In psoriatic patients, increased overweight/obesity was associated with raised leptin levels and decreased adiponectin levels. Leptin may contribute to enhance the inflammatory process in overweight/obese psoriatic patients. Resistin, IL-6, CRP and adiponectin levels appear to be dependent on psoriasis severity. CRP, together with IL-6, appears to be a useful marker of psoriasis severity. Both NBUVB and PUVA were effective; however, PUVA results seem to be more successful. Nonetheless, after NBUVB and PUVA, a low-grade inflammation still persists.

We propose CRP as a useful marker of psoriasis severity that could be used to monitor psoriasis and its treatment, and, together with PASI and elastase, could also be used as a global index of severity.

Psoriasis seems to be a complex disease in which the cytokine network is disturbed, namely in levels of IL-22, IL-17, IL-23, IL-8, TNF-α and VEGF. NB-UVB and PUVA follow-up studies suggested that the reduction in the IL-23/Th17 axis might be important in the pathogenic mechanisms of psoriasis. Further follow-up studies of patients with psoriasis treated with these and other therapies could be very helpful for the understanding of the disturbance in the cytokine network in psoriasis and indirectly in its pathogenesis.

No abstract

Many studies have investigated the protective effects of oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol against cell injury, but few have investigated the protective effects of oleuropein aglycones 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol-elenolic acid (3,4-DHPEA-EA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol-elenolic acid dialdehyde (3,4-DHPEA-EDA). The present work studied and compared the capacity of these four compounds, found at high concentrations in olive oil, to protect red blood cells (RBCs) from oxidative injury. The in vitro oxidative stress of RBCs was induced by the water-soluble radical initiator 2,2'-azo-bis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride. RBC changes were evaluated either by optical microscopy or by the amount of hemolysis. All compounds were shown to significantly protect RBCs from oxidative damage in a dose-dependent manner. The order of activity at 20 microM was: 3,4-DHPEA-EDA > hydroxytyrosol > oleuropein > 3,4-DHPEA-EA. Even at 3 microM, 3,4-DHPEA-EDA and hydroxytyrosol still had an important protective activity. However, deleterious morphological RBC changes were much more evident in the presence of hydroxytyrosol than with 3,4-DHPEA-EDA. For the first time it was demonstrated that 3,4-DHPEA-EDA, one of most important olive oil polyphenols, may play a noteworthy protective role against ROS-induced oxidative injury in human cells since lower doses of this compound were needed to protect RBCs in vitro from oxidative mediated hemolysis.

Background Resistance to recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) occurs in some chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, which may be due to enhanced systemic inflammatory response and to the erythropoiesis-suppressing effect of pro-inflammatory cytokines, some of which are produced by T cells. Aim of study The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between resistance to rhEPO therapy in hemodialysis CKD patients and inflammatory markers [Creactive protein (CRP), soluble interleukin (IL)-2 receptor (sIL2R), and serum albumin levels], blood cell counts, Tcell phenotype, cytokine production by T cells, and serum cytokine levels. Materials and Methods We studied 50 hemodialysis CKD patients, 25 responders and 25 nonresponders to rhEPO, and compared them to each other and with 25 healthy controls. When compared to controls, CKD patients showed increased serum levels of CRP, IL-6, and sIL2R and a T-cell lymphopenia, due to decreased numbers of both CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. T cells from CKD patients had an immunophenotype compatible with chronic T-cell stimulation as shown by the increased percentage of CD28

No abstract

Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the main causes of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. PE is associated with an inflammatory state and with oxidative stress, in maternal circulation. Our aim was to evaluate and compare the levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in maternal and umbilical cord blood (UCB), in normal and PE pregnancies. We measured acute-phase proteins (CRP and α1-antitrypsin), proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α), leukocyte activation (elastase, lactoferrin, sL-selectin, sVCAM, sPECAM), total antioxidant status (TAS), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and uric acid levels. We studied 42 healthy pregnant women, 46 PE women, and their neonates. The concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α, α1-antitrypsin, CRP, sVCAM, uric acid, and TBARS were significantly higher, and sL-selectin was significantly lower in PE pregnant women as compared with normotensive pregnant women. In newborns uric acid, α1-antitrypsin, and CRP values were significantly higher in PE; leukocyte count, sL-selectin, lactoferrin, and the ratio elastase/α1-antitrypsin were significantly lower. Our data suggest that PE pregnancy is associated with an enhanced maternal inflammatory condition, which is reflected in fetal circulation. This enhanced inflammatory state seems to be related to endothelial dysfunction and increased cytokine synthesis, rather than with neutrophil activation.