conclusions smokers with a higher bp and/or serum ggt may be at a higher risk of developing ckd. the associations of bp and serum ggt with ckd in smokers are not entirely mediated by increased insulin resistance or chronic inflammation caused by smoking. patients and methods renal functions and cvd risk factors were assessed in middle-aged male workers. the patients were comprised of 336 nonsmo...

Introduction: Fat mass is the main predictor of the serum concentration of leptin, a 167-amino acid peptide hormone encoded by the obesity gene. There is no general agreement about other determinant factors of serum leptin, but attention has been focused on gender and sex hormones. The objective of this study was to describe gender differences in a population study and evaluate the individual c...

INTRODUCTION Our aim was to evaluate the predictive values of factors that indicate successful sperm retrieval in men with nonobstructive azoospermia. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated 85 infertile men with nonobstructive azoospermia who underwent multiple bilateral testicular biopsies. Factors including age, infertility period, surgical history, testicular volume, testicular consistency, se...

Peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD19+/20+ B cells, and serum immunoglobulins (Igs) have been implicated as survival factors for pediatric HIV-1 infection. To determine which of these immune factors might be important in predicting survival, we studied HIV-1 vertically infected (HIV-1+) children over a 5-year period. Peripheral blood lymphocytes and Igs were measured in 298 HIV-1+ childr...

OBJECTIVE To elucidate the mechanism of the reported association between serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity and cardiovascular mortality. METHODS Cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between serum GGT activity and the risk factors for cardiovascular disease was performed. PATIENTS AND MATERIALS Middle-aged Japanese male personnel of the Self-Defense Forces who underwent...

Chronic kidney disease related mineral and bone disease (CKD-MBD) is a worldwide challenge in hemodialysis patients. In china, the number of dialysis patients is growing but few data are available about their bone disorders. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of clinical factors on the serum phosphorus clearance in the 80 maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Six clinical ...

BACKGROUND Diagnosis of chronic intestinal inflammation, which characterizes inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), along with prediction of disease state is hindered by the availability of predictive serum biomarker. Serum biomarkers predictive of disease state will improve trials for therapeutic intervention, and disease monitoring, particularly in genetically susceptible individuals. Chronic infl...

This study was aimed to investigate the roles of serum macrophage inflammatory protein-3α (MIP-3α) and cystatin A in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) prognosis.The serum levels of MIP-3α and cystatin A in 140 primary NPC patients without distant metastasis were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before and after treatment. The results were compared with those in 100 healthy controls. T...