Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology最新文献

Point-of-care testing (POCT) refers to decentralized testing done using complex but compact, portable devices that can be done near the site at the patient's bedside. These enable quick diagnosis and timely intervention because turnaround time (TAT) decreases with these devices. They can also be operated by non-medical personnel and patients with minimum expertise as these devices are easy to handle and interpret. This increases patient awareness regarding their diseases and benefits doctors in giving more patient-centered care. POCT devices require minimum setup and can be utilized even in remote places. The present review focuses on POCT devices employed specifically in clinical biochemistry, e.g., glucose, HbA1c, cardiac biomarkers, fertility tests, hematological analysis, electrolytes, enzymes, urine dipstick tests, etc. This introductory review delves into comprehending the fundamentals of POCT technologies, their guidelines, applications, advantages, and disadvantages. It covers a broad overview of the tests done and the samples required to process these tests. It also compares the pros and cons of POCT devices over centralized laboratory testing. The review also aims to emphasize the relevance of its use in today's era, current trends regarding POCT in urban and rural setups, challenges faced in the field during its implementation, and the potential areas of improvement in the future. However, it is advisable to seek references for more detailed and critical information regarding all the specific topics given in this review article.

Objectives: The study focuses exclusively on the results of an arterial blood gas report, which reveal a phenomenal contradiction if one follows the physiological and physicochemical approaches as well as the standard base excess determination to interpret an acid-base disturbance. The aim of this article is not to fully describe a clinical case and make a differential diagnosis but to analyze the blood gas report data in detail and present the conclusions that result from the application of the different approaches that exist for the interpretation of acid-base disorders.

Methods: The results of an arterial blood gas report of a patient with severe lactic acidosis were cross-examined using the standard base excess method and the physiologic and physiochemical approaches. The causes of the contradiction are discussed with a commentary on the underlying pathophysiology.

Results: The study revealed the presence of a normal anion gap (even after correction for albumin levels), a slightly increased strong ion gap and a moderately decreased standard base excess in a patient with severe lactic acidosis.

Conclusions: This real-life case provides an opportunity to give a brief overview of the current methods for investigating acid-base disturbances in a practical way, emphasizing both the common background and the conceptual differences and similarities.

Incretin-based medicines have considerably impacted the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), providing considerable advantages in glycemic regulation, weight control, and cardiovascular results. This narrative review examines progress in incretin medicines, encompassing glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, dual-receptor, and triple-receptor agonists, while emphasizing their therapeutic advantages, obstacles, and prospective developments. The examined articles were sourced from databases including PubMed and Google Scholar, concentrating on publications predominantly from 2010 to 2024. Selective foundational papers released before this timeline were incorporated to furnish critical historical context about incretin processes and their discovery. Incretin-based medicines, despite their therapeutic efficacy, encounter hurdles including elevated treatment costs, patient compliance difficulties, and variability in response attributable to genetic and physiological variables. Moreover, there are still deficiencies in comprehending the long-term cardiovascular safety and cancer risks linked to these medicines. Emerging dual- and triple-receptor agonists demonstrate potential in overcoming the shortcomings of conventional GLP-1 receptor agonists, providing enhanced metabolic results and broader uses in intricate disease profiles. Future research must concentrate on economic obstacles, streamlined regimens, customized medicine, the integration of artificial intelligence, patient stratification, as well as the safety and efficacy of incretin-based medicines for holistic management of T2DM.

Objectives: Male infertility affects 20-30 % of infertile couples worldwide, and varicocele being a common cause. The relationship between leptin, a hormone involved in energy homeostasis and reproduction, and male fertility parameters remains incompletely understood, particularly in the context of varicocele and obesity. Thus, the current study sought to assess the associations between seminal plasma leptin and other clinical and demographic data of infertile patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 90 men (29 with varicocele, 61 without) were evaluated from November 2023 to March 2024. Seminal plasma leptin levels were measured using ELISA. Study subjects were classified into three weight classifications using body mass index (BMI) measurements: normal weight, overweight, and obese. Semen analysis, reproductive hormones assessment, and correlation analyses were performed to examine relationships between leptin levels and various clinical parameters.

Results: Patients with varicocele demonstrated significantly higher seminal plasma leptin levels compared to those without (9.27 vs. 7.65 ng/mL, p<0.05), this association persisted following statistical adjustment for demographic and clinical variables. In addition, BMI was the strongest independent predictor of seminal plasma leptin levels (β=0.26, p<0.01). Interestingly, overweight individuals showed higher leptin levels than both normal weight and obese participants. A significant inverse relationship found between leptin concentrations and luteinizing hormone levels (ρ=-0.375, p<0.05), while a positive association was found with progressive motility of sperm (ρ=0.225, p<0.05).

Conclusions: Higher levels of leptin were found in seminal specimens of varicocele-diagnosed subjects and strongly correlate with BMI in this Middle Eastern population. These results together propose that leptin's level in semen could be useful as a biological indicator for varicocele-associated male fertility issues.

Objectives: To compare heart rate variability (HRV) among adult Hypertensive and Normotensive subjects in supine position.

