Copeptin in Hemodialysis Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction.

PURPOSE: Copeptin has been considered as a useful marker for diagnosis and prediction of prognosis in heart diseases. However, copeptin has not been investigated sufficiently in hemodialysis patients. This study aimed to investigate the general features of copeptin in hemodialysis and to examine the usefulness of copeptin in hemodialysis patients with left ventricular dysfunction (LV dysfunction). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 41 patients on regular hemodialysis. Routine laboratory data and peptides such as the N-terminal of the prohormone brain natriuretic peptide and copeptin were measured on the day of hemodialysis. Body fluid volume was estimated by bioimpedance spectroscopy, and the E/Ea ratio was estimated by echocardiography. RESULTS: Copeptin increased to 171.4 pg/mL before hemodialysis. The copeptin had a positive correlation with pre-dialysis body fluid volume (r=0.314; p=0.04). The copeptin level decreased along with body fluid volume and plasma osmolality during hemodialysis. The copeptin increased in the patients with LV dysfunction more than in those with normal LV function (218.7 pg/mL vs. 77.6 pg/mL; p=0.01). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that copeptin had a diagnostic value in the hemodialysis patients with LV dysfunction (area under curve 0.737; p=0.02) and that the cut-off value was 125.48 pg/mL (sensitivity 0.7, specificity 0.8, positive predictive value 0.9, negative predictive value 0.6). CONCLUSION: Copeptin increases in hemodialysis patients and is higher in patients with LV dysfunction. We believe that copeptin can be a useful marker for the diagnosis of LV dysfunction in hemodialysis patients.

Ethanol extract and saponin of Platycodon grandiflorum ameliorate scopolamine-induced amnesia in mice.

This study was carried out to examine the effects of ethanol extract (EXPG) and saponin (SAP) from Platycodon grandiflorum on scopolamine-induced amnesia in mice. Fifty male ICR mice were assigned to five groups--normal (normal diet + saline), control (normal diet + scopolamine), EXPG 0.2% (normal diet + 0.2% EXPG + scopolamine), EXPG 0.5% (normal diet + 0.5% EXPG + scopolamine), and SAP 0.02% (normal diet + 0.02% SAP + scopolamine)--and fed each diet ad libitum. After 4 weeks of feeding the appropriate diet, scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) was given to mice 45 minutes before the passive avoidance and Morris water maze tasks. Both the EXPG groups and the SAP group exhibited significant amelioration of scopolamine-induced amnesia as measured in both the passive avoidance task and the Morris water maze task. Moreover, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) in the serum and brain of the EXPG groups were lower than those of the control group. These results suggest that EXPG may improve the cognitive deficit caused by scopolamine and that these effects might be due to EXPG mediated by inhibition of AChE activity and inhibition of TBARS.

Parvalbumin immunoreactivity and protein content alter in the hippocampus after adrenalectomy in seizure sensitive gerbils.

OBJECTIVES: Neurons containing parvalbumin (PV), a calcium-binding protein, in the hippocampus, play an important role in hippocampal excitability in epilepsy. In this study, we examined temporal and spatial changes of PV immunoreactivity and protein content in the hippocampus after adrenalectomy (ADX) in seizure sensitive (SS) gerbils, which are hereditarily seizure-prone. METHODS: PV distribution and change in SS gerbils after ADX were examined in the hippocampal CA1 region and in the dentate gyrus (DG) using immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: PV immunoreactivity in sham-operated SS gerbils was detected in many CA1 pyramidal cells. Three hours after ADX, PV immunoreactivity significantly decreased in CA1 pyramidal cells and thereafter PV immunoreactivity began to increase by 4 days after ADX. Four days after ADX, PV immunoreactivity was significantly higher than that in the sham-operated SS gerbils. In the DG of sham-operated SS gerbils, PV immunoreactivity was mainly detected in polymorphic cells. Three hours after ADX, PV immunoreactivity in the DG significantly decreased in the polymorphic layer. Thereafter, PV-immunoreactive neurons decreased with time after ADX. Western blot analysis showed that change in PV protein content was similar to immunohistochemical data after ADX in SS gerbils. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that PV is changed in hippocampus after ADX and PV may be associated with the regulation of seizure activity.