Chronic renal failure is associated with increased oxidative and carbonyl stresses that contribute to long-term uremic complications. In our study, we determined two markers of these stresses – AGEs (advanced glycation end products) and AOPP (advanced oxidation protein products) in chronic hemodialysis patients in order to find out their relationship to the dialysis treatment. Plasmas of 20 hemodialyzed patients treated with modified cellulose membranes were examined at 0 and 15 min and at the end (i.e. after 4 h) of the dialysis session. AGEs were estimated using a spectrofluorometric method (excitation 350 nm, emission 440 nm) and are expressed in AU (arbitrary units)/g protein. AOPP were determined spectrophotometrically (absorbance at 340 nm) and are expressed in chloramine units per gram of protein (µmol/g). AOPP decrease slightly from 0 to 15 min of the dialysis procedure (4.0 ± 1.5 vs. 3.0 ± 0.9 µmol/g, p < 0.01). However, they are increased at the end of the session (5.0 ± 2.1 µmol/l vs. 15 min, p < 0.01, not significant vs. beginning). On the other hand, AGEs decrease continuously from the beginning to the end of the session (mainly in the first minutes of the dialysis) (1.52 ± 0.34 × 10⁴ AU/g at 0 min, 1.39 ± 0.33 × 10⁴ AU/g at 15 min, p < 0.001 vs. beginning, 1.30 ± 0.33 × 10⁴ AU/g at the end, p < 0.001 vs. beginning, not significant vs. 15 min). Neither AGEs nor AOPP correlate with the age of hemodialyzed patients and with the number of years of the dialysis treatment. AOPP correlate with AGEs before the dialysis session (r = 0.62, p < 0.05) but not after the session (r = 0.29, not significant). According to our results, AGEs may serve more as a marker of chronic damage while AOPP may better describe acute oxidative stress during the dialysis treatment.

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Thyroid hormones are crucial for the growth and maturation of many target tissues, especially the brain and skeleton. During critical periods in the first trimester of pregnancy, maternal thyroxine is essential for fetal development as it supplies thyroid hormone-dependent tissues. The ontogeny of mature thyroid function involves organogenesis, and maturation of the hypothalamus, pituitary and the thyroid gland; and it is almost complete by the 12th-14th gestational week. In case of maternal hypothyroidism, substitution with levothyroxine must be started in early pregnancy. After the 14th gestational week, fetal brain development may already be irreversibly affected by lack of thyroid hormones. The prevalence of manifest hypothyroidism in pregnancy is about 0.3-0.5%. The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism varies between 4 and 17%, strongly depending on the definition of the upper TSH cutoff limit. Hyperthyroidism occurs in 0.1-1% of all pregnancies. Positivity for antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) is common in women of childbearing age with an incidence rate of 5.1-12.4%. TPOAb-positivity may be regarded as a manifestation of a general autoimmune state which may alter the fertilization and implantation processes or cause early missed abortions. Women positive for TPOAb are at a significant risk of developing hypothyroidism during pregnancy and postpartum. Laboratory diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy is based upon serum TSH concentration. TSH in pregnancy is physiologically lower than the non-pregnant population. Results of multiple international studies point toward creation of trimester-specific reference intervals for TSH in pregnancy. Screening for hypothyroidism in pregnancy is controversial and its implementation varies from country to country. Currently, the case-finding approach of screening high-risk women is preferred in most countries to universal screening. However, numerous studies have shown that one-third to one-half of women with thyroid disorders escape the case-finding approach. Moreover, the universal screening has been shown to be more cost-effective. Screening for thyroid disorders in pregnancy should include assessment of both TSH and TPOAb, regardless of the screening approach. This review summarizes the current knowledge on physiology of thyroid hormones in pregnancy, causes of maternal thyroid dysfunction and its effects on pregnancy course and fetal development. We discuss the question of case-finding versus universal screening strategies and we display an overview of the analytical methods and their reference intervals in the assessment of thyroid function and thyroid autoimmunity in pregnancy. Finally, we present our results supporting the implementation of universal screening.

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Procalcitonin (PCT) levels can distinguish between infectious and non-infectious systemic inflammatory response. However, there are some differences between Gram-negative (G-), Gram-positive (G+), and fungal bloodstream infections, particularly in different cytokine profiles, severity and mortality. The aim of current study was to examine whether PCT levels can serve as a distinguishing mark between G+, G-, and fungal sepsis as well. One hundred and sixty-six septic patients with positive blood cultures were examined on C-reactive protein (CRP) and PCT on the same date of blood culture evaluation. The median (interquartile range, IQR) of CRP and PCT in G+, G-, and fungal cohorts and comparison of measured values between groups were made using the Kruskal-Wallis test with subsequent Bonferroni's corrections, with p < 0.05. In 83/166 (50 %) of blood cultures, G+ microbes, 78/166 (47 %) G- rods, and 5/166 (3 %) fungi were detected. PCT concentrations (ng/ml) were significantly higher in G- compared to other cohorts: 8.90 (1.88; 32.60) in G-, 0.73 (0.22; 3.40) in G+, and 0.58 (0.35; 0.73) in fungi (p < 0.00001). CRP concentrations did not differ significantly in groups. Significantly higher PCT levels could differentiate G- sepsis from G+ and fungemia. In contrast to CRP, PCT is a good discriminative biomarker in different bloodstream infections.