Role of "Ischemia modified albumin", a new biochemical marker of myocardial ischaemia, in the early diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes

The clinical significance of ischaemia-modified albumin in acute coronary syndrome and hypertension

BACKGROUND

Early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome is more and more important because of its mortality and morbidity. Hypertension is one of the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome, which often leads to stenosis and ischaemia. Ischaemia-modified albumin is sensitive for the occurrence of ischaemia, which attracted us in the significance of ischaemia-modified albumin in patients with chest pain, especially patients complicated with hypertension.

METHODS

In total, 200 patients with acute chest pain were included in the study. According to the diagnostic criteria, patients were divided into acute coronary syndrome group and non-ischaemic chest pain group. Cardiac biomarkers were measured with 30 minutes in emergency department, including cardiac troponin T, creatine kinase MB, and ischaemia-modified albumin. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used for the sensitivity and specificity of ischaemia-modified albumin in the early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. Comparisons between ischaemia-modified albumin and cardiac Troponin T were done between groups.

RESULTS

The demographics in two groups were not significantly different in most aspects. Compared with non-ischaemic chest pain group, serum levels of ischaemia-modified albumin and cardiac Troponin T were significantly higher in acute coronary syndrome group. ROC analysis showed that ischaemia-modified albumin had a good sensitivity and specificity in early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. The level of ischaemia-modified albumin in acute coronary syndrome patients with hypertension was higher than that in non-ischaemic chest pain patients.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients complained with acute chest pain, the serum measurement of ischaemia-modified albumin is potential valuable for the early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, especially combined with ECG. The serum level of ischaemia-modified albumin in acute coronary syndrome patients is significantly associated with hypertension.

Intrauterine Growth Restriction: Need to Improve Diagnostic Accuracy and Evidence for a Key Role of Oxidative Stress in Neonatal and Long-Term Sequelae

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and being small for gestational age (SGA) are two distinct conditions with different implications for short- and long-term child development. SGA is present if the estimated fetal or birth weight is below the tenth percentile. IUGR can be identified by additional abnormalities (pathological Doppler sonography, oligohydramnion, lack of growth in the interval, estimated weight below the third percentile) and can also be present in fetuses and neonates with weights above the tenth percentile. There is a need to differentiate between IUGR and SGA whenever possible, as IUGR in particular is associated with greater perinatal morbidity, prematurity and mortality, as well as an increased risk for diseases in later life. Recognizing fetuses and newborns being "at risk" in order to monitor them accordingly and deliver them in good time, as well as to provide adequate follow up care to ameliorate adverse sequelae is still challenging. This review article discusses approaches to differentiate IUGR from SGA and further increase diagnostic accuracy. Since adverse prenatal influences increase but individually optimized further child development decreases the risk of later diseases, we also discuss the need for interdisciplinary follow-up strategies during childhood. Moreover, we present current concepts of pathophysiology, with a focus on oxidative stress and consecutive inflammatory and metabolic changes as key molecular mechanisms of adverse sequelae, and look at future scientific opportunities and challenges. Most importantly, awareness needs to be raised that pre- and postnatal care of IUGR neonates should be regarded as a continuum.

Investigation of the clinical efficacy of thiol-disulfide homeostasis, delta neutrophil index, and ischemia-modified albumin in cases of incarcerated and strangulated hernia

BACKGROUND

The treatment of patients presenting with the diagnosis of incarcerated and/or strangulated inguinal hernia is mostly surgery. If strangulation and necrosis are present, the need for laparotomy arises, which may increase the risk of morbidity. Currently, it is not possible to clearly determine whether there is bowel ischemia and necrosis before surgery. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of the thiol-disulfide homeostasis, delta neutrophil index (DNI), and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) parameters in incarcerated and strangulated hernia cases.

METHODS

Patients that presented to the general surgery outpatient clinic due to inguinal hernia or to the emergency department of the hospital with a preliminary diagnosis of incarcerated and/or strangulated hernia in April 2021-November 2021 were included in the study. The patients were divided into the following four groups: patients that underwent elective repair for inguinal hernia (Group 1), those who were followed up without surgery due to incarcerated hernia (Group 2), those who underwent hernia repair without bowel resection due to incarceration (Group 3), and those who underwent bowel resection due to strangulation (Group 4). Group 1 was defined as the control group, while Groups 2, 3, and Group 4 were evaluated as the incarcerated/strangulated hernia group. The demographic data of the patients, length of hospital stay, body mass index, comorbidities, medical history and physical examina-tion findings, radiological examinations, treatments applied, white blood cell (WBC) count, lactate, and DNI, thiol-disulfide and IMA parameters were evaluated.

RESULTS

The WBC count, disulfide/native thiol, disulfide/total thiol, and IMA values were significantly higher in the incarcerated/strangulated hernia group than in the control group, while the native thiol and total thiol values were higher in the latter than in the former (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of lactate (P>0.05), but the mean WBC count was higher in Group 4 compared to Group 1, and the mean DNI was significantly higher among the patients who underwent bowel resection and anastomosis than in those that were followed up and discharged (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

We consider that the preoperative evaluation of the thiol-disulfide homeostasis, IMA, and DNI parameters in incarcerated/strangulated hernia cases can be an effective and easily applicable method in predicting difficulties that may be encountered intraoperatively and the surgical procedure to be applied to the patient.

A Comparative Study of Ischemia-Modified Albumin: A Promising Biomarker for Early Detection of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)

Introduction The second most common cause of emergency department (ED) visits is chest pain and discomfort. Timely identification or threat stratification is crucial for identifying high-risk individuals who benefit from sophisticated diagnostic investigations (including cardiac biomarkers) and early relevant therapies. We aimed to assess the levels of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) and also to study its sensitivity and specificity in comparison with cardiac troponin T/troponin I and electrocardiogram (ECG) (alone and in combination) in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Methods Adults (either gender) presented at the ED of a tertiary care centre with classical chest pain suggestive of angina pectoris or angina-like chest pain and ECG changes suggestive of ACS, ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST elevation myocardial MI (NSTEMI), and unstable angina, within three hours of onset were enrolled. Demographic and clinical information was recorded. ECG, haematological investigations like complete blood count, blood sugar level, lipid profile, IMA, troponin I, and creatinine kinase-MB (CK-MB), and radiological investigations like 2D-echocardiography (2D-ECHO) and coronary angiography were performed. Results A total of 100 subjects were enrolled in the study out of which 50 were cases and 50 were controls. Cases were older as compared to controls (mean age 60.5 versus 46.0 years). Of the 50 cases, 33 (66%) were males. There were equal numbers of males (33 each) and females (17 each) subjects in both the groups. Typical chest pain, risk factors, and history of coronary artery disease (CAD) were higher in cases. ECG diagnosis revealed the presence of STEMI (52%) and coronary angiography revealed the presence of double vessel CAD (60%) in cases. Among controls, gastroesophageal reflux disorder was the most common cause of chest pain followed by costochondritis and pneumonia. Glucose (fasting and postprandial), all lipid profile parameters (except high-density lipoprotein) and IMA values were significantly higher in cases as compared to controls. A combination of ECG+IMA has the highest sensitivity (90%) with 79% PPV in the diagnosis of ACS within three hours of the onset of chest pain, and ECG+IMA+2D-ECHO had similar results. However, ECG is equally sensitive. IMA alone has 64% sensitivity with 82% diagnostic accuracy which was higher than other biomarkers (CK-MB, cardiac troponin I). Conclusions As found in our study, among the biomarkers used, the diagnostic accuracy of IMA was the highest and better than that of cardiac troponin I and CK-MB. Although ECG is the preferred diagnostic tool for diagnosing ACS (STEMI, NSTEMI, and unstable angina) in patients presenting within three hours of the onset of chest pain, a confirmation can be done with the help of other diagnostic tests and investigations like serum IMA levels and further treatment can be initiated.

