The study results show that the levels of total pepsin and bile acids in saliva are significantly higher in patients with LPR than in the controls, thus suggesting this as a useful tool in the diagnosis of LPR and particularly biliary LPR.

BackgroundGastroesophageal reflux is suspected to be an etiological factor in laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer. The aim of this study was to establish, using a non-invasive method, whether laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) appears more often in patients with early laryngeal cancer than in a control group.Patients and methodsWe compared the pH, the level of bile acids, the total pepsin and the pepsin enzymatic activity in saliva in a group of 30 patients with T1 laryngeal carcinoma and a group of 34 healthy volunteers.ResultsThe groups differed significantly in terms of levels of total pepsin and bile acids in the saliva sample. Higher levels of total pepsin and bile acids were detected in the group of cancer patients. No significant impact of other known factors influencing laryngeal mucosa (e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption, and the presence of irritating substances in the workplace) on the results of saliva analysis was found.ConclusionsA higher level of typical components of LPR in the saliva of patients with early laryngeal cancer than in the controls suggests the possibility that LPR, especially biliary reflux, has a role in the development of laryngeal carcinoma.

Exercise-associated iron deficiency is a common disorder in endurance athletes. The authors investigated the effects of long-term endurance exercise on hepcidin concentrations, inflammatory parameters, and iron status in moderately trained female long-distance runners. Eighteen runners were assigned to either an interval- or a continuous-training exercise group. The physical training consisted of two 3-week progressive overload periods, each followed by a week's recovery, and concluded with a 10- or 21-km competitive run. Samples were taken 6 times during the 8-wk training program, first at baseline (BPre), then after the first and second 3-wk training loads (TPost1, TPost2), after each recovery week (Recovery1 and Recovery2), and poststudy (BPost). Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentrations were increased in Recovery2 and BPost compared with BPre (p=.02), hemoglobin decreased in TPost1 and TPost2 (p<.001), and red blood cells decreased in TPost2 (p=.01). Hepcidin decreased with time in TPost1 and in BPost compared with BPre (p<.001) and increased in TPost2 compared with TPost1 (p<.001). No differences over time were found for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. The main findings of the current study indicate that serum hepcidin and sTfR were affected after 8 weeks of endurance running in women. No positive relation was found with inflammation.

AimTo prospectively assess the antiinflammatory effect of volatile anesthetic sevoflurane in patients undergoing open lung surgery with one lung ventilation (OLV).MethodsThis prospective, randomized study included 40 patients undergoing thoracic surgery with OLV (NCT02188407). The patients were randomly allocated into two equal groups that received either propofol or sevoflurane. Four patients were excluded from the study because after surgery they received blood transfusion or non-steroid antiinflammatory drugs. Inflammatory mediators (interleukins 6, 8, and 10, C-reactive protein [CRP], and procalcitonin) were measured perioperatively. The infiltration of the nonoperated lung was assessed on chest x-rays and the oxygenation index was calculated. The major postoperative complications were counted.ResultsInterleukin 6 levels were significantly higher in propofol than in sevoflurane group (P = 0.014). Preoperative CRP levels did not differ between the groups (P = 0.351) and in all patients they were lower than 20 mg/L, but postoperative CRP was significantly higher in propofol group (31 ± 6 vs 15 ± 7 ng/L; P = 0.035); Pre- and postoperative procalcitonin was within the reference range (<0.04 µg/L) in both groups. The oxygenation index was significantly lower in propofol group (339 ± 139 vs 465 ± 140; P = 0.021). There was no significant difference between the groups in lung infiltrates (P = 0.5849). The number of postoperative adverse events was higher in propofol group, but the difference was not-significant (5 vs 1; P = 0.115).ConclusionThe study suggests an antiinflammatory effect of sevoflurane in patients undergoing thoracotomy with OLV.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common estrogen-dependent gynecological malignancy in the developed World. To investigate the local formation of estradiol (E2), we first measured the concentrations of the steroid precursor androstenedione (A-dione) and the most potent estrogen, E2, and we evaluated the metabolism of A-dione, estrone-sulfate (E1-S), and estrone (E1) in cancerous and adjacent control endometrium. Furthermore, we studied expression of the key genes for estradiol formation via the aromatase and sulfatase pathways. A-dione and E2 were detected in cancerous and adjacent control endometrium. In cancerous endometrium, A-dione was metabolized to testosterone, and no E2 was formed. Both, E1-S and E1 were metabolized to E2, with increased levels of E2 seen in cancerous tissue. There was no significant difference in expression of the key genes of the aromatase (CYP19A1) and the sulfatase (STS, HSD17B1, HSD17B2) pathways in cancerous endometrium compared to adjacent control tissue. The mRNA levels of CYP19A1 and HSD17B1 were low, and HSD17B14, which promotes inactivation of E2, was significantly down-regulated in cancerous endometrium, especially in patients with lymphovascular invasion. At the protein level, there were no differences in the levels of STS and HSD17B2 between cancerous and adjacent control tissue by Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry revealed intense staining for STS and HSD17B2, and weak staining for SULT1E1 and HSD17B1 in cancerous tissue. Our data demonstrate that in cancerous endometrium, E2 is formed from E1-S via the sulfatase pathway, and not from A-dione via the aromatase pathway.