Search results for "marker"

Differential serum acute-phase biomarker profile in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

2016

There is a growing interest in inflammation and immune dysfunction in severe psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This dysfunction seems to consist in abnormal blood levels of cytokines and acute-phase proteins, with increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, homocysteine and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Higher levels can be found in acute episodes and in patients with a higher cardiovascular risk.Acute-phase protein serum parameters were determined in a sample of 100 outpatients with schizophrenia (n = 50) or bipolar disorder (n = 50) so as to assess differences in pro-inflammatory state. Metabolic state was assessed through BMI, waist c…

Anxiety and depressive symptoms, and stress biomarkers in pregnant women after in vitro fertilization: a prospective cohort study.

2017

STUDY QUESTION Does in vitro fertilization (IVF) affect the course of anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as physiological stress from pregnancy to postpartum period? SUMMARY ANSWER IVF mothers have more anxiety symptoms and higher stress biomarker levels but fewer depression symptoms than natural conception mothers at the third trimester of pregnancy, but these differences are negligible during postpartum period. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Cross-sectional studies have found an association between IVF and high stress levels during the prenatal period. There is, however, no follow-up study about the IVF effect on the mental health status from pregnancy to postpartum, adopting simultaneous mea…

Lipoprotein apheresis in Germany - Still more commonly indicated than implemented. How can patients in need access therapy?

2019

Abstract Background Although lipid-lowering drugs, especially statins, and recently also PCSK9 inhibitors can reduce LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) including coronary artery disease (CAD) events most efficiently, only 5–10% of high-risk cardiovascular patients reach the target values recommended by international guidelines. In patients who cannot be treated adequately by drugs it is possible to reduce increased LDL-C and/or lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) values by the use of lipoprotein apheresis (LA) with the potential to decrease severe CVD events in the range of 70%->80%. Even in Germany, a country with well-established reimbursement guidelines for…

Lipoprotein apheresis for Lp(a)-hyperlipoproteinemia with progressive cardiovascular disease--Additional particular aspects of the Pro(a)LiFe multice…

2015

Lipoprotein apheresis (LA) can lower LDL-cholesterol and Lp(a) by 60%-70% and is the final escalating option in patients with hyperlipoproteinemias involving LDL or Lp(a) particles. Major therapeutic effect of LA is preventing cardiovascular events. In Germany since 2008 a reimbursement guideline has been implemented accepting to establish the indication for LA not only for familial or severe forms of hypercholesterolemia but also based on Lp(a)-hyperlipoproteinemia associated with a progressive course of cardiovascular disease, that persists despite effective treatment of other concomitant cardiovascular risk factors. The Pro(a)LiFe-study confirmed with a prospective multicenter design tha…

Multiparametric 18F-FDG PET-MRI of the breast: are there differences in imaging biomarkers of contralateral healthy tissue between patients with and …

2019

The rationale was to assess whether there are differences in multiparametric 18F-FDG PET/MRI biomarkers of contralateral healthy breast tissue in patients with benign and malignant breast tumors. Methods: In this institutional review board-approved prospective single-institution study, 141 women with imaging abnormalities on mammography or sonography (BI-RADS 4/5) underwent combined 18F-FDG PET/MRI of the breast at 3T with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging, and the radiotracer 18F-FDG. In all patients, the following imaging biomarkers were recorded for the contralateral (tumor-free) breast: breast parenchymal uptake (BPU) (from 18F-FDG PET), mean apparent diffusion c…

Calprotectin and spondyloarthritis

2017

An update on the role of markers of inflammation in atherosclerosis

2009

In recent years, several studies have used the measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as a marker of early atherosclerosis: IMT has been shown to correlate significantly with the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and to predict fatal and not fatal cerebro- and cardio-vascular events. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing and managing early stages of atherosclerosis for effective cardiovascular prevention. Beyond traditional established cardiovascular risk factors, inflammation has been shown to be crucial throughout atherosclerosis from endothelial dysfunction to plaque rupture and thrombosis. Several studies have shown the existence of a strong relatio…

NephroCheck: should we consider urine osmolality?

2019

Prospective cohort study of early biosignatures of response to lithium in bipolar-I-disorders: overview of the H2020-funded R-LiNK initiative

2019

Abstract Background Lithium is recommended as a first line treatment for bipolar disorders. However, only 30% of patients show an optimal outcome and variability in lithium response and tolerability is poorly understood. It remains difficult for clinicians to reliably predict which patients will benefit without recourse to a lengthy treatment trial. Greater precision in the early identification of individuals who are likely to respond to lithium is a significant unmet clinical need. Structure The H2020-funded Response to Lithium Network (R-LiNK; http://www.r-link.eu.com/) will undertake a prospective cohort study of over 300 individuals with bipolar-I-disorder who have agreed to commence a …

Subclinical Cardiotoxicity: The Emerging Role of Myocardial Work and Other Imaging Techniques.

2021

In recent years, the cancer survival of patients has improved thanks to advances in the pharmacological field. In many guidelines, cardiotoxicity induced by anticancer drugs was defined as a reduction from baseline in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessed by echocardiography. It is known that LVEF is not a sensible parameter in the detection of cardiotoxicity. Therefore, a decrease from baseline in the global longitudinal strain (GLS) or troponins elevation is used to detect subclinical cardiotoxicity. LVEF and GLS as well as the increase in some biomarkers are influenced by loading conditions that are frequent during chemotherapy. Other parameters not influenced by loading…