Objectives. The aim of the study was to evaluate the activity of cathepsin B, collagenases, trypsin, and plasmin and concentration of cystatin C in serum of healthy pregnant women in peripartum period. Study Design. The study group included 45 women in uncomplicated pregnancies. Blood samples were collected in four time points. Enzyme activity was measured by spectrofluorometric method. The lev...

Cystatin C, a protein inhibitor of lysosomal cysteine proteinases, was demonstrated by immunohistochemical techniques to be present in the birefringent amyloid deposits of the small arteries in the cerebrum, cerebellum, and leptomeninges of 10 Icelandic individuals with hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis. Specimens from other organs were investigated in one of the patients, and amy...

BACKGROUND Correct estimation of renal function is crucial in assessing prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF). Recently, two new equations have been proposed to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with cystatin C alone or both creatinine and cystatin C. We assessed the prognostic value of eGFR estimated by these new equations in outpatients with HF. METHODS The study...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Obesity is a risk factor for incident chronic kidney disease (CKD). Visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) may confer differential metabolic risk profiles. The relations of VAT and SAT were analyzed with CKD as estimated by creatinine- and cystatin-based estimating equations. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Participants from the Framingham...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Determinants of cystatin C, a novel marker of mortality in the elderly, have not been extensively studied in Asian elderly population. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN Associations of cystatin C with anthropometric, cardiometabolic, hematological, nutritional variables and inflammatory markers were examined in 159 community-living elderly Japanese women whose BMI averaged 22...

This paper presents a current view of the possible clinical uses of cystatin C determination. Cystatin C is an inhibitor of cysteine proteases, and relatively stable in the systemic circulation it is comparatively easily determined. Although in clinical practice it is known primarily as a relatively reliable and endogenous marker for glomerular filtration, lately cystatin C analysis has been di...

Background and aims: Diagnosis of moderately impaired renal function is of particular importance in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. Whereas patients with a markedly impaired glomerular filtration rate can be diagnosed easily by elevated serum creatinine concentrations, moderately reduced renal function may be missed by this conventional parameter. Recently, cystatin C has been suggested a...