Symmetric Dimethylarginine as a Secondary Prevention Biomarker of Chronic Kidney Disease

The Interplay between Nitrosative Stress, Inflammation, and Antioxidant Defense in Patients with Lichen Planus

BACKGROUND

Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease of unelucidated etiology. LP immunopathogenesis is mainly governed by cytotoxic T lymphocytes that mediate an immune response in basal keratinocytes, which may transform into a reservoir of antigens able to initiate an autoimmune reaction. However, other pathogenic pathways complement these mechanisms. Recent studies highlight the involvement of nitrosative stress in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory skin diseases. Current data on its role in the pathogenesis of LP are scarce.

METHODS

In this article, we investigated nitrosative stress in 40 cutaneous LP (CLP) patients compared to 40 healthy subjects using serum markers including nitrosative stress markers-direct nitrite, total nitrite, nitrate and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), total antioxidant status (TAS), and hsCRP, a marker of inflammation, and analyzed the relationship between nitrosative stress, antioxidant defense, and inflammation to offer new insights into the role of the NO pathway in LP pathogenesis.

RESULTS

We identified significantly higher serum levels of direct nitrite, total nitrite, nitrate, SDMA and hsCRP, and significantly lower levels of TAS in CLP patients versus controls. There were significant negative correlations between the serum levels of TAS and significantl positive correlations between the serum levels of hsCRP and the analyzed nitrosative stress markers in patients with CLP.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate an increased level of nitrosative stress in LP patients that correlates with a pro-inflammatory status and altered antioxidant defense.

Dietary creatine and kidney function in adult population: NHANES 2017-2018

Consuming more creatine may be associated with an increased risk of renal dysfunction, yet this link remains poorly addressed at the population level. Using 2017-2018 NHANES data, the current study found that the odds ratio for having failing kidneys in 2,955 U.S adults consuming ≥2.0 g/day of dietary creatine compared to low-intake counterparts (<1.0 g/day) was 0.74 (95% CI from 0.39 to 1.38), indicating no significant association between dietary creatine intake and kidney dysfunction.