What is the role of prognostic indexes in COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus? Data of patients from Turkey.

Aim: We aimed to determine the prognostic performance of the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), systemic immune-inflammation index and early warning score (the 'ANDC' system) in patients with diabetes mellitus who had COVID-19. Patients & methods: Patients were divided into two groups: with and without diabetes mellitus. Results: In the diabetic patient group, the rates of in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit hospitalization and corticosteroid treatment were higher compared with the nondiabetic patient group (p < 0.05). A GPS of 2 was useful for predicting in-hospital mortality in diabetic patients (p < 0.05). The ANDC score was significantly higher in diabetic patients (p < 0.05) and in diabetic patients with mortality and those who needed ICU hospitalization (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The presence of a GPS of 2 at the time of admission and a high ANDC value were associated with poor prognosis in diabetic COVID-19 patients.

Lycopene hampers lung injury due to skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion in rat model.

This study investigates lycopene's preventive efficacy in skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) induced lung injury. Thirty-two rats were randomly assigned to control group, lycopene group, I/R group and I/R + lycopene group. In the lycopene and I/R + lycopene groups, the rats initially received 10 mg/kg/day lycopene orally for 15 days. Then, dissection around the abdominal aorta was performed in all rats under general anesthesia. The aorta was clamped at the infrarenal level in the I/R group and I/R + lycopene group for two hours before two hours of reperfusion. The mean serum levels of malondialdehyde (53.0 ± 20.14 nmol/mL) and superoxide dismutase (1.03 ± 0.16 U/mL) were higher and lower in the I/R group than the other three groups, respectively (p < 0.001). The mean serum IMA level of I/R + lycopene group (0.42 ± 0.04 abs/u) was lower than the I/R group (0.47 ± 0.04 abs/u) (p = 0.015). The mean tissue malondialdehyde levels of I/R group (69.10 ± 11.55 nmol/mL) and I/R + lycopene group (68.36 ± 21.17 nmol/mL) were high compared to the control group (49.87 ± 6.52 nmol/mL) and lycopene group (47.82 ± 4.44 nmol/mL) (p = 0.002). The mean tissue glutathione peroxidase (p < 0.001) and superoxide dismutase (p = 0.001) levels of I/R group (121.81 ± 43.59 nmol/mL and 25.17 ± 8.69 U/mL) were low compared to the control group (236.12 ± 18.01 nmol/mL and 46.30 ± 5.17 U/mL), lycopene group (227.52 ± 16.92 nmol/mL and 45.82 ± 4.02 U/mL), and I/R + lycopene group (176.02 ± 24.27 nmol/mL and 35.20 ± 4.85 U/mL). The histopathological analyses of I/R + lycopene group indicated less significant changes than the control group. Tissue damage in the I/R + lycopene group was less prominent than the I/R group. These findings suggest oral lycopene supplementation as a promising prevention against skeletal muscle I/R caused lung injury.

Pentraxin-3: A Novel Marker for Indicating Liver Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: PTX-3 is an important marker that plays a role in suppressing inflammation and tissue repair. The aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic characteristics of PTX-3 in CHB patients and the relationship between PTX-3 levels and fibrosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 52 CHB patients and 40 healthy subjects were included in the study. All of the CHB patients underwent liver biopsy and were then scored using a Ishak histologic scoring system. Blood samples were collected to evaluate the PTX-3 levels. RESULTS: Of the subjects who participated in the study, 53% were female. PTX-3 levels were determined as 5.63ng/mL in the control group, and as 0.88ng/mL in the CHB patient group. PTX-3 levels were found to be 1.19ng/mL in stage 1, 0.89ng/mL in stage 2, 0.68ng/mL in stage 3 and 0.55ng/mL in stage 4. Of the CHB patients, 44.2% had significant fibrosis, while 55.7% were identified as not having significant fibrosis. PTX-3 values were 0.64 and 1.0ng/mL in patients with and without significant fibrosis, respectively. The cut-off value for PTX-3 in predicting the absence of significant fibrosis was estimated as 0.9ng/mL. CONCLUSION: CHB patients were found to have lower serum PTX-3 levels compared to the control group, and these levels decreased even further as the fibrosis stage progressed in these patients. In addition, the significant decrease in PTX-3 levels in patients with stage 1 fibrosis compared to the control group shows that PTX-3 can be used as a non-invasive marker for the early detection of fibrosis (p<0.001).

