Cognitive dysfunction, depression and serum level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Egyptian patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

AIM OF THE WORK: To evaluate serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Egyptian patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its relation with cognitive dysfunction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was carried out on 60 RA patients; 30 were active (group A) and 30 were non active (group B); and 30 controls (group C). RA disease activity was assessed via DAS28 tool, cognitive function via The Montreal Cognitive Assessment and depression via the PHQ depression scale. Serum BDNF levels were measured. RESULTS: The mean age in group A was 37.8 (±9.37) years with 83.3% females, in group B was 39.97 (±8.04) years with 86.7% females and in group C was 33.17 (±3.6) years with 93.3% females. Abnormal cognitive functions test was detected in 66.7% of group A, 66.7% of group B, and in 23.3% of group C. There was a statistically significant difference in BDNF serum level between both groups of patients (1.58±0.9ng/ml for group A, 1.81±1.17ng/ml for group B) compared with the control group (3.01±1.25ng/ml, p<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between BDNF and both disease duration and cognitive function, also no statistically significant difference regarding cognitive function, depression, and BNDF levels in patients with and without fibromyalgia. At a cut-off value of <2ng/ml, BDNF detected RA patients with cognitive dysfunction with a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 96.67%. CONCLUSION: BDNF can be a potential biomarker of cognitive dysfunction in RA patients.

Cognitive dysfunction, depression and serum level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Egyptian patients with rheumatoid arthritis / Disfunción cognitiva, depresión y nivel sérico del factor neurotrófico derivado del cerebro (BDNF) en pacientes egipcios con artritis reumatoide

Aim of the work: To evaluate serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Egyptian patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its relation with cognitive dysfunction. Patients and methods: The study was carried out on 60 RA patients; 30 were active (group A) and 30 were non active (group B); and 30 controls (group C). RA disease activity was assessed via DAS28 tool, cognitive function via The Montreal Cognitive Assessment and depression via the PHQ depression scale. Serum BDNF levels were measured. Results: The mean age in group A was 37.8 (±9.37) years with 83.3% females, in group B was 39.97 (±8.04) years with 86.7% females and in group C was 33.17 (±3.6) years with 93.3% females. Abnormal cognitive functions test was detected in 66.7% of group A, 66.7% of group B, and in 23.3% of group C. There was a statistically significant difference in BDNF serum level between both groups of patients (1.58±0.9ng/ml for group A, 1.81±1.17ng/ml for group B) compared with the control group (3.01±1.25ng/ml, p<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between BDNF and both disease duration and cognitive function, also no statistically significant difference regarding cognitive function, depression, and BNDF levels in patients with and without fibromyalgia. At a cut-off value of <2ng/ml, BDNF detected RA patients with cognitive dysfunction with a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 96.67%. Conclusion: BDNF can be a potential biomarker of cognitive dysfunction in RA patients.(AU)

Objetivo: Evaluar el factor neurotrófico derivado del cerebro (BDNF) en suero en pacientes egipcios con artritis reumatoide (AR) y su relación con la disfunción cognitiva. Pacientes y métodos: El estudio se realizó en 60 pacientes con AR; 30 eran activos (grupo A) y 30 no activos (grupo B); y 30 controles (grupo C). La actividad de la enfermedad de AR se evaluó a través de la herramienta DAS28, la función cognitiva a través de la Evaluación Cognitiva de Montreal y la depresión a través de la escala de depresión PHQ. Se midieron los niveles de BDNF en suero. Resultados: La edad media en el grupo A fue de 37,8 (±9,37) años con 83,3% de mujeres, en el grupo B de 39,97 (±8,04) años con 86,7% de mujeres y en el grupo C de 33,17 (±3,6) años con 93,3% de mujeres. La prueba de funciones cognitivas anormales se detectó en 66,7% del grupo A, 66,7% del grupo B y 23,3% del grupo C. Hubo una diferencia estadísticamente significativa en el nivel sérico de BDNF entre ambos grupos de pacientes (1,58±0,9ng/mL para grupo A, 1,81±1,17ng/mL para el grupo B) en comparación con el grupo control (3,01±1,25ng/mL, p<0,001). No hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el BDNF y la duración de la enfermedad y la función cognitiva, tampoco hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas con respecto a la función cognitiva, la depresión y los niveles de BDNF en pacientes con y sin fibromialgia. A un valor de corte de <2ng/mL, BDNF detectó pacientes con AR con disfunción cognitiva con una sensibilidad de 80% y una especificidad de 96,67%. Conclusión: BDNF puede ser un biomarcador potencial de disfunción cognitiva en pacientes con AR.(AU)

