Serum creatine kinase elevation in a medical department

Evaluation of creatine kinase (CK)-MB to total CK ratio as a diagnostic biomarker for primary tumors and metastasis screening

Objective

Creatine kinase (CK) and its myocardial band isoenzyme (CK-MB) were considered important diagnostic indicators for identifying suspected acute myocardial infarction. However, the serum level of CK-MB is frequently exaggerated in some pathological states without cardiogenic damage, like cancer. Sometimes, the CK-MB level is even greater than the total CK. This study intended to investigate the association between malignancy and an abnormally high ratio of CK-MB to total CK (CK-MB/CK) and to assess the diagnostic relevance of this ratio as a biomarker for cancer.

Methods

Patients hospitalized between September 2019 and September 2022 at Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital (Jinan, Shandong, China) with serum CK-MB activity greater than total CK activity (CK-MB/CK > 1.0) were recruited as research subjects. Then the demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients were systemically analyzed. The correlation between clinical characteristics (such as cancer types, tumor locations, and tumor metastasis) and laboratory test results (such as serum CK-MB activity, total CK activity, and the CK-MB/CK ratio) was also investigated.

Results

We found that over 44% of the patients with CK-MB/CK > 1.0 were diagnosed with malignancies, and the CK-MB/CK ratio in malignancies patients was significantly higher than in non-malignancies patients. The increase of CK-MB/CK ratio was most obvious in patients with colorectal carcinoma and prostatic carcinoma. Additionally, extremely elevated CK-MB/CK ratios were observed in individuals with metastatic neoplasms, especially in those who suffered from numerous sites of metastasis.

Conclusions

The serum CK-MB/CK ratio can be utilized as a readily accessible supplement diagnostic biomarker in screening for primary and metastatic cancers.

Effect of Electroacupuncture at Wushu Acupoints of the Cardiopulmonary Meridian on the Autophagy in Rats with Acute Myocardial Ischemia

Wushu acupoints are the five acupoints distributed below the human elbow and knee joint. They are all located on the same meridian and divided into five categories: Jing, Ying, Shu, Jing, and He. It has been shown that electroacupuncture (EA) at Shenmen point of heart meridian can improve acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) early. However, it is still unclear if all the Wushu acupoints of the heart meridian can improve AMI. Hence, this study emphasizes Wushu acupoints of heart meridian, compares them with Wushu acupoints of lung meridian, and studies the therapeutic effect of EA at Wushu acupoints on AMI and its possible mechanism. It also discusses the specificity of the heart meridian to heart disease. The AMI model is established by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. The detection methods like the physiological recorder, TTC staining, ELISA, and so forth were used to determine the ECG, myocardial infarct size, serum myocardial enzymes, and myocardial tissue-related protein expression in rats. The heart rate (HR) and ST segment along with creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzymes (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and myocardial infarctions increased after the induction with AMI. Furthermore, the expressions of PINK1 and Parkin protein also showed an increase. However, EA at Wushu acupoints in the heart meridian can reverse the above changes, whereas EA at the lung meridian exhibits limited effect. It is depicted that the heart meridian has a relatively specific relationship with the heart in a diseased state.

No Correlation Between Serum Markers and Early Functional Outcome After Contemporary THA

BACKGROUND

Serum markers of inflammation and muscle damage have shown clinical utility in some areas of medicine, but their value in determining the invasiveness or in predicting the early functional outcomes after total hip arthroplasty (THA) has not been demonstrated.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

(1) Do serum markers of inflammation/muscle damage predict pain or early functional outcomes after contemporary THA performed through a direct anterior or miniposterior approach? (2) Do early functional outcomes as measured by in-hospital outcomes and clinical milestones differ between a contemporary direct anterior and miniposterior approach for THA?

METHODS

Between August 31, 2013, and September 1, 2014, all patients presenting as candidates for THA at our institution who had not already had preoperative blood draws (161) were recruited for this study. Forty-two patients failed these exclusion criteria, eight patients declined enrollment, and 11 were consented but did not complete the required preoperative blood tests. Recruitment stopped when 50 patients had been enrolled in both the direct anterior group and the miniposterior group (2n = 100) based on a priori power analysis. One high-volume surgeon performed all of the direct anterior approaches and three high-volume surgeons performed the miniposterior approaches. Groups did not differ with the numbers available in mean age (63 years; SD 10; range, 35-86 years), sex (52% female), or mean body mass index (mean 31 kg/m²; SD 7 kg/m²; range, 20-73 kg/m²). Serum markers measured including hemoglobin, hematocrit, myoglobin, creatine kinase (CK), C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α were collected at the preoperative clinic visit and on postoperative days 1 and 2 and compared with operative details, in-hospital complications, therapy progress, pain scores, and functional results from a milestone diary. Functional results evaluated included time to discontinue all narcotics and gait aids, independence with activities of daily living, return to driving a motor vehicle, and return to work.

