Nowadays, caffeine is one of the most commonly consumed substances, which presents in many plants and products. It has both positive and negative effects on the human body, and its activity concerns a variety of systems including the central nervous system, immune system, digestive system, respiratory system, urinary tract, etc. These effects are dependent on quantity, the type of product in which caffeine is contained, and also on the individual differences among people (sex, age, diet etc.). The main aim of this review was to collect, present, and analyze the available information including the latest discoveries on the impact of caffeine on human health and the functioning of human body systems, taking into account the role of caffeine in individual disease entities. We present both the positive and negative sides of caffeine consumption and the healing properties of this purine alkaloid in diseases such as asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and others, not forgetting about the negative effects of excess caffeine (e.g., in people with hypertension, children, adolescents, and the elderly). In summary, we can conclude, however, that caffeine has a multi-directional influence on various organs of the human body, and because of its anti-oxidative properties, it was, and still is, an interesting topic for research studies including those aimed at developing new therapeutic strategies.

There is a steady increase in the number of overweight and obese people worldwide and increasingly, younger people. Excess adipose tissue impairs the action of insulin, leading to insulin resistance (IR). Tissue IR is a major factor in relation to cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Thus, it is important to recognize at the pre-disease stage with the possibility of therapeutic intervention. IR is assessed using indicators of epidemiological significance, most often calculated from fasting and postprandial glucose and insulin values, so-called indirect indicators of insulin resistance. The most commonly used parameter is the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA). Although the Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI), Matsuda Index and the Insulin Secretion-Sensitivity Index-2 (ISSI-2) are also used, the values of these indices established for IR vary for different age, sex, populations and ethnic groups. Thus, appropriate reference values of indirect indices should be determined for such groups, and when this is precluded, data from published studies carried out on the most ethnically, socio-economically and age-matched populations should be applied.

Endometriosis is a gynecological disease, the pathogenesis of which seems to be directly associated with inflammatory processes. Serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, hs-CRP, IgG, YKL 40 and PRL, in comparison to the well-known CA 125 levels, were studied with the aim of identifying an additional noninvasive inflammatory marker or set of markers characteristic for endometriosis. The study group included 43 women with endometriosis (E), 35 women with benign gynecological disorders but without endometriosis (NE, non-endometriosis) as a comparative group, and a control group consisting of 18 healthy subjects (C). The serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, hs-CRP, YKL-40, PRL and CA 125 were significantly higher in the E group (median values: 0.41 pg/mL, 2.42 pg/mL, 2.33 mg/L, 79.30 ng/mL, 21.88 ng/mL and 68.00 U/mL, respectively) than in the control group (median values: 0.21 pg/mL, 0.98 pg/mL, 0.52 mg/L, 49.77 ng/mL, 12.08 ng/mL and 12.20 U/mL respectively), with the significance of p = 0.011, p < 0.001, p = 0.028, p = 0.005, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively. The IgG concentrations were significantly lower in the endometriosis group (median value: 1061.21 mg/dL) as compared to healthy women (median value: 1210.50 mg/dL; p = 0.025). Significant differences in concentrations of IL-6 (p = 0.040), hs-CRP (p = 0.007) and CA 125 (p < 0.001) were observed in stage III vs. stage IV of endometriosis. Significantly higher concentrations of IL-6 (p = 0.010), hs-CRP (p = 0.037) and PRL (p < 0.001) were observed in the NE group vs. the control group. Only CA 125 concentrations were significantly higher in endometriosis patients as compared to the non-endometriosis group (p < 0.001). The proposed panel of inflammatory markers, especially IL-6, PRL and CA 125, may become a useful tool to identify women with advanced endometriosis who could qualify for treatment.

