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Biomedical subjects

Marijan Kirin

Publications and source records attributed to Marijan Kirin.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Antioxidants in patients with hyperthyroidism.

Hyperthyroidism is a hypermetabolic state accompanied by increased oxygen utilization, increased production of reactive oxygen species and consequentially measurable changes in antioxidative factors. Therefore, the activities of whole blood glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant status (TAS) in serum and erythrocytes, and serum urate and transferrrin concentrations were determined in 70 women: 14 with newly diagnosed Graves' disease (group A); 28 with hyperthyroidism on therapy with methimazole (group B, divided into two subgroups, B1 and B2) and 28 healthy women (group C). In comparison with control group C, GPx activity was significantly decreased in all patient groups (p < 0.05), whereas SOD activity was significantly decreased in group A (p < 0.01) and significantly increased in group B (p < 0.01). In comparison with the control group, serum TAS activity was significantly decreased in group A, and erythrocyte TAS activity in all patient groups. Study results suggest that the impaired antioxidative factor balance leads to the development and presence of oxidative stress in women with hyperthyroidism. The severity of these alterations, considered contradictory by some authors, appears to depend on the use of therapy.

Adult↗

[Biochemical markers in acute coronary syndrome].

For many years, cardiac markers have been used to assist cardiologists in the diagnosis and management of patients with cardiovascular disease. At first, enzyme activities of aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase have been used in diagnosing patients with chest pain in order to differentiate those with acute myocardial infarction. In the field of cardiac markers, emphasis is currently put on the use of protein markers such as myoglobin, and cardiac troponin T or I. Troponins are very highly cardiac specific and their concentration in blood increase only from four to six hours after the onset of chest pain. Today we obligatorily use two markers, the first being the early one (myoglobin, isoform of creatine kinase), which is very sensitive and shows up in the circulation one to two hours after myocardial damage. Confirmation of myocardial damage can be obtained by definite markers (troponin I or T), which are highly specific of myocardial damage.

Angina, Unstable↗

Echocardiographic features of adult tetralogy of Fallot with natural palliative correction by patent ductus arteriosus.

A thirty-year-old man with the diagnosis of the tetralogy of Fallot and patent ductus arteriosus was admitted to our hospital because of a syncope. He reported no previous symptoms. We diagnosed adult tetralogy of Fallot, which included all four characteristic anomalies: ventricular septal defect, overriding aorta, pulmonary artery stenosis, and right ventricular hypertrophy. The associated persistent ductus arteriosus and the presence of compensatory arteriovenous communications produced a continuous flow load on the left ventricle, which resulted in moderate left ventricular hypertrophy, but without symptoms of pulmonary congestion or cardiac decompensation. Anatomic diagnosis and hemodynamic assessment were established by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, with incidental finding of a quadricuspid aortic valve. To the best of our knowledge, our case of the adult form of Fallot's tetralogy associated with both patent ductus arteriosus and quadricuspid aortic valve is the first one ever described. It is well known that patients with tetralogy of Fallot who do not undergo operation in childhood have short survival, which depends predominantly on the degree of pulmonary artery stenosis and early development of collateral circulation to the lungs. Long-term persistence of natural aortopulmonary anastomosis with systemic collateral circulation to the lungs and remodeling of the heart, with better hemodynamic balance as well as the presence of mild pulmonary artery stenosis probably enhanced the survival of our patient.

Adult↗