Chonnam Medical Journal最新文献

Various candidate biomarkers have been investigated for the early and accurate diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (KD). We aimed to evaluate platelet activity using platelet indices (PI) in patients with KD or simple febrile illness to determine whether these indices might support a diagnosis of KD. Another objective of the study was to delineate the changes in PI from the acute to convalescent phases of KD. A total of 225 patients with complete KD (cKD), 110 with incomplete KD (iKD), and 71 with simple febrile illness (control) were enrolled. PI included mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT). We serially measured the serum PI four times for each patient with KD from the acute to convalescent phases: on D0 (day of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment) and repeated on days 2 (D2), 14 (D14), and 56 (D56) after IVIG therapy. Data from the control group were collected during the acute stage of the disease (D0). The platelet counts in the cKD (341±103×10³/mm³) and iKD (374±135×10³/mm³) at diagnosis were higher than the control group (290±128×10³/mm³). The PCT in the cKD (0.284±0.085%) and iKD (0.313±0.109%) groups at diagnosis were also higher than the control group (0.246±0.108%). However, the MPV and PDW levels in the KD group were not statistically significant. Therefore, platelet count and PCT are adjuvant parameters for the differential diagnosis of KD from a simple febrile illness.

Infertility is one of the disorders that worries many couples around the world, although novel and molecular methods can be used to cure this disease in different stages. One of the factors that causes infertility in men and women is the increased oxidative stress within the cells, which can lead to damage in zygote formation. ROMO1 is one of the most important proteins in the production of reactive oxygen species. This protein can enhance oxidative stress in the cells and body through cellular pathways, such as TNF-α and NF-κB routes, which will eventually lead to many diseases, especially infertility. We engage several international databases by using keywords; ROMO1, Infertility, and Reactive Oxygen Species, and gained a great quantity of information about ROMO1, Infertility, and Oxidative Stress. Although not proven, it is hypothesized that ROMO1 might elevate oxidative stress by activating NF-κB pathway in the cells, furthermore, TNF-α can arouse ROMO1 that can end up with apoptosis and cell death, which consequently can have a lot of disturbing effects on the body, especially the reproductive system. To sum up, revealing the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms of ROMO1-dependent TNF-α and NF-κB pathways in the pathogenesis of infertility might find interesting therapeutic and management strategies for this disorder.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease with a wide range of respiratory and extrapulmonary symptoms, as well as gastrointestinal symptoms. Despite recent research linking gut microbiota to infectious diseases like influenza, minimal information is known about the gut microbiota's function in COVID-19 pathogenesis. Studies suggest that dysbiosis of the gut microbiota and gut barrier dysfunction may play a role in COVID-19 pathogenesis by disrupting host immune homeostasis. Regardless of whether patients had taken medication or disease severity, the gut microbiota composition was significantly altered in COVID-19 patients compared to non-COVID-19 individuals. Several gut commensals with recognized immunomodulatory potential, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Eubacterium rectale, and bifidobacteria, were underrepresented in patients and remained low in samples taken several weeks after disease resolution. Furthermore, even with disease resolution, dysbiosis in the gut microbiota may contribute to chronic symptoms, underscoring the need to learn more about how gut microbes play a role in inflammation and COVID-19.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on hemodialysis have poor nutritional status and associated problems such as inflammation and sarcopenia. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is an important measure of uremic toxins, and urea reduction is a marker of hemodialysis efficacy. However, a low protein diet for lower BUN could aggravate malnutrition in patients, and optimal pre-dialysis BUN is not defined. We investigated the association of pre-dialysis BUN with patients' comorbidities and the relationship between pre-dialysis BUN and serum albumin as a nutrient marker. Among the 67 patients, the average pre- and post-dialysis BUN were 59.2 and 15.0 mg/dL, respectively, serum creatinine was 10.1 mg/dL, and the average serum albumin was 4.0 g/dL. Patients' age was negatively correlated with serum creatinine (r=-0.277, p<0.05) and albumin (r=-0.453, p<0.001). Predialysis BUN showed a significant positive correlation with serum albumin (r=0.287, p<0.05) and creatinine (r=0.454, p<0.001). However, the predialysis BUN was not significantly related to diabetes, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, or cerebrovascular disease. Hemodialysis patients with high pre-dialysis BUN and high serum creatinine could be regarded as having good nutritional status. The significance of this study lies in the potential utility of pre-dialysis blood urea nitrogen as an indicator of the nutritional status of patients. Liberal protein intake might be recommended to adequately dialyzed patients.