Hospital Povisa SA

Prostate-specific antigen blood testing has improved early detection of prostate cancer (PCa); however, PCa mortality has not decreased accordingly and a prostate biopsy is still required for a definitive diagnosis. Proteomic biomarker screening in easily available body fluids such as seminal plasma is now increasingly being proposed as a solution to improve PCa detection and prognosis. PCa cells typically produce high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we therefore investigated ROS levels in semen samples from patients with a negative or a positive prostate biopsy to predict PCa diagnosis. Multiple clinicopathological parameters (digital rectal examination, prostate-specific antigen scoring, prostate biopsy, and ROS levels) of patients examined for PCa were measured. No significant differences in ROS levels were detected in relation to PCa diagnosis. Although seminal plasma is a well-suited medium for prostate-related biomarkers, no significant differences in ROS levels were observed between the patient groups. Comparison with ROS levels encountered in semen of larger patient groups is the next logical step.

Drug-induced lupus erythematosus is defined as a syndrome with clinical and serological features similar to systemic lupus erythematosus that is temporally related to continuous drug exposure and which resolves after discontinuation of this drug. More than 90 drugs, including biological modulators such as tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitors and interferons, have been identified as likely 'culprits'. While there are no standard diagnostic criteria for drug-induced lupus erythematosus, guidelines that can help to distinguish drug-induced lupus erythematosus from systemic lupus erythematosus have been proposed and several different patterns of drug-induced lupus erythematosus are emerging. Distinguishing drug-induced lupus erythematosus from systemic lupus erythematosus is important because the prognosis of drug-induced lupus erythematosus is usually good when the drug is withdrawn. This review discusses the differences between drug-induced lupus erythematosus and systemic lupus erythematosus, the mechanisms of action of drug-induced lupus erythematosus and drugs that are usually associated with drug-induced lupus erythematosus, with particular focus on the biological treatments.