OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to elucidate if apoptosis dysregulation is present in type 1 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The following variables were determined in 29 type 1 diabetic patients: the duration of diabetes, soluble Fas (sFas), Bcl-2, hemoglobin A(1c) levels, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and microalbuminuria, using the urine albumin to urin...

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...

Aim: To evaluate the relevance of endothelial-derived apoptotic microparticles (EMPs) with inflammatory cytokine outcomes in patients with ischaemic chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods: A total of 154 patients with moderate-to-severe CHF were enrolled in the study. Flow cytometry analysis was used for quantifying the number of EMPs. All-cause mortality, CHF-related death, and CHD-readmission r...

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 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...

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...