RESULTS

Serum markers after contemporary THA were not correlated with early functional outcomes either in-hospital or postdischarge. Specifically, no serum marker was predictive of the time to discontinue gait aids or narcotics, return to driving, climb stairs, or independence in activities of daily living (all p > 0.08). The patients receiving the direct anterior approach did have lesser elevations of CK levels than the patients undergoing the miniposterior approach (436 ± 312 [direct anterior {DA}] versus 1071 ± 459 [miniposterior {MP}], difference in means: -635; 95% confidence interval [CI], -809 to -462; p < 0.001), myoglobin levels (168 ± 114 [DA] versus 378 ± 151 [MP], difference in means: -210, 95% CI, -269 to -151; p < 0.001), C-reactive protein (79 ± 57 [DA] versus 124 ± 58 [MP], difference in means: -46, 95% CI, -71 to -21; p < 0.001), and interleukin-6 (45 ± 34 [DA] versus 80 ± 53 [MP], difference in means: -35, 95% CI, -54 to -16; p < 0.001), but not in other serum markers. In the hospital, patients undergoing the direct anterior approach ambulated 35 steps farther with physical therapy (178 feet DA versus 142 feet MP, p < 0.01, difference in means: 35, 95% CI, 9-62; p = 0.009) and had visual analog scale pain scores 1.1 less (4.8 DA versus 5.9 MP, difference in means: -1.1, 95% CI, 2.0 to -0.2; p = 0.02) than patients undergoing the miniposterior approach. There were no differences between approaches in other in-hospital outcomes or in posthospital clinical milestones.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum markers including CK, myoglobin, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α did not predict early pain/function after contemporary THA approaches. Although lesser elevations in myoglobin, CK, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 were found after direct anterior THA, that difference was not clinically meaningful. Further reporting of serum biomarkers as a measure of physiological burden after orthopaedic surgical procedures should be viewed as suspect until clear linear or threshold values are established.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, diagnostic study.

Programmed Cell Death Genes Are Linked to Elevated Creatine Kinase Levels in Unhealthy Male Nonagenarians

Declining health in the oldest-old takes an energy toll for the simple maintenance of body functions. The underlying mechanisms, however, differ in males and females. In females, the declines are explained by loss of muscle mass; but this is not the case in males, in whom they are associated with increased levels of circulating creatine kinase. This relationship raises the possibility that muscle damage rather than muscle loss is the cause of the increased energy demands of unhealthy aging in males. We have now examined factors that contribute to the increase in creatine kinase. Much of it (60%) can be explained by a history of cardiac problems and lower kidney function, while being mitigated by moderate physical activity, reinforcing the notion that tissue damage is a likely source. In a search for genetic risk factors associated with elevated creatine kinase, the Ku70 gene XRCC6 and the ceramide synthase gene LASS1 were investigated because of their roles in telomere length and longevity and healthy aging, respectively. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in these two genes were independently associated with creatine kinase levels. The XRCC6 variant was epistatic to one of the LASS1 variants but not to the other. These gene variants have potential regulatory activity. Ku70 is an inhibitor of the proapoptotic Bax, while the product of Lass1, ceramide, operates in both caspase-dependent and -independent pathways of programmed cell death, providing a potential cellular mechanism for the effects of these genes on tissue damage and circulating creatine kinase.

The relationship between skeletal muscle serum markers and primary THA: a pilot study

Various reports confirm elevations in serum markers associated with skeletal muscle injury after orthopaedic surgery in the absence of overt clinical manifestations of myocardial injury. We therefore measured the influence surgical approach has on these serum markers after primary THA. We nonrandomly enrolled 30 nonconsecutive patients undergoing THA in three groups of 10 based on current surgical approaches used at our facility: (1) minimally invasive (MIS) modified Watson Jones approach; (2) miniposterior transmuscular approach (MIS-I); and (3) MIS-II incision. Blood samples for hemoglobin, hematocrit, cardiac troponin I, total creatine kinase, creatine phosphokinase, and serum myoglobin were obtained the morning before surgery as a baseline, immediately postoperatively, and 72 hours thereafter. We found reproducible trends in serum enzyme levels consistent with skeletal muscle damage resulting from primary THA. Troponin I remained normal in all but one patient indicating no myocardial contribution to measured serum enzyme levels. All three procedures resulted in similar trends in serum enzyme markers relevant to primary THA. Our preliminary data suggest no surgical approach appears to affect the degree of muscle trauma more or less than another.