Novel Biomarkers and the Multiple-Marker Approach in Early Detection, Prognosis, and Risk Stratification of Cardiac Diseases: A Narrative Review

Cardiac diseases are a primary cause of mortality worldwide, underscoring the importance of early identification and risk stratification to enhance patient outcomes. Biomarkers have become important tools for the risk assessment of cardiovascular disease and monitoring disease progression. This narrative review focuses on the multiple-marker approach, which involves simultaneously evaluating several biomarkers for the early detection and risk stratification of heart diseases. The review covers the clinical applications of novel biomarkers, such as high-sensitivity troponin, galectin-3, source of tumorigenicity 2, B-type natriuretic peptide and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, growth differentiation factor 15, myeloperoxidase, fatty acid-binding protein, C-reactive protein, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, microRNAs, circulating endothelial cells, and ischemia-modified albumin. These biomarkers have demonstrated potential in identifying people who are at high risk for developing heart disease and in providing prognostic data. Given the complexity of cardiac illnesses, the multiple-marker approach to risk assessment is extremely beneficial. Implementing the multiple-marker strategy can improve risk stratification, diagnostic accuracy, and patient care in heart disease patients.

Analysis of the Ischemia-Modified Albumin as a Potential Biomarker for Cardiovascular Damage in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been identified as a cardiovascular (CV) risk factor. The potential of OSA promoting the synthesis of CV biomarkers in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is unknown. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) has been identified as a specific CV biomarker. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of IMA as a potential biomarker for determining the impact of OSA in ACS patients. A total of 925 patients (15.5% women, age: 59 years, body mass index: 28.8 kg/m²) from the ISAACC study (NCT01335087) were included. During hospitalization for ACS, a sleep study for OSA diagnosis was performed and blood samples extraction for IMA determination were obtained. IMA values were significantly higher in severe OSA (median (IQR), 33.7 (17.2-60.3) U/L) and moderate (32.8 (16.9-58.8) U/L) than in mild/no OSA (27.7 (11.8-48.6) U/L) (p = 0.002). IMA levels were very weakly related to apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) as well as hospital and intensive care unit stay, although they only maintained a significant relationship with days of hospital stay after adjusting for sex, age and BMI (ß = 0.410, p = 0.013). The results of the present study would suggest a potentially weaker role of OSA in the synthesis of the CV risk biomarker IMA in patients with ACS than in primary prevention.

Significance of postmortem biomarkers and multimarker strategy in sudden cardiac death

The most common cause in the etiology of sudden cardiac death (SCD) is ischemic heart disease due to atherosclerosis. Postmortem diagnosis can be made by histopathological examinations, but routine histopathological examinations are limited, especially in the early period of postmortem ischemia. For this reason, many methods are being investigated for the postmortem diagnosis of ischemia, and postmortem biochemical studies are promising. In our study, we evaluated the biochemical markers; hs-cTnT, NT-proBNP, H-FABP, pentraxin-3, copeptin, ischemic modified albumin (IMA), and PAPP-A in postmortem serums. In forensic pathology practice, it was investigated whether it would be useful to go to the diagnosis by measuring more than one marker in a single biological fluid in SCD cases. The study included 35 sudden cardiac death cases and 24 control cases and as a result of our study, hs-cTnT, NT-proBNP, and H-FABP values were found to be significantly higher in the SCD group than in the control group. Within the scope of the multi-marker strategy, models were tried to be developed in which the markers were used together, and it was concluded that the model consisting of the myocardial ischemia marker hs-cTnT, the myocardial stress marker NT-proBNP, and the inflammation marker pentraxin 3 was the most accurate combination by correctly classifying the cases at a rate of 94.9%. As a result, it was thought that it would be appropriate to use the multi-marker strategy which is widely used in clinical applications, also in forensic medicine applications.

Effects of dexmedetomidine on new oxidative stress markers on renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury in rats: thiol/disulphide homeostasis and the ischaemia-modified albumin

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated the effect of dexmedetomidine on the oxidant-antioxidant (thiol/disulphide) balance.

METHODS

A total of 24 rats were divided into four groups. The renal arteries in groups IR (ischaemia/reperfusion) and IR + D (ischaemia/reperfusion + dexmedetomidine) were clamped for 45 min and reperfused for 180 min. Groups D (Dexmedetomidine) and IR + D were administered 100 μg/kg dexmedetomidine. Oxidant-antioxidant (thiol/disulphide) levels were measured. Kidney tissue was examined histopathologically.

RESULTS

No statistically difference was found between the groups in terms of thiol-disulphide averages, while IMA, TOS and thiol-disulphide results showed a minimal decrease in Group IR + D compared to Group IR (p > 0.05). Tubular lesions and necrosis were found in 26-50% of tubules in Group IR. Tubular damage and necrosis in Group IR + D declined to 5-25% .

CONCLUSIONS

No statistically difference was found in the study where OSI index, thiol/disulphide balance and IMA were measured together as biochemical values.

Association of albumin, fibrinogen, and modified proteins with acute coronary syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) comprises a pathophysiological spectrum of cardiovascular diseases related to atherosclerotic coronary plaque erosion. Oxidative stress and inflammation play pivotal roles in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, which affects circulatory proteins, including albumin and fibrinogen, thereby causing an imbalance in albumin to globulin and fibrinogen to albumin ratios. This study aimed to assess the effect of oxidative stress on circulatory proteins, correlate these parameters, and investigate their significance in patients with ACS. In this case-control study, the major blood proteins in patients with ACS and a control group were evaluated using standard methods. Out of 70 ACS cases, 75.7% had ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 18.6% had non-STEMI, and 5.7% had unstable angina. The mean cardiac troponin I level in patients was 12.42 ng/mL. The patients demonstrated a significantly reduced level of human serum albumin (HSA), 3.81 ± 0.99 g/dL, compared to controls, 5.33 ± 0.66 g/dL. The albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) was significantly depressed in patients while their mean fibrinogen level and the fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) were significantly higher. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that albumin and fibrinogen were significantly associated with the risk of ACS, showing the potential of these parameters to be used for risk assessment of ACS. The ischemia modified albumin (IMA) and protein carbonyls were significantly higher in patients which showed significant positive correlations with FAR. Albumin, IMA and protein carbonyls were found to have high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for ACS. Overall, these circulatory and modified proteins in ACS patients, particularly lower HSA, AGR, and higher IMA and protein carbonyls may help assess risk.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Ischemia-Modified Albumin for Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The diagnostic usefulness of ischemia-modified albumin in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been questioned. The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to see how accurate ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) was in diagnosing ACS in patients admitted to emergency departments (EDs). We searched for relevant literature in databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. Primary studies that reliably reported on patients with symptoms suggestive of ACS and evaluated IMA on admission to emergency departments were included. The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the risk of bias in the included research. A total of 4,761 patients from 19 studies were included in this systematic review. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.74 and 0.40, respectively, when the data were pooled. The area under the curve value for IMA for the diagnosis of ACS was 0.75, and the pooled diagnostic odds ratio value was 3.72. Furthermore, ACS patients with unstable angina had greater serum IMA levels than those with non-ischemic chest pain. In contrast to prior meta-analyses, our findings suggest that determining whether serum IMA levels are effective for diagnosing ACS in the emergency department is difficult. However, the accuracy of these findings cannot be ascertained due to high heterogeneity between studies.