Anticancer activity of retinoic acid against breast cancer cells derived from an Iraqi patient.

Objective: Breast cancer is one of the most lethal diseases in women, both worldwide and in Iraq. The high mortality rate is attributed primarily to the chemoresistance to conventional therapeutics. The search for effective and safe treatments is critical. One promising agent that has shown activity against various cancer types is retinoic acid (RA). Methods: RA was tested against a panel of international breast cancer cell lines and compared with Iraqi patient-derived hormone-independent breast cancer cells through MTT viability assays. Cytopathology was assessed under an inverted microscope, and apoptotic induction was evaluated with acridine orange propidium iodide assays. Results: AMJ13 breast cancer cells were more sensitive to killing induced by RA than MCF-7 and CAL-51 cells. By contrast, normal HBL-100 cells showed a negligible effect. Cytological changes were observed in all cancer cells treated with RA, whereas no changes were observed in normal HBL-100 cells. Iraqi patient-derived breast cancer cells showed a higher percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis after RA treatment than the other breast cancer cells. Conclusion: We suggest RA as a possible breast cancer treatment with potential for clinical application with high safety.

Anti-Carbamylated Protein Antibodies, Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha and Insulin Resistance in Egyptian Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are autoimmune diseases. Premature atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are two of the most important complications of these diseases. Anti-carbamylated protein antibody (Anti-carP Ab) is one of the antibodies which was studied in RA and SLE. In our study, we studied the relation between anti-carP Ab, disease activity and insulin resistance in RA and SLE patients. METHODS: 90Patients with SLE and RA were enrolled and subjected to history taking, clinical examination and assessment of disease activity using SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) scoring for SLE patients and disease activity score 28 (DAS28-ESR) for RA patients. Samples were examined for complete blood count (CBC), creatinine, inflammatory markers, Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), fasting insulin, fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile and anti-carPAb. HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance) was calculated. RESULTS: Patients with RA and SLE showed higher levels of anti-carPAb in comparison with healthy subjects (8.25ng/ml for RA, 7ng/ml for SLE and 0.6ng/ml for healthy subjects with p value <0.001). There was a positive correlation between anti-carPAb and disease activity of RA (p value <0.001) and a positive correlation between anti-carPAb and TNF alpha in RA. In SLE, there was no correlation of anti-carP Ab with disease activity while, HOMA-IR showed a positive correlation with nephritis (p value 0.04). CONCLUSION: Anti-carP antibody is a marker of disease activity in RA patients and has high specificity for both RA and SLE detection.

Anti-Carbamylated Protein Antibodies, Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha and Insulin Resistance in Egyptian Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus / Anticuerpos anti-proteína carbamilada, factor de necrosis tumoral alfa y resistencia a la insulina en pacientes egipcios con artritis reumatoide y lupus eritematoso sistémico

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are autoimmune diseases. Premature atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are two of the most important complications of these diseases. Anti-carbamylated protein antibody (Anti-carP Ab) is one of the antibodies which was studied in RA and SLE. In our study, we studied the relation between anti-carP Ab, disease activity and insulin resistance in RA and SLE patients. Methods: 90Patients with SLE and RA were enrolled and subjected to history taking, clinical examination and assessment of disease activity using SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) scoring for SLE patients and disease activity score 28 (DAS28-ESR) for RA patients. Samples were examined for complete blood count (CBC), creatinine, inflammatory markers, Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), fasting insulin, fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile and anti-carPAb. HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance) was calculated. Results: Patients with RA and SLE showed higher levels of anti-carPAb in comparison with healthy subjects (8.25ng/ml for RA, 7ng/ml for SLE and 0.6ng/ml for healthy subjects with p value <0.001). There was a positive correlation between anti-carPAb and disease activity of RA (p value <0.001) and a positive correlation between anti-carPAb and TNF alpha in RA. In SLE, there was no correlation of anti-carP Ab with disease activity while, HOMA-IR showed a positive correlation with nephritis (p value 0.04). Conclusion: Anti-carP antibody is a marker of disease activity in RA patients and has high specificity for both RA and SLE detection.(AU)

