Autologous serum skin test (ASST) is mostly used in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) to show autoreactivity. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) has also been shown to be involved in autoimmune conditions. To investigate the role of autoreactivity assessed by ASST in CSU and respiratory diseases and to investigate whether this autoreactive state is related to IL-18 level or other clinical covariates. Fifty-five patients with CSU (mean age: 40.3 ± 12.3 years), 70 patients with persistent asthma (mean age: 43.7 ± 9.6 years), 21 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) (mean age: 35.5 ± 11.8 years) and 20 normal controls (mean age: 37.7 ± 9.8) were included. All subjects underwent a laboratory examination and skin prick test. ASST was performed and serum IL-18 levels were measured in all subjects. Positive response to ASST and serum IL-18 levels were higher in CSU patients than those with respiratory diseases (asthma and SAR) (P = 0.034 and 0.002, respectively) and normal controls (P = 0.004 and 0.031, respectively). Considering all patients, IL-18 levels were higher in patients with positive ASST (301.8 ± 194.4 vs. 241.8 ± 206.3 pg/ml, P = 0.036) than ASST negative patients. ASST response was associated with disease severity in CSU (P = 0.037) and asthma patients (P = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that positive response to ASST was significantly associated with diagnosis of CSU (OR: 3.13, 95% CI: 1.25-7.87) and female gender (OR: 3.98, 95% CI: 1.19-13.38). ASST response could be related with activity of the disease. A positive ASST response found in respiratory diseases patients suggests that it may occur as a result of some inflammatory events during the diseases' process.
PurposeIn this study, we aimed to explain the role of oxidative stress in women with overactive bladder (OAB) by investigating the levels of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a marker of oxidative DNA damage, and malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of lipid peroxidation.Materials and MethodsA total of 90 women were included in the study: 45 female patients diagnosed with OAB at Hopa State Hospital Urology Polyclinic and 45 healthy women without any metabolic or neurologic disease. Levels of MDA and 8-OHdG were measured in 24-hour urine samples for all subjects.ResultsUrinary levels of MDA and 8-OHdG were significantly higher in the OAB group than in the control group (p<0.001). A significant positive correlation (p<0.001) was found between the measurements of 8-OHdG and MDA.ConclusionsOxidative stress may be important in the pathophysiology of OAB, because levels of 8-OHdG and MDA are increased. Increased levels of 8-OHdG may be due to damaged nuclear and mitochondrial DNA as a result of oxidative attacks caused by free radicals. Nevertheless, further randomized and prospective studies with larger patient populations are needed.
To evaluate the cytotoxic effects of chronic ethanol consumption on brain cerebral synaptosomes and preventive role of betaine as a methyl donor and S-adenosylmethionine precursor, 24 male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control, ethanol (8 g/kg/day) and ethanol plus betaine(0.5% w/v) group. Animals were fed 60 ml/diet per day for two months, then sacrificed. Malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl contents and adenosine deaminase (ADA) activities were determined in synaptosomal/mitochondrial enriched fraction isolated from rat cerebral cortexes. When compared to controls, ethanol containing diet significantly increased MDA levels (P < 0.05), also increased protein carbonyl levels and adenosine deaminase activities. But these were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, adding betaine to ethanol containing diet caused a significant decrease in MDA, protein carbonyl levels and adenosine deaminase activities (P < 0.05). These results indicate that betaine may appear as a protective nutritional agent against cytotoxic brain damage induced by chronic ethanol consumption.
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