Measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP) and nerve-growth-factor (NGF) concentrations in serum and urine samples of dogs with neurologic disorders.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to prove the hypothesis that C-reactive protein (CRP) and nerve growth factor (NGF) may be potential biomarkers for lower urinary tract disorders and may be able to distinguish between micturition dysfunctions of different origin in dogs with spinal cord diseases. NGF- and CRP- concentrations were measured in serum and urine samples using specific ELISA-Kits. Results in urine were standardized by urine-creatinine levels. RESULTS: CRP in serum was detectable in 32/76 and in urine samples in 40/76 patients. NGF could be measured in all serum and in 70/76 urine samples. Urinary CRP concentrations were significantly higher in dogs with micturition dysfunction (p = 0.0009) and in dogs with different neurological diseases (p = 0.0020) compared to the control group. However, comparing dogs with spinal cord disorders with and without associated micturition dysfunction no significant difference could be detected for NGF and CRP values in urine or serum samples. Additionally, levels did not decrease significantly, when measured at the time when the dogs regained the ability to urinate properly (urinary NGF p = 0.7962; urinary CRP p = 0.078). Urine samples with bacteria and/or leukocytes had no significant increase in urinary NGF (p = 0.1112) or CRP (p = 0.0534) concentrations, but higher CRP-levels in urine from dogs with cystitis were found compared to dogs without signs of cystitis. CONCLUSIONS: From these data we conclude that neither CRP nor NGF in urine or serum can be considered as reliable biomarkers for micturition disorders in dogs with spinal cord disorders in a clinical setting, but their production might be part of the pathogenesis of such disorders. Significantly higher levels of CRP could be found in the urine of dogs with micturition dysfunctions compared to control dogs. This phenomenon could potentially be explained by unspecific extrahepatic CRP production by smooth muscle cells in the dilated bladder.

Traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord-injured patients in Quebec, Canada. Part 2: biochemical profile.

STUDY DESIGN: Community-based, cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at examining and comparing biochemical profiles (blood and urine) of traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord-injured patients (TSCIs vs NTSCIs). SETTING: The Interval Rehabilitation Center, Trois-Rivieres, Province of Quebec, Canada. METHODS: Medical records from a cohort of 175 chronic spinal cord-injured patients (94 TSCI and 81 NTSCI individuals) were thoroughly studied. RESULTS: Augmentations over time of red blood cell (erythrocyte), hematocrit and hemoglobin levels were generally found after spinal cord injury (SCI), specifically in NTSCI patients (late vs early chronic). In contrast, although leukocyte levels generally decreased over time after SCI, higher lymphocyte levels were detected only in NTSCI patients (late vs early chronic). Higher total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), protein and albumin serum levels were generally found over time after SCI, again, specifically in chronic NTSCI patients (late vs early chronic), whereas increased (twofold) nitrite and decreased (twofold) ubilirogen urine levels were found specifically in TSCI individuals (late vs early chronic). CONCLUSION: Clear differences were reported between subgroups of SCI patients strongly supporting the idea that therapeutic approaches aimed to treat these problems should be specifically designed for each type of patients (that is, NTSCI vs TSCI or early vs late chronic patients).

Impact of urodynamic studies on the surgical management of spinal cord tethering.

To determine the usefulness of urodynamic studies in the management of children with a suspected tethered spinal cord, the authors retrospectively reviewed case records of 25 patients evaluated both pre- and postoperatively using this diagnostic adjunct. All patients were also evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography myelography. Seven patients who presented initially with orthopedic deformity, skin stigmata, and neurological problems underwent primary cord untethering (Group 1). All seven patients were urologically asymptomatic; all but one had normal findings on urodynamic study. Eighteen patients with prior myelomeningocele closure underwent secondary untethering (Group 2). They presented with urological (11 cases), neurological (three cases), or both urological and neurological (four cases) deterioration. All patients underwent surgery via a microsurgical technique. At a mean follow-up time of 2 years, the only Group 1 patient with preoperative abnormal urodynamic findings normalized following untethering, whereas another asymptomatic patient showed worsened results on his postoperative study. In Group 2, all seven patients with preoperative neurological deterioration improved. Ten of the 15 patients who had isolated or associated preoperative clinical urological deterioration improved or stabilized, whereas five displayed continued deterioration in their bladder function. With respect to urodynamic studies, there was a significant increase in total and pressure-specific bladder capacities following untethering. We conclude that urodynamic studies are useful both diagnostically and in follow-up examinations of patients with tethered cord, that disturbances identified by these studies often precede clinical manifestations of deterioration, and that spinal cord untethering favorably influences the urological status in most patients.

Excretion of total and muscular N tau-methylhistidine and creatinine in muscle diseases.

The daily urinary excretions of N tau-methylhistidine and creatinine from 52 adult patients were measured under standardized conditions. The ratio of N tau-methylhistidine to creatinine excretion was calculated on the basis of the total and muscle-specific excretion rates and correlated to the clinical status of the patients. In patients with muscular diseases and in those with diseases of the central nervous system, the total daily excretion of both metabolites was about 30% lower than in controls. The muscle-specific ratio in patients with diseases of the central nervous system and patients with muscular diseases was not different from that observed in controls. Only in patients with neurogenic atrophies was the ratio elevated, so that it was more than twice the control value. The ratio of excreted N tau-methylhistidine/creatinine is only valid as an indicator of myofibrillar protein breakdown after correction for the contribution of nonskeletal muscle tissues to the urinary excretion.

[Use of lithium carbonate to treat Kugelberg--Welander spinal amyotrophy]. / Primenenie uglekislogo litiia dlia lecheniia spinal'noi amiotrofii Kugel'berga--Velandera.

On the basis of data on disturbances of the metabolism of cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate in patients with Kugelberg-Welander's amyotrophy it is suggested that lithium carbonate which is an inhibitor of adenylcyclase should be used as a medicine. It was shown that the drug exerted a stabilizing influence on the pathological process. Positive clinical and biochemical changes due to the application of lithium carbonate are noted.

Thiamine triphosphate deficiency in subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy.

Extracts of tissue fluids from a patient with subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy inhibit thiamine pyrophosphate-adenosine triphosphate phosphotransferase of rat brain. Brain tissue from the patient, in contrast to normal brain tissue, contained essentially no thiamine triphosphate, although thiamine and its other phosphate esters were present in normal concentrations. These findings suggest a relation between this disease and thiamine triphosphate.