Association of headaches and the metals

Lack of specific markers constitutes a problem during diagnosis of headache syndromes. Recently, some metals have gained importance as biological parameters for the diagnosis and during treatment. Low-ionized Mg and high-ionized Ca/Mg in patients with daily migrainous headaches were noted. The blood Na level was shown to increase before and during headache. Headache is also a symptom of the common cold for which zinc may be an effective therapy. The existing relationship between genetic markers of the cluster headache and the efficacy of lithium salts therapy was noted. Headache was also found to be associated with toxic metals. When the health effects of mercury were investigated, the most frequently observed symptom was cephalalgia. Continuous exposure to lead was concomitant with the appearance of symptoms such as headache. In relation to some metabolic links, metals may be introduced as possible biological markers for the diagnosis and during the therapy of different headache syndromes in future clinical trials and laboratory measurements.     

Iron, Nitric Oxide, and Myeloperoxidase in Asthmatic Patients

Plasma nitric oxide (NO), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and iron (Fe) levels were determined in bronchial asthma. The relations among these parameters in different stages of asthma were interpreted. Their association with airway inflammation observed in patients with bronchial asthma as well as the roles and the contributions to the pathological processes were evaluated. A total of 62 individuals, 32 asthmatics and 30 controls, were included into the scope of this study. Plasma nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) and MPO and Fe levels were determined by the Griess reaction, ELISA, and the automated TPTZ (2,4,6-tri[2-pyridyl]-5-triazine) method, respectively. In the asthmatic individuals, plasma NOx, MPO, and Fe concentrations were 133 +/- 13 microM, 95 +/- 20 ng/ml, and 159 +/- 20 microg/dl, respectively; in the control group these values were 82 +/- 11 microM, 62 +/- 11 ng/ml, and 96 +/- 9 microg/dl. Increased values were detected for plasma MPO (p > 0.05), NOx (p < 0.01), and Fe (p < 0.01) concentrations in asthmatic individuals. Considering the facts that NO modulates the catalytic activity of MPO and induces the expression of heme oxygenase as important contributors to the mechanisms causing free Fe release, it is concluded that elevated NOx, MPO, and Fe levels observed in the asthmatic group act in a concerted manner and appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.     

Hair zinc and copper concentrations and zinc: Copper ratios in pediatric malignancies and healthy children from Southeastern Turkey

Twenty-eight healthy and forty-six children with malignancy admitted to the Pediatrics Oncology Clinic and Outpatient Clinic of Dicle University, Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatrics in 1989–1990 were included into this study. The children under investigation were divided into three groups. Group 1 consisted of 28 healthy children. Twenty-eight children with newly diagnosed malignant disease, before the start of treatment, formed Group 2. Group 3 consisted of eight of these 28 children together with 18 other children with malignancy in complete remission.

1. Mean hair zinc and copper levels, and zinc/copper values for Group 2 were found to be 100.7±6.8 μg/g, 11.0±0.8 μg/g, and 10.0±0.8, respectively.
2. The corresponding values for Group 3 were obtained as 143.5±6.3 μg/g, 7.6±0.4 μg/g, and 20.2±1.4.
3. The values for Group 1 were 142.6±4.5 μg/g, 8.4±0.5 μg/g, and 19.0±1.4, respectively.
4. The differences between control-active-phase and active-phase-remission groups were statistically significant (p<0.01), whereas almost the same values were obtained for the control and remission groups (p>0.05). These results were valid in cases where the comparisons of these three groups were performed also for the subgroups.

It was shown that hair zinc and copper levels and zinc/copper values are useful parameters for the diagnosis and treatment of the children with malignancy because of the fact that hair reflects the integrated trace element concentrations of the body, not the present one.     

Investigation of insulin resistance gene polymorphisms in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer

We aimed to investigate insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) genotypes, which are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of many solid tumors and have thus far not been studied in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The study consisted of 93 patients diagnosed with DTC (79 females, 14 males) and 111 healthy control subjects (63 females, 48 males). The anthropometric measurements, lipid profiles, thyroid function tests and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) as an indicator of insulin resistance (IR) of all patients were recorded. In addition IRS-1, IRS-2 and IGFBP-3 gene polymorphisms were determined by using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was tested for each gene polymorphisms, and genetic effects were evaluated by the Chi Square test and multiple logistic regression. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), body mass index, waist circumference and serum total cholesterol levels were significantly higher in patients with DTC than in the control group. There was no difference between the two groups with respect to IRS-1, IRS-2 and IGFBP-3 gene polymorphisms. In addition, these gene polymorphisms were found to have no effect on lymph node metastases or tumor staging. While, obesity and increased HOMA-IR may be risk factors in DTC development, we suggest that IRS-1, IRS-2 and IGFBP-3 gene polymorphisms do not play an important role in pathogenesis of DTC.     

Magnetic Tweezers for the Measurement of Twist and Torque

Single-molecule techniques make it possible to investigate the behavior of individual biological molecules in solution in real time. These techniques include so-called force spectroscopy approaches such as atomic force microscopy, optical tweezers, flow stretching, and magnetic tweezers. Amongst these approaches, magnetic tweezers have distinguished themselves by their ability to apply torque while maintaining a constant stretching force. Here, it is illustrated how such a “conventional” magnetic tweezers experimental configuration can, through a straightforward modification of its field configuration to minimize the magnitude of the transverse field, be adapted to measure the degree of twist in a biological molecule. The resulting configuration is termed the freely-orbiting magnetic tweezers. Additionally, it is shown how further modification of the field configuration can yield a transverse field with a magnitude intermediate between that of the “conventional” magnetic tweezers and the freely-orbiting magnetic tweezers, which makes it possible to directly measure the torque stored in a biological molecule. This configuration is termed the magnetic torque tweezers. The accompanying video explains in detail how the conversion of conventional magnetic tweezers into freely-orbiting magnetic tweezers and magnetic torque tweezers can be accomplished, and demonstrates the use of these techniques. These adaptations maintain all the strengths of conventional magnetic tweezers while greatly expanding the versatility of this powerful instrument.     

Angiotensin-converting enzyme and metals in untreated essential hypertension

Hpertension is an important health problem throughout the world and a risk factor for many diseases. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), a component of the renin-angiotensin system, has an important role in the regulation of blood pressure. Zinc (Zn), a trace element with important biological functions, is located in the catalytic site of ACE. Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and potassium (K) also appear to be involved in hypertension pathogenesis. In this study, plasma ACE activities and Ca_t, Ca_i, Mg, Na, K, and plasma/erythrocyte Zn levels of 20 untreated patients with essential hypertension and 28 helthy individuals were evaluated. Plasma ACE activities (p<0.05) and erythrocyte Zn concentrations (p<0.001) were significantly higher in patients with essential hypertension than values of the control group. No significant difference was found between plasma Zn concentrations of the groups (p>0.05). Plasma Ca_t (p<0.001) and Mg levels (p<0.05) in essential hypertension were significantly lower than those of controls. Plasma Na, K, and Ca_i levels remained normal in essential hypertension. There are complex associations between metals and arterial pressure. Ca and Mg deficiencies seem to be associated with increased prevalence of hypertension. Increases in erythrocyte Zn may have a future potential use for diagnosis of hypertension.