background: prostate specific antigen (psa) has been used as a screening test for the early detection of prostate cancer (pc) for many years. although the introduction of psa test led to a considerable increase in reported prostate cancer cases, there is still some controversy over the sensitivity and specificity of this marker in distinguishing pc patients from those with benign prostate hyper...

The notion that insulin resistance is associated with a cluster of abnormalities that increase risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) was introduced in 1988,1 and this view continues to gain traction. The study by Robins et al2 provides additional support for the link between insulin resistance and CHD, but it also emphasizes that a good deal remains to be learned about this relationship. For exa...

Adiponectin is the most abundant adipose-derived plasma protein. Recently adiponectin levels have been linked to most variables of metabolic syndrome and conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, its relation with major depression is yet unclear. We evaluated plasma adiponectin levels in 32 first-episode drug-naïve major depression (DSM-IV-TR) patients without conventional ...

A rapid, sensitive, and precise method for measuring the plasma digoxin concentration has been developed with the radioimmunoassay technique. Seventy patients receiving digoxin were shown to have plasma digoxin concentrations between 0.4 and 5 ng./ml. Preliminary studies show that though there is a positive correlation between total daily dose and the plasma digoxin concentration, the relations...

Objective(s) The role of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in patient care has grown rapidly since its introduction three decades ago. The aim of present study was to evaluate the possible relationship between serum levels and the clinical response of valproic acid (VPA). Materials and Methods In the present study we evaluated a homogeneous group of adult patients receiving VPA monotherapy. ...

Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide synthesized mainly by stomach and hypothalamus. Ghrelin decreases secretion of thyroid hormones. Testosterone is an esteroidogenic hormone that exerts stimulatory effects on Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Thyroid (HPT) axis activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of interactions between the central injection of ghrelin and testosterone on me...