Thiol disulphide homeostasis in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

OBJECTIVE: To investigate novel oxidative stress marker thiol disulphide homeostasis in patients with acute myocardial infarction.. METHODS: The case-control study was conducted at Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey, between October 26, 2015 and January 26, 2016. It comprised patients of ST elevation myocardial infarction, and healthy individuals. Troponin levels, native thiol, total thiol, and disulphide were compared among the groups. Results: Of the 128 subjects, 98(76.5%) were patients and 30(23.43%) were controls. Disulphide levels were lower in the patients compared to the controls (p<0.001).As troponin levels increased, native thiol, total thiol and disulphide levels in patients decreased (p<0.05). RESULTS: Of the 128 subjects, 98(76.5%) were patients and 30(23.43%) were controls. Disulphide levels were lower in the patients compared to the controls (p<0.001).As troponin levels increased, native thiol, total thiol and disulphide levels in patients decreased (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Native thiol and total thiol levels may be used as a novel oxidative stres marker in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Value of caffeic acid phenethyl ester pretreatment in experimental sepsis model in rats.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the actions of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on the changes of endothelin-1 (ET-1) level, tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) alpha, and oxidative stress parameters such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in experimental sepsis model in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups: sham (group 1), sepsis (group 2), and sepsis + CAPE (group 3), n = 8 each. CAPE was administered (10 µmol/kg) intraperitoneally to group 3 before sepsis induction. Serum ET-1, serum TNF-alpha, tissue SOD activity, and tissue MDA levels were measured in all groups. RESULTS: Pretreatment with CAPE decreased ET-1, TNF-alpha, and MDA levels in sepsis induced rats. Additionally SOD activities were higher in rats pretreated with CAPE after sepsis induction. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that CAPE may have a beneficial effect on ET and TNF-alpha levels and oxidative stress parameters induced by sepsis in experimental rat models. Therefore treatment with CAPE can be used to avoid devastating effects of sepsis.

Evaluation of oxidative stress tests in patients diagnosed with renal colic in the emergency department of Ankara Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To investigated oxidative stress changes in renal colic patients, and to determine its role in differential diagnosis of renal colic. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted at Ankara Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Turkey, from June 2012 to December 2012 and comprised patients with complaints suggesting of renal colic and diagnosed with urinary stone. Healthy individuals were enrolled to form the control group. The patients and the control group were evaluated in terms of oxidative stress parameters. SPSS 17 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Of the 83 subjects, 50(60%) were patients with renal colic, while 33(40%) were healthy controls. Among the patients, 25(50%) were men and 25(50%) were women. Among the controls, there were 17(51.5%) men and 16(48.5%) women. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of age and gender (p>0.05). Likewise, no statistically significant difference was found between the oxidative stress indexes of the two groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant increase in oxidative stress in patients with renal colic. The result may help in the differential diagnosis of patients with abdominal pain.

The accuracy of mainstream end-tidal carbon dioxide levels to predict the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations presented to the ED.

INTRODUCTION: The end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) measurement was considered as an essential tool for the assessment of several conditions in emergency medicine. However, the diagnostic role of capnography in dyspneic patients still remains unclear. We aimed to analyze the alteration of the ETCO2 levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and its role in the decision-making process. METHODS: All the individuals who were presented to the emergency department (ED) after COPD exacerbations were prospectively enrolled in the study. The patients were excluded if they refused to give informed consent, intubated after initial assessment, and had uncertain COPD diagnosis. The ETCO2 measurement using a mainstream capnometer was undertaken in the pretreatment and post-treatment period of COPD exacerbations. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were enrolled in the study. Pre-ETCO2 and post-ETCO2 levels were positively correlated with arterial partial carbon dioxide pressure levels (r=0.756, P<.001 and r=0.629, P<.001, respectively). The median pre-ETCO2 level was 32.0 (30.5-40.5) in discharged patients and 39.0 (31.0-53.5) in admitted patients. After the initial therapy in the ED was completed, the median post-ETCO2 level was found to be 32.0 (28.0-37.5) in discharged patients and 36.0 (32.0-52.0) in admitted patients. Although a statistically significant difference was observed in the pretreatment period (P=.043), no difference was observed in post-treatment period between ETCO2 levels (P=.107). CONCLUSION: End-tidal carbon dioxide levels were higher in admitted patients when compared with discharged patients on arrival to the ED. ETCO2 measurement has very little contributions while evaluating patients with COPD exacerbation in the ED.

