Visfatin and chemerin levels correspond with inflammation and might reflect the bridge between metabolism, inflammation and fibrosis in patients with systemic sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION: Adipokines are regulatory molecules which act as mediators of the inflammatory, fibrotic and metabolic processes by interacting with the immune system. AIM: We hypothesized that chemerin and visfatin by pro-inflammatory properties play a significant role in inflammation in systemic sclerosis. To address this hypothesis, we determined serum chemerin and visfatin levels in SSc patients, compared with the control group and defined the correlations with clinical and laboratory parameters in SSc patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 48 Caucasian female patients with SSc and 38 healthy subjects of the control group. Serum concentrations of selected adipokines were measured using commercially available ELISA Kits. RESULTS: Patients with SSc had higher chemerin levels (209.38 ±55.35 ng/ml) than the control group (182.71 ±33.94 ng/ml) and the difference was statistically significant (Z = 2.14, p = 0.032). The highest chemerin levels were found in dcSSc patients (242.46 ±95.82 ng/ml). We indicated a positive correlation of chemerin and visfatin with levels of inflammatory markers: CRP (r = 0.35, p = 0.013 for chemerin; r = 0.41, p = 0.003 for visfatin) and ESR (r = 0.31, p = 0.03 for chemerin; r = 0.30, p = 0.03 for visfatin). What is more, chemerin manifested a statistically significant positive correlation with the concentration of complement component C3 (r = 0.47, p = 0.001) and C4 (r = 0.29, p = 0.049), whereas visfatin correlated with C4 levels (r = 0.32, p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study indicate that chemerin and visfatin as pro-inflammatory cytokines might represent new markers corresponding with inflammation in systemic sclerosis and might reflect the bridge between metabolism, inflammation and potentially, chemerin may also link inflammation with skin and lung fibrosis.

Clinical associations of serum leptin and leptin/adiponectin ratio in systemic sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION: Leptin and adiponectin have recently received the attention of researchers as attractive biomarkers in systemic sclerosis (SSc) because of their role in the inflammatory process, vascular function and fibrosis. We hypothesized that leptin and adiponectin may be associated with disease activity and severity in patients with SSc. AIM: To compare serum leptin, adiponectin and leptin/adiponectin levels in patients with SSc and healthy controls and to evaluate their possible relationship with frequently used laboratory markers and clinical findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 48 Caucasian female patients with SSc and 38 healthy controls. Serum concentrations of leptin and adiponectin were measured in patients and controls using commercially available ELISA Kits (Quantikine ELISA Kit R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). The results were assessed by the Mann-Whitney U-test and Spearman's correlation test. RESULTS: Leptin and adiponectin levels correlated with body mas index in SSc patients (r = 0.495, p = 0.000398 and r = -0.306; p = 0.0342) in contrast to healthy controls (p = 0.070 and p = 0.256, respectively), and, in SSc patients only, a strong negative correlation was observed between leptin and adiponectin serum levels (r = -0.314; p = 0.0312). Diffuse form of the disease (dcSSc) was associated with significantly lower serum adiponectin levels (8638.62 ±10382.62). Active disease was associated with significantly lower leptin concentration (13700.49 ±18293.32) and there was a significant negative correlation between leptin serum level and activity index score (r = -0.342; p = 0.0185). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study indicate that leptin levels might correlate with disease activity and subtype in SSc patients.

Prevalence and selected risk factors of suicidal ideation, suicidal tendencies and suicide attempts in young people aged 13-19 years.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of suicidal thoughts, tendencies and suicide attempts in young people. An attempt was also made to identify factors which, according to those young people, contributed to their suicide attempts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 5,685 individuals aged 13-19 years. The participants were surveyed using an inquiry form designed by the study authors. RESULTS: Suicidal behaviour in adolescents correlates with the female gender, intake of psychoactive substances, running away from home, being raised in a single-parent family, addiction of family members to alcohol, and experiences of violence. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Suicidal ideation was reported by 24.66%, suicidal plans - by 15.55%, and suicide attempts - by 4.37% of the adolescents studied. 2) Girls were significantly more likely to attempt suicide out of a sense of helplessness, loneliness, rejection and guilt, as well as conflicts with parents and peers. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to attempt suicide as a result of pressure from peers or cyber acquaintances. 3) Suicide attempts were significantly more common among girls than boys between the ages of 13-19, and significantly more common among young people living in urban areas than those living in the countryside. 4) Significantly more young people who reported suicidal thoughts and plans and suicide attempts than those not reporting such experiences were raised in single-parent families. 5) Compared with non-suicidal controls, young people who admitted to having suicidal thoughts and plans and to having attempted suicide, were significantly more likely to report alcohol abuse by parents and experiences of psychological and physical violence from family members.

