Hippokratia
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Retinol Binding Protein-4 (RBP-4), the action of which was initially thought to be only the transport of vitamin A, is a major circulating adipocytokine involved in the inflammation. We evaluated the serum RBP-4 levels in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and correlated them with transthyretin (TTR), inflammation markers, disease activity, and body mass index (BMI). ⋯ RBP-4 negatively correlated with disease activity of children with IBD probably indicating a protective anti-inflammatory mechanism of action in addition to transport of vitamin A.
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Wernicke's encephalopathy is a reversible, neurologic disorder due to thiamine deficiency which is mainly related to chronic alcohol abuse. We report a case of a young male patient, who was bodybuilder and anabolic drug user, in whom encephalopathy was diagnosed after a short medical course in the ICU after a major upper gastrointestinal bleeding (Mallory-Weiss syndrome) and hypovolemic shock. His clinical condition was typical for Wernicke's encephalopathy and although neuroimaging tests were not indicative, the patient received thiamine supplement therapy, which resulted in rapid clinical improvement. The diagnosis was based only on clinical sings and anabolic drug abuse was considered as a possible predisposing factor for the manifestation of the syndrome.
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The physiological mechanisms regulating zinc homeostasis in humans have been elucidated and described, but the knowledge of zinc status and zinc distribution in the tissues and in the different biological compartments of patients with conservatively treated chronic renal failure (CRF) and on peritoneal dialysis is still insufficient. This investigation examines and compares zinc content in urine, erythrocytes, plasma, and outflow dialysis solution in a group of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients, a group of patients with CRF on conservative treatment and in healthy controls. ⋯ In patients on CAPD treatment (group 3) compared to healthy controls (group 1) plasma zinc level was diminished (р<0.05), while erythrocyte zinc elevated (р<0.01). The investigation found out difference between plasma, erythrocyte and urine levels of zinc between the patients with chronic renal failure (group 2) on conservative treatment and those treated by CAPD (group 3), which proves, that continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis influences redistribution of zinc in human organism "per se".