The use of anabolic steroid hormones as growth promoters in feed for farm animals has been banned in the European Union since 1988 on the basis of Council Directive 96/22/EC. However, there is still ongoing monitoring and reporting of positive findings of these banned substances in EU countries. The aim of this work was to investigate the efficacy and discriminatory ability of metabolic fingerprinting after the administration of 17β-testosterone esters to pigs. Plasma and urine samples were chromatographically separated on a Hypersil Gold C18 column. High resolution mass spectrometry metabolomic fingerprints were analysed on a hybrid mass spectrometer Q-Exactive. Three independent multivariate statistical methods, namely principal component analysis, clustre analysis, and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis showed significant differences between the treated and control groups of pigs even 14 days after the administration of the hormonal drug. Plasma samples were also analysed by a conventional quantitative analysis using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and a pharmacokinetic curve was constructed based on the results. In this case, no testosterone residue was detected 14 days after the administration. The results clearly showed that a metabolomics approach can be a useful and effective tool for the detection and monitoring of banned anabolic steroids used illegally in pig fattening.
1 February 2023 in International Journal Of Clinical Practice
Aim. Specify the risk rate of incorrect patient classification based on the night-to-day ratio specification from singular 24-h ABPM in comparison to the results of 7-day ABPM monitoring Materials and Methods. 1197 24 h cycles were enrolled in 171 subjects in the study and divided into 4 groups: group 1 (40 healthy men and women without exercise), group 2 (40 healthy exercise-training men and women), group 3 (40 patients with ischemic coronary artery disease without exercise), and group 4 (51 patients with ischemic coronary artery disease following cardiovascular rehabilitation). The subject of the evaluation was the percentage rate of incorrect subject classification (dipper, nondipper, extreme dipper, and riser) based on the mean blood pressure values for 7 days and from seven independent 24-hour cycles (the mean value mode). Results. In the case of the individuals included in the monitored groups, the mean night-to-day ratio-based (mode for the 7 days versus the individual days of 24-hour monitoring) classification accordance ranged between 59% and 62%. Only in singular cases did the accordance reach 0% or 100%. The accordance size was not dependent on the health or cardiovascular disease ( ; 56% vs. 54%) or physical activity ( ; 55% vs. 54%) of the monitored individuals. Conclusion. The specification of the night-to-day ratio of each individual for each day of the 7-day ABPM monitoring would be the most convenient option. In many patients, diagnosing could thus be based on the most frequently occurring values (mode specification). The study protocol was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05264090)