Introduction Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PSA) are chronic, inflammatory, systemic diseases characterized by metabolic abnormalities, including an increased cardiovascular risk and an oxidative imbalance. This study assessed blood parameters of lipid metabolism and markers of oxidative...

Introduction Statins may reduce the severity of psoriasis, but the available evidence is unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies (RCTs) that investigated the effect of statins on psoriasis severity assessed with the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)....

According to some authors, serum selenium levels are strongly associated with the severity of liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the concentration of selenium and pro-inflammatory and profibrotic cytokines—interleukin-6 (IL-6) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. The parameters studied were determined in the serum of 99 patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis divided based on the severity of disease according to the Child-Turcotte-Pugh criteria. In patients with liver cirrhosis, the serum selenium concentration was statistically lower, whereas serum IL-6 and GDF-15 concentrations were higher than those in the control group. Moreover, the concentration of selenium negatively correlated with the levels of GDF-15 and IL-6. The above results may indicate a role of selenium deficiency in the pathogenesis and progression of alcoholic liver disease.

Background. The aim of the study was to assess the activity of interleukin-1α, interleukin-6, and hepatocyte growth factor protein (HGF) in serum of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.Materials and Methods. Sixty patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis treated in various hospitals were randomly enrolled. The stage of cirrhosis was assessed according to the Child-Turcotte-Pugh scoring system. The control group consisted of ten healthy persons without liver disease, who did not drink alcohol. Additionally, the group of alcoholics without liver cirrhosis was included in the study. The activity of interleukin-1α, interleukin-6, and HGF in blood plasma of patients and controls was measured using the sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique with commercially available quantitative ELISA test kits.Results. Higher concentrations of HGF protein were demonstrated in patients with Child class B and Child class C liver cirrhosis, compared to controls and alcoholics without liver cirrhosis. Moreover, significantly higher concentrations of HGF protein were found in patients with Child class C liver cirrhosis compared to patients with Child class A liver cirrhosisp<0.05. The concentrations of interleukin-1αin patients with Child class B and Child class C liver cirrhosis were significantly higher in comparison with controls. Significantly higher concentrations of interleukin-6 were demonstrated in Child class C, compared to Child class A.

According to the WHO report, alcohol is the third most significant health risk factor for the global population. There are contrary reports about heavy metals concentrations in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to investigate serum concentrations of selected heavy metals in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis living in the eastern part of Poland according to cirrhosis stage. The participants came from various hospitals of the Lublin region were enrolled. The study group included 46 male and 16 female patients. The control group consisted of 18 healthy individuals without liver disease. High Performance Ion Chromatography was used to determine the concentrations of metal ions (Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, and Pb) in serum samples. The concentrations of copper, zinc, nickel, and cobalt were found to be significantly lower in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis compared to the control group. The serum concentration of cadmium was significantly higher in patients with advanced alcoholic liver cirrhosis compared to the control group. We hypothesize that disorders of metabolism of heavy metals seem to be the outcome of impaired digestion and absorption, which are common in cirrhosis, improper diet, environmental and occupational exposure.

Amyloid-β 1–40 (Aβ 1–40) and amyloid-β 1–42 (Aβ 1–42) are the proteins known to be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)–the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. Hypoxia is suspected to be one of conditions associated with Aβ plasma level increase. A common reason of hypoxia is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), characterized by recurrent episodes of apnea. The aim of the study was to evaluate plasma Aβ 1–40 and Aβ 1–42 concentrations in patients with OSA. Patients with suspected OSA (n = 112) underwent polygraphic examinations Patients with confirmed OSA (n = 81) showed apnea/hypopnea index greater than or equal to 5. Mild and moderate form of the disease was defined when AHI was 5–30 (n = 38, OSA+), severe–when AHI was >30 (n = 43, OSA++). Individuals with AHI<5 (n = 31) served as control group (OSA-). Aβ 1–40 concentrations in OSA++ (191.1 pg/ml) group was significantly (p<0.05) higher compared with OSA- (76.9 pg/ml) and OSA+ (159.4 pg/ml) and correlated with selected parameters of hypoxemia severity. There were no differences in Aβ 1–42 concentration between the groups. In patients with severe OSA Aβ 1–40 plasma concentrations are significantly higher compared with OSA- and OSA+ and seem to be related to hypoxia severity, which may indicate increased risk of AD development in this group of patients.