Methods: It was an analytical cross sectional study conducted on two study groups. The cases (n=60) comprised of outpatients (males and females in the age group 20-50 yrs) attending the Medicine OPD of Medical Collage, Kolkata, who were newly diagnosed as cases of hypertension according to JNC seven criteria while the control group (n=50) comprised of age and sex-matched adult normotensive subjects, who were non-smokers, non-alcoholics and were not suffering from any major cardiac, neurological or chronic illnesses. HRV profiling through short-term (5 min) ECG recording of each subject was carried out in the supine position with the help of a digital ECG recording machine (RMS-Polyrite D), with a sampling rate of 256 Hz. From the data so collected, various HRV parameters - both time domain (SDNN, RMSSD, NN50 and pNN50) and frequency domain (VLF, LF and HF) were calculated. Analysis of these parameters revealed the pattern of autonomic influence (sympathetic or parasympathetic predominance) prevalent among the subjects of the study and control groups.

Results: An overall reduction of the time domain parameters SDNN and RMSSD (considered more as markers of sympathetic activity) and frequency domain parameters (total power, LF and HF, all expressed in ms²), which are markers of parasympathetic activity, was noted among the hypertensive subjects. However, the reduction in frequency domain parameters was much more (highly significantly) than that of time domain parameters. Also, both age and hypertension had significant independent effects on HRV but their 3-way interaction was found to be statistically insignificant.

Conclusions: The findings of the study thus points towards an autonomic dysregulation (characterized by decreased vagal activity and increased sympathetic activity), as an underlying basis (i.e. an important factor, among others) for hypertension.

Objectives: Heart failure is a cardiovascular disease with a high incidence in the world and Indonesia as well. This disease must get serious attention because it results in high mortality rates and has a broad and long-term impact on patients with heart failure. The high recurrence rate, rehospitalization, and patients' poor quality of life are influenced, one of them, by the self-care behavior of patients, considering that heart failure is a progressive and chronic disease. In practice, implementation of self-care behaviors in people living with heart failure is poor. This study analyzes the factors influencing self-care for heart failure patients.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that involved 100 heart failure patients taken from August to October 2020. Self-care was measured using the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) questionnaire. The chi-square statistical test determines the relationship between the factors that influence self-care.

Results: The results showed that there was a significant relationship between education (p 0.00), marital status (p 0.005), occupation (p 0.00), NYHA class (p 0.00), and patient age (p 0.01) with self-care maintenance. There was no relationship between gender (p 0.30), comorbidity (p 0.21), and duration of heart failure (p 0.11).

Conlusions: Education, marital status, occupation, NYHA class, and age significantly influence self-care in heart failure patients, while gender, comorbidity, and disease duration do not. Targeted interventions are needed to improve self-care and reduce rehospitalization.

Objectives: A well-structured, regular, and programmed physical exercise regimen is believed to be an effective physiological modulator for preventing the dysfunction of myonectin and visfatin secretion. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the physiological regulation of moderate-intensity programmed exercise in improving myonectin and visfatin biomarkers in obese women.

Methods: The study involved 30 physically healthy obese women, nonathletes, selected based on predetermined criteria, who voluntarily agreed to participate. They were then divided into two groups: a control group (CRT; n=15) and a programmed exercise group (ART; n=15). The exercise program lasted for 8 weeks, with a frequency of 5 times per week at moderate intensity. Metabolic performance was analyzed using the myonectin and visfatin biomarkers with the Sandwich-ELISA method. Data analysis was conducted using parametric paired sample t-tests and independent sample t-tests at a 5 % significance level.

Results: The study results showed a significant increase in myonectin secretion and a decrease in visfatin secretion (p≤0.05) after 8 weeks of programmed exercise, demonstrated by an increase in myonectin of 97.85 pg/mL and a decrease in visfatin of 0.05 ng/mL. Conversely, in the control group, myonectin decreased by 3.04 pg/mL, and visfatin increased by 0.03 ng/mL.

Conclusions: These findings confirm that an 8-week programmed exercise regimen can improve the secretion of myonectin and visfatin biomarkers, thereby enhancing metabolic performance in obese women. Thus, myonectin and visfatin biomarkers induced by programmed exercise serve as modulators for enhancing metabolic performance in obese women.

Nephropathy and nephrotoxicity are significant causes of renal impairment, with both conditions contributing to a substantial global healthcare burden. Nephropathy encompasses a range of kidney diseases, including glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive nephropathy, and polycystic kidney disease, each with distinct pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical manifestations. Nephrotoxicity, often induced by environmental toxins or medications, can lead to acute kidney injury (AKI) or chronic kidney disease (CKD) if not properly managed. Understanding the underlying processes and risk factors for kidney damage is crucial to preventing and treating these conditions effectively. However, while considerable research exists on each of these topics, there remains a gap in integrated knowledge regarding the diverse pathophysiological pathways, the role of early detection, and the optimal management strategies for nephropathy and nephrotoxicity. While substantial research has been conducted on nephropathy and nephrotoxicity, there remains a year gap in fully understanding the diverse mechanisms of kidney damage across different etiologies and their long-term implications for renal health. This work aimed to fill this gap by synthesizing current research on the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment approaches for both nephropathy and nephrotoxicity. Major findings highlight the importance of early detection through biomarkers, the need for vigilant monitoring of renal function, and the role of avoiding nephrotoxic agents in both medical and environmental contexts. The paper also emphasizes the critical role of individualized treatment approaches, including the careful use of medications to prevent drug-induced nephropathy.