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Heart failure (HF) is a common, debilitating disorder in which the heart is unable to pump an adequate blood supply to the tissues. Although it has been shown that inflammation occurs in HF, inflammatory markers have yet to be defined. Inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), cytokines and serum sialic acid (SA) have been suggested as cardiovascular risk biomarkers. This study aims to assess the serum levels of inflammatory markers such as sialic acid and hs-CRP in chronic heart failure (CHF). Forty-eight patients with CHF and 30 healthy controls were recruited. Total sialic acid (TSA) and lipid-associated sialic acid (LASA), and the inflammatory marker hs-CRP, were assayed in all study subjects. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was assayed in the patient group only. Serum mean TSA and LASA were significantly higher in CHF patients when compared to healthy controls (P < 0.01). Mean hs-CRP levels in CHF patients showed a significant elevation compared with healthy controls (P < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between TSA and hs-CRP. Thus, TSA and hs-CRP would appear to be stable markers of systemic inflammation in chronic heart failure.

This study aims to evaluate the role of free/total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ratio, serum total sialic acid level and cathepsin D activity in the differentiation of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The study looked at 100 patients with BPH, 75 patients with organ-confined or locally advanced prostate cancer, and a control group of 50 healthy volunteers. Prostate cancer patients showed significantly higher total sialic acid level and cathepsin D activity and lower free/total PSA ratio than those in the BPH group. The results suggest that combined measurement of serum total sialic acid and/or cathepsin D activity with free/total PSA ratio could serve as a useful adjunct to conventional diagnostics for the differentiation of prostate cancer and BPH.

Serum total sialic acid (TSA) has been reported to be a marker or risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The reason for this is not clear, although it has been suggested that serum TSA is a marker of the acute phase response. We measured serum TSA and various haematological parameters in 40 subjects. Significant correlations of serum TSA with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (r = 0.65, P < 0.0001), platelet count (r = 0.65, P < 0.0001) and neutrophil count (r = 0.33, P < 0.05) were found. There was an inverse correlation with haemoglobin concentration (r = -0.62, P < 0.0001) and erythrocyte count (r = -0.42, P < 0.01).

Serum sialic acid (SA) has been reported recently to be elevated in a number of malignant conditions. To test the hypothesis that serum SA may be elevated in patients with multiple myeloma we looked at 34 myeloma patients (17 females and 17 males) and 22 controls (11 females and 11 males). The mean age of the myeloma patients was 61.2 +/- 10.9 years versus 58.9 +/- 12.6 years for the control group. There was a highly significant difference between the serum SA in the myeloma patients compared to the control group; 103.5 +/- 32.8 mg/dL versus 78.9 +/- 10.2 mg/dL respectively (P < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between serum SA and serum total protein and globulin concentration in the IgA myeloma patients, and a significant correlation between serum paraprotein quantity and globulin concentration in the IgM patients.