Browsing by Author "Folkmanis, Valdis"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Breath Volatile Organic Compounds in Surveillance of Gastric Cancer Patients following Radical Surgical Management
    (2023-05) Škapars, Roberts; Gašenko, Evita; Broza, Yoav Y.; Sīviņš, Armands; Poļaka, Inese; Bogdanova, Inga; Pčolkins, Andrejs; Veliks, Viktors; Folkmanis, Valdis; Lesčinska, Anna; Liepniece-Karele, Inta; Haick, Hossam; Rumba-Rozenfelde, Ingrīda; Leja, Mārcis
    As of today, there is a lack of a perfect non-invasive test for the surveillance of patients for potential relapse following curative treatment. Breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been demonstrated to be an accurate diagnostic tool for gastric cancer (GC) detection; here, we aimed to prove the yield of the markers in surveillance, i.e., following curative surgical management. Patients were sampled in regular intervals before and within 3 years following curative surgery for GC; gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nanosensor technologies were used for the VOC assessment. GC-MS measurements revealed a single VOC (14b-Pregnane) that significantly decreased at 12 months, and three VOCs (Isochiapin B, Dotriacontane, Threitol, 2-O-octyl-) that decreased at 18 months following surgery. The nanomaterial-based sensors S9 and S14 revealed changes in the breath VOC content 9 months after surgery. Our study results confirm the cancer origin of the particular VOCs, as well as suggest the value of breath VOC testing for cancer patient surveillance, either during the treatment phase or thereafter, for potential relapse.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Clinicopathological Significance of Exosomal Proteins CD9 and CD63 and DNA Mismatch Repair Proteins in Prostate Adenocarcinoma and Benign Hyperplasia
    (2022-02) Folkmanis, Kristofs; Junk, Elizabete; Merdane, Evelina; Folkmane, Inese; Folkmanis, Valdis; Ivanovs, Igors; Eglitis, Janis; Jakubovskis, Maris; Laabs, Sven; Isajevs, Sergejs; Lietuvietis, Vilnis; Faculty of Medicine
    Introduction. Recently, it has been shown that exosomal biomarkers and DNA mismatch repair proteins (MMR) could play an important role in cancer risk stratification and prognosis assessment. The gold standard for prostate carcinoma (PCa) diagnosis is biopsy and histopathological examination. Thus, the complex evaluation of exosomal and MMR proteins could be beneficial for prostate cancer risk stratification and diagnostics. The aim of the current study was to evaluate and compare the expression of exosomal proteins CD9 and CD63 and MMR proteins in the tissue of patients with prostate benign hyperplasia (BPH) and PCa. Methods. The study was retrospective. Altogether, 92 patients with PCa and 20 patients with BPH (control group) were enrolled in the study. Exosomal and MMR protein expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The follow-up for each PCa patient in our study lasted till disease progression and/or a maximum of 5 years. Results. Low-grade PCa was observed in 56 patients and high-grade PCa in 36 patients. CD63 expression was significantly higher in patients with high-grade PCa compared to those with low-grade PCa. CD9 expression was significantly downregulated in PCa patients compared to the control group. MMR protein expression deficiency was observed in 10 PCa patients. MMR proteins were maintained in all cases of BPH. The study found a negative correlation between MMR protein loss and PCa ISUP grade groups. Progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with MMR deficiency was significantly shorter than in patients with maintained MMR expression. Conclusions. CD9 protein expression was downregulated in PCa, compared to BPH, while CD63 protein expression was upregulated in high-grade PCa but downregulated in low-grade PCa. CD63 protein upregulation, CD9 downregulation, and loss of MMR protein characterized the shorter PFS of high-grade PCa patients. CD9, CD63, and MMR could be the routine immunohistochemical biomarkers for the diagnosis and risk stratification of PCa.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Electrocardiographic Abnormalities and Mortality in Epilepsy Patients
    (2021-05-16) Suna, Normunds; Suna, Inga; Gutmane, Evija; Kande, Linda; Karelis, Guntis; Viksna, Ludmila; Folkmanis, Valdis; Department of Infectology
    Background and Objectives: People with epilepsy (PWE) have a 2-3 times higher mortality rate than the general population. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) comprises a significant proportion of premature deaths, whereas sudden cardiac death (SCD) is among the leading causes of sudden death in the general population. Cardiac pathologies are significantly more prevalent in PWE. Whether electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters are associated with remote death in PWE has yet to be elucidated. The study objective was to assess whether interictal ECG parameters are associated with mortality in the long-term. Materials and Methods: The study involved 471 epilepsy patients who were hospitalized after a bilateral tonic-clonic seizure(s). ECG parameters were obtained on the day of hospitalization (heart rate, PQ interval, QRS complex, QT interval, heart rate corrected QT interval (QTc), ST segment and T wave changes), as well as reported ECG abnormalities. Mortality data were obtained from the Latvian National Cause-of-Death database 3-11, mean 7.0 years after hospitalization. The association between the ECG parameters and the long-term clinical outcome were examined. Results: At the time of assessment, 75.4% of patients were alive and 24.6% were deceased. Short QTc interval (odds ratio (OR) 4.780; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.668-13.698; p = 0.004) was associated with a remote death. After the exclusion of known comorbidities with high mortality rates, short QTc (OR 4.631) and ECG signs of left ventricular hypertrophy (OR 5.009) were associated with a remote death. Conclusions: The association between routine 12-lead rest ECG parameters-short QTc interval and a pattern of left ventricular hypertrophy-and remote death in epilepsy patients was found. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to associate rest ECG parameters with remote death in an epileptic population.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Preferences of patients for discussing sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
    (2017-08) Suna, Normunds; Gutmane, Evija; Lazdane, Madara; Karelis, Guntis; Folkmanis, Valdis; Rīga Stradiņš University
    People with epilepsy have increased mortality rates, which is partially attributed to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy syndrome (SUDEP). Poor seizure control appears to be the strongest SUDEP risk factor. Management of epilepsy and adherence to therapy is critical to seizure control. The belief by caregivers of negative influence caused by being informed about the syndrome is the main reason SUDEP is not disclosed. There are no clear recommendations when to disclose the risk of SUDEP and how much information should be provided. We addressed the preferences of Latvian epilepsy patients for discussing SUDEP as well as awareness of the syndrome. Our study involved 55 epilepsy patients. We found that, as in other studies, our patients were relatively well informed about SUDEP. We found that a considerable proportion of patients preferred to receive information about SUDEP from a general practitioner. We note the belief of patients that the disclosure of SUDEP would either improve or have no effect on the quality of life. We were able to identify groups of patients with a self-reported belief of more frequent expected anxiety and poor adherence to medical treatment. Our data improves the understanding of preferences of patient for discussing the negative aspects of epilepsy.