Increase in Ischemia-Modified Albumin and Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A in COVID-19 Patients

This study was undertaken due to the urgent need to explore reliable biomarkers for early SARS-CoV-2 infection. We performed a retrospective study analyzing the serum levels of the cardiovascular biomarkers IL-6, TNF-α, N-terminal pro-B natriuretic peptide, cardiac troponin T (cTnT), ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in 84 patients with COVID-19.Patients were divided into three groups according to their RT-qPCR and IgG values: acute infection (n = 35), early infection (n = 25) or control subjects (n = 24). Levels of biomarkers were analyzed in patient serum samples using commercially available ELISA kits. Results showed a significant increase in IMA and PAPP-A levels in the early infected patients. Moreover, multivariate analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that IMA and PAPP-A had excellent discrimination value for the early stage of COVID-19. For IMA, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) had a value of 0.94 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.881–0.999). Likewise, the serum level of PAPP-A was significantly higher in patients with early infection than in the control subjects (AUC = 0.801 (95% CI: 0.673–0.929)). The combined use of IMA and PAPP-A enhanced the sensitivity for total SARS-CoV-2-infected patients to 93%. These results suggest that the increased levels of PAPP-A and IMA shed light on underlying mechanisms of COVID-19 physiopathology and might be used as efficient biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity for the early stage of COVID-19. Importantly, when monitoring pregnancy and cardiovascular diseases using PAPP-A or IMA levels, a SARS-CoV-2 infection should be discarded for proper interpretation of the results.

Dynamic thiol/disulphide homeostasis and ischemic modified albumin levels in isolated oligohydramnios

OBJECTIVE

Oligohydramnios is defined as amniotic fluid index in ultrasonographic measurement is less than 5 percentile according to gestational age, the amniotic fluid volume is ≤ 5 cm, or if the single deepest dial is < 2 cm. The condition of oligohydramnios that not with fetal structural/chromosomal abnormalities, intrauterine growth retardation, intrauterine infection and maternal disease is described as isolated oligohydramnios (IO). The aim of this study is to examine whether oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have a place in the pathophysiology of IO.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this prospective case-control study, a total of 126 participants were included. The patient group consisted of 65 patients who were diagnosed IO, and the control group consisted of 61 healthy normal pregnants. Native thiol (-SH), total thiol (-SH + -SS), dynamic disulfide (-SS), IMA values from maternal serum were measured and compared between groups.

RESULTS

Maternal serum -SH and -SH + -SS values were significantly lower in the IO group than in the control group (409.47 ± 55.36 μmol/L vs. 437.40 ± 48.68 μmol/L, p = 0.03 and 457.40 ± 63.01 μmol/L vs. 484.59 ± 52.75 μmol/L, p = 0.01). In the IO group when -SS/-SH and -SS/-SH + -SS ratio was found to be statistically significantly higher than control group (5.84 ± 1.1 vs 5.41 ± 0.71, p = 0.01 and 5.2 ± 0.88 vs 4.8 ± 0.58, p = 0.01), -SH/-SH + -SS ratio was significantly lower (89.56 ± 1.7 vs 90.24 ± 1.16, p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in terms of -SS value (p = 0.66). IMA value was significantly higher in the IO group than control group (0.76 ± 0.10 ABSU vs 0.68 ± 0.06, p < 0.01). It is seen as a result of ROC analysis that -SH, -SH + -SS, -SS/-SH, -SS/-SH + -SS, -SH/-SH + -SS and IMA values have a diagnostic value for IO (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The thiol/disulfide balance shifted towards oxidative stress in IO compared to control group. So oxidative stress and ROS have a place in the pathophysiology of IO.

The effects of serum ischemia modified albumin on diagnosis of cerebral infarction and vertebral basilar artery stenosis

OBJECTIVES

Serum ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is higher in patients with cerebral infarction (CI). In this study, we aimed at studying the association between IMA and CI.

METHODS

Patients with CI were divided to severe stenosis group and mild stenosis group according to the stenosis of vertebrobasilar artery. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used for diagnosis. Cobalt-combined with Albumin test was used to determine the serum IMA levels. Serum IMA levels in patients with CI and healthy volunteers were compared by t test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed for evaluating the diagnostic efficiency of serum IMA for CI. The correlation between IMA level and the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS) score after treatment was analyzed.

RESULTS

Serum IMA levels in patients with CI was increased compared to healthy volunteers(P < .05). Patients in severe stenosis group had a higher serum IMA level than mild stenosis group(P < .05). Serum IMA level at admission was associated with NIHSS score on the 7th day after treatment(P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Serum IMA level was correlated with vertebrobasilar artery stenosis and  short-term prognosis in patients with acute CI.

Oxidants and antioxidants in myocardial infarction (MI): Investigation of ischemia modified albumin, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and catalase in individuals diagnosed with ST elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI)

Background

Coronary ischemia can lead to myocardial damage and necrosis. The pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases often includes increased oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant defense. The study aimed to assess levels of ischemia modified albumin (IMA), malondialdehyde acid (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase in individuals diagnosed with ST elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI.

Methods

The present study prospectively included 50 STEMI patients, 55 NSTEMI patients, and 55 healthy subjects. Only patients who were recently diagnosed with STEMI or NSTEMI were included in this study. IMA, MDA, SOD, and catalase activities were measured spectrophotometrically. Significant coronary artery lesions were determined by angiography.

Results

Patients with ACS had significantly greater IMA and MDA values than the healthy controls (p<0.001). Besides, patients with STEMI had IMA levels that were significantly greater than those of the patients with NSTEMI (p<0.001), while the reverse was true for MDA levels (p<0.001). The healthy controls had the highest levels of SOD and catalase levels, followed by patients with STEMI and patients with NSTEMI, respectively (p<0.001). There was a significant negative correlation among MDA and SOD with catalase levels (r = -0.771 p<0.001 MDA vs catalase; r = -0.821 p<0.001 SOD vs catalase).

Conclusions

Data obtained in this study reveals that compared to healthy controls, STEMI and NSTEMI patients had increased levels of MDA and IMA and decreased levels of SOD and catalase.

Investigation of serum ischemia-modified albumin levels in coronary artery disease patients

Objective

Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a novel marker for the detection of ischemia. The value of this biomarker has been studied in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the relationship between the severity of coronary stenosis and serum IMA levels remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the potential role of serum IMA levels in predicting the severity of coronary atherosclerosis.

