human serum albumin (HSA) and the incidence of coronary heart disease

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between low levels of human serum albumin (HSA) and the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a cohort of elderly Japanese-American men. Using data from the Honolulu Heart Program's fourth examination (1991-1993), Human Serum Albumin levels of 998 Japanese American men aged 71-93 years was compared with plasma levels of fibrinogen, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol , LDL cholesterol , triglycerides , diastolic BP, BMI, and fasting blood glucose . Human Serum Albumin was significantly negatively associated with age and fibrinogen, and significantly positively associated with total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol , , LDL cholesterol , triglycerides , diastolic BP, BMI and fasting blood glucose. After adjusting for age, tertiles of Human Serum Albumin were significantly positively associated with total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and significantly negatively associated with fibrinogen.

Using multivariate stepwise regression, significant correlations were seen between human serum albumin Albumin and fibrinogen, cholesterol, age, "High Density Lipoprotein" cholesterol and triglycerides, and a borderline correlation was seen with systolic blood pressure. However, the model R-square for all variables was only 0.10. In conclusion, human serum albumin Human Serum Albumin levels are significantly associated with several traditional cardiovascular risk factors, particularly serum lipid levels.
PMID: 17621861 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Predictive value of D-dimer and LDH levels in response to chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer patients

Hemostatic activation is known to occur in malignant diseases and this may be associated with tumor progression and angiogenesis. D-dimer levels are elevated in lung, uterine cervix, prostate and colorectal cancer patients. We aimed to evaluate the association and predictive value of Lactate Dehydrogenase and D-Dimer levels with chemotherapy response in metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC) patients.Plasma CEA , CA19-9 , LDH and D-dimer levels were not significantly different between two groups before chemotherapy (table). Plasma LDH and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in progressive disease patients than patients with complete, partial or stable response after 3 cycles of chemotherapy, but plasma CEA and CA19-9 were not significantly different between these groups (table). Conclusion: We found that D-dimer and LDH levels dropped in responders while they increased in patients with disease progression. D-Dimer and LDH plasma levels decrease or increase after response and progressive disease, respectively, and can act as a predictive factor of the clinical outcome of the disease.Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2007 ASCO Annual Meeting Proceedings Part I. Vol 25, No. 18S (June 20 Supplement), 2007: 14568 Lee Biosolutions www.leebio.com