Arch Med Sci
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The aim of the study was to evaluate whether flow-mediated dilation (FMD) can be used to predict incident hypertension in patients with hyperuricemia. ⋯ Patients with hyperuricemia have an increased risk of developing hypertension, and low baseline FMD in hyperuricemia patients is associated with significantly increased risk of incident hypertension.
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Multifunctional pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) has been implicated in a variety of inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). TNF-α polymorphisms are mostly located in its promoter region and play a significant role in disease susceptibility and severity. We therefore sought to investigate TNFA -863C/A (rs1800630) polymorphism association with RA activity in our Pakistani study group. ⋯ The lack of positive association of TNF-α -863(rs1800630) polymorphism in our study group implies that TNF-α -863 polymorphism is not a susceptible marker to RA and cannot serve as a genetic factor for screening RA patients in Pakistan. There might be other factors that may influence disease susceptibility. However, further investigations on additional larger and multi-regional population samples are required to determine the consequences of genetic variations for disease prognosis.
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Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PSA) are chronic, inflammatory, systemic diseases characterized by metabolic abnormalities, including an increased cardiovascular risk and an oxidative imbalance. This study assessed blood parameters of lipid metabolism and markers of oxidative stress in patients with psoriasis and PSA. ⋯ In line with previous research, among patients with psoriasis and PSA, we found lipid metabolism abnormalities and an oxidative imbalance, which might be due to chronic inflammation in these conditions. Effective treatment of patients with psoriasis or PSA could reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
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Despite the fact that cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is a proven method for detecting myocardial fibrosis, there is a need for new and reliable serological biomarkers. Circulating miRNAs could be a practical and attractive alternative. The purpose of the study was to assess the miRNAs well established in myocardial fibrosis - miR-21, miR-29a, miR-30d and miR-133a - in the plasma of patients with left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) that have areas of LGE assessed by CMR. ⋯ The up-regulation of miR-21, miR-29a, miR-30d and miR-133a indicates the presence of LGE in LVNC patients, and therefore they may serve as potential biomarkers for myocardial fibrosis.
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Many epidemiological studies show a correlation between the risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes mellitus in various populations. ⋯ The incidence of gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, laryngeal cancer, lung cancer, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer, lymphocytic leukaemia and myeloid leukaemia is higher in diabetic males in rural areas than the incidence in the urban population. The incidence of the malignancies liver cancer, malignant skin melanoma, malignant skin, prostate cancer, urinary bladder cancer and multiple myeloma in male diabetic patients living in urban areas is higher than the incidence in rural areas.