Materials and methods

One hundred and forty-two individuals who underwent coronary angiography for coronary artery disease complaints were included in the study. Participants were divided into three groups based on their diagnosis as control (healthy subjects), group I (subjects with lower Gensini score), and group II (subjects with higher Gensini score). Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score and Gensini scores were calculated after coronary angiogram in the patient groups. Then, venous blood samples were collected from each participant. Serum IMA levels and the levels of routine laboratory markers were measured.

Results

The serum lymphocyte, neutrophil, and high-density lipid (HDL) levels were statistically insignificant between the groups. The white blood cell (WBC) count and IMA levels were significantly higher in the patient groups (p < 0.05). The GRACE and Gensini scores were significantly different in the patient groups (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between the GRACE and Gensini scores and serum IMA levels.

Conclusion

Although IMA levels can be a significant predictor for ischemia according to previous reports, this biomarker seems to be insufficient for determining the severity of disease in patients with CAD.

Usefulness of ischemia-modified albumin in the diagnosis of sepsis/septic shock in the emergency department

Objective

No studies have evaluated the diagnostic value of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) for the early detection of sepsis/septic shock in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). We aimed to assess the usefulness of IMA in diagnosing sepsis/septic shock in the ED.

Methods

This retrospective, observational study analyzed IMA, lactate, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin levels measured within 1 hour of ED arrival. Patients with suspected infection meeting at least two systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria were included and classified into the infection, sepsis, and septic shock groups using Sepsis-3 definitions. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine diagnostic performance.

Results

This study included 300 adult patients. The AUC (95% CI) of IMA levels (cut-off ≥85.5 U/mL vs. ≥87.5 U/mL) was higher for the diagnosis of sepsis than for that of septic shock (0.729 [0.667–0.791] vs. 0.681 [0.613–0.824]) and was higher than the AUC of procalcitonin levels (cut-off ≥1.58 ng/mL, 0.678 [0.613–0.742]) for the diagnosis of sepsis. When IMA and lactate levels were combined, the AUCs were 0.815 (0.762–0.867) and 0.806 (0.754–0.858) for the diagnosis of sepsis and septic shock, respectively. IMA levels independently predicted sepsis (odds ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00–1.09; P=0.029) and septic shock (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02–1.11; P=0.002).

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that IMA levels are a useful biomarker for diagnosing sepsis/ septic shock early, and their combination with lactate levels can enhance the predictive power for early diagnosis of sepsis/septic shock in the ED.

Does ischaemia-modified albumin level predict clomiphene citrate resistant polycystic ovary syndrome patients?

This study aims to examine the role of ischaemic-modified albumin (IMA) in predicting clomiphene citrate (CC) resistance in patients with CC-resistant and CC-sensitive infertile polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Sixty women patients admitted to the infertility clinic were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 comprised 30 infertile PCOS patients with CC resistance; group 2 was the control group comprising 30 infertile PCOS patients with CC sensitivity. Serum IMA levels of PCOS patients with CC resistance were significantly higher than CC sensitivity patients (p < .001). The independent variables BMI and age effects were adjusted according to the logistic regression method with groups. Significant differences were observed between the two groups in the levels of IMA (p = .0005), HOMA-IR (p = .0045), insulin (p = .022), free testosterone (p = .0001) and total testosterone (p = .03) values. By using ROC curve analysis for IMA between study and control groups, cut off point of IMA was calculated as 0.505 U/mL, sensitivity was 80% and specificity was 63%. The area under the curve was 0.926. This shows us that more oxidative stress (OS) occurs in the CC-resistant group. As a reflection of OS in the follicular endocrine, microenvironment may be linked with impaired oocyte developmental competence and embryo quality in association with increased IMA, free testosterone, total testosterone, insulin and HOMA-IR levels.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? In previous studies, IMA was compared between PCOS and control groups. In this study, serum IMA levels were measured in infertile PCOS patients resistant to CC for the first time.What the results of this study add? Serum IMA levels were significantly higher in resistant infertile PCOS patients compared to the control group. This shows us that more OS occurs in the CC-resistant group.What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? IMA will be a guide for PCOS management in patients with CC-resistant PCOS.

Prognostic Value of Inflammation Parameters in Patients With Non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes

Inflammation parameters can predict the severity of coronary artery disease and predict long-term mortality. However, there is no study in which these parameters were evaluated together. We compared the prognostic values of inflammation parameters in predicting long-term mortality in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). Consecutive patients with NSTE-ACS (n = 170) were included in the study. Monocyte/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (MHR), lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio (TC/HDL-C), triglyceride /HDL-C ratio (TG/HDL-C), total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index, and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) were measured. Total antioxidant status and TOS variables were significant independent predictors of mortality. When 1.17 value is taken as a cutoff point of TAS values, the sensitivity (70.0%) and specificity (77.39%) values calculated for this value indicate that TAS variable has a predictive value on mortality. Monocyte/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, LMR, NLR, PLR, TC/HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, TOS, and IMA levels could not be used alone in the diagnosis, severity assessment, and predicting future mortality of NSTE-ACS. Only TAS levels had a predictive value on mortality.

Evaluation of atherogenic laboratory markers in Behçet's disease patients with vascular involvement

INTRODUCTION

Behçet's disease is a chronic inflammatory vasculitis presenting with immunological and endothelial changes. The aim of the present study is to evaluate blood levels of diagnostic markers which can be used in Behçet's patients with vascular involvement.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Fifty Behçet's patients (22 with vascular involvement) and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1), apolipoprotein B (apoB), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride, total cholesterol, Lp-plA-2, homocysteine and ischemia modified albumin (IMA) levels were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS program version 11.0. p < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant.

RESULTS

hsCRP, TNF-α, homocysteine, IMA, apoA1, apoB, HDL, Lp-pla2 and ESR levels in patient and control groups were significantly different (p < 0.001, p = 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.005, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p = 0.003 respectively). In Behçet's patients with vascular involvement, homocysteine, TNF-α and Lp-pla2 levels were significantly higher than in Behçet's patients without vascular involvement (p = 0.035, p = 0.010 and p < 0.001 respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Increased levels of inflammatory and atherogenic markers in Behçet's patients are an expected outcome due to the inflammatory nature of the disease. Especially, elevated levels of homocysteine, TNF-α and Lp-pla2 make them candidate diagnostic tools to be helpful in clinical evaluation of Behçet's disease patients with vascular involvement.

Predictive value of fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio in acute coronary syndrome

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate the predictive value of the fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) regarding the development of major cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

METHODS

This was a prospective, observational cohort study that included 261 consecutive patients who were treated with PCI. The patients were grouped according to the occurrence of MACE during the follow-up period.

RESULTS

During follow-up, MACE occurred in 68 (26%) patients. The FAR was independently predictive of MACE (HR: 1.017, 95% CI: 1.010-1.024, p < 0.001). In addition, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and a diagnosis of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were independent predictors of MACE. The area under the curve (AUC) of the multivariable model, including LVEF and diagnosis of STEMI, was 0.707 (95% CI: 0.631-0.782, p < 0.001). When the FAR was added to the multivariable model, the AUC was 0.770 (95% CI: 0.702-0.838, z = 2.820, difference p = 0.0048).

CONCLUSION

The FAR could be used for the prediction of MACE in patients with ACS who have undergone PCI.

