The use of crevicular fluid to assess markers of inflammation and angiogenesis, IL-17 and VEGF, in patients with solid tumors receiving zoledronic acid and/or bevacizumab.

PURPOSE: Crevicular fluid was used to assess interleukin-17 (IL-17) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cancer patients receiving zoledronic acid and/or bevacizumab. The markers were also assessed in the serum. METHODS: Twenty-five patients were included and comprised three groups: patients who received zoledronic acid (n = 9), patients who received bevacizumab (n = 9), and patients who received zoledronic acid combined with bevacizumab (n = 5). One patient received zoledronic acid and everolimus and another received zoledronic acid, bevacizumab, and temsirolimus. IL-17 and VEGF were measured by standard quantitative ELISA kits and assessed in two study points. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients maintained good periodontal health; one had asymptomatic osteonecrosis of the jaw. First assessment: 44 samples were collected; 21 from serum and 23 from crevicular fluid. Second assessment, 6 months later: 11 samples were collected; 6 from serum and 5 from crevicular fluid. IL-17 was detected in all samples, in serum and crevicular fluid, and remained unchanged at both time points. Serum VEGF in patients with bevacizumab alone or combined with zoledronic acid was significantly lower compared with that of patients who received zoledronic acid alone. VEGF was not detected in the crevicular fluid. CONCLUSIONS: Crevicular fluid might be an easy, non-invasive means to assess IL-17. The stable values of IL-17 in crevicular fluid and serum and the lack of VEGF in the crevicular fluid could be related to the good periodontal health of our patients. Further studies are needed to assess IL-17 and VEGF in the crevicular fluid in patients with and without periodontal disease.

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor in children with coeliac disease.

BACKGROUND: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that has a protective role in the nervous system and is involved in neural plasticity. It is abundant in the central nervous system, but is also expressed in the gastrointestinal tract. Coeliac disease (CD), characterised by intestinal inflammation, has some comorbidity with neurologic and mental disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate circulating BDNF concentrations in patients with CD at diagnosis or on a gluten-free diet (GFD) for longer than 1 year and in healthy controls (HC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty newly diagnosed patients with CD (aged 8.6 ± 3.7 years, 64.0% females), thirty-nine patients on GFD for longer than 1 year (aged 10.4 ± 3.4 years, 71.8% females) and 36 HC (aged 8 ± 1.7 years, 33.3% females) were included in the study. Along with anthropometric evaluation and standard blood chemistry, serum BDNF levels were measured by a specific immunoenzymatic assay. RESULTS: Patients at diagnosis and on GFD had significantly higher BDNF levels (26 110 ± 8204 and 28 860 ± 7992 pg/mL), respectively, than HC (19 630 ± 8093 pg/mL, P < .001 for both CD groups). Patients on GFD had significantly higher BDNF levels than those at diagnosis (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Serum BDNF concentrations were higher in patients with CD than in HC, regardless of their status of gluten consumption. This could be attributed either to a potential protective response to the inflammation of the intestine or to chronic stress.

High levels of synovial fluid osteoprotegerin (OPG) and increased serum ratio of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) to OPG correlate with disease severity in patients with primary knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of serum and synovial fluid OPG and sRANKL in 37 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN AND METHOD: OPG and sRANKL were measured using ELISA. RESULTS: OPG, sRANKL and sRANKL/OPG were increased in osteoarthritis patients' serum. Synovial OPG was higher than serum OPG, while sRANKL/OPG was higher in the serum; both correlated with disease severity. DISCUSSION: RANKL/OPG pathway is implicated in the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis being a suitable target for therapeutic intervention.

Oxidative stress in preterm infants fed a formula containing long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA).

Our study examined if dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) have an impact on oxidative stress in preterm infants. Serum malonyldialdehyde (MDA), total peroxide concentrations, and total antioxidant capacity were determined at mean (standard deviation [SD]) 34.7 (10.9) days of life in 104 healthy preterm infants (gestational age, 32.6 [2.9] weeks; birthweight; 1605 [285] g) who were randomly assigned to be fed since birth either a formula containing LCPUFA (arachidonic and docosahexaenoic) (group A, n = 50) or a LCPUFA-free formula with identical compositions for other nutrients (group B, n = 54). Clinical and anthropometric characteristics did not differ significantly between the two groups. Mean (SD) serum MDA levels did not differ significantly between groups A (0.23 [0.04] micromol/L) and B (0.22 [0.05] micromol/L). The concentrations of total peroxides were below the detection limits of the assay in 41 of 50 (82%) infants of group A and 43 of 54 (79%) infants of group B and not significantly different between the two infant groups. No difference was observed in serum total antioxidant capacity between groups A (340.0 [46.2] micromol/L) and B (354.7 [46.5] micromol/L). We concluded that supplementation of infant formulas with LCPUFA does not affect lipid peroxidation in healthy preterm infants.

