Search results for "marker"

Treat-to-target versus dose-adapted statin treatment of cholesterol to reduce cardiovascular risk

2015

Clinical guidelines should be based on the best available evidence and are of great importance for patient care and disease prevention. In this respect, the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association report is highly appreciated and well-recognized. The report included critical questions concerning hypercholesterolaemia, but its translation into a clinical guideline initiated intense debate worldwide because of the recommendation to switch from a treat-to-target approach for low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol to a statin dose-based strategy.

Validity of epicardial fat volume as biomarker of coronary artery disease in symptomatic individuals: Results from the ALTER-BIO registry

2019

Abstract Background To determine if an increased epicardial fat volume (EFV) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in individuals with symptoms of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Methods Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography (CCTA), demographic and clinical variables of 1344 individuals were retrieved: semi-automated measurements for EFV and coronary artery calcifications (CAC) were obtained. Individuals were grouped into three categories according to the presence of CAD, resulting in absent (CAD0), non-obstructive (CAD1) or obstructive (CAD2) disease-groups. Relation of EFV with CAD was assessed with two approaches: 1) presence of any CAD; 2) each individual CAD category. Resul…

P215 Blood-based prognostic biomarkers in Crohn’s patients treated with biologics: a new promising tool to predict endoscopic outcomes

2021

Abstract Background There is a growing need for biomarkers of inflammation to monitor and predict therapeutic outcome in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients. We aimed to evaluate whether the level of circulating blood cells, expressed as ratios (NLR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; ELR, eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and ENLR, eosinophil*neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), could be used as early prognostic biomarker of endoscopic response (ER) in patients starting biological therapy with infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab and ustekinumab. Association with steroid-free clinical remission at week 54 and endoscopic disease activity at baseline, as well as other varia…

Deficit of Interleukin-7 in Serum of Patients with Crohn's Disease

2013

Apoptotic effect as biomarker of disease, severity and follow-up in interstitial cystitis

2018

Objective: To determine whether the apoptotic effect test could serve as a biomarker of severity in bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis. Material and methods: A prospective study was conducted between January 2010 and January 2015, which included 57 patients diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and 49 diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain of gynaecological origin. The urine was exposed to cell cultures, and the urine's capacity for inducing apoptosis in the cultures was analysed. A statistical analysis was then conducted to assess whether the apoptotic effect was associated with the symptoms. Results: After performing an analysis of the association between the degree of apoptotic effec…

Sjøgren's syndrome-associated oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction: Prospects for chemoprevention trials

2012

An involvement of oxidative stress (OS) was found in recent studies of Sjøgren's syndrome (SS) that reported significant changes in protein oxidation, myeloperoxidase activity, TNF-α, nitrotyrosine, and GSH levels in plasma from SS patients. Excess levels of OS markers, as oxidative DNA damage and propanoyl-lysine, were reported in saliva from SS patients. Previous reports concurred with a role of OS in SS pathogenesis, by showing a decreased expression of antioxidant activities in conjunctival epithelial cells of SS patients and in parotid gland tissue samples from SS patients. A link between OS and mitochondrial dysfunction (MDF) is recognized both on the grounds of the established role o…

Radiomics and radiogenomics in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Potential contribution to patient management and challenges

2021

Abstract The application of imaging biomarkers in oncology is still in its infancy, but with the expansion of radiomics and radiogenomics a revolution is expected in this field. This may be of special interest in head and neck cancer, since it can promote precision medicine and personalization of treatment by overcoming several intrinsic obstacles in this pathology. Our goal is to provide the medical oncologist with the basis to approach these disciplines and appreciate their main uses in clinical research and clinical practice in the medium term. Aligned with this objective we analyzed the most relevant studies in the field, also highlighting novel opportunities and current challenges.

Serum TRACP 5b Is a Useful Marker for Monitoring Alendronate Treatment: Comparison With Other Markers of Bone Turnover

2005

We studied clinical performance of serum TRACP 5b and other bone turnover markers, including S-CTX, U-DPD, S-PINP, S-BALP, and S-OC, for monitoring alendronate treatment. TRACP 5b had higher clinical sensitivity, area under the ROC curve, and signal-to-noise ratio than the other markers. INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical performance of serum TRACP 5b (S-TRACP5b) with that of other markers of bone turnover in the monitoring of alendronate treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This double-blinded study included 148 healthy postmenopausal women that were randomly assigned into two groups: one receiving 5 mg alendronate daily (n=75) and the other receiving placebo …

Isolation and colture of beta-like cells from porcine Wirsung duct

2009

We sought to develop a protocol to isolate and culture porcine Wirsung duct cells in order to determine their potency to differentiate into insulin-expressing beta-like cells. The porcine Wirsung duct isolated by a surgical microdissection was digested with collagenase P and trypsin to dissociate ductal cells. These elements were cultured in serum-free supplemented media: for 2 weeks. Thereafter the cells were exposed to varying concentrations of glucose (0, 5.6, 17.8, and 25 mmol/L) to induce a beta-like phenotype, as identified by immunohistochemical staining. Cell growth proceeded slowly for the first 2 weeks of culture. After glucose induction for 2 weeks, they formed pancreatic islet-l…

Chronic stress and early recurrence of takotsubo cardiomyopathy: A clinical case

2014

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of the apical and middle segments of the left ventricle, accompanied by electrocardiographic abnormalities and mild elevation of cardiac biomarker levels in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. The following case is of a woman suffering from chronic emotional stress with a very early recurrence. An acute trigger event was not detectable in both cases. It is possible to suppose that, in predisposed subjects, chronic stress by increasing sympathetic activity may be considered not only a trigger for TC, but also a negative prognostic factor for early recurrence.