One-lung ventilation duration-dependent stress response in thoracotomies and the effect of a low-volume, high-frequency differentiated ventilation strategy on this response

Background

This study aims to investigate the effect of ventilation of the non-ventilated lung in patients undergoing one-lung ventilation by a separate low-tidal-volume (1 mL/kg) ventilator at high frequency (30/min) on preventing the effect of one-lung ventilation-associated oxidative damage.

Methods

The study included 45 patients (24 males, 21 females; mean age 54.6±7.7 years; range, 18 to 65 years) with an American Society of Anesthesiologists risk group of 1 to 2 and scheduled for elective thoracotomy. Patients were randomly divided into three groups as those due for thoracotomy without one-lung ventilation (group 1, n=15), those due for thoracotomy with one-lung ventilation (group 2, n=15), and those due for thoracotomy in whom both lungs were ventilated (group 3, n=15). Blood specimens were collected for ischemia-modified albumin, malondialdehyde, and lactate measurements one minute before one-lung ventilation (t0), 30 minutes after one-lung ventilation (t1), 60 minutes after one-lung ventilation (t2), and at postoperative 24th hour (t3). For group 1, t0 was defined as the time at which the thorax was opened.

Results

A statistically significant increase in ischemia-modified albumin, malondialdehyde, and lactate levels occurred in group 2 as the duration of one-lung ventilation increased (p<0.01). Plasma ischemia-modified albumin and malondialdehyde levels in group 3 were statistically significantly lower at t1, t2, and t3 compared with group 2 (p<0.01). Plasma lactate levels were significantly lower in group 3 at t1 (p<0.05) and t3 compared with group 2 (p<0.01).

Conclusion

Separate ventilation of the non-ventilated lung with low tidal volume and high frequency reduces the response to one-lung ventilation-associated oxidative stress in thoracic surgery.

Ischemia-modified albumin: Crosstalk between fatty acid and cobalt binding

Myocardial ischemia is difficult to diagnose effectively with still few well-defined biochemical markers for identification in advance, or in the absence of myocardial necrosis. "Ischemia-modified albumin" (IMA), a form of albumin displaying reduced cobalt-binding affinity, is significantly elevated in ischemic patients, and the albumin cobalt-binding (ACB) assay can measure its level indirectly. Elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying the identity of IMA and the ACB assay hinges on understanding metal-binding properties of albumin. Albumin binds most metal ions and harbours four primary metal binding sites: site A, site B, the N-terminal site (NTS), and the free thiol at Cys34. Previous efforts to clarify the identity of IMA and the causes for its reduced cobalt-binding capacity were focused on the NTS site, but the degree of N-terminal modification could not be correlated to the presence of ischemia. More recent work suggested that Co2+ ions as used in the ACB assay bind preferentially to site B, then to site A, and finally to the NTS. This insight paved the way for a new consistent molecular basis of the ACB assay: albumin is also the main plasma carrier for free fatty acids (FFAs), and binding of a fatty acid to the high-affinity site FA2 results in conformational changes in albumin which prevent metal binding at site A and partially at site B. Thus, this review advances the hypothesis that high IMA levels in myocardial ischemia and many other conditions originate from high plasma FFA levels hampering the binding of Co2+ to sites A and/or B. This is supported by biophysical studies and the co-association of a range of pathological conditions with positive ACB assays and high plasma FFA levels.

Study of Ischemia Modified Albumin as a Biomarker in Acute Ischaemic Stroke

Background and Purpose

Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality and long-term disability. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of stroke are crucial for a better outcome. A blood test, which serves as a biomarker in rural areas will help in immediately transferring patients to a hospital for thrombolytic therapy. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of ischemia modified albumin (IMA) as a screening biomarker in acute ischaemic stroke.

Materials and Methods

Serum samples were collected from 50 patients with acute ischaemic stroke within one, 24, 48, 72 and 144 h of time of admission for IMA. We compared patients' 1st-hour value with age- and sex-matched controls by independent sample t test. p value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

The serum IMA levels of patients 1st hour (108 ± 8.9) were significantly higher than those of the controls (79 ± 6.3) p < 0.05. The IMA levels showed a steady decline at 1 h (108 ± 8.9), 24 h (94 ± 4.2), 48 h (82 ± 6.1), 72 h (77 ± 5.6) and 144 h (76 ± 3.8) of admission in patients.

Conclusion

We observed that serum IMA was significantly higher in stroke patients as compared to controls. IMA was elevated in the acute phase of stroke and had a gradual graded decline over 1 week. We concluded that IMA may be a sensitive and rapid biomarker for screening of early ischaemic stroke in rural settings.

A novel biochemical marker for community-acquired pneumonia: Ischemia-modified albumin

INTRODUCTION

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a frequent cause of hospitalization and a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Early diagnosis and the initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy are essential to reduce pneumonia-related morbidity and mortality. CRP is a well-established biomarker in many clinical settings, but has been traditionally considered not specific enough to be a useful guide in the diagnostic process of pneumonia. There is still a need for more specific and practical markers in CAP for diagnosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels in the diagnosis of CAP in the Emergency Department.

METHODS

The study included 81 patients admitted with CAP and 81 control patients. Initial hour levels of IMA and CRP were measured. The IMA mean levels were compared between the study and control group. Correlation analyses were performed to investigate the association of serum IMA levels with CRP.

RESULTS

Mean levels of IMA were 0.532±0.117IU/ml in the study group and 0.345±0.082IU/ml in the control group. IMA levels were significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group. The IMA level of 0.442IU/ml had sensitivity of 75.3% and specificity of 91.3% and was positively correlated with CRP levels (r=0.506; p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Blood IMA levels significantly increase in adult patients presenting with CAP. IMA may be considered as a novel biomarker in the diagnosis of CAP.

Ischemia-Modified Albumin as a Marker of Acute Coronary Syndrome: The Case for Revising the Concept of "N-Terminal Modification" to "Fatty Acid Occupation" of Albumin

Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is assumed “N-terminal modified” albumin which is generated immediately following myocardial ischemia. The diagnosis of IMA is based on reduced cobalt binding affinity to albumin which is attributed mainly to incapability of cobalt to bind at albumin's modified N-terminus. Although the albumin cobalt binding test was accepted as a potentially powerful marker for discriminating acute coronary syndrome from nonischemic chest pain, its usefulness has been brought into question in recent years. Patients with acutely ischemic myocardium exhibit a rapid increase in serum levels of fatty acids (FAs). Almost all released FAs are strongly bound to albumin which create conformational changes in the protein with resultant reduced cobalt binding affinity. There is a clear metabolic and temporal relationship between IMA measured via albumin cobalt binding testing and serum levels of FAs. In line with what has been suggested recently in the literature, we conclude that a shift from the concept of “N-terminal modified” to “FA-occupied” albumin is required, as this better describes IMA in patients with acute coronary syndrome. We also offer “oxidation modified albumin, OMA,” which is conceptually different from the “FA-occupied” IMA, to describe modification of albumin in chronic disease associated with increased oxidative stress.

