Dynamic thiol/disulfide homeostasis in children with community-acquired pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Alteration in thiol level under oxidative stress may contribute to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The goal of this study was to determine whether there are changes in thiol/disulfide homeostasis and nitric oxide (NO) in children with CAP. METHODS: In total, 130 participants were involved in the study. Of these, 65 had been diagnosed with CAP on admission, and the remaining 65 were healthy individuals. Serum total thiol and native thiol were measured in each participant using a novel automated spectrophotometric method. The amount of dynamic disulfide bonds and related ratios were calculated from these values. Serum NO was measured on chemiluminescence assay. RESULTS: Average native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide in the CAP group were significantly lower than in the healthy individuals (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, P = 0.0126, respectively). In addition, disulfide/native thiol (P = 0.0002), and disulfide/total thiol ratios (P = 0.0004) were significantly higher, whereas the native thiol/total thiol ratio (P = 0.0004) was lower in the CAP group. High serum NO was noted in the CAP group (P = 0.0003), but there was no marked correlation between thiol/disulfide and NO. CONCLUSION: The changes in endogenous thiol levels under oxidative stress may be associated with the pathogenesis of CAP in pediatric patients.

Respiratory Distress and Severe Anemia in a Child With Idiopathic Pulmonary Hemosiderosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis is an infrequent cause of pulmonary hemorrhage in children. It is classically defined by the triad of recurrent hemoptysis, iron-deficiency anemia, and diffuse parenchymal infiltration without an obvious cause. The pathogenesis remains unexplained, diagnosis may be difficult, and the clinical course exceedingly variable. A 4-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital with complaints of dyspnea, and skin and mucous membrane pallor. The suspicion of idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis led to the use of corticosteroid therapy with rapid improvement in clinical condition and discharge from hospital.

Plasma microRNA profiling of children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

CONTEXT: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common cardiomyopathy in children. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small RNAs which have regulatory functions in many biological processes. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine miRNA expression levels in plasma of children with DCM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plasma expression levels of 379 miRNAs were compared between 23 DCM and 26 healthy children. RESULTS: The expression levels of miR-618, miR-875-3p, miR-205, miR-194, miR-302a, miR-147, and miR-544 were found decreased. The expression levels of miR-518f and miR-454 were found increased in DCM patients. DISCUSSION: miRNA level differences may provide the chance of using these miRNAs as new biomarkers.