PURPOSE To investigate whether serum levels of soluble Fas (sFas) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) could function as an index of the efficacy of steroid pulse treatment, we examined the serum level of these proteins before and after steroid pulse treatment in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy patients. METHODS We gathered the blood of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy patients before or after steroid...

BACKGROUND Studies have suggested that replacing saturated fatty acids (SFAs) with carbohydrates is modestly associated with a higher risk of ischemic heart disease, whereas replacing SFAs with polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with a lower risk of ischemic heart disease. The effect of carbohydrates, however, may depend on the type consumed. OBJECTIVES By using substitution models, we...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The ventricular enlargement observed in children with chronically raised intracranial pressure (ICP) causes a secondary loss of brain tissue. In animal studies of hydrocephalus, programmed cell death (apoptosis) has been found as a major mechanism of neuronal injury. One of the regulators of the apoptotic cell death programme is the receptor mediated Fas/Fas ligand interacti...

AIM To assess levels of soluble Fas (sFas) in the sera of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy. METHODS The subjects in this study were 43 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy and 11 normal subjects. Serum levels of sFas were determined by sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, serum levels of thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAB) were also measured in all the patients. RESU...

Although both inflammation and apoptosis occur in acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), previous studies have not tested the diagnostic and prognostic utility of an approach that measures circulating markers of these pathways. The aim of the present study was to assess whether measuring soluble Fas (sFas) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), as markers of apoptosis and inflammation, imp...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by generalized immune activation. Part of this might be explained by a decreased rate of apoptosis, possibly related to elevated levels of soluble Fas (sFas) which can inhibit Fas mediated apoptosis of lymphocytes. In order to substantiate the relation between levels of sFas and lymphocyte activation in SLE we monitored sFas levels, lymphocyte...

Diets rich in saturated fat produce inflammation, gliosis, and neuronal stress in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH). Here, we show that microglia mediate this process and its functional impact. Although microglia and astrocytes accumulate in the MBH of mice fed a diet rich in saturated fatty acids (SFAs), only the microglia undergo inflammatory activation, along with a buildup of hypothalamic S...

Apoptosis is an active process of programmed cell death. Fas is a cell-surface protein which is expressed on activated lymphocytes and known as CD95, TNFRSF6 or APO-1. Fas-L is ligand of Fas and known as CD95 LG or TNFSF6. Apoptosis or cell death is a result of binding of Fas-L to Fas which is expressed on the surfaces of these cells. Cancer cells escape this binding by overexpression of Fas-L ...