The protective effects of Anakinra in a neonatal rat model of necrotizing enterocolitis.

BACKGROUND: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a commonly seen life-threatening condition in newborns characterized by ischemic necrosis. This study aimed to investigate anakinra's effects, an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, on oxidative stress, inflammation, and tissue necrosis in an NEC rat model. METHODS: Forty Wistar albino pups were divided into four groups randomly as follows; group 1, control group; group 2, anakinra-treated control group; group 3, NEC group; and group 4, NEC and anakinra treatment group. The rats were given hyperosmolar formula feeding, and they were exposed to hypoxia after cold stress at +4 °C and oxygen in order to create the NEC model. On the 4th day of the experiment, the pups were decapitated, and the intestinal tissues were resected for biochemical and histopathologic examination. RESULTS: Microscopic injury scores and apoptotic indexes were higher in group 3 than the control group (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, respectively), and there was a significant decrease after anakinra. Interleukin 1ß and caspase-3 levels increased with NEC and decreased significantly after administration of anakinra (p = 0.006, p = 0.004, respectively). Malondialdehyde and glutathione peroxidase levels also increased compared with the control group (p = 0.019, p = 0.002, respectively). DISCUSSION: In this experimental study, we found that anakinra had antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects and was protective against intestinal injury and apoptosis.

The protective effects of lycopene on ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat hind limb muscle model.

BACKGROUND: Acute ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of skeletal muscle, an important mortality and morbidity cause, is associated with oxidative stress. Lycopene is a carotenoid pigment with potent antioxidant activity and is found in vegetables and fruits. This study aims to investigate the protective effects of lycopene against I/R injury in rat hind limb muscle model. METHODS: Thirty-two Wistar-albino rats were randomly allocated to control, lycopene, I/R and I/R+lycopene groups. In lycopene and I/R+lycopene groups, the rats received 10 mg/kg/day lycopene orally for 15 days before the experiment. Dissection around abdominal aorta at the infrarenal level was performed in all rats under general anesthesia. The aorta was clamped at the infrarenal level in the I/R and I/R+lycopene groups for two hours. Then, reperfusion was allowed for two hours in these groups. Samples were obtained from the hind limb muscles of rats after sacrifice for biochemical and histopathological analyses. RESULTS: Serum and tissue malondialdehyde and ischemia-modified albumin levels were significantly lower in the I/R+lycopene group compared to I/R group (p<0.001). Serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to those in control and I/R+lycopene groups (p<0.05). Tissue GSH-Px levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to the Lycopene group (p=0.003). Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to three groups (p<0.001). Tissue SOD levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to those in control and Lycopene groups (p=0.005). Histopathological assessments revealed that inflammatory changes following I/R injury were significantly reduced in the I/R+lycopene group. CONCLUSION: The findings obtained in this study show lycopene's cytoprotective activity against I/R injury in rat skeletal muscle model.

Association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphisms with endometrial carcinoma: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between specific endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphisms and endometrial cancer (ECa). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 89 patients histologically diagnosed with the endometrioid type of endometrial carcinoma. The control group consisted of 60 randomly selected individuals who had undergone total hysterectomy. Genomic DNA was isolated from paraffin-embedded endometrial tissues. We investigated the G894T polymorphisms (G894T) and variable number tandem repeats polymorphisms in intron 4 (VNTR intron 4) in the eNOS gene by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The genotype distributions and allele frequencies of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Analysis of the VNTR intron 4 polymorphisms in eNOS gene revealed that the frequency of the AA genotype was significantly higher in the control group, whereas the frequency of the BB genotype was significantly higher in the ECa group. Analysis of the G894T polymorphisms in eNOS gene revealed a significantly higher frequency of the GG genotype in the control group but a significantly higher frequency of the TT genotype in the endometrial cancer group. CONCLUSION: The G894T and VNTR intron 4 polymorphisms in eNOS gene could be an intriguing susceptibility factor that modulates an individual's risk of ECa in the Turkish population.