European journal of clinical investigation
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · May 2016
Observational StudyNational curves of foetal growth in singleton foetuses of Greek origin.
Foetal growth monitoring is an essential component of prenatal care with postnatal impact. The aim of the study was to construct reference ranges for foetal biometric parameters in Greek foetuses and to compare them with previously published models. ⋯ We present national foetal biometric references. Using charts from other populations (including INTERGROWTH-21st) may be unrepresentative of local populations and lead to misclassification of foetal growth status.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · May 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialHigher hydrocortisone dose increases bilirubin in hypopituitary patients- results from an RCT.
Bilirubin has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, which may explain its proposed protective effects on the development of cardiometabolic disorders. Glucocorticoids affect heme oxygenase regulation in vitro, which plays a key role in bilirubin production. Effects of variations in glucocorticoid exposure on circulating bilirubin levels in humans are unknown. Here we tested whether a higher hydrocortisone replacement dose affects circulating bilirubin in hypopituitary patients. ⋯ Bilirubin is modestly increased in response to higher glucocorticoid exposure in humans, in conjunction with lower alkaline phosphatase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, which are supposed to represent biomarkers of a pro-inflammatory state and enhanced liver fat accumulation.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · May 2016
Lifestyle and clinical determinants of skin autofluorescence in a population-based cohort study.
Skin autofluorescence (SAF) is a noninvasive marker of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). In diabetes, higher SAF levels have been positively associated with long-term complications, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Because little is known about the factors that influence SAF in nondiabetic individuals, we assessed the association of clinical and lifestyle parameters with SAF as well as their interactions in a large-scale, nondiabetic population and performed the same analysis in a type 2 diabetic subgroup. ⋯ In addition to the established literature on type 2 diabetes, we have demonstrated that SAF levels are associated with several clinical and lifestyle factors in the nondiabetic population. These parameters should be taken into consideration when using SAF as a screening or prediction tool for populations at risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · May 2016
Association of a transcobalamin II genetic variant with falsely low results for the holotranscobalamin immunoassay.
The clinical use of holotranscobalamin (holoTC) testing to evaluate vitamin B12 status has increased in recent years. We present two patients (African Caribbean and Indian heritage), in which the holoTC assay indicated severe B12 deficiency (< 5 pmol/L). Additional clinical tests revealed that these patients had normal levels of total vitamin B12 in blood and unremarkable levels of two other markers of vitamin B12 status, homocysteine and methylmalonic acid. We hypothesized that these patients carry a variant in the transcobalamin gene (TCN2) that influences the most widely commercially available holoTC test - Active-B12 (Axis-Shield Diagnostics Ltd). ⋯ The impeded ability to detect normal levels of holoTC in these two patients may be due to this variant interfering with the detection of holoTC by one or both of the monoclonal antibodies currently employed in the Active-B12 test. Laboratories should be aware of this variant and use confirmatory tests when applicable.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · May 2016
Soluble galectin-3 is associated with premature myocardial infarction.
Inflammatory responses are pivotal in the initiation and development of premature atherosclerotic lesions. Galectin-3 represents a valuable biomarker for both progression and destabilization of atherosclerotic lesions. This study aims to assess the involvement of galectin-3 in premature myocardial infarction. ⋯ We demonstrated that elevated levels of circulating galectin-3 are strongly associated with premature myocardial infarction. Galectin-3 might serve as link between dyslipidaemia as driving force of plaque formation with inflammation as initiator of plaque rupture in patients with premature acute myocardial infarction.