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Adequate maternal selenium level is essential for immune response and healthy pregnancy. This study aimed to shed light on the selenium status of pregnant women with COVID‐19 and the effects of potential deficiency in serum selenium levels. Totally 141 pregnant women, 71 of them were COVID‐19 patients, in different trimesters were included in the study. Maternal serum selenium levels, demographic and clinical parameters were determined. Serum selenium levels of pregnant women in the second ( p : .0003) and third ( p : .001) trimesters with COVID‐19 were significantly lower than in the healthy group. Maternal selenium level was found to be negatively correlated with gestational week ( p < .0001, r : −.541), D‐dimer ( p : .0002, r : −.363) and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) level ( p : .02, r : −.243). In the second trimester, serum selenium level positively correlated with white blood cell ( p : .002, r : .424), neutrophil ( p : .006, r : .39), lymphocyte ( p : .004, r : .410) count and hemoglobin ( p : .02, r : .323), hematocrit ( p : .008, r : .38) status. In the third trimester, it was found that maternal selenium level positively correlated with monocyte ( p : .04, r : .353) and negatively correlated with C‐reactive protein level ( p : .03, r : −.384). Serum selenium level was gradually decreased during the pregnancy period, however, this natural decrease was enhanced together with COVID‐19 infection. The reason might be increased selenium needs depended on the immune response against infection. The decrease in maternal selenium level was found to be related to IL‐6 and D‐dimer levels, which indicate selenium's role in disease progression.

Background. Fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) agonist, is used to treat patients with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia in order to reduce the risk of development of the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, it exerts pleiotropic effects beyond correcting atherogenic dyslipidemia to treat hypercholesterolemia. Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects of fenofibrate on endothelial function by analyzing the serum nitric oxide (NO) levels in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Material and methods. Lipid profiles and serum NO levels were assessed in 56 healthy adults aged 29 to 84 years, before and after 12 weeks of fenofibrate (250 mg/d; n = 30) or placebo (n = 26). Appropriate dietary suggestions for hypertriglyceridemia were made for all patients. This study was randomized, doubleblind and placebo-controlled in design. Results. Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglyceride levels significantly decreased; high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and NO levels significantly increased after 12 weeks of fenofibrate therapy. We observed a statistically significant correlation between the increase in serum NO levels and decrease in serum triglyceride levels (r =-0.42, p = 0.02) in the fenofibrate group. Conclusions. The positive effect of short-term fenofibrate treatments on vascular endothelial functions in patients with hypertriglyceridemia has been demonstrated by increasing the serum NO levels. Agents such as fenofibrate targeting PPARα-associated signaling pathways show promise as an alternative treatment of vascular dysfunction related to advanced age and hyperlipidemia.

Objective:Serum levels of nitric oxide (NO) are decreased in patients with atherosclerosis and also are a risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction and diffuse atherosclerosis have been proposed for the etiology of coronary artery ectasia (CAE). The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine the relationship between CAE and serum NO levels.Methods:This prospective controlled study was conducted between January 2008 and March 2012. Serum levels of NO were compared in 40 patients with CAE (mean age 60.1±7.3 years) and 40 patients with normal coronary arteries (mean age 57.6±5 years) as a control group. CAE was diagnosed when a segment of coronary artery was more than 1.5 times the diameter of the adjacent healthy segment. Patients with stenotic atherosclerotic plaques, slow coronary flow, previous history of revascularization, acute coronary syndromes, left ventricular dysfunction, valvular heart disease, and systemic diseases were not included in the study. The effect of NO on the outcome was studied by constructing a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with CAE as the primary variable. Effects of different variables on CAE were calculated using binary logistics regression analysis.Results:Serum NO concentrations were significantly lower in patients with CAE than in the control group (42.1±20.1 µmol/L vs. 77.3±15.7 µmol/L, p<0.001). According to the results of the multivariate regression analysis, LDL and NO levels were identified as independent factors associated with CAE (OR=1.02, 95% CI 1–1.04, p=0.02 and OR=0.88, 95% CI 0.83–0.93, p=0.001, respectively). ROC analysis revealed that using a cut-off point of 63.3, NO level predicts CAE with a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 90%.Conclusion:Our study indicates that decreased levels of NO are present in patients with CAE compared to patients with normal coronary arteries, supporting the hypothesis that decreased levels of NO might be associated with CAE development. (Anatol J Cardiol 2016; 16: 947-52)

RAI caused significant oxidative stress and inflammation in lacrimal glands. Vitamin D demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and radio-protective effects on lacrimal glands in histopathologic, tissue cytokine and oxidant/antioxidant level evaluations.

<p><strong>Objective:</strong> The mechanism of the leiomyoma formation process is still unknown. However, the menstrual cycle is associated with hypoxia, and ongoing hypoxia is associated with cellular events leading to the conversion of myometrial cells into uterine fibroids. After the hypoxic environment, the balance of cellular cytokines and growth factors changes. It was planned to evaluate the balance of oxidative agents and the role of oxidative stress in the formation of uterine fibroids.</p><p><strong>Study Design:</strong> The study was conducted in patients of gynecology outpatient clinic of Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital. Those volunteers with fibroids formed the study group, and the healthy ones were identified as the control group. A total of 64 subjects, 32 in both groups were included. The levels of catalase, ceruloplasmin, myeloperoxidase, native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol levels were investigated in groups.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Antioxidant parameters such as native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol levels were significantly decreased in uterine fibroid group. Catalase, ceruloplasmin, and myeloperoxidase levels were not statistically different between groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Decrease in these antioxidant parameters showed that the hypoxia and the balance of oxidant and antioxidant substances changes may probably have associated with the pathophysiology of uterine fibroids.</p>

Objectives Lung injury is one of the most important risk factor for morbidity and mortality, especially in older people. There are several reasons causing acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) such as pneumonia, sepsis, viruses, oxidants, and trauma. Evidence has shown that carnosine has many properties, such as suppressing hydroxyl, superoxide, and peroxyl radicals, inhibiting peroxidation, membrane protection and wound healing. We aimed to analyze the effects of carnosine on lung injury in this systematic review. Content A systematic research was performed in Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for following keywords; “carnosine” AND “lungd” until October 31st, 2020. Bias analysis was done with RevMan 5.3 software. Summary We screened totally 51 publications and only nine articles were used for the final analysis. Eight animal studies and one in vitro study were included in this study. All studies indicated that carnosine has beneficial effects on improving lung injury. Outlook The study demonstrates that carnosine may be a promising new therapeutic agent and help to improve lung injury by reducing oxidative stress, proinflammatory cytokines, and apoptosis. Further investigations are needed to elucidate which mechanism is more effective to cure lung damage, especially in humans.

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