Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been associated with increased oxidative stress or reduced antioxidant resources. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the levels of serum ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), total oxidant status (TOS), and total antioxidant status in patients with stable COPD, compared with a control group. This study was performed on 51 patients with stable COPD (42 men and 9 women; mean age 56.92 ± 3.0 years) and 45 healthy control participants (32 men and 13 women; 54.8 ± 3.8 years). The levels of serum lipids, IMA, total antioxidant status, TOS, and ox-LDL were measured in all participants. The levels of serum IMA, ox-LDL, and TOS were significantly higher in patients with COPD than those in control individuals. There was no difference between the levels of serum total antioxidant status, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of patients with COPD and those of control individuals. Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly lower in patients with COPD than in control individuals. Our study indicated that serum IMA, ox-LDL, and TOS may be increased as a result of chronic hypoxia, inflammation, and oxidative stress in patients with severe and very severe stable COPD. Our findings also revealed that IMA is higher in patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease Stages II, III, and IV, while TOS and ox-LDL are higher in patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease Stage IV. Measurements of serum IMA, TOS, and ox-LDL levels may be useful markers in the evaluation of stable COPD.

N-functionalized dithienopyrroles (DTP-NH₂) were synthesized and electropolymerized onto a graphite electrode as a novel conducting polymer matrix for biomolecule immobilization. ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR were utilized to investigate the characteristics of the monomer. After that, glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized onto the amino-functionalised matrix by means of glutaraldehyde. The surface morphologies of both DTP-NH₂ and DTP-NH₂–GOx were visualised by using SEM and fluorescence microscopy. The chronoamperometric signals of the electrochemical DTP-NH₂–GOx biosensors were measured by monitoring the O₂ consumption during an enzymatic reaction in the presence of glucose at −0.7 V. After the optimization of the pH and scan number of the polymer deposition in batch mode, the DTP-NH₂–GOx biosensor was also tested in Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) mode. The DTP-NH₂–GOx biosensors had a very good linearity between 0.05 and 1.0 mM, and between 0.1 and 2.5 mM for glucose in batch and FIA modes, respectively. Finally, it was applied for glucose analysis in real samples where commercial glucose kits were used as the reference method to verify the data obtained with the proposed biosensor.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a chronic and multifactorial syndrome characterized by a low-grade chronic inflammation, and a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In our study, we aimed to investigate the serum levels of high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), haptoglobin (Hp), αMethods: This study was performed in 43 (18 males, 25 females) MetS adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years (14.70±1.15) and 43 lean controls were matched for age and sex. The serum levels of Hp, αResults: Serum Hp, fetuin-A (p<0.01) and PF-4, hs-CRP, SAP, AGP (p<0.001) values of the MetS subjects were significantly higher than those of the controls. No difference was found in serum αConclusions: This finding suggests the possibility of using these markers in diagnosis of MetS in adolescents to prevent future complications.

Background: There is growing evidence that leptin regulation is altered in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Several potential mechanisms have been purported to explain how sleep apnea may alter leptin levels. We investigated whether repeated apneas, hypoxia, or excessive daytime sleepiness influenced the levels of leptin in OSAS patients. We also evaluated whether a 3-month continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment affected leptin levels in patients. Methods: Randomly selected 31 untreated, otherwise healthy male, overweight [body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m ² ] obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients [apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) ≥15] and 25 control (AHI 0.05). Leptin levels were not correlated with the AHI, oxygen saturation, or excessive daytime sleepiness. CPAP treatment did not significantly change the (BMI), waist and neck circumference, or leptin levels in OSAS patients. Furthermore, we found no correlation between the decrease in serum leptin levels and parameters that were improved by CPAP treatment. Conclusion: Leptin levels and lipid profile of overweight subjects with and without OSAS were not different, and our results suggest that OSAS-related parameters and CPAP treatment do not play a significant role in the serum leptin levels.