Activity of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes in healthy women depends on age, BMI, physical activity, and diet.

INTRODUCTION: Antioxidant enzymes protect the human body against the harmful effects of oxidative stress. The activity of antioxidant enzymes changes with age and depends on dietary nutrients such as fats and vitamins, which can have a significant impact on minimizing or exacerbating oxidative stress. AIM: To examine the effect of age, BMI, diet, physical activity, and smoking status on the activity of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione concentrations in healthy women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included 98 healthy women aged between 20 and 65 years. All women underwent anthropometric tests: body weight, height, hip, and waist circumference. Antioxidant activity in erythrocytes was measured by spectrophotometric methods. RESULTS: Catalase activity increased significantly with age (p < 0.001), while superoxide dismutase activities and glutathione decreased with age (p = 0.008, p = 0.023, respectively). Women with a lower BMI (emaciation) had higher superoxide dismutase activity than those in the first degree of obesity (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: (1) Increased catalase activity with age may signify a large amount of hydrogen peroxide resulting from malfunctioning antioxidant systems in old age. (2) A decline in superoxide dismutase activity with age may indicate inactivation of this enzyme, inappropriate SOD function in the presence of excessive amounts of hydrogen peroxide, and glycation of superoxide dismutase molecules. (3) A negative correlation between superoxide dismutase activity and the BMI index may indicate a decreased enzymatic activity in obese people.

Psychopathology and Stem Cell Mobilization in Ultra-High Risk of Psychosis and First-Episode Psychosis Patients.

Although regenerative and inflammatory processes are involved in the etiopathogenesis of many psychiatric disorders, their roles are poorly understood. We investigate the potential role of stem cells (SC) and factors influencing the trafficking thereof, such as complement cascade (CC) components, phospholipid substrates, and chemokines, in the etiology of schizophrenia. We measured sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF-1), and CC cleavage fragments (C3a, C5a, and C5b-C9; also known as the membrane attack complex) in the peripheral blood of 49 unrelated patients: 9 patients with ultra-high risk of psychosis (UHR), 22 patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP), and 18 healthy controls (HC). When compared with the HC group, the UHR and FEP groups had higher levels of C3a. We found no significant differences in hematopoietic SC, very small embryonic-like stem cell (VSEL), C5a, S1P, or SDF-1 levels in the UHR and FEP groups. However, among FEP patients, there was a significant positive correlation between VSELs (CD133+) and negative symptoms. These preliminary findings support the role of the immune system and regenerative processes in the etiology of schizophrenia. To establish the relevance of SC and other factors affecting the trafficking thereof as potential biomarkers of schizophrenia, more studies on larger groups of individuals from across the disease spectrum are needed.

[Apnea of prematurity - characteristic and treatment]. / Bezdech wczesniaczy - charakterystyka i leczenie.

Apnea of prematurity (AOP) can affect even 85-100% of premature newborns and is related to lack of full maturity of organs. AOP is manifesting by 15-20 seconds cessations of breathing accompanied by bradycardia and oxygen desaturation, what can lead to hypoxia or death. Therefore it is very important to implement the effective and safe treatment immediately after birth. Widely used caffeine citrate, which stimulates the respiratory system, improving the working of the respiratory muscles. However the metabolism of caffeine citrate is difficult in preterm infants due to the immaturity of the hepatic enzyme system, what can lead to the occurrence of side effects and toxicity. To avoid the toxic effects of caffeine, and at the same time the lack of efficacy associated with administration of too low doses, this therapy should be monitored by measuring the concentration of caffeine in the plasma of treated infants. This would provide the maintenance of therapeutic levels of caffeine and optimization of the treatment.