Exercise mediated protection of diabetic heart through modulation of microRNA mediated molecular pathways

Hyperglycaemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance collectively impact on the myocardium of people with diabetes, triggering molecular, structural and myocardial abnormalities. These have been suggested to aggravate oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, myocardial lipotoxicity and impaired myocardial substrate utilization. As a consequence, this leads to the development of a spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, which may include but not limited to coronary endothelial dysfunction, and left ventricular remodelling and dysfunction. Diabetic heart disease (DHD) is the term used to describe the presence of heart disease specifically in diabetic patients. Despite significant advances in medical research and long clinical history of anti-diabetic medications, the risk of heart failure in people with diabetes never declines. Interestingly, sustainable and long-term exercise regimen has emerged as an effective synergistic therapy to combat the cardiovascular complications in people with diabetes, although the precise molecular mechanism(s) underlying this protection remain unclear. This review provides an overview of the underlying mechanisms of hyperglycaemia- and insulin resistance-mediated DHD with a detailed discussion on the role of different intensities of exercise in mitigating these molecular alterations in diabetic heart. In particular, we provide the possible role of exercise on microRNAs, the key molecular regulators of several pathophysiological processes.

Renoprotective Effect of Humic Acid on Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: An Experimental Study in Rats

Humic acid is an antioxidant molecule used in agriculture and livestock breeding, as well as in medicine. Our aim was to investigate the potential renoprotective effects of humic acid in a renal ischemia reperfusion model. Twenty-one rats were randomly divided into three equal groups. Intraperitoneal serum or humic acid was injected at 1, 12, and 24 h. Non-ischemic group I was evaluated as sham. The left renal artery was clamped in serum (group II) and intraperitoneal humic acid (group III) to subject to left renal ischemic reperfusion procedure. Ischemia and reperfusion time was 60 min for each. Total antioxidant status, total oxidative status, oxidative stress index, and ischemia-modified albumin levels were analyzed biochemically from the serum samples. Kidneys were evaluated histopatologically and immunohistochemically. Biochemical results showed that total oxidative status, ischemia-modified albumin, and oxidative stress index levels were significantly decreased, but total antioxidant status was increased in the humic acid group (III) compared with the ischemia group (II) On histopathological examination, renal tubular dilatation, tubular cell damage and necrosis, dilatation of Bowman's capsule, hyaline casts, and tubular cell spillage were decreased in the humic acid group (III) compared with the ischemia group (II). Immunohistochemical results showed that apoptosis was deteriorated in group III. Renal ischemia reperfusion injury was attenuated by humic acid administration. These observations indicate that humic acid may have a potential therapeutic effect on renal ischemia reperfusion injury by preventing oxidative stress.

Ischemia modified albumin: does it change during pneumoperitoneum in robotic prostatectomies?

BACKGROUND

The unique positioning of the patient at steep Trendelenburg with prolonged and increased intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) during robotic radical prostatectomy may increase the risk of splanchnic ischemia. We aimed to investigate the acute effects of IAP and steep Trendelenburg position on the level of ischemia modified albumin (IMA) and to test if serum IMA levels might be used as a surrogate marker for possible covert ischemia during robotic radical prostatectomies.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Fifty ASA I-II patients scheduled for elective robotic radical prostatectomy were included in this investigation.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

The patients were excluded from the study when an arterial cannulation could not be accomplished, if the case had to be converted to open surgery or if the calculated intraoperative bleeding exceeded 300ml. All the patients were placed in steep (45 degrees) Trendelenburg position following trocar placement. Throughout the operation the IAP was maintained between 11-14mmHg. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO) were continuously monitored before the induction and throughout the surgery. Blood gases, electrolytes, urea, creatinine, alanine transferase (ALT), aspartate transferase (AST) were recorded. Additionally, IMA levels were measured before, during and after surgery.

RESULTS

(1) MAP, CO, lactate and hemoglobin (Hb) did not significantly change in any period of surgery (p>0.05); (2) sodium (p<0.01), potassium (p<0.05) and urea (p<0.05) levels decreased at postoperative period, and no significant changes at creatinine, AST, ALT levels were observed in these patients; (3) At the end of surgery (180 min) pCO2, pO2, HCO3 and BE did not change compared to after induction values (p>0.05) but mild acidosis was present in these patients (p<0.01 vs. after induction); (4) IMA levels were found to be comparable before induction (0.34±0.04), after induction (0.31±0.06) and at the end of surgery (0.29±0.05) as well.

CONCLUSION

We did not demonstrate any significant mesenteric-splanchnic ischemia which could be detected by serum IMA levels during robotic radical prostatectomies performed under steep Trendelenburg position and when IAP is maintained in between 11-14 mmHg.

Diagnostic Utility of Neuregulin for Acute Coronary Syndrome

The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic test characteristics of serum neuregulin-1β (NRG-1β) for the detection of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We recruited emergency department patients presenting with signs and symptoms prompting an evaluation for ACS. Serum troponin and neuregulin-1β levels were compared between those who had a final discharge diagnosis of myocardial infarction (STEMI and NSTEMI) and those who did not, as well as those who more broadly had a final discharge diagnosis of ACS (STEMI, NSTEMI, and unstable angina). Of 319 study participants, 11% had evidence of myocardial infarction, and 19.7% had a final diagnosis of ACS. Patients with MI had median neuregulin levels of 0.16 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-24.54]). Compared to the median of those without MI, 1.46 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-15.02]), there was no significant difference in the distribution of results (P = 0.63). Median neuregulin levels for patients with ACS were 0.65 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-24.54]). There was no statistical significance compared to those without ACS who had a median of 1.40 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-14.19]) (P = 0.95). Neuregulin did not perform successfully as a biomarker for acute MI or ACS in the emergency department.

Evaluation of Oxidative Stress in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome as Represented by Serum Ischemia Modified Albumin and Its Correlation with Testosterone and Insulin Resistance

Objective Ischemia-mediated oxidative stress and inflammation have been reported to be important contributors to the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a novel marker generated under ischemic and oxidative conditions and may reflect disease activity in distinct disease states. Therefore, we investigated whether the serum IMA levels are affected in infertile PCOS patients. Methods Forty-six patients with infertile PCOS, 30 patients with unexplained infertility, and 31 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls were included in this cross-sectional study. Biochemical parameters, serum IMA levels, and their correlations with serum testosterone and insulin resistance were determined for each subject. Results In patients with infertile PCOS, the serum IMA levels were significantly elevated (p=0.003) compared with unexplained infertility patients and controls. A correlation analysis suggested that the IMA levels only correlated with the serum free testosterone levels in PCOS patients (r=0.43, p=0.028). Conclusion Elevations in the serum IMA levels in infertile PCOS patients may suggest a possible additional role of oxidative stress mechanisms in disease pathophysiology. Moreover, correlation between serum IMA and testosterone levels may influence the quality of oocytes via alterations in the balance of critical follicular fluid factors in the follicular microenvironment.

Ischaemia-modified albumin: a marker of bacterial infection in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Patients with cirrhosis present structural changes of human serum albumin (HSA) affecting non-oncotic functions. Ischaemia-modified albumin (IMA), which reflects the capacity to bind cobalt, has been associated to patient mortality during acute-on-chronic liver failure. This study aimed to assess whether circulating IMA is elevated in advanced cirrhosis and its relationship with severity of cirrhosis and specific complications.

METHODS

A total of 127 cirrhotic patients hospitalized for an acute complication of the disease and 44 healthy controls were enrolled. Plasma IMA and IMA to albumin ratio (IMAr) were measured with a cobalt-binding assay. HSA isoforms carrying post-transcriptional molecular changes were assessed with HPLC-ESI-MS. The effect of endotoxemia on IMA was evaluated in rats with CCl4 -cirrhosis.

