Background/Aims: Increased oxidative stress in chronic kidney disease (CKD) was suggested to be both a cause and an effect of renal injury. However, the evolution of oxidant stress from early stages of renal function decline is not fully clear. This study aimed to determine the oxidant-antioxidant balance across the whole range of renal function. Methods: A total of 116 patients with CKD (85 predialysis patients divided into groups according to CKD stage, and 31 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis treatment), as well as 29 healthy subjects were evaluated. Plasma levels of 15-F_2t-isoprostane (15-F_2t-IsoP), a valid marker of oxidant stress, as well as total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and serum levels of vitamin E were measured in all participants. Results: Plasma 15-F_2t-IsoP levels were higher in predialysis and ESRD patients compared to healthy subjects and were progressively increasing with advancing CKD stages (p < 0.001). In contrast, plasma TAC was similar between healthy subjects and predialysis patients, and presented a small reduction in ESRD patients (p < 0.001). Vitamin E levels were higher in healthy subjects compared to any other group (p < 0.001) and slightly higher in ESRD patients compared to predialysis patients (p < 0.01), but did not differ significantly between the groups of predialysis patients. Plasma 15-F_2t-IsoP levels were inversely correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate in predialysis patients (r = –0.65, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study shows that 15-F_2t-IsoP levels increase progressively with advancing CKD stages, whereas TAC and vitamin E levels remain rather stable with the loss of renal function and change only in patients with ESRD.

Adiponectin was significantly lower in obese participants than in nonobese participants in general, and it correlated significantly with fasting indices of insulin resistance and with indices derived from oral glucose tolerance tests. It is worthwhile to further investigate the option of applying a simple measurement of serum adiponectin as a screening tool before applying more time-consuming techniques in young obese individuals.

III.

MBL2 and FCN2 single or combined deficiencies are associated with increased duration of FN episodes as well as increased number of bacterial infections in children with B-ALL suggesting a prognostic role of these genes.

Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is the commonest acquired cause of bleeding in childhood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of FcγRIIa and FcγRIIIa polymorphisms in the pathogenesis and therapeutic result of childhood ITP. The genotypic frequencies for two Fcγ receptor single-nucleotide polymorphisms, FcγRIIa-131 arginine (R) versus histidine (H) and FcγRIIIa-158 valine (V) versus phenylalanine (F) were examined in 53 children diagnosed with ITP. The genotype frequencies were compared with those of 45 healthy controls. The association between the above frequencies and disease natural course as well as therapeutic result following intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) administration was investigated. FcγRIIIa-158V was significantly overrepresented in children with ITP versus controls (P = 0.029), whereas no statistically significant difference was noted in FcγRIIa polymorphism distribution. No statistically significant difference was noted in the above genotype frequencies' distribution between children with newly diagnosed and chronic ITP, as well as with regards to the therapeutic result following IVIG administration. High-affinity FcγRIIIa variant (158 V) is possibly implicated in disease susceptibility, but neither of the two Fcγ receptor single-nucleotide polymorphisms seem to have any impact on chronicity or therapeutic effect of IVIG.