Psychopathological symptoms in individuals at risk of Internet addiction in the context of selected demographic factors.

INTRODUCTION: Researchers who study the problems of Internet addiction point out that this dependence is often co-morbid with symptoms of a variety of pathological disorders, including anxiety, depressive, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The goal of this study was to compare the severity of psychopathological symptoms in individuals at risk of Internet addiction (according to Young's criteria) and those not at risk of developing this addiction with respect to gender and place of residence (urban vs. rural). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included a group of 692 respondents (485 females and 207 males). The average age of the participants was 20.8 years. 56.06% of them lived in urban areas and 43.94% in rural areas. The following instruments were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire designed by the authors, Young's 20-item Internet Addiction Test (IAT, Polish translation by Majchrzak and Oginska-Bulik), and the "O" Symptom Checklist (Kwestionariusz Objawowy "O", in Polish) by Aleksandrowicz. RESULTS: Individuals at risk of Internet addiction showed significantly more severe pathological symptoms than the individuals who were not at risk of this addiction. There were differences in the severity of psychopathological symptoms between people at risk of Internet dependence living in urban and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals at risk of Internet addiction were found to be characterized by a significantly higher severity of obsessive-compulsive, conversion, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Persons at risk of Internet addiction who lived in rural areas had significantly more severe psychopathological symptoms, mainly obsessive-compulsive, hypochondriac and phobic, compared to their urban peers.

Differences in the dynamics of changes in the concentration of kynurenic acid in the blood serum of depressed patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, depression is a serious clinical problem, as the prevalence of its various forms increases and there are growing numbers of patients with severe forms of depression and treatment-refractory depression. Depressed patients have been observed to have decreased levels of kynurenic acid (KYNA), which is the only endogenous antagonist of ionotropic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of patients differing in the dynamics of changes in KYNA concentration during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 32 patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of a major depressive episode receiving ECT treatment and 48 healthy volunteers. Blood serum KYNA concentrations were determined using HPLC-based methods, and clinical assessment was performed using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) Scale. RESULTS: Three subgroups of patients with depression were identified which differed in baseline KYNA levels and in the dynamics of changes in blood serum KYNA concentrations during and after ECT. CONCLUSIONS: The largest number of patients with clinical improvement (83%) was observed in the subgroup with significantly lower pre-treatment, treatment and post-treatment KYNA concentrations than those determined in the control group. This subgroup of patients also showed the lowest dynamics of changes in KYNA concentrations during ECT. Clinical improvement was observed in 75% of depressed patients who had insignificantly lower pre-treatment levels of KYNA and slightly higher levels of this acid after 6 and 12 ECT sessions than controls. The smallest number of patients with clinical improvement (50%) was observed in the subgroup of patients who had similar pre-treatment and treatment concentrations of KYNA to controls and whose post-treatment concentrations of KYNA were significantly lower than those of healthy individuals.

Resistin: a possible biomarker of organ involvement in systemic sclerosis patients?

