The most widespread diseases of modern man have a polygenic basis, including genetic predisposition and factors in the external environment. Such is the case with cardiovascular disease, malignancy, diabetes and so on. It should be borne in mind that risk factors usually include disorders that are themselves multifactorial, which further indicates the complexity of...
In pathophysiological conditions related to oxidative stress, the application of selected antioxidants could have beneficial effects on human health. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is a technique that provides unique insight into the redox biochemistry, due to its ability to: (i) distinguish and quantify different reactive species, such as hydroxyl radical...
Alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin and unconjugated estriol are screening markers for fetal trisomies and structural disorders of the neural tube defect type. Determination of these biochemical markers is per for med in laboratories that receive samples, serum or blood, and sample preparation as well as transport conditions may affect analyte stability and test...
Pharmacotherapy of pediatric diseases represents a major challenge considering that the majority of medicines in everyday practice have not been pediatrically evaluated. The efficacy of therapy depends to a large extent on the knowledge of pathophysiological processes in the children organism at different ages. Therefore, research in that direction is of the utmost importance. An...
Cardiac troponins (cTns) are the preferred biomarkers for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, assessment of risk and prognosis, and for determination of antithrombotic and revascularization strategy in patients with acute coronary syndromes. The implementation of high sensitivity cTn assays into the clinical routine has increased the number of patients diagnosed with...
Conceptually, thyroid disorders can be classified into four groups, namely: 1. disorders of thyroid morphology, 2. disorders of thyroid function, 3. presence of thyroid autoimmunity, and 4. diagnosis and follow-up of thyroid carcinoma. Of course, these groups are non-exclusive, and often there is overlap between the groups. Ultrasound exam is a standard for the diagnosis of the...
Summary: Biological markers in nasal fluid provide valuable information on nasal pathophysiology. The aims of this study were to compare the cytokine profiles of nasal fluid in subjects with nasal polyps (NP) and co-morbid asthma and NP patients without asthma and to determine the role of these cytokines in the development of NP. Thirty patients with NP (15 asthmatic and 15...
Apoptotic cell death may play a critical role in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, especially in those developing on the basis of atherosclerosis. The goal of this study was to compare the activity of caspase-3 in different forms of ischemic heart disease and to correlate caspase-3 activity with inflammatory and lipid markers as well as risk factors. This enzyme activity was...
In the last decades, hospital laboratories are beset on all sides by demands to lower the costs of laboratory procedures and at the same time to provide (i) more rapid and usable services, (ii) a broader spectrum of parameters, and (iii) process a higher frequency of specimens. These demands are voiced by patients, physicians, hospital administrators, and governmental agencies...
The auto-oxidation of oxyhaemoglobin to methaemoglobin generating superoxide anion radical (O2 .-) represents the main source of free radicals in the erythrocytes. Hydrogen peroxide is produced by O2 .- dismutation or originates from the circulation. Human erythrocytes are also exposed to the prooxidative actions of nitric oxide (NO) from circulation. Free radicals that may...
Choriocarcinoma cell lines JAr and JEG-3 are model systems for the study of transformed trophoblast. Both cell lines were shown to produce galectin-1, expression of which was increased in choriocarcinoma when compared to the normal trophoblast of pregnancy. In this study the effects of synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone were investigated in both JAr and JEG-3 cell lines by...
Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are markedly increased in chronic renal failure patients. Although it cannot be regarded as a cardiovascular disease risk equivalent, kidney dysfunction is considered an independent predictor of increased cardiovascular risk that increases with deteriorating kidney function. The association is a very complex one, and the term cardiorenal...
Timely identification of excessive alcohol use and its potential complications is a prerequisite for successful treatment. Several routine tests have been used in laboratories that may help in diagnosing alcoholism, such as determination of MCV, AST, ALT, GGT, but it has been shown that they lack specificity and sensitivity. Contemporary biomarkers are increasingly being used...
Beta-trace protein (BTP), also known as prostaglandin D synthase, is a low-molecular-mass protein which belongs to the lipocalin protein family. It was found to be increased in the serum of patients with renal diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical usefulness of serum levels of beta-trace protein for the detection of renal dysfunction in patients with chronic...
The Pathology Services worldwide, surrounded by products are today requesting solutions. The approach aims towards the brain-to-brain cycle between caregivers and laboratory professionals. Despite budgets limited to 2-3% of total healthcare expenses, Laboratories are providing information for >70% of medical actions. 'Perianalytics' is becoming the focus; understanding...
The autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) is a rare disease. ALPS is an inherited condition that affects both sexes. ALPS is not cancer, it is not infectious, and its incidence has not yet been estimated. ALPS generally does not lead to death and most individuals with ALPS are able to live normal lives. ALPS is a disorder associated with abnormal lymphocyte apoptosis...
Agarose gel electrophoresis is a well established technique routinely used in clinical laboratories for screening protein abnormalities in various biological fluids (serum, urine, CSF). It is based on the principles of zone electrophoresis. Electrophoretograms are evaluated visually for the presence of quantitatively or qualitatively abnormal protein bands. The technique is used...
Proteome analysis has emerged as a powerful tool to decipher (patho)physiological processes, resulting in the establishment of the field of clinical proteomics. One of the main goals is to discover biomarkers for diseases from tissues and body fluids. Due to the enormous complexity of the proteome, a separation step is required for mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteome analysis...
Serum troponin is the best biomarker for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, but it takes considerable time before a definitive diagnosis is available. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a multimarker approach, using the biochip cardiac array, would facilitate the early diagnosis. Serum biomarkers were determined on admission (≤6 hrs) and after 6 hours in 42...
Data on proatherogenic lipid profile alterations due to chronic Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection are contradictory. Aim of this study was to examine the differences in some lipid parameters between 55 subjects of both gender with a chronic HP infection (IgG>50 U/mL and IgA <20 U/mL) and 55 gender matched HP seronegative subjects (IgG and IgA <20 U/mL). Total cholesterol (TC) (p...
Although knowledge about the etiology of heroin dependence is rather poor, it is known that the influence of opiates on the opioid, adrenergic and indirectly of GABA on the dopaminergic receptors leads to changes of catecholamine levels in brain structures, which are supposed to be essential in explaining the etiology of the opioid dependence. It is well-known that by analyzing...
Human placental lactogen (HPL) is a hormone produced by the placenta with a role in the regulation of fetoplacental growth. In this paper, the results of HPL determination in the third trimester of pregnancy are presented with the aim of testing the sensitivity of this biochemical marker for detecting placental dysfunction, fetal vitality and risk of bad outcome. The tests were...
Natriuretic peptide BNP might be clinically useful for monitoring treatment effects in patients with heart failure (HF). In order to investigate the pharmacological effects of different therapy protocols for patients with HF based on the BNP level before and after therapy, we performed an open randomized comparative trial. Sixty-two HF patients with increased natriuretic peptide...
Oxidative stress is the result of increased production of free radicals, which impair the cell function and cause many pathological conditions and diseases. The development of diabetes, its course and complications are closely associated with an imbalance in pro-antioxidative cell state and change of redox potential. Prolonged exposure to hyperglycemia is currently considered the...
Automation is necessary in laboratory systems. It enables reduction of time required for sample analysis, as well as standardization of methods. However, automation of urine control in laboratories is much less common than in hematological analyses. Not long ago, the necessary automated systems for urine analysis have also been developed. The objective of this study is a...