Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets - Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders) - Volume 13, Issue 2, 2013

Introduction: Hypocalcemia is a common and poorly understood finding in critically ill patients. The current study was designed to assess the association of ionized calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus and Parathyroid hormone levels in a cohort of patients with and without kidney dysfunction admitted for sepsis or non-infectious causes. Methods: Prospective cohort clinical and biochemical study. Results: We confirmed that hyp Read More

The objective of this study was to determine, in a female swine model of leptin resistance (Iberian pig), the effect of an obesogenic diet, with high saturated fat content, during the juvenile period, on the appearance of early obesity and its possible effects on metabolic syndrome-related parameters and reproductive features (puberty attainment). Thus, from 130 to 245 days-old, seven Iberian gilts had ad libitum access t Read More

The present study has been designed to investigate the combined effect of daidzein (caveolin inhibitor), hemin (hemoxygenase activator) and BMS182874 (endothelin receptor antagonist) in diabetic nephropathy in wistar rats. Diabetic nephropathy was induced by administering single dose of streptozotocin in wistar rats. DN was clinically assessed by the estimation of various biochemical parameters and histopathological st Read More

Introduction: Cytokines play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid disease, and recent studies have demonstrated an association between cytokine gene polymorphisms and Graves’ Disease (GD) in different ethnic groups. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), a Read More

The skeleton is constantly being remodelled through the simultaneous resorption of bone and formation of new bone. Significant effects on bone metabolism are produced due to cancer treatment especially of breast and prostate origin, even in the absence of bone metastases. These pathological changes are known as cancer treatment-induced bone loss. Bone mass loss and osteoporosis may cause an increased risk Read More

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) is a nuclear transcription factor which is involved in the differentiation of fibroblasts to adipocytes in vitro. PPAR-γ also plays a pivotal role in inflammation and macrophage activation. Furthermore, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a condition in which an individual’s ability to respond to insulin is lowered, is treated by drugs called thiazolidinediones (TZDs) that are kno Read More

CD4+ T-cells are central players orchestrating antigen-specific immunity and tolerance. Importantly, dendritic cells (DCs) are responsible for priming T-cells and for promoting their differentiation from naive T-cells into appropriate functional cells. Because of their fundamental roles in controlling immunity, activation and differentiation of DCs and CD4+ T-cells require tight regulatory mechanisms. Several studies have s Read More

Aims: Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known to have antitumoral properties, although the intrinsic mechanisms responsible for the execution of this activity are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the ability of concentrated supernatants from Lactobacillus plantarum to promote cell death in a human promyelocytic cell line. Methods and Results: We aim to test the hypothesis that concentrated supernatants from Lact. plant Read More

It is known that in severe acquired brain injuries there is process of neuroinflammation, with the activation of a local and general stress response. In our study we considered six patients with disorders of consciousness (five in vegetative state and one in minimal consciousness state) in subacute phase, which had both a clinical assessment and a functional imaging (fMRI): in all these patients we analised blood levels of o Read More