Interaction of metabolic syndrome with asthma in postmenopausal women: role of adipokines.

The increasing prevalence of both asthma and obesity are major health problems. Recent studies established a possible link between obesity and asthma; however, the underlying mechanism is not clear. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal subjects with asthma and search the interactions between adipokines, metabolic syndrome, and asthma. A total of 45 female patients (57.5 ± 13.9 years) with asthma and 30 healthy subjects (59.6 ± 12.8 years) in postmenopausal status were enrolled in this study. For the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, modified World Health Organization diagnostic criteria were used. Blood levels of glucose, lipid profile, HbA1c, insulin, CRP, leptin, adiponectin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were measured. The mean body mass index was 29.6 ± 5.4 for asthma patients and 28.2 ± 5.3 for the control group. The incidence of metabolic syndrome was found as 26 % for both groups. Insulin resistance as calculated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) and fasting insulin levels were significantly higher in asthma patients (p < 0.001 for both parameters). Leptin levels were significantly higher (p = 0.001) and adiponectin levels were lower (p = 0.029) in asthma patients compared to controls. We concluded that although incidence of obesity and metabolic syndrome was not higher in postmenopausal asthma patients than controls, there was an impairment of glucose metabolism and altered adipokine levels in asthma patients.

Treatment of Nigella sativa in experimental sepsis model in rats.

This experimental study was designed to determine effects of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on endothelin-1 (ET-1) level and oxidative stress parameters, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in a rat sepsis model. Twenty four adult Wistar albino rats were divided randomly into three groups: sham group (group 1), sepsis group (group 2), sepsis group pretreated with NSO (group 3). Serum ET-1, tissue SOD and tissue MDA levels were measured in all groups. Compared to group 1, ET-1 and MDA levels were higher in group 2. ET-1 and MDA levels in NSO pretreated group 3 were lower with respect to group 2 (p<0.03, and p<0.02, respectively). Additionally, SOD levels in group 3 were found to be higher than group 2 (p<0.02). Based on our results, it can be concluded that NSO may have a positive impact on ET-1 levels and oxidative stress induced by sepsis in experimental rat models.

Oxidative stress increases in carbon monoxide poisoning patients.

OBJECTIVE: Carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) is one of the important causes of morbidity and mortality in toxicological cases. In this study, we aimed to find out more about the pathophysiology of COP by investigating the effects of COP on oxidative stress parameters such as total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS). METHODS: Eighty-eight patients admitted to the emergency department of our hospital with acute COP and 35 healthy adults as control group were included in this study. Blood samples were collected from all COP patients at the time of initial emergency department evaluation to determine the oxidative stress parameters. Then, serum levels of total antioxidant status and total oxidant status levels were measured. RESULTS: A total of 88 patients poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO; mean age 37.1 ± 18.2 years; 54'% women) were enrolled. TOS and carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels in COP patients were increased when compared to control group (p = 0.001). TOS, oxidative stress index (OSI) and COHb levels in COP patients were significantly lower after the treatment. (respectively, p = 0.016; p = 0.023; p = 0.001). On the other hand, no statistical differences were observed in TAS levels of study and control group as well as there were no changes with treatment. CONCLUSION: Measurements of TOS, TAS and OSI levels may be useful markers to find out the pathophsiology of COP.

Diagnostic value of lactate levels in acute appendicitis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of lactate measurements in addition to standard diagnostic measurement of white blood cell count (WBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the accuracy of preoperative acute appendicitis (AA) diagnosis. METHODS: A total of thirty-six consecutive patients with histopathologically confirmed acute appendicitis were retrospectively included in the study. Fifteen volunteers were included as control group. Patient characteristics, preoperative ultrasonography (US) and laboratory assessment including WBC, C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate values were collected. Receiver Operator Characterstics (ROC) curves for discriminant values and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV,NPV) were calculated. RESULTS: The male/female ratio of groups 1 and 2 were 25/11 and 9/6 respectively. Mean age: 34.13 +/- 9.6 years. Area under ROC values for lactate were found significant and discriminant value was found to be 8 mg/dl. Specificity, sensitivity, PPV and NPV calculated for lactate were as follows: 53%, 80%, 77% and 57%. CONCLUSIONS: Increased lactate levels as well as other inflammatory parameters should be considered as a diagnostic parameter in diagnosis of AA.