RESULTS

IMA/IMAr is significantly higher in cirrhotic patients than in controls, but no correlations were found with prognostic scores. IMA did not correlate with the altered HSA isoforms. Ascites, renal impairment and hepatic encephalopathy did not influence IMA/IMAr levels. In contrast, IMA/IMAr is significantly higher in infected than non-infected patients. ROC curves showed that IMA/IMAr had similar discriminating performances for bacterial infection as C-reactive protein (CRP). Moreover, CRP and IMA were independently associated with bacterial infection. Consistently, endotoxin injection significantly increased IMA in cirrhotic, but not in healthy rats.

CONCLUSIONS

IMA is elevated in patients with advanced cirrhosis. The IMA level does not correlate with disease severity scores, but it is specifically associated to bacterial infection, showing a discriminating performance similar to CRP. Further investigations to assess IMA as a novel diagnostic test for bacterial infection are advocated.

Multiple Biomarkers to Assess the Pathophysiological State in Critically Ill Patients with Sepsis

Sepsis is associated with various metabolic derangements as a consequence of inflammatory response, ischemia and oxidative stress. Four parameters of relevance are procalcitonin (PCT), ischemia modified albumin (IMA) pH and lactate. The study was carried out to highlight the concomitant occurrence of sepsis, ischemia and lactic acidosis, all of which could have deleterious effects on organ function. 26 critically ill patients with a provisional diagnosis of sepsis were the test subjects. The control group had 25 apparently healthy volunteers. PCT, lactate and IMA were assayed. PCT was estimated on an automated analyser using electro-chemiluminescence. Lactate and pH were estimated on a blood gas analyzer. Serum IMA was estimated spectrophotometrically by Albumin Cobalt Binding Test. Statistical tools like students 't' test and Venn diagram were employed to depict the outcome of the study. All critically ill patients had significantly higher IMA levels (0.96746 ± 0.73407) as compared to the control group (0.00728 ± 0.00895) with a p value of <0.0001. The Venn diagram was used to depict the finding that all 26 test subjects had elevated levels of IMA, of which PCT was elevated in 22 and lactate in 20. Both PCT and lactate were abnormal in 17 patients. The most significant observation was that all critically ill patients, irrespective of the presence of sepsis or lactic acidosis had elevated levels of IMA which is clearly indicative of the ubiquitous presence of oxidative stress. The Venn diagram is an elegant representation of the concurrent multiple pathophysiological processes which occur in critically ill patients.

Ischemia-Modified Albumin and Atherosclerosis in Patients With Familial Mediterranean Fever

The constriction of vessels due to atherosclerotic lesions causes hypoxia/ischemia and oxidative changes resulting in transformation of free albumin to ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) in the circulation and increased carotid intima–media thickness (cIMT). We investigated the reliability of IMA increase in evaluating atherosclerosis in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) compared with cIMT. Patients with FMF (n = 58) diagnosed by the Tel-Hashomer criteria in attack-free period and 38 healthy people were included in the study. Patient demographics as well as the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the healthy controls and patients with FMF were noted. The IMA levels and cIMT in patients with FMF were 0.30 ± 0.09 absorbance units (ABSUs) and 1.12 ± 0.27 mm, respectively, and in the control group, IMA levels and cIMT were 0.25 ± 0.07 ABSU and 0.74 ± 0.26 mm, respectively. The IMA levels and cIMT were significantly higher in patients with FMF than in controls ( P = .020 and P < .0001, respectively). The IMA values showed positive correlation with cIMT in patients with FMF( r = .302, P = .041). Our results reveal that IMA—an oxidative stress marker—may be an indicator of atherosclerosis in patients with FMF. This finding deserves further investigation.

Ischemia-modified albumin levels in patients with acute decompensated heart failure treated with dobutamine or levosimendan: IMA-HF study

OBJECTIVE

Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a sensitive biomarker of myocardial ischemia. However, data on IMA levels in acute heart failure (HF) are still lacking. In this study, we aimed to evaluate serum IMA levels in acute decompensated HF and the effects of dobutamine and levosimendan treatments on IMA levels.

METHODS

This was a prospective, multicenter study that included 70 patients hospitalized with acute decompensated HF and left ventricular ejection fraction < 35%. Blood samples for IMA measurements were obtained on admission and 24-48 h after the initiation of HF therapy. Twenty-nine patients were treated with standard HF therapy, 18 received levosimendan, and 23 received dobutamine in addition to standard of care. A single serum specimen was also collected from 32 healthy individuals each. IMA concentrations were measured by the albumin cobalt binding colorimetric assay, and the results were given in absorbance units (AU). Independent and paired sample t-tests, Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for the analysis.

RESULTS

In patients with acute decompensated HF, the serum concentration of IMA was significantly higher than those of healthy subjects (0.894 ± 0.23 AU vs. 0.379 ± 0.08 AU, p < 0.001). Overall, the IMA levels significantly decreased after 24-48 h of HF therapy (0.894 ± 0.23 AU and 0.832 ± 0.18 AU, p = 0.013). Furthermore, the IMA levels were also found to significantly decrease with standard HF therapy (1.041 ± 0.28 vs. 0.884 ± 0.15 AU, p = 0.041), with levosimendan (0.771 ± 0.18 vs. 0.728 ± 0.18 AU, p = 0.046) and also with dobutamine (0.892 ± 0.18 vs. 0.820 ± 0.13 AU, p = 0.035).

CONCLUSION

Patients with acute decompensated HF had elevated IMA levels, and appropriate HF therapy significantly reduced the serum IMA levels. Dobutamine or levosimendan did not increase the IMA levels, suggesting a lower potential in inducing myocardial ischemia when used in recommended doses.

Methylene blue attenuates renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In our study, we investigated the effects of methylene blue (MB) on histopathological changes in renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury rat model.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Twenty-one Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided equally into three groups. Group 1 (control) was administered intraperitoneal saline solution. In Groups 2 (untreated group) and 3 (MB treatment), the renal arteries were clamped, and ischemia (for 1 hour) and then reperfusion (for 4 hours) were applied. Thirty minutes before ischemia, the untreated group received physiological saline, whereas the treatment group was administered 30 mg/kg MB through an intraperitoneal route. Blood samples were drawn, and renal specimens were harvested 5.5 hours after physiologic saline injection in the control and immediately after the reperfusion period in the other groups. The levels of tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), plasma urea, creatinine and ischemia modified albumin (IMA) were measured. Moreover, the histopathological damage score of the renal tissue was determined.

RESULTS

MB significantly alleviated the severity of histopathological damage by increasing the levels of tissue SOD and TAS and decreasing TOS concentrations in the renal I/R model (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Administration of MB in renal I/R damage may play a protective role.