Spinal nociception induced by intramuscular injection of oxytetracycline preparations in rats and pigs

Some drug formulations for intramuscular use may cause damage, which potentially can be associated with pain. In animals, spinal nociception can be assessed by stereological quantification of number of regional dorsal horn neurones containing intranuclear Fos-protein as a consequence of expression of the c-fos gene. The aim of the present study was to use c-fos gene expression as a measure of nociceptive input after intramuscular injection of different oxytetracycline formulations. Rats were given a 0.3 ml intramuscular injection in the thigh of one of two 100 mg/ml oxytetracycline preparations (Maxicyklin Vet., Boehringer-Ingelheim or Engemycin Vet., Intervet; n=6 for both), 0.9% saline (n=4) or 4% formalin (n=2). In addition, five pigs were given an intramuscular injection of Aquacykline Vet. (Rosco) in a dose of 1.0 ml/10 kg. After three hours the animals were anaesthetised and perfusion fixed and their spinal cords were taken out. Cryostate sections of the spinal cords were stained immunohistochemically for Fos-protein in dorsal horn neurones and then subjected to stereological quantification of Fos-positive neurones. Rats receiving a saline injection had 905+/-586 (mean+/-S.D.) Fos-positive neurones, whereas formalin injection increased this number to 11,091+/-4,825. Rats receiving an injection of Engemycin had 1,932+/-893 Fos-positive neurones, which was not significantly different from the saline group. In contrast, injection with Maxicyklin increased the number of Fos-positive neurones to 5,488+/-3,116, which was higher than after injection of saline (P<0.05). In pigs receiving an Aquacyklin injection, the number of Fos-positive neurones was 3,493+/-2,027, which was not significantly higher than the previously determined basal level. The increased neuronal activation after intramuscular injection of Maxicyklin Vet. may suggest that injection of this drug may be more painful than injection with saline. In contrast, no significant difference in neuronal activation caused by saline and Engemycin Vet. was found.

Creatine phosphokinase elevation in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: an unknown association?

STUDY OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the impact of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on serum creatine phosphokinase (CK) levels.

DESIGN

Single-center prospective cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Academic sleep disorder center.

PATIENTS

Two hundred one consecutive patients (mean [+/- SD] age, 54.9 +/- 11.0 years; 155 men and 46 women; mean body mass index, 31.3 +/- 6.9 kg/m(2)) with suspected sleep-disordered breathing.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

OSAS was confirmed in182 patients (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI], > 5 events per hour) and was ruled out in 19 patients (control subjects) by standard polysomnography. Sixty-six OSAS patients and 1 control patient showed an unexplained CK elevation. The mean baseline CK level was significantly higher in patients with severe OSAS (AHI, > 30 event per hour; n = 89) compared to those with mild-to-moderate OSAS (AHI, 5 to 30 events per hour; n = 93) and control subjects (191.4 +/- 12.9 vs 134.3 +/- 7.5 vs 107.1 +/- 7.9 U/L, respectively; p < 0.01). Receiver operating curve analysis identified an optimal cutoff value of > 148 U/L (r = 0.660) for CK, which yielded a positive predictive value of 99%, a sensitivity of 43%, and a specificity of 95% for the diagnosis of OSAS. The mean nocturnal oxyhemoglobin saturation was the main predictor of CK level (r = 0.47; p < 0.001). Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment resulted in a significant decline of CK levels both in patients with mild-to-moderate OSAS (n = 38; 129.7 +/- 13.4 vs 96.7 +/- 7.6 U/L, respectively; p < 0.001) and in patients with severe OSAS (n = 39; 187.7 +/- 18.9 vs 132.2 +/- 12.9 U/L, respectively; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

One third of our study population showed a mild-to-moderate elevation in CK level, which was highly predictive of OSAS. The application of CPAP therapy in OSAS patients resulted in a significant decrease in CK level. We speculate that OSAS may account for a substantial number of cases of unexplained CK elevation (ie, hyperCKemia). Further studies should address the prevalence of OSAS in patients with mild-to-moderate hyperCKemia.