Aleksandra Kaczka

Role of adipocytokines and its correlation with endocrine pancreatic function in patients with pancreatic cancer.

INTRODUCTION Some authors suggest that adipocytokines contribute to the induction of pancreatic carcinogenesis as well as the development of endocrine insufficiency. AIMS We evaluate the circulating concentrations of leptin, resistin and visfatin in patients with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer (PC) and relationship between serum adipocytokines level and clinicopathological features of PC. Moreover the usefulness of those adipocytokines as possible biomarkers of endocrine pancreatic function in PC has been assessed. METHODS The pilot study group consisted of 45 individuals (mean age 65.6 ± 11.5 years, BMI 21.8 ± 3.4 kg/m(2)) with newly diagnosed PC (within last 1-3 months) and 13 healthy individuals with age, gender and BMI matched to the study group. Among PC patients 18 (40%) had recently diagnosed diabetes. Fasting plasma leptin, resistin, visfatin concentrations were determined with ELISA (R&D Systems, Phoenix Pharmaceuticals) and insulin by RIA (DakoCytomation). RESULTS Patients with PC as compared to controls had significantly lower plasma leptin (40.6 ± 21.3 vs 63.2 ± 16.3 pg/mL; p < 0,0008). In contrast PC patients showed more than six fold higher level of resistin (126.2 ± 143.2 vs 18.9 ± 7.2 ng/mL; p < 0.009) than controls. The median plasma visfatin was 2.8 ± 1.8 ng/mL, which was not significantly different from the controls (3.8 ± 1.1 ng/mL). When PC patients with and without diabetes were considered separately, plasma leptin concentrations among nondiabetic patients were slightly, but not significantly higher (44.6 ± 21.0) as compared to diabetics (34.5 ± 20.7). Moreover there was no difference between visfatin and resistin level in PC, among patients with and without diabetes. No significant differences between serum level of leptin, visfatin and resistin and age, gender, BMI, smoking status, tumor localization, distant metastases and pain has been found. CONCLUSION The results of this study confirm previous findings that patients with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer are characterized with lower level of leptin. This pilot study showed significantly higher resistin concentrations in patients with PC in comparison to healthy controls, which may be helpful in PC early diagnosis. Changes in leptin and resistin level in PC are not likely related to endocrine disorders.

Utility of different serum fibrosis markers in diagnosing patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma

AIM To estimate the levels of serum cytokines in chronic pancreatitis (CP) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients in order to evaluate their usefulness as possible biomarkers. METHODS The study included 167 Caucasian patients: 74 with PDAC (28 men and 42 women, aged 30-88 years), 78 with CP (50 men and 21 women, aged 20-79 years) and 15 age-matched healthy controls hospitalized in the Department of Digestive Tract Diseases, Medical University of Lodz, Poland between 2006 and 2013. Serum MCP-1, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, HA and s-Fr were measured in patients with CP (n = 78), PDAC (n = 74) and healthy controls (n = 15) using ELISA (Corgenix United Kingdom Ltd R and D Systems). The severity of CP was assessed according to the Cambridge classification. RESULTS Both patients with CP and PDAC had a significantly higher mean TGF-β1 serum level (1066 ± 582 and 888 ± 356 vs 264 ± 93, P < 0.0001), mean s-Fr (2.42 ± 1.385 and 2.41 ± 1.275 vs 0.6 ± 0.370, P < 0.0001) and mean HA (199 ± 254 and 270 ± 358 vs 40 ± 26, P < 0.0001) compared to controls. There was no difference in mean MCP-1 between all the groups. There were no significant differences in any cytokine levels between the PC and PDAC groups. No significant differences between serum cytokines depending on age, gender or smoking status were found in CP patients. Mean s-Fr concentration was significantly higher in CP, lasting longer than 5 years compared to those with a shorter disease clinical course (2.639 ± 1.125 vs 1.870 ± 0.970, P < 0.03). There was no correlation between tumor size, localization or TNM classification and serum TGF-β1, MCP-1, s-Fr and HA levels in patients with PDAC. No significant differences between cytokines depending on diabetes presence in CP were found. Nevertheless, mean serum TGF-β1 concentration in PDAC patients was higher in those with diabetes compared to the remaining group (986 vs 839, P = 0.043). CONCLUSION Serum TGF-β1, s-Fr and HA may be considered additional diagnostic markers of CP and PDAC. TGF-β1 may be useful to predict endocrine insufficiency in PDAC.

Therapeutic efficacy of amoxicillin and rifaximin in patients with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and Helicobacter pylori infection

Introduction Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) may coexist with Helicobacter pylori infection, which can be the cause of chronic gastrointestinal complaints. Aim Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of amoxicillin and rifaximin in the treatment of these diseases. Material and methods The lactulose hydrogen breath test (LHBT) and the urea breath test (13C-UBT) were performed in 116 patients. In 62 patients the coexistence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and H. pylori infection was observed. Then, in group I (n = 30) pantoprazole (2 × 40 mg), amoxicillin (2 × 1000 mg) and metronidazole (2 × 500 mg) and in group II (n = 32) pantoprazole and amoxicillin at the above doses and rifaximin (3 × 400 mg) were administered for 10 days. After 6 weeks, both breath tests were repeated and the degree of remission of symptoms was measured using a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). Results After the treatment the LHBT index decreased in group I from 61.2 ±19.4 ppm to 22.0 ±8.2 ppm (p < 0.001) and in group II from 59.6 ±15.5 ppm to 15.2 ±8.6 ppm (p < 0.001). Eradication of H. pylori (13C-UBT below 4.0‰) was achieved in 63.3% of patients in group I and 59.4% in group II (p > 0.05). The decrease of pain below 3.0 points in the VAS was obtained in 64.8% of patients in group I and in 56.2% in group II. Conclusions Combination of amoxicillin and rifaximin may be effective in the treatment of patients with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth syndrome and concomitant H. pylori infection.

Vitamins D and K as Factors Associated with Osteopathy in Chronic Pancreatitis: A Prospective Multicentre Study (P-BONE Study)

Background: Osteopathy is common in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), but previous studies carry several limitations. Vitamin K is essential for bone metabolism, but its role in this setting has never been investigated. Our aim is to assess the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in CP patients, and to investigate the association between osteopathy and CP features and nutritional parameters, especially vitamin D and K levels. Methods: Multicentre cross‐sectional study on CP patients diagnosed according to M‐ANNHEIM criteria. Bone density was evaluated by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry and pancreatic function by faecal elastase. Nutritional evaluation included vitamin D and vitamin K. Differences between patients with or without osteopathy were evaluated. The association between investigated variables and bone density were analysed with logistic regression analysis. Results: In total, 211 CP patients were enrolled at eight Centres (67% men; mean age 60). In total, 18% had advancedmarked CP, 56% suffered from pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and disease aetiology was alcoholic in 43%. Vitamin D and K were deficient in 56% and 32%, respectively. Osteopenia was diagnosed in 42% and osteoporosis in 22%. In the multivariate analysis, female sex (OR 2.78), age (OR 1.07 per year) and higher BMI (OR 0.84) were associated with the presence of osteoporosis. In male patients, the only factor associated with osteoporosis was vitamin K deficiency (OR 4.23). Conclusion: The present data confirm a high rate of osteopathy in CP patients and highlight the relevance of vitamin K deficiency as only factor associated with osteoporosis in male patients for the first time.