ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effects of seven-day preoperative treatment with two different dosages of atorvastatin on the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) and release of inflammatory markers such as high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and interleukin-6 in patients undergoing elective first-time on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS: The cohort study comprised 212 consecutive patients, already taking statins, who underwent elective first-time CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass without history of atrial fibrillation (AF). Patients were randomly divided into two groups: those who received atorvastatin 40 mg (TOR40 group, 111 patients) and those who received 80 mg (TOR80 group, 101 patients) once a day for 7 days before the planned operation. The primary endpoint was the incidence of AF. The secondary endpoints were the postoperative variations of inflammatory markers, hospital length of stay, and the incidence of major adverse cardiac and clinical events. RESULTS: A total of 26 patients (23.6 %) pretreated with atorvastatin 40 mg and 16 (15.8 %) patients pretreated with atorvastatin 80 mg had postoperative AF but the difference did not reach the statistical significance (p = 0.157). Median values of interleukin-6 and hsCRP at 12 and 24 h did not have differences between the two groups. No statistically significant differences in the other secondary endpoints were detected. CONCLUSIONS: According to our result, 7-day preoperative treatment with a high dose of atorvastatin is associated with a trend to a decrease in the incidence of POAF compared with treatment at a lower dose, although it does not impact on the level of inflammatory markers. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: European Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT: 2006-005757-30).
Subject(s)
Atorvastatin/administration & dosage , Atrial Fibrillation/prevention & control , Coronary Artery Bypass , Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Inflammation/prevention & control , Postoperative Complications/prevention & control , Preoperative Care/methods , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Atorvastatin/therapeutic use , Atrial Fibrillation/epidemiology , Atrial Fibrillation/etiology , Biomarkers/blood , C-Reactive Protein/metabolism , Coronary Artery Bypass/methods , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Administration Schedule , Elective Surgical Procedures , Female , Humans , Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Incidence , Inflammation/blood , Inflammation/epidemiology , Inflammation/etiology , Interleukin-6/blood , Male , Middle Aged , Postoperative Complications/blood , Postoperative Complications/epidemiology , Prospective Studies , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional glycophosphoprotein secreted by many cell types, including osteoblasts, lymphocites, macrophages, epithelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells. It has been implicated in many physiological and pathological processes, such as cell-mediated immunity, inflammation, cell survival, and tumor invasion and metastasis. Osteopontin has multiple emerging roles in cutaneous biology and pathology and OPN involvement has been emphasized in Th1-mediated diseases such as psoriasis. Alopecia areata (AA) is a form of non-scarring hair loss affecting anagen stage hair follicles with a multifactorial autoimmune pathogenesis characterized by a prevalent Th1 cytokine profile. Given the role of osteopontin in Th1-mediated inflammation, we have postulated that OPN may be involved in AA pathogenesis. The aim of our study was to investigate plasma OPN level in alopecia areata before and after DPCP treatment. Our results showed that OPN plasma levels in patients with alopecia areata were higher than in healthy controls, but patients achieving complete recovery after DPCP treatment did not show a statistically significant reduction of OPN plasma levels.
Subject(s)
Alopecia Areata/blood , Osteopontin/blood , Adult , Alopecia Areata/drug therapy , Alopecia Areata/etiology , Cyclopropanes/therapeutic use , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Young AdultSubject(s)
Immunosuppressive Agents/administration & dosage , Psoriasis/drug therapy , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/antagonists & inhibitors , Vitamin D/blood , Adult , Biomarkers/blood , Calcium/blood , Drug Administration Schedule , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Parathyroid Hormone/blood , Psoriasis/blood , Psoriasis/diagnosis , Psoriasis/immunology , Retrospective Studies , Time Factors , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to gain more knowledge on the impact of early life pesticide exposure on premature aging. The effect of a low dose of the insecticide permethrin administered to rats during early life (1/50 LD50, from 6th to 21st day of life) was analyzed by measuring some metabolites in plasma and urine of 500-day-old animals. Significant differences in early life treated rats compared to the control group were found in the plasma levels of Ca(++), Na(+), 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, adrenaline, noradrenaline, nitric oxide, cholesterol and urea while in urine only Na(+) content was different. These results add information on the impact of permethrin during the neonatal period, supporting the evidence that early life environmental exposure to xenobiotics has long-term effects, inducing modifications in adulthood that can be revealed by the analysis of some macroelements, metabolites and catecholamines in plasma, when rats are 500 days old.
