OBJECTIVE To determine if B cell activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family (BAFF) acts as an acute phase reactant and predicts severity of acute pancreatitis. METHODS 40 patients with acute pancreatitis were included in this single center cohort pilot study. Whole blood and serum was analyzed on day of admission and nine consecutive days for BAFF, c-reactive protein (CRP), interle...

Inflammatory reactions contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular conditions such as atherosclerosis and ischemic damage in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Among the mediators involved in inflammation are secretory phospholipase A2 group II (sPLA2-II) enzymes. Though some cells constitutively express sPLA2-II, the synthesis by cells such as hepatocytes is typical for an acute-phase rea...

Experimental results have shown that the kinetics of bond formation in chemical cross-linking of gelatin solutions are strongly affected not only by gelatin and reactant concentrations but also by the solution pH. We present an extended numerical investigation of the phase diagram and of the kinetics of bond formation as a function of the pH, via Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice model for g...

Forty patients with atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease, as compared to 29 healthy controls, showed a significant increase in platelet number and activity, a neutrophil leucocytosis, and a raised level of several acute-phase reactant proteins (fibrinogen, antithrombin III, factor VIII, and serum globulin). The hyperproteinaemia was associated with increases in plasma-, serum-, and blood...

Although a zonal distribution of hepatocytes expressing various metabolic functions in liver lobule has been described (1), it is still debated whether functional heterogeneity in the lobule also occurs with respect to plasma protein synthesis, an important function ofhepatocytes . Acute-phase reactants are a group of secretory proteins with dramatically altered rates of synthesis during the ac...

Studies have highlighted the occurrence of Reactive thrombocytosis during the active phase of pulmonary tuberculosis. Role of platelets in inflammatory response is attributed as the cause. But very few studies have demonstrated changes in Platelet related indices in such cases. Hence we aimed to study the relation between platelet indices and an acute phase reactant, Erythrocyte sedimentation r...

Circulating free iron is lethal. Humans have two circulating iron binding proteins to soak up free iron to prevent it from generating toxic quantities of free radicals. These proteins are transferrin, a highaffinity, low-capacity protein (2 atoms of iron per mole cule of transferrin) for which there are receptors on the surface of every iron-requiring cell; and ferritin, a lower-affinity, high-...