Serum adiponectin levels in patients with esophageal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate a possible relationship between serum levels of adiponectin and clinicopathological characteristics in esophageal cancer. This is the first report evaluating serum adiponectin levels in patients with esophageal cancer. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with esophageal cancer and thirty healthy subjects were included in the study. Adiponectin levels were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. RESULTS: The mean serum adiponectin level in the cancer group was significantly low compared with the adiponectin level in the healthy control group. Furthermore, adiponectin levels of the patients gradually decreased with increase in tumor stage. The patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus had significantly lower values of serum adiponectin than patients with squamous cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION: We concluded that decreased circulating adiponectin levels may play a role in the progression and/or development of esophageal cancers. However, for clinical use of serum adiponectin in terms of early diagnosis and treatment, further studies should be performed.

The low levels of circulating hepatocyte growth factor in nephrolithiasis cases: independent from gene polymorphism.

Environmental and genetic factors are important in development of nephrolithiasis. In a recent study, it has been demonstrated that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has an anti-apoptotic effect and thus can reduce the adhesion of calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals to renal epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the HGF serum levels and its two gene polymorphisms and possible association of the two in patients with nephrolithiasis. One hundred and five patients with nephrolithiasis and 70 healthy volunteers with similar demographic features were included in this study. Serum HGF levels were measured, and HGF intron 13 C>A (in 102 stone patients and 68 healthy subjects) and intron 14 T>C (in 99 stone patients and 56 healthy subjects) polymorphisms were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan allelic discrimination method. There were no statistically significant differences in HGF intron 13 C>A and intron 14 T>C polymorphisms between the control and patient groups (X (2) = 1.72 df = 2; p = 0.42, and X (2) = 0.68 df = 2; p = 0.71, respectively). Mean serum HGF concentration was significantly lower in the stone disease patients than in the control subjects (1.05 ± 0.63 pg/mL and 1.35 ± 0.58 ng/mL respectively, p = 0.0001). When allele distribution frequency between stone patients and healthy subjects was compared, there were no significant differences in intron 13 and intron 14 allele distributions between two groups (p = 0.43 and p = 0.44, respectively). It may be concluded from the findings that decrease in HGF levels may play a role in renal stone formation, independent from gene polymorphisms.

Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies are not associated with familial Mediterranean fever.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the presence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients and controls. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-nine patients with FMF were enrolled (23 had a history of arthritis during attacks and 26 had no such history). Two control groups were enrolled: 20 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 30 healthy individuals. Clinical and laboratory assessments of the FMF patients were performed during attack-free periods. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF), and anti-CCP antibody levels were measured. RESULTS: In RA patients' ESR and CRP levels, frequency of RF, and anti-CCP antibody levels were significantly higher than in both FMF patients and healthy controls (p 0.001). Moreover, anti-CCP was negative in all healthy controls as well as in all FMF patients. CONCLUSION: Our results show that anti-CCP antibodies are not associated with FMF.