No abstract

IntroductionSaliva has been increasingly used as a diagnostic medium for disease detection and monitoring. The aim of this observational, prospective, pilot study was to investigate whether salivary concentrations of CRP and IL-6 correlate with those in serum and with the clinical course of a rheumatic disease.Materials and methodsNineteen patients with rheumatic disease newly scheduled for anti-TNFα therapy were included. Patients received anti-TNFα treatment (adalimumab, certolizumab, golimumab or infliximab) as per standard protocols. CRP and IL-6 were measured with high-sensitivity immunoassays before and after 12 weeks of therapy, according to standard regimens. The data were analyzed with nonparametric statistics.ResultsConcentrations of CRP in saliva correlated significantly with those in serum (R = 0.62; p < 0.0001) and decreased markedly after successful response to treatment. In patients with a limited response to treatment salivary CRP levels increased. In contrast to CRP, the salivary concentrations of IL-6 did not change significantly over the course of therapy and they did not correlate with serum IL-6 concentrations. Salivary levels of neither CRP nor IL-6 corresponded to parameters of oral health and hygiene.ConclusionsSalivary CRP but not IL-6 could be of potential use for monitoring the rheumatic disease activity.

The existence of seasonal changes in secretion of stress hormones and inflammatory mediators by humans is not certain. Here, we aimed to determine whether concentrations of cortisol and IL-6 displayed seasonal rhythmicity. The study was performed in Poznań, Poland (52°N, 16°E) in 7 healthy female volunteers (age 22.6 ± 0.8 yr). Samples of whole mixed unstimulated saliva were collected in winter (February) and summer (June) at 2-h intervals over a 24-h period and analyzed for cortisol and IL-6 by immunoassays. During each season, the subjects answered questionnaires related to their sleeping habits, food intake, physical activity, and perceived seasonality. It turned out that salivary concentrations of cortisol followed a daily rhythm both in winter and summer, as determined by a cosine analysis. However, compared with the winter season, a midline-estimating statistic of rhythm in the summer was significantly higher. Moreover, the rhythm acrophase occurred ~4 h later in the summer than in the winter, whereas the amplitudes did not differ. These fluctuations did not correspond to sleeping habits, food and fluid intake, physical exercise, and the self-assessed chronotype. However, the individuals with higher scores on the seasonal affective disorder scale showed a tendency toward lower relative cortisol amplitude in the summer. In contrast to cortisol, salivary IL-6 concentration did not display daily rhythmicity, and its concentrations did not differ significantly between the seasons. In conclusion, in the summer, cortisol level in saliva is elevated, and its circadian pattern of secretion is shifted. The causes for these alterations do not seem to be related to lifestyle and thus remain to be established.

Context: Amaranth and canola oils have been used traditionally. Amaranth has been identified as being of interest because of its outstanding nutritive value. Amaranth oil is a rich source of highly unsaturated fats and so could be a valuable dietary alternative for individuals affected with obesity. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are postulated to be involved in systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. Activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) generate high amounts of reactive oxygen species. Objective: Our study investigates the impact of amaranth and canola oils supplementation on oxidative metabolism in patients with obesity. We hypothesized that, due to its lipid-lowering and antioxidant properties, amaranth and canola oil would protect against oxidative stress. Materials and methods: We tested 19 obese patients [body mass index (BMI) = 41.1 ± 7.8 kg/m 2 , (mean ± SD)]. The protocol consisted of two stages: a run-in phase of 2 weeks and an experimental stage – canola or amaranth oil supplementation (20 mL/d) with calorie restriction diet for 3 weeks. The neutrophil oxidative burst was expressed by fluorescence intensity (IF). Results: The oxidative burst had increased significantly at the end of treatment in both groups IF: (21.4 ± 11.15 vs. 35.9 ± 20.3; mean ± SD) p < 0.05. The levels of IF were significantly higher in neutrophils of patients who received canola oil (41.05 ± 25.3) compared to those who received amaranth oil (28.4 ± 11.8) p < 0.05. Conclusions: Canola oil exerts possible effects on oxidative burst activity in neutrophils in vivo conditions.

ObjectiveA primary aim of this study was to establish possible daily and seasonal rhythms of interleukin 6 and cortisol in the saliva using 15 healthy female volunteers.MethodsAll of the females were at the same stage of their menstrual cycle (follicular or luteal) during the two seasons tested. Twelve saliva samples were taken at 20 h, 22 h, 24 h, 02 h, 04 h, 06 h, 08 h, 10 h, 12 h, 14 h, 18 h and 20 h the next day, during one of the days of the two seasons tested (in January/February and May/June). Additionally, each subject filled out a questionnaire regarding her lifestyle habits. The volunteers answered questions regarding their sleep time, food and fluid intake, and the amount of physical activity undertaken on a weekday and weekend of each season tested. The study adhered to the Principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.ResultsThere is a statistical difference between cortisol concentrations during the seasons, with a higher level of cortisol during the summer. However, there was no statistical significance regarding the concentration of interleukin 6. A significant positive correlation between the increased physical activity and the knowledge regarding a healthy lifestyle was found (P = 0.005).ConclusionsThis study indicates that cortisol concentration in the saliva shows statistically significant differences between the seasons. Some aspects of lifestyle, especially related to sleep and eating patterns, differ significantly between weekdays and weekends.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.