Antecedentes: La artritis reumatoide (AR) y el lupus eritematoso sistémico (LES) son enfermedades autoinmunes. La aterosclerosis prematura y las enfermedades cardiovasculares son 2 de las complicaciones más importantes de estas enfermedades. El anticuerpo anti-proteína carbamilada (Anti-carPAb) es uno de los anticuerpos que se estudió en AR y LES. En nuestro estudio analizamos la relación entre los Ac anti-carP, la actividad de la enfermedad y la resistencia a la insulina en pacientes con AR y LES. Métodos: Se inscribieron 90 pacientes con LES y AR y se sometieron a la historia clínica, el examen clínico y la evaluación de la actividad de la enfermedad utilizando el índice de actividad de la enfermedad de LES 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) para los pacientes con LES y la calificación de actividad de la enfermedad 28 (DAS28-ESR) para los pacientes con AR. Las muestras se examinaron para hemograma completo, creatinina, marcadores inflamatorios, factor de necrosis tumoral alfa, insulina en ayunas, azúcar en sangre en ayunas, perfil de lípidos y anti-carPAb. Se calculó HOMA-IR (evaluación del modelo de homeostasis para la resistencia a la insulina). Resultados: Los pacientes con AR y LES mostraron niveles más altos de anti-carP Ab encomparación con sujetos sanos (8,25ng/ml para AR, 7ng/ml para LES y 0,6ng/ml para sujetos sanos con un valor de p<0,001). Hubo una correlación positiva entre anti-carP Ab y la actividad de la enfermedad de la AR (valor de p<0,001) y una correlación positiva entre anti-carPAb y factor de necrosis tumoral alfa en la AR. En el LES no hubo correlación de anti-carPAb con la actividad de la enfermedad, mientras que HOMA-IR mostró una correlación positiva con la nefritis (valor de p=0,04). Conclusión: El anticuerpo anti-carP es un marcador de la actividad de la enfermedad en pacientes con AR y tiene una alta especificidad para la detección de AR y LES.(AU)

Anti-Carbamylated Protein Antibodies, Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha and Insulin Resistance in Egyptian Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are autoimmune diseases. Premature atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are two of the most important complications of these diseases. Anti-carbamylated protein antibody (Anti-carP Ab) is one of the antibodies which was studied in RA and SLE. In our study, we studied the relation between anti-carP Ab, disease activity and insulin resistance in RA and SLE patients. METHODS: 90Patients with SLE and RA were enrolled and subjected to history taking, clinical examination and assessment of disease activity using SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) scoring for SLE patients and disease activity score 28 (DAS28-ESR) for RA patients. Samples were examined for complete blood count (CBC), creatinine, inflammatory markers, Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), fasting insulin, fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile and anti-carPAb. HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance) was calculated. RESULTS: Patients with RA and SLE showed higher levels of anti-carPAb in comparison with healthy subjects (8.25ng/ml for RA, 7ng/ml for SLE and 0.6ng/ml for healthy subjects with p value <0.001). There was a positive correlation between anti-carPAb and disease activity of RA (p value <0.001) and a positive correlation between anti-carPAb and TNF alpha in RA. In SLE, there was no correlation of anti-carP Ab with disease activity while, HOMA-IR showed a positive correlation with nephritis (p value 0.04). CONCLUSION: Anti-carP antibody is a marker of disease activity in RA patients and has high specificity for both RA and SLE detection.