Can redox homeostasis indicators be potential non-invasive markers, crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis? We checked if the differences in levels of serum oxidative-antioxidant balance parameters (TAS, FRAP, albumin, total bilirubin, uric acid, iron, SIRT3, SIRT5, SIRT6, telomerase, AOPP) are significant between patients with advanced endometriosis (E), healthy women (control group, C) and non-endometriosis women, but with other gynecological disorders (NE). The FRAP concentrations were significantly higher in E and NE group than in the control group (p = 0.015 and p = 0.017, respectively). The telomerase concentrations were significantly higher in the endometriosis group than in the control group (p = 0.004). Significantly higher concentrations of AOPP were observed in E (p < 0.001) and NE groups (p = 0.028) in comparison to the control subjects. Between stages III and IV of endometriosis, a significant difference existed only in concentration of iron (p = 0.013). There were no significant differences between the studied groups in the values of the remaining parameters. Based on the results of ROC curve analysis, we can conclude that the levels of serum FRAP, telomerase and AOPP may be taken into account as promising diagnostics markers that reflect the degree of oxidative stress accompanying advanced endometriosis.

Cel pracy: Nadal istnieje zapotrzebowanie na nowe, efektywne biologiczne interwencje terapeutyczne w epizodach depresyjnych i zaburzeniu depresyjnym nawracającym. Krioterapia ogólnoustrojowa (WBC), będąca formą stymulacji ogólnoustrojowej temperaturami kriogenicznymi, jest coraz częściej stosowaną metodą leczniczą w schorzeniach neurologicznych oraz w reumatologii. Badanie miało na celu określenie skuteczności krioterapii ogólnoustrojowej jako augmentacji leczenia epizodu depresyjnego.Metoda: Do badania obserwacyjnego zrekrutowano 30 dorosłych pacjentów leczonych ambulatoryjnie z powodu epizodu depresyjnego. 21 osób (17 kobiet, 81%) ze średnią wieku 46,1 (±16,7) lat ukończyło badanie. Do określenia nasilenia objawów depresyjnych u badanych użyto Skali Depresji Hamiltona oraz Inwentarza Depresji Becka. Jakość życia oceniano WHOQoL-Bref a poziom anhedonii skalą SHAPS. W okresie 2 tygodni przeprowadzono 10 dwuminutowych sesji ekspozycji na skrajnie niskie temperatury (od -110 do -135 stopni Celsjusza).Wyniki: Po cyklu kriostymulacji ogólnoustrojowej stwierdzono znaczącą poprawę w postaci redukcji ogólnej punktacji w skalach oceniających objawy depresyjne HDRS między T1 (16,94±4,3) i T4 (4,50±4,2) (p<0.00001) oraz BDI (T1: 13,48±4,6; T4: 6,14±6.7, p<0,03), nasilenie anhedonii w skali SHAPS (p=0,011), oraz wyższe wyniki w skali jakości życia w domenach: poczucie zdrowia fizycznego (p=0,024), poczucie zdrowia psychicznego (p=0,016) oraz w domenie środowiskowej (p=0,003). Zauważono istotny wzrost samodzielnie ocenianego samopoczucia przy użyciu skali VAS przed i po przebytych zabiegach (p0,05).Wnioski: Krioterapia ogólnoustrojowa okazała się efektywną, bezpieczną oraz dobrze tolerowaną dodatkową interwencją terapeutyczną wśród pacjentów z epizodem depresyjnym. Dalsze randomizowane badania z grupą kontrolną powinny zostać przeprowadzone.

The present work aims at accessing the stability of biological material stored for diagnostic and scientific purposes. The influence of the temperature, storage time, and cyclic thawing on concentration stability of selected oxidative stress parameters in human serum was investigated. The study group consisted of 20 serum samples collected from healthy volunteers aged 18–52. The parameters whose reference ranges were not determined and to which validated determination methods did not correspond were examined by manual methods (FRAP and AOPP). Automatic methods were used to determine routine laboratory tests (albumin, total protein, bilirubin, uric acid) using the Konelab 20i^® analyzer. The samples were stored at various temperatures (room temperature, 4 °C, −20 °C, −80 °C) for max 6 months and were subjected to cyclic thawing at 1 month intervals. In order to check whether any differences between the concentrations of the studied parameters existed when the samples were stored in various conditions, the paired Student t-test or Wilcoxon test and comparison to desirable bias were applied. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the temperature and time of serum sample storage significantly affected the stability of the analyzed parameters and determined different shelf lives of serum samples for oxidative stress examination. Therefore, continuing the investigation concerning the impact of storage conditions on various serum parameters seems justified due to the discrepancy between the individual results obtained by different researchers and the inconsistencies between the results of scientific research and the applicable recommendations.