A novel mixed integer programming for multi-biomarker panel identification by distinguishing malignant from benign colorectal tumors

Multi-biomarker panels can capture the nonlinear synergy among biomarkers and they are important to aid in the early diagnosis and ultimately battle complex diseases. However, identification of these multi-biomarker panels from case and control data is challenging. For example, the exhaustive search method is computationally infeasible when the data dimension is high. Here, we propose a novel method, MILP_k, to identify serum-based multi-biomarker panel to distinguish colorectal cancers (CRC) from benign colorectal tumors. Specifically, the multi-biomarker panel detection problem is modeled by a mixed integer programming to maximize the classification accuracy. Then we measured the serum profiling data for 101 CRC patients and 95 benign patients. The 61 biomarkers were analyzed individually and further their combinations by our method. We discovered 4 biomarkers as the optimal small multi-biomarker panel, including known CRC biomarkers CEA and IL-10 as well as novel biomarkers IMA and NSE. This multi-biomarker panel obtains leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) accuracy to 0.7857 by nearest centroid classifier. An independent test of this panel by support vector machine (SVM) with threefold cross validation gets an AUC 0.8438. This greatly improves the predictive accuracy by 20% over the single best biomarker. Further extension of this 4-biomarker panel to a larger 13-biomarker panel improves the LOOCV to 0.8673 with independent AUC 0.8437. Comparison with the exhaustive search method shows that our method dramatically reduces the searching time by 1000-fold. Experiments on the early cancer stage samples reveal two panel of biomarkers and show promising accuracy. The proposed method allows us to select the subset of biomarkers with best accuracy to distinguish case and control samples given the number of selected biomarkers. Both receiver operating characteristic curve and precision-recall curve show our method's consistent performance gain in accuracy. Our method also shows its advantage in capturing synergy among selected biomarkers. The multi-biomarker panel far outperforms the simple combination of best single features. Close investigation of the multi-biomarker panel illustrates that our method possesses the ability to remove redundancy and reveals complementary biomarker combinations. In addition, our method is efficient and can select multi-biomarker panel with more than 5 biomarkers, for which the exhaustive methods fail. In conclusion, we propose a promising model to improve the clinical data interpretability and to serve as a useful tool for other complex disease studies. Our small multi-biomarker panel, CEA, IL-10, IMA, and NSE, may provide insights on the disease status of colorectal diseases. The implementation of our method in MATLAB is available via the website: http://doc.aporc.org/wiki/MILP_k.

Ischemia modified albumin levels and oxidative stress in patients with bladder cancer

BACKGROUND

Impaired oxidative/antioxidative status plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases like cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of the novel marker ischemia modified albumin (IMA) and albumin adjusted-IMA (Adj-IMA) in patients with bladder cancer (BC) as well as its association with total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty male patients with BC (mean age, 67.4±12 years) and forty age-sex matched healthy persons (mean age 56.0±1.7 years) were included in this study. Serum levels of IMA, TAS, TOS were analyzed and Adj- IMA and OSI was calculated.

RESULTS

Serum IMA, TOS and OSI values were significantly higher in patients with BC compared to controls (p<0.0001, p=0.01 and p=0.01, respectively), whereas TAS was significantly lower in BC patients (p=0.04). There was no significant difference for serum albumin-adjusted IMA levels between groups (p=0.4).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, it was found that there was an impaired oxidative/antioxidant status in favor of oxidative stress in BC patients. This observation was not confirmed by Adj-IMA calculation. There is no published report about serum concentrations of IMA in patients with BC. Further studies are needed to establish the relationship of IMA and oxidative stress parameters in BC and the significance of IMA to other cancers.

Role of "Ischemia Modified Albumin" (IMA) in acute coronary syndromes

BACKGROUND

Diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is important, due to the associated very high mortality. Failure to diagnose ACS is a problem both for the patients and the clinicians. Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) has already been licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration for the diagnosis of suspected myocardial ischemia.

METHODS

Patients attending the emergency department (ED) within 6 h after having features of ACS were selected. IMA was done on admission. Blinded to the IMA results patients were fully evaluated and a diagnosis of non-ischemic chest pain (NICP), unstable angina (UA) or myocardial infarction (MI) was made. Later IMA results were correlated in each group.

RESULTS

Mean IMA value was 56.38 ± 23.89 u/ml in NICP group whereas in UA group it was 89.00 ± 7.76 u/ml and MI group was 87.50 ± 9.62 u/ml. This showed a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 87%. The positive predictive value of the test was 88% and negative predictive value was 94%. In 16 patients an early diagnosis could be made when compared with Trop-T. Of the 89 patients 11 patients died in hospital. The IMA value was compared between this group and the patients who survived. Patients who died had a mean IMA value of 88.5 with a standard deviation of 5.33 whereas in patients who survived the mean value was 78.26 which was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion the benefit of the test would be to rule out ACS in patients who present early to ED with inconclusive diagnosis.

Advanced oxidation protein products and ischaemia-modified albumin in obstructive sleep apnea

BACKGROUND

Several studies have shown that obstructive sleep apnea increases incidence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The high systemic oxidative stress in obstructive sleep apnea has been considered as a major pathogenic mechanism leading to cardiovascular disease. Oxidative stress-related lipid and DNA oxidation in obstructive sleep apnea have been reported in the previous studies. In contrast, there is limited and contradictory information regarding protein oxidation in obstructive sleep apnea patients such as ischaemia-modified albumin and advanced oxidation protein products. Therefore, we aimed to investigate plasma ischaemia-modified albumin and advanced oxidation protein products and their correlation with total oxidative status and total antioxidative capacity in the obstructive sleep apnea patients.

METHODS

Plasma ischaemia-modified albumin, advanced oxidation protein products, total oxidative status and total antioxidative capacity were measured in 25 healthy volunteers and 59 obstructive sleep apnea patients diagnosed with polysomnography.

RESULTS

Plasma total antioxidative capacity was significantly lower (P = 0·012) and total oxidative status was significantly higher (P < 0·001) in the patients compared to the controls demonstrating increased oxidative stress in the patients. Plasma advanced oxidation protein products were significantly higher in the patients than the controls (P = 0·024). Plasma ischaemia-modified albumin levels were not statistically different between the obstructive sleep apnea patients and controls (P = 0·74).

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that high systemic oxidative stress in obstructive sleep apnea is reflected by increased advanced oxidation protein products without causing an increase in ischaemia-modified albumin.

Resveratrol attenuates both small bowel and liver changes in obstructive jaundice

BACKGROUND

It is well known that mucosal changes and alterations in liver function occur in the experimental obstructive jaundice model.

AIMS

We aimed to evaluate the effect of resveratrol on obstructive jaundice-induced changes in the small bowel mucosa and liver using ischaemia-modified albumin as a marker of oxidative damage.

STUDY DESIGN

Animal experimentation.

METHODS

The study used a rodent experimental model of obstructive jaundice, including a sham group (1), a control group (2), and a study group (3). Wistar albino rats were used. Jaundice was produced by ligation of the bile duct in Groups 2 and 3. In Group 3, resveratrol was administered intraperitoneally for 14 days.

RESULTS

In terms of the structure and the size of the mucosal villi, significant thickening and blunting were detected in Group 2 compared with Group 1. These changes were significantly less noticeable in Group 3 compared with Group 2. Levels of ischaemia-modified albumin were significantly higher in Group 2 compared with those in Group 1, and they were significantly decreased in Group 3 compared with Group 2.

CONCLUSION

Resveratrol administration to obstructive jaundiced rats reduced the organic effects of obstructive jaundice on small bowel mucosa and liver oxidative stress. We believe that this reduction might attenuate bacterial translocation and systemic effects of secreted cytokines.