PURPOSE The pathogenesis of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) is uncertain. We investigated the potential role of inflammation in the development of LUTS, with the use of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) as an inflammatory marker, in a population-based study of aging men in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS Our study used a multistage stratified design to recruit a random sample of 1,...

BACKGROUND Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most frequent infection-related cause of death. The reference standard to diagnose CAP is a new infiltrate on chest radiograph in the presence of recently acquired respiratory signs and symptoms. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of clinical signs and symptoms and laboratory biomarkers for CAP. METHODS 545 p...

BACKGROUND The correlation of low serum albumin with mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is partly linked to its association with systemic inflammation. However, it is not clear to what extent albumin's correlation with mortality depends on concomitant systemic inflammation. Here we addressed this question in patients with CKD stage 5. METHODS Serum albumin (S-Alb), system...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is known to result in elevated systemic oxygen consumption (Vo(2)) and increases in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), although the relationship among hsCRP, Vo(2), and delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after SAH remains unknown. We hypothesized that hsCRP is directly associated with Vo(2) and that elevated Vo(2) is a predictor of DCI...

BACKGROUND In the present study, we aimed to investigate serum calprotectin levels in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and possible role of this molecule in the disease pathogenesis. METHOD Twenty nine patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, 30 type 2 diabetic patients without neuropathy, and 40 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), high...

Retinal microvascular caliber is a risk marker for cardiovascular disease. The authors examined the relation between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and retinal microvascular caliber in a multiethnic Asian population (n = 3,583) of Chinese, Malays, and Indians aged 24-95 years residing in Singapore (2003-2007). Retinal arteriolar and venular diameters were measured and summarized as...

AIM C-reactive protein (CRP) level predicts future cardiovascular events in patients on haemodialysis (HD). Advanced glycation end products (AGE) play a role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) in HD patients. However, which variables including tissue AGE levels are independently associated with CRP remains unknown. Therefore, whether tissue AGE and CRP levels were correlated with atherosclerosis i...

In response to inflammatory stress, C-reactive protein (CRP) is predominantly secreted from the liver and adipose tissue(s), and an independent relationship exists between different markers of overweight/obesity and elevated high sensitive (hs) CRP levels (Figure). Higher hsCRP levels predict incident myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, peripheral arterial disease, sudden cardiac death, and all...

Although numerous previous studies have explored various biomarkers for their ability to predict mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, these studies have been limited by retrospective analyses, mostly prevalent dialysis patients, and the measurement of only 1 or 2 biomarkers. This prospective study was aimed to evaluate the association between 3 biomarkers and mortality in incid...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) on plasma nitric oxide (NO), Endothelin 1 (ET1), high sensitive C-reactive protein (HSCRP) and quality of life (QoL) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS We conducted a pilot randomized clinical trial in order to evaluate plasma NO, ET1, HSCRP and QoL before and after twenty sessions of EECP (g...