radical cystectomy often seems to be the only method of treatment. This mutilating procedure may affect the quality of life of the patient. The aim of our study was to analyze the impact of factors influencing quality of life in patients after a cystectomy. METHODS: From January to August 2015, 50 consecutive patients treated in the Department of Urology of the Wroclaw Medical University in Wroclaw were enrolled into the study. Sixty-three percent of the respondents were men. Fifty-two percent of the respondents lived in urban areas. Patients ranged in age from under 25 to over 51 years. Clinical and demographic data were collected. Quality of life was evaluated with the SF-36 health survey questionnaire. For statistical analysis, Student's t-test, the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used. Statistical analysis was carried out with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 21.0. RESULTS: A decrease in quality of life was observed in both genders. The impact of place of residence on the occurrence of pain, health perception, vitality, and levels of physical and mental activity was found to be significant (p<0.05). Pain intensity, health perception, vitality, and levels of physical and mental activity were higher in patients living in urban areas. CONCLUSION: Patients with bladder cancer who underwent a radical cystectomy were more likely to have a reduced quality of life if they lived in a village or small town than if they lived in an urban area.

Acceptance of disease and the quality of life in patients with enteric stoma.

INTRODUCTION: The main reason of the emergence of enteric stoma is colorectal cancer. Enteric stoma is a serious health, as well as life problem. In Poland, there are about 6,000 stoma surgeries yearly. It changes the functioning of patients, restricts their daily activity and influences their quality of life significantly. Therefore, in the modern treatment process, all spheres of human life and its surroundings are considered. The evaluation of the quality of life and the level of acceptance of the disease enables us to identify the regions in which patients require attention and help, as well as places to which health promotion among patients with a stoma should be directed. The aim of the study was the evaluation of the acceptance of the disease and the quality of life in patients with colostomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study conducted between February 2015 and February 2016 included101 patients with enteric stoma of the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Wroclaw at Kamienskiego St. in the departments of General Surgery with the Subdivision of Traumatology and Orthopedic Surgery, Subdivision of Metabolic Surgery, Subdivision of Endocrine Surgery and Oncological Surgery . Two anonymous questionnaires, i.e., health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and acceptance of illness scale (AIS), were used. 60% (61 people) were women, and 40% (40 people) were men. The mean age was 48; the youngest respondent was 20 years old, and the oldest was 79 years old. 17% of the respondents had primary education, 25% - vocational, 33% - secondary and 26% - university-level. RESULTS: The most common reason for the emergence of a stoma among the respondents was colon cancer (44%), followed by: mechanical bowel onstruction (26%), intestinal damage following injuries (25%), inflammatory bowel disease (6%). The quality of life of patients with colostomy was evaluated in view of their health condition, postoperative recovery, everyday limitations, and self-evaluation. The majority of participants pointed to the deterioration of their quality of life. A higher level of acceptance of the disease was revealed in men as 75% of men, and 61% of women acceptted their health status. The education level also influences the acceptance of the disease, as 41% participants with higher education, and only 6% participants with primary education did not accept their health status. We revealed some social factors influencing the quality of life and the acceptance of the disease, i.e., gender, age, education, job, and place of living. CONCLUSIONS: Gender and education have an impact on the level of the acceptance of the disease, but they do not influence the quality of life. The acceptance of the disease is connected with the quality of life in patients with a stoma. The higher the level of acceptance of the disease, the better the quality of life. Research indicates the need to deepen patients' education regarding their functioning in society.

Adaptation to illness in relation to pain perceived by patients after surgery.

BACKGROUND: Pain is one of the factors that decrease quality of life. Undergoing surgery is inevitably associated with the sensation of pain, which can affect a patient's level of acceptance of an illness. The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of acceptance of illness in patients undergoing surgical treatment with relation to the pain perceived by them during surgical treatment and to determine other factors that affect adaptation to illness among patients subjected to invasive treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted on a group of 100 patients with mean age of 51.27 (SD=18.98) hospitalized in surgery departments in the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Wroclaw, Poland, in April 2016. The Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain were used. RESULTS: The mean score of VAS was 3.86 (SD =2.02). The mean score of AIS was 24.42 (SD =7.35). The level of acceptance of illness was significantly negatively correlated with the intensity of pain (p<0.001; r=-0.498), the number of coexisting diseases (p=0.002; r=-0.31), age (p<0.001; r=-0.391), and the period of time since the operation (p=0.007; r=-0.266). Patients taking analgesics showed a significantly lower acceptance of illness than those who did not (p=0.009). A patient's place of living, education, and sex had no significant impact on their acceptance of illness. CONCLUSION: A higher level of pain translates into a lower adaptation to illness despite the use of analgesics, which may indicate that inadequate pain control leads to a decrease in the acceptance of illness. Further research on monitoring postoperative pain, as well as the development of postoperative prevention programs, is required.

Analysis of selected factors determining quality of life in patients after lower limb amputation- a review article.

The amputation of the lower limb is a crippling procedure, which impairs both physical and mental aspect of the patient's life and therefore, it is important to provide these patients with comprehensive health care. Patients and their families must change their lives and reorganize them, which is undoubtedly associated with a decrease in the quality of life. The aim of this study was to analyze various determinants of quality of life in patients after lower limb amputation and their impact on the physical, mental and social aspect of life. Based on the available literature, this paper discusses certain factors determining quality of life, including the presence of phantom pain and stump pain, the way patients move, independence in daily activity, occupational activity, and access to rehabilitation. Analysis of the impact of particular factors on quality of life in people after lower limb amputation may contribute to the improvement and introduction of new paradigms regarding care provided for amputees.

Cysteine peptidases and their inhibitors in breast and genital cancer.

Cysteine proteinases and their inhibitors probably play the main role in carcinogenesis and metastasis. The metastasis process need external proteolytic activities that pass several barriers which are membranous structures of the connective tissue which includes, the basement membrane of blood vessels. Activities of the proteinases are regulated by endogenous inhibitors and activators. The imbalance between cysteine proteinases and cystatins seems to be associated with an increase in metastatic potential in some tumors. It has also been reported that proteinase inhibitors, specific antibodies for these enzymes and inhibition of the urokinase receptor may prevent cancer cell invasion. Some proteinase inhibitor could serve as agents for cancer treatment.