OBJECTIVES: Resistin has strong pro-inflammatory and profibrotic properties, which are key pathogenetic processes in systemic sclerosis. We hypothesised that resistin may be associated with organ involvement and inflammatory process in SSc patients. To address this hypothesis, the aim of this study was to define serum resistin levels in SSc patients and control group and determine the correlation between this adipokine and internal organ involvement in SSc patients. METHODS: The study enrolled 48 Caucasian female patients with SSc and 38 healthy subjects of control group. Serum concentrations of resistin were measured using commercially available ELISA Kits (Quantikine ELISA Kit R & D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). RESULTS: Patients with SSc had higher resistin levels [mean (SD): 10.2, (4.87)] than the control group [7.64, (4.43)] and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.017, p<0.05). We found statistically significant association between serum resistin and ILD, arthralgia and oesophageal involvement (r=0.31, p=0.042; r=0.48, p=0.001; r=0.32, p=0.034; respectively). Moreover, the assessment of the relation between plasma concentrations of resistin and inflammatory parameters in SSc patients indicated a positive correlation between resistin and C-reactive protein levels (r=0.37; p=0.011). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study indicate that resistin levels might correlate with organ involvement and inflammatory process in SSc patients.

Blood serum concentrations of kynurenic acid in patients diagnosed with recurrent depressive disorder, depression in bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder treated with electroconvulsive therapy. / Stezenia kwasu kynureninowego w surowicy krwi pacjentów leczonych elektrycznie z rozpoznaniem zaburzenia depresyjnego nawracajacego i depresji w przebiegu choroby afektywnej dwubiegunowej oraz zaburzenia schizoafektywnego.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to compare blood serum kynurenic acid (KYNA) concentrations measured before ECT and after 1, 6 and 12 electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) sessions in patients with diagnoses of recurrent depressive disorder (RDD), depression in bipolar disorder (DBD) and schizoaffective disorder (SAD). METHODS: The study group comprised of 50 patients with ICD-10 diagnoses of RDD, DBD and SAD. Blood serum KYNA concentrations were determined and clinical assessment was performed using the MADRS and the GAF scale. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in blood serum KYNA levels between RDD, DBD and SAD patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy and healthy controls: 1) KYNA concentrations in DBD patients measured before ECT and after 12 ECT sessions were significantly lower than in the control group; 2) KYNA concentrations in the serum of RDD patients measured before ECT and after one and 12 ECT sessions were significantly lower than in the control group, while those measured after 6 ECT session did not differ significantly from KYNA concentrations in healthy controls; 3) higher pre-treatment blood serum concentrations of KYNA in DBD patients correlated with a higher number of illness phases and poorer general functioning before treatment; 4) significant relationships were found between higher blood serum concentrations of KYNA in RDD patients after 1 ECT session and male gender, and between higher KYNA concentrations after 6 ECT sessions and increased depression and poorer functioning before treatment in those patients. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that KYNA concentrations in all diagnostic groups were lower before ECT (not statistically significant for the SAD group) and that there were no significant changes in those concentrations (compared with the baseline) during ECT.

Prevalence of self-injury performed by adolescents aged 16-19 years.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of self-injury among adolescents aged 16-19 years and to indicate demographic variable, selected environmental variables and risky behaviours coexisting with performing self-injuries by the respondents. METHODS: The research encompassed 5,685 individuals, aged 16-19 years. During the research the Questionnaire designed by the authors was used. RESULTS: Significant statistical differences were found between the number of adolescents performing self-injury and those who do not perform it, who use psychoactive agents, make suicide attempts, get drunk, run away from home, report conflicts with their parents, experience parental violence and peer violence and report alcohol addictions by family members. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Self-injury is performed by 14% of adolescents aged 16-19 years, significantly more girls than boys. 2. Significantly more adolescents who perform self-injury, as compared to those who do not do it, use psychoactive substances, get drunk, report planning suicide, neglect school and more often consume alcohol. 3. Significantly more adolescents who perform self-injury, as compared to those who do not perform it, raised in a single parent family inform about alcohol addiction of a family member, conflicts with parents and the experienced psychological and physical violence experienced from their parents and peers. Significantly more girls who perform self-injury, as compared to those who do not perform it, experienced sexual abuse. 4. Performing self-injury by adolescents coexists with factors motivating to this type of behaviours: sense of helplessness, rejection, loneliness, sense of guilt, anger, impulsiveness, desire for revenge, school problems, conflicts with parents and peers.

Prevalence of Internet addiction and risk of developing addiction as exemplified by a group of Polish adolescents from urban and rural areas.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of Internet addiction and the risk of developing this addiction in Polish adolescents attending junior high schools and high school in Lublin Province, to indicate the differences regarding the intensity of Internet addiction symptoms, and the types of online activity of adolescents residing in urban and rural areas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The examined group comprised 1,860 participants (1,320 girls and 540 boys) with an average age of 17 years. 760 students lived in urban areas and 1,100 lived in rural areas. The following were used in the study: the Socio-demographic Questionnaire designed by the authors, the Internet Addiction Questionnaire designed by Potembska, the Internet Addiction Test by Young and the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (Kwestionariusz do Badania Uzaleznienia od Internetu - KBUI) designed by Pawlowska and Potembska. RESULTS: The adolescents living in urban areas showed a significantly greater intensity of Internet and computer addiction symptoms measured by the KBUI Questionnaire, compared to those living in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: The Internet addiction criteria were fulfilled by 0.45% of adolescents living in urban areas and 2.9% of those living in rural areas, whereas 35.55% of urban dwelling students and 30.18% of students living in rural areas showed a risk of developing this addiction. More adolescents living in urban areas, compared to those living in rural areas, use Internet pornography, play computer games, disclose their personal data to unknown individuals encountered on the Internet, use Instant Messaging (IM) services, electronic mail and Facebook social networking service. Compared to their peers from urban areas, significantly more adolescents from rural areas use 'Nasza Klasa' (Our Classmates) online social networking service.

Changes to psychosocial functioning as demonstrated by the patients diagnosed with schizophrenia covered by the psychiatric rehabilitation system.

AIM: The objective of the research was to compare the self-image characteristics, stress coping strategies and the intensification of anxiety in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia before and after the rehabilitation programme. METHODS: The examined group was made up of 32 patients exclusively with the medical diagnosis of schizophrenia, according to the ICD-10 criteria. The mean age of the patients was 35 years, the average time of illness was 12 years. The patients were examined twice (at the admission to the psychiatric rehabilitation department and at the discharge from the department) with the following psychological tests: the Adjective Check List, the Stress Coping Questionnaire and the Self-Analysis Form by Cattell. The socio-demographic data of the patients were determined on the basis of the Socio-demographic Questionnaire designed by the authors. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found as regards the characteristics of self-image, stress coping strategies and the intensity of anxiety in patients before and after psychiatric rehabilitation programme. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Following the rehabilitation programme the examined group of patients have a lower level of fear and anxiety, a more positive self-image, higher self-esteem, they better cope with stress and tasks and are more willing to establish interpersonal relationships as compared to the situation prior to the rehabilitation programme. 2. Following the rehabilitation programme the examined patients, while in a stressful situation, less frequently isolate themselves, concentrate on suffering experienced by them and react with the sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

Psychoactive substances use experience and addiction or risk of addiction among by Polish adolescents living in rural and urban areas.

The objective of the study was to determine the similarities and differences between adolescents with psychoactive substances use experience living in urban and rural areas as regards the intensity of Internet addiction symptoms as well as the evaluation of prevalence of psychoactive substances use among adolescents depending on the place of residence. The examined group consisted of 1 860 people (1 320 girls and 540 boys) their average age being 17 years. In the study the following research methods were used: the Sociodemographic Questionnaire designed by the authors, the Internet Addiction Questionnaire by Potembska, the Internet Addiction test by Young, the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (KBUI) designed by Pawlowska and Potembska. Statistically significant differences were found as regards the prevalence of psychoactive substances use by the adolescents living in urban and rural areas and as regards the intensity of Internet addiction symptoms in adolescents, both from the urban and rural areas, who use and do not use illegal drugs. Significantly more adolescents living in urban areas as compared to their peers living in rural areas use psychoactive substances, mainly marihuana. The adolescents who use psychoactive substances, as compared to the adolescents with no experience using illegal drugs, living both in urban and rural areas significantly more often play online violent games and use web pornography. The adolescents living in rural areas who use psychoactive substances significantly more often as compared to the adolescents who do not use these substances claim that it is only thanks to the interactions established on the Internet that they can get acceptance, understanding and appreciation.