Correlation of dermal and blood eosinophilia with bullous pemphigoid disease severity.

BACKGROUND: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease associated with immune response against BP-180 and BP-230. Peripheral blood eosinophilia and dermal infiltration of eosinophils are common findings in BP. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to demonstrate a statistical correlation between dermal and peripheral blood eosinophilia, anti BP-180, and anti BP-230 IgG and clinical severity of BP. METHODS: A total of 27 patients with newly diagnosed BP were included. Severity of disease was assessed according to the bullous pemphigoid disease activity index (BPDAI). Anti-BP-180 and anti-BP-230 titers, peripheral blood eosinophilia, and dermal eosinophil infiltration and tissue inflammation severity were assessed for each patient. RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between the serum levels of anti-BP-180 and anti-BP-230, and dermal eosinophilia and tissue inflammation severity with objective and subjective BPDAI scores. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the percentage of peripheral blood eosinophils and subjective BPDAI scores and urticarial/eczematous lesions. Moreover, the mucosal component did not show any correlation with autoantibody levels and inflammation severities. CONCLUSION: Anti-BP-180 and anti-BP-230 levels, tissue inflammation severity, and dermal eosinophilia had a strong and significant correlation with BP severity. In addition, percentage of peripheral blood eosinophilia showed a correlation with subjective BPDAI scores.

Characterization and Classification of Iranian Honey Based on Physicochemical Properties and Antioxidant Activities, with Chemometrics Approach.

In the present study, the physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of different Iranian honey samples are investigated using various multivariate techniques in order to develop a quality control model. Forty-eight Iranian honey samples were tested for 15 physicochemical and antioxidant parameters. The parameters for which the samples were tested included color intensity, moisture, electrical conductivity, pH, free acidity, diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, proline level, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and radical scavenging activity. The study attempted to differentiate honey samples based on origin and composition. In the study, the Iranian honey samples were classified according to their respective physiochemical properties and antioxidant activities using principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. Furthermore, the relationships between the geographical and botanical origins were determined for the samples used in the study.

Evaluation of plasma concentrations of homocysteine, IL-6, TNF-alpha, hs-CRP, and total antioxidant capacity in patients with end-stage renal failure.

It has been proved that hyperhomocysteinemia has a high prevalence in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which may contribute to the high cardiovascular risk in these patients. Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of high mortality rate in ESRD patients. The aim of the present study was to assess five important factors in patients with ESRD (the amount of homocysteine, IL-6, TNF-alpha, hs-CRP, and Total Antioxidant Capacity). These factors were surveyed in ESRD patients to compare with healthy subjects. In a cross-sectional study, we enrolled 80 patients on maintenance hemodialysis and measured the inflammatory and oxidative stress indicators. The plasma samples were assayed for five above mentioned variables using standard protocols. Two-hour post hemodialysis plasma samples were also assayed for TAC. Plasma levels of inflammation markers, IL-6 and hs-CRP, homocysteine were significantly increased in ESRD group versus control group. This increase was also found in TNF-α levels as compared to the controls, but the differences were not statistically significant. Also, the post dialysis samples had significantly lower levels of TAC as compared to predialysis ones.

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of chlordiazepoxide and clidinium using multivariate calibration techniques.

Three multivariate modelling approaches including partial least squares regression (PLS), genetic algorithm-partial least squares regression (GA-PLS), and principal components-artificial neural network (PC-ANN) analysis were investigated for their application to the simultaneous determination of chlordiazepoxide and clidinium levels in pharmaceuticals. A set of synthetic mixtures of drugs in ethanol and 0.1 M HCL was made, and the prediction abilities of the aforementioned methods were examined using RSE% (relative standard error of the prediction). The PLS and PC-ANN methods were found to be comparable, and GA-PLS produced slightly better results. The predictive models that we built were successfully applied to simultaneously determine the levels of chlordiazepoxide and clidinium in coated tablets.