Purpose: Tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive agent, is used especially after organ transplantation. It has been asserted that tacrolimus has protective effects on the auditory system in some studies while it has negative effects in other studies. The purpose of our study is to investigate the effect of tacrolimus on the inner ear of the rats.
Materials and Methods: 20 healthy Sprague Downey male rats weighing 250-350 grams were included in our study. The first group of rats were given 1mg/kg tacrolimus (n:7), the second group of rats were given 0.1 mg/kg tacrolimus (n:7), and the third group (n:6) was the non-administered control group. The first measurements of all rats were taken with distortion-product otoacoustic emission before starting the experiment. Then, tacrolimus drug was administered by gavage method to the 1st and 2nd groups along 30 days. The last measurement was repeated on the 30th day.
Results: According to the results of the first measurements, emission was obtained in all rats and the responses were found to have similar characteristics. Similarly, the difference between the signal noise rate values in the last measurements taken from the groups did not show any statistical significance.
Conclusions: Based on the distortion-product otoacoustic emission measurements, it can be said that Tacrolimus does not have ototoxic effects on the auditory system of rats considering the administered dosage and time.
|
|
|
Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of hypoxia on HIF-1α, HIF-2α, SOX2, OCT4, NANOG, CD133, ESRRA genes in Hep-2 laryngeal and FaDu pharyngeal cancer cell lines.
Materials and Methods: Hep-2 and FaDu cell lines were exposed to hypoxia for 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours to determine the effect of hypoxia and then treated with 5μM, 10μM and 20μM XCT790 under hypoxic conditions. Taqman Gene Expression Assays were used to determine mRNA expressions.
Results: In the hypoxic environment, we observed that HIF-2α, SOX2, OCT4, NANOG, CD133, and ESRRA mRNA expressions increased, except HIF-1α in Hep-2 cells. In FaDu cells, it was observed that HIF-1α and SOX2 mRNA expressions decreased, while HIF-2α, OCT4, NANOG, CD133, and ESRRA mRNA expressions increased. When cells were treated with the ESRRA inverse agonist XCT790, the hypoxia-induced gene expression profile was found altered.
Conclusion: In our study, it was determined that hypoxia changed the gene expression profile in Hep-2 and FaDu cell lines. According to our results, it was concluded that the ESRRA gene may be an important cofactor of the hypoxic response, but its inhibition alone may not be sufficient to abolish the hypoxic response. Protein data is needed to reveal the precise mechanisms of ESRRA and hypoxia association in head and neck cancers.
|
Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of blood 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels with fibrocystic breast masses and breast patterns.
Materials and Methods: The study included 612 patients who presented with breast complaints or referred for routine screening between 2018-2021 and were requested to have breast ultrasonography (USG) and mammography (MG) examinations. Patients were divided into two groups; group 1 consisted of women with fibrocystic mass (BI-RADS 2-3) and group 2 consisted of women without breast mass (BI-RADS 1). These two groups were compared by age, breast USG, MG results, and blood 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels.
Results: Of the 612 patients, 310 (51%) had fibrocystic mass in their breasts, while 302 (49%) had normal breasts. The mean age of both groups was similar. Those with fibrocystic mass in the breast had lower vitamin D levels and higher breast density than the control group. The group with higher breast density had lower vitamin D levels, and there was a negative correlation between vitamin D level and breast density
Conclusion: Our study revealed that women with fibrocystic masses in their breasts (BI- RADS2 and BI-RADS3) had higher breast density and lower vitamin D levels than women without breast mass.
|
Purpose: Aging is related to multiple and systemic dysfunctions in the body, accompanied by metabolic disorders and oxidative stress. Although studies are revealing the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in aging-related pathologies, this relationship has not been fully elucidated. In this study, it was aimed to reveal changes in liver function, plasma lipids, and oxidative stress markers due to aging and gender, and to investigate how these parameters change with ER stress inhibitor tauro-ursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) treatment.
Materials and Methods: Young (4 months old) and old (24 months old) Wistar albino male and female rats were used in the experiments. The administration of ER stress inhibitor TUDCA was performed for 4 weeks (150 mg/kg/day, ip). Liver function markers (AST and ALT), plasma lipids (LDL, HDL, TG and total cholesterol), and oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde, (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO)) levels were measured in plasma samples.
Results: ER stress inhibition with TUDCA decreased AST levels, increased HDL value, decreased TG value, and decreased MDA and MPO levels in the elderly. The effects on some parameters varied depending on gender.
Conclusion: Considering the role of oxidative stress and metabolic disorders in the pathogenesis of many age-related diseases, it is thought that these results will contribute to the development of treatment approaches targeting ER stress inhibition in aging.
|
|
|
Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether the clinical features of the cases referred from in-hospital areas to the pediatric emergency department (ED) with “reverse transport” have emergency characteristics and the reasons for the transfer, and to contribute to intra-hospital transfer protocols to be prepared.
Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. The clinical properties of 120 patients who were sent to the ED from the hospital area were evaluated.
Results: 57.5% (69) of the patients were male and the median age was 42 months (0-210 months). 45.8% (55) were referred to the ED because their clinical condition required emergency treatment. 54.8% of these patients were stable according to Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT) and 78.6% were category 3, 4, 5 according to Emergency Severity Index (ESI). Only 4 patients received ESI life-saving procedures. 70% (84) were treated in the ED. There was a statistically significant difference between the PAT and ESI and the group of patients whose clinical status needed urgent treatment.
Conclusion: Most of the patients sent to PED from other wards within the hospital are stable patients. For the effective use of the PED, the patients who will be transferred to the PED should be carefully evaluated by the relevant physician, priority should be given to the transport of hemodynamically unstable patients to the emergency room, and they should be treated appropriately in short-term follow-up or treatment units. For stable patients, an area independent from the emergency department should be created in line with the facilities of each hospital.
|
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of level of income and occupational factors on mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in Turkey.
Materials and Methods: The study has a cross-sectional, descriptive design and 768 participants were included. The data were collected via an electronic survey by sharing the link in social media groups. Monthly household income (MHI) and occupational characteristics of the participants were investigated during COVID-19 lockdown. Psychological measurements were performed via PHQ-4 and Fear of COVID-19 scales.
Results: Regarding MHI; participants with a MHI of €299 or less had significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to those with a MHI of €1000 or higher. Regarding occupational groups; the unemployed and students had higher anxiety and depression levels compared to housewives/retired individuals, business owners, government officials and health workers. It was determined that partial remote work and working at the workplace were protective against anxiety and depression, respectively.
Conclusion: Conditions such as unemployment, low level of income and the decreased social interaction related to working style were found to be associated with higher depression and anxiety levels during the pandemic.
|
Purpose: The goal of this study is to explain the characteristics of COVID-19 in this demographic, as well as the impact it had on pediatric cancer care during the pandemic.
Materials and Methods: Fifteen COVID-19 patients diagnosed were studied retrospectively. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were collected in relation to 15 patients under the age of 18 who tested positive for Sars-CoV-2.
Results: Of the 12117 pediatric hemato-oncological patients tested for COVID-19, 1125 patients showed symptoms, and 14 tested positive. The majority of cases suffered minor illnesses. A total of ten children required inpatient care, five needed oxygen support, and four required mechanical ventilation and later died. It was noted that the duration of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity was prolonged in patients receiving intensive chemotherapy and/or immunosuppressive therapy. Patients’ chemotherapy was delayed in all 15 (100%) Sars-CoV-2-positive patients. Although changes visible on chest computed tomography (CT) imaging of children were mainly milder than in adults, radiological findings were more severe in patients who received relatively intensive cancer treatment.
Conclusion: Children who have been treated for cancer or who have undergone a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) may be at greater risk of severe COVID-19 and should be under constant observation.
|
Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between autoimmune liver diseases and esophageal motor disorders (EMD).
Materials and Methods: 63 patients diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and followed up in our hospital were included in the study. The control group consisted of 33 patients. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, esophageal motility study and pH meter tests were performed on all participants.
Results: Of the 63 patients included in the study 49.2% of the patients, EMD was detected while 31.7% of them had pathology in the pH meter. The rates of EMD of patients with PBC, PSC and AIH were 50%, 63.6%, and 42.9%, respectively while the pathology rates of the pH meter were found as 25%, 54.5%, and 28.6%, respectively. Statistically significant difference was found between autoimmune liver disease and control group in terms of esophageal motor diseases. As a result of manometric examination, median lower esophageal sphincter resting pressure was significantly lower in autoimmune liver patients compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Our study presents that EMD is common in patients with PBC, PSC, and AIH, and that the presence of cirrhosis has no impact on the development of EMD.
|