Maternal-neonatal 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine serum concentrations as an index of DNA oxidation in association with the mode of labour and delivery.

AIM: To investigate the effect of the mode of labour and delivery on the total antioxidant status (TAS), and the biomarker of DNA oxidation, 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) serum levels, in mothers and their newborns. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Some 106 women with normal pregnancy and normal blood biochemical parameters were divided into 4 groups: Group A (n=28) with normal labour and vaginal delivery (VG), Group B (n=25) with scheduled cesarean section (CS), Group C (n=26) with 'emergency' CS, and Group D (n=27) with prolonged labour+VG. Blood was obtained from the mothers at the beginning of labour, and immediately after delivery (pre- and post-delivery), as well as from the umbilical cord (CB). TAS, 8-OHdG and creatine kinase (CK) were measured in the sera with appropriate methodology. RESULTS: TAS levels were almost similar in all the groups pre-delivery, and in CB irrespective of the mode of labour and delivery, and remarkably decreased in Groups C and D post-delivery. 8-OHdG levels in Group C (0.94+/-0.08 ng/ml) and Group D (0.98+/-0.08 ng/ml) were significantly higher than those in Group A (0.26+/-0.01 ng/ml, p<0.001) and Group B (0.28+/-0.07 ng/ml, p<0.001) post-delivery. 8-OHdG levels were low in CB, independent of the mode of labour. CK positively correlated with 8-OHdG (r=0.48, p<0.001), the latter negatively correlated with TAS (r=-0.53, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The lowest TAS and the highest 8-OHdG levels were found in Groups C and D post-delivery, probably due to the long-term participation of the mothers' skeletal and uterus muscles, whereas 8-OHdG levels were low in CB irrespective of the mode of delivery, possibly as a consequence of the antioxidant action of the placenta and/or the low lipid levels in the serum of the umbilical cord.

The effect of nutritional habits on maternal-neonatal lipid and lipoprotein serum levels in three different ethnic groups.

AIM: To investigate the effect of nutritional habits on lipid profiles in mothers of three different ethnic groups and in their newborns. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Lipids and lipoproteins were determined in 7-day dietetic diaries of 9,134 mothers (Greeks n = 3,118, Albanians n = 3,050, Muslim Asians n = 2,966), in their sera and in the cord blood of their newborns with routine methods. RESULTS: Monounsaturated fat intake (35 +/- 12 g/day) was similar among the groups. Total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol intakes were significantly lower in Asians than those in Albanians and Greeks. Significantly lower lipid and lipoprotein concentrations (cholesterol 5.09 +/- 0.85 mmol/l, triglyceride, TG, 2.38 +/- 0.58 mmol/l, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C, 2.90 +/- 0.78 mmol/l, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, VLDL-C, 0.32 +/- 0.11 mmol/l) were measured in the Muslim Asian mothers and in their newborns (cholesterol 1.06 +/- 0.26 mmol/l, TG 0.52 +/- 0.16 mmol/l, LDL-C 0.49 +/- 0.10 mmol/l and VLDL-C 0.10 +/- 0.02 mmol/l; p < 0.001). Higher levels of the mentioned biochemical parameters were found in Greek mothers versus their newborns (cholesterol 5.20 +/- 0.98 mmol/l, TG 2.37 +/- 0.62 mmol/l, LDL-C 3.40 +/- 0.85 mmol/l and VLDL-C 0.48 +/- 0.13 mmol/l vs. cholesterol 1.55 +/- 0.31 mmol/l, TG 0.56 +/- 0.20 mmol/l, LDL-C 0.65 +/- 0.15 mmol/l and VLDL-C 0.12 +/- 0.01 mmol/l; p < 0.001) and Albanian mothers versus their newborns (cholesterol 7.1 +/- 0.78 mmol/l, TG 2.55 +/- 0.60 mmol/l, LDL-C 4.1 +/- 0.88 mmol/l and VLDL-C 0.52 +/- 0.13 mmol/l vs. cholesterol 1.6 +/- 0.40 mmol/l, TG 0.59 +/- 0.15 mmol/l, LDL-C 0.70 +/- 0.21 mmol/l and VLDL-C 0.12 +/- 0.01 mmol/l; p < 0.001). The highest HDL-C levels were observed in the Asian mothers (1.60 +/- 0.31 mmol/l vs. 1.4 +/- 0.39 mmol/l in Greeks and 1.31 +/- 0.39 mmol/l in Albanians; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The normal lipid profile in Greeks, the high one in Albanians and the low profile in Muslim Asians may be due to their nutritional habits and their socioeconomic status affecting those of their newborns.