Preliminary Report on the Influence of Acute Inflammation on Adiponectin Levels in Older Inpatients with Different Nutritional Status.

Inflammation can be triggered by a variety of factors, including pathogens, damaged cells, and toxic compounds. It is a biological response of the immune system, which can be successfully assessed in clinical practice using some molecular substances. Because adiponectin, a hormone released by adipose tissue, influences the development of inflammation, its evaluation as a potential measure of inflammation in clinical practice is justified. In the present contribution, statistical comparison of adiponectin concentration and selected molecular substances recognized in clinical practice as measures of inflammation were utilized to demonstrate whether adipose tissue hormones, as exemplified by adiponectin, have the potential to act as a measure of rapidly changing inflammation when monitoring older hospitalized patients in the course of bacterial infection. The study showed no statistically significant differences in adiponectin levels depending on the rapidly changing inflammatory response in its early stage. Interestingly, the concentration of adiponectin is statistically significantly higher in malnourished patients than in people with normal nutritional levels, assessed based on the MNA. According to the results obtained, adiponectin is not an effective measure of acute inflammation in clinical practice. However, it may serve as a biomarker of malnutrition in senile individuals.

The Role of Hepcidin in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS): A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.

Iron overload emerges as a serious complication in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), particularly associated with frequent transfusions during the course of the disease. The discovery and description of hepcidin's mechanisms of action have contributed to a deeper understanding of iron metabolism. The existing literature reports a potential role of hepcidin in MDS, yet these data are fragmented and presented in an unstructured, somewhat chaotic manner. Hence, to address the existing data, we performed a systematic review of observational studies examining hepcidin levels in MDS. An extensive review of three bibliographic databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus) enabled us to identify 12 observational studies. These studies focused primarily on adult patients with low-risk MDS who underwent transfusions and chelation therapy. An in-depth analysis of these manuscripts led to four main conclusions: (1) although high serum hepcidin levels are associated with MDS, most studies generally have not found a significant difference in these levels between patients and healthy individuals; (2) serum hepcidin levels are specific to MDS type; (3) serum hepcidin levels in MDS are strongly associated with transfusions and the genetic status of patients; and (4) high-risk MDS is associated with high serum hepcidin levels. While we have furnished a comprehensive summary of the significance of hepcidin in MDS, there are still gaps that future research should address. This pertains primarily to the capacity of hepcidin in predicting adverse outcomes for MDS patients and evaluating the efficacy of chelation therapy or the need for transfusion.