Purpose: The aim of our study was to analyse the short-term prognostic value of different biomarkers in patients with COVID-19. Methods: We included patients admitted to emergency department with COVID-19 and available concentrations of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), D-dimer, C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Patients were classified for each biomarker into two groups (low vs. high concentrations) according to their best cut-off point, and 30-day all-cause death was evaluated. Results: After multivariate adjustment, cTnI !21 ng/L, D-dimer !1112 ng/mL, CRP !10 mg/dL and LDH !334 U/L at admission were associated with an increased risk of 30-day all-cause death (hazard ratio (HR) 4.30; 95% CI 1.74-10.58; p ¼ 0.002; HR 3.35; 95% CI 1.58-7.13; p ¼ 0.002; HR 2.25; 95% CI 1.13-4.50; p ¼ 0.021; HR 2.00; 95% CI 1.04-3.84; p ¼ 0.039, respectively). The area under the curve for cTnI was 0.825 (95% CI 0.759-0.892) and, in comparison, was significantly better than CRP (0.685; 95% CI 0.600-0.770; p ¼ 0.009) and LDH (0.643; 95% CI 0.534-0.753; p ¼ 0.006) but non-significantly better than D-dimer (0.756; 95% CI 0.674-0.837; p ¼ 0.115). Conclusions: In patients with COVID-19, increased concentrations of cTnI, D-dimer, CRP and LDH are associated with short-term mortality. Of these, cTnI provides better mortality risk prediction. However, differences with D-dimer were non-significant.

Galectin-3 is a modulator of oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrogenesis involved in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. The present study sought to characterize, in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), the localization of galectin-3 in arterial tissue, and to analyze the relationships between the circulating levels of galectin-3 and oxidative stress and inflammation. It also sought to compare the diagnostic accuracy of galectin-3 with that of other biochemical markers of this disease. We analyzed femoral or popliteal arteries from 50 PAD patients, and four control arteries. Plasma from 86 patients was compared with that from 72 control subjects. We observed differences in the expression of galectin-3 in normal arteries, and arteries from patients with PAD, with a displacement of the expression from the adventitia to the media, and the intima. In addition, plasma galectin-3 concentration was increased in PAD patients, and correlated with serologic markers of oxidative stress (F2-isoprostanes), and inflammation [chemokine (C−C motif) ligand 2, C-reactive protein, β-2-microglobulin]. We conclude that the determination of galectin-3 has good diagnostic accuracy in the assessment of PAD and compares well with other analytical parameters currently in use.

Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is an intra-cellular antioxidant enzyme found also in the circulation associated with high-density lipoproteins. The activity of this enzyme has been shown to be decreased in breast cancer (BC) patients. The aims of our study were to investigate the changes produced by radiotherapy (RT) on activity and concentration of serum PON1 in BC patients, and to evaluate the observed variations in relation to clinical and pathological characteristics of patients and tumors, and the response to treatment. We studied 200 women with BC who were scheduled to receive RT following excision of the tumor. Blood for analyses was obtained before and after the irradiation procedure. The control group was composed of 200 healthy women. Relative to control, BC patients had significantly lower serum PON1 activities pre-RT, while PON1 concentrations were at similar levels. RT was associated with a significant increase in serum PON1 activities and concentrations. We observed significant differences in serum PON1 concentrations post-RT between patients with luminal A or luminal B tumors. Serum PON1 concentration post-RT was markedly lower in BC patients with metastases. We conclude that benefit from RT accrues to the BC patients not only through its direct effect on cancer cells but also indirectly by improving the organism’s anti-oxidant defense mechanisms. In addition, our preliminary evidence suggests that the measurement of serum PON1 concentration post-RT could be an efficient prognostic biomarker, and may be used as an index of the efficacy of the RT.