Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Vitamin D Receptor Gene (VDR) May Have an Impact on Acute Pancreatitis (AP) Development: A Prospective Study in Populations of AP Patients and Alcohol-Abuse Controls.

Vitamin D imbalance is suggested to be associated with the development of pancreatitis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), Apa-1, Bsm-1, Fok-1, and Taq-1, in the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) are known in various diseases, but not yet in pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to explore possible associations of the four SNPs in the VDR receptor gene in a population of acute pancreatitis patients and alcohol-abuse controls, and to investigate the association with acute pancreatitis (AP) susceptibility. The study population (n = 239) included acute pancreatitis patients (n = 129) and an alcohol-abuse control group (n = 110). All patients met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) criteria for alcohol dependence. DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes and analyzed for VDR polymorphisms using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using logistic regression analysis. To date, we have found allele T in Taq-1 (OR = 2.61; 95% CI: 1.68⁻4.03; p < 0.0001) to be almost three times more frequent in the AP group compared to the alcohol-abuse control patients. Polymorphism Taq-1 occurring in the vitamin D receptor may have an impact on the development of acute pancreatitis due to the lack of the protective role of vitamin D.

Spectroscopic identification of benign (follicular adenoma) and cancerous lesions (follicular thyroid carcinoma) in thyroid tissues.

Thyroid follicular nodules are quite common in the population, however only a small proportion is malignant. Thyroid cancer differs from adenoma by features of cellular atypia, angioinvasiveness and possibility of metastasis via blood vessels mainly in the lungs and bones. Pathomorphological examination of the postoperative material plays a significant role in the diagnosis of cystic thyroid lesions. De facto, there is no possibility to determine with certainty whether the lesion is benign or malignant before surgery, therefore new methods are being sought to meet clinical needs. The study aimed to investigate if Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy combined with multidimensional analysis can be a useful tool in distinguishing between thyroid adenomas and carcinomas. The obtained results indicate quantitative and qualitative alterations within proteins and fats derived from patients' tissues samples. Raman spectroscopy additionally shows significant changes in the amount of tissue collagen due to the pathogenic process. In the spectra of the second FTIR derivative, shifts of vibrations corresponding to the ß-sheet and α-helix structure are observed towards the lower rates of wave numbers in the case of neoplastic tissues. Using the leave-one-out cross-validation, sensitivity and specificity calculated with Principal Component Analysis-Linear Discriminant Analysis (PCA-LDA) clearly shows the possibility to distinguish between pathologically changed and normal thyroid tissue as well as differentiate follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA) from widely invasive follicular thyroid carcinoma (WI-FTC) tissues.