On the nature of peculiar expectorated bronchial casts: Can infrared spectroscopy enlighten us?

BACKGROUND

Bronchial casts can be defined as gelatinous structures originating from the airways. While several cases of bronchial cast formation have been reported in literature, unravelling its nature is often a difficult task.

METHODS

In this case report, we applied infrared (IR) spectroscopy on a bronchial cast fragment originating from a patient who suffered from a 2-y history of frequent coughing accompanied by the occasional expectoration of viscous and thick white-yellow bronchial-like structures.

RESULTS

Based on a markedly high lipid to protein ratio and presence of long-chain fatty acids, the resulting IR spectrum appeared to be very suggestive for chyloptysis.

CONCLUSION

Taking into account the patient's prior history of radiation therapy for a lymphoma complicated by congestive heart failure, we hypothesized that an impairment of adequate lymphatic flow into the venous system due to a combination of lymphatic obstruction and high venous pressures is the most plausible culprit.

Biochemical assay and spectroscopic analysis of oxidative/antioxidative parameters in the blood and serum of substance use disorders patients. A methodological comparison study

Substance abuse such as opioids, cannabis, and alcohol causes activation on the immune system and the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) into the blood and serum. These substances cause an effect on oxidant and antioxidant status in patients with substance abuse. Mainly, wide-open to the ROS are lipids and proteins included blood, which suffers peroxidation. In this study, for the first-time differentiation of the effects of cannabis, alcohol and other synthetic substances on blood and serum samples, were performed. For this purpose, the level of the malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) in serum and red blood cells, was measured using biochemical assay methods and Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed, that peroxidation which is dignified as the production of MDA was increased for substance use disorder (SUD) patients (18.01 ± 2.97) compared to the control group (10.75 ± 2.28) (p < 0.001) and for antioxidant capacity, GSH level were significantly increased for SUD patients (p < 0.001). For the discrimination of protein and lipid region obtained from FTIR spectroscopy, we extracted features by principal component analyze (PCA) of protein (1800 cm^-1 to 900 cm^-1) and lipid (3200 cm^-1 to 2800 cm^-1) regions for blood and serum samples collected from patients with different types of SUD and healthy control (HC) participants. For the consideration of lipid oxidation, lipid saturation, lipid desaturation and protein aggregation the peak heights at 1740 cm^-1 to 2960 cm^-1, 2920 cm^-1 to 2960 cm^-1, 3012 cm^-1 to 2960 cm^-1, and 1630 cm^-1 to 1650 cm^-1 regions were studied for SUD and HC. Moreover, more visible changes were noticed for proteins region, than for lipids. The most notice structural changes were observed in amide II in serum spectra. Then we classified protein and lipid region's PCA results of blood and serum by Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and Support vector machine (SVM). Confidence of the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of blood and serum were obtained as 100%, 100% and 100% individually. This is the first comparative study on the spectrochemical tool and biochemical assay on SUD. Our results presented 100% discrimination of disorder region compared to healthy subjects.

Serum lipids, leptin, and soluble leptin receptor in alcohol dependence: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE

Alcohol dependence affects metabolic processes. Further research is needed to apply this knowledge clinically. In this study, possible differences in serum lipids and/or leptin activities between alcohol-dependent in-patients and healthy controls and possible associations with alcohol-related blood parameters and with prospective outcomes in alcohol dependence were assessed sex-specifically.

METHOD

We measured and compared (median) serum lipids (triglycerides and total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol) and leptin activities (leptin, soluble leptin receptor [ObRe], and free leptin index) in 200 (males 56.5 %) early-abstinent alcohol-dependent in-patients and 240 (males 55.4 %) healthy controls and assessed alcohol-related readmissions during a 24 -month post-inclusion period.

RESULTS

Male patients showed higher HDL cholesterol (61 versus 48 mg/dl), lower LDL/HDL ratios (2.06 versus 3.04), and lower free leptin index (0.30 versus 0.59) at study inclusion compared to healthy controls. In patients, ObRe levels were higher than in controls and decreased from inclusion to the second study-visit (at median 5 days later; males: 16.7-13.8 versus 11.0 ng/ml; females: 17.0-13.4 versus 12.1 ng/ml). The free leptin index increased between the two time points in females (0.80 versus 1.20). Lipids and leptin activities correlated with carbohydrate-deficient transferrin levels and liver enzyme activities. None of the serum parameters were significantly associated with alcohol-related readmissions.

CONCLUSION

Our data support that serum lipid levels and leptin activities are involved in alcohol dependence. The parameters appear as possible indirect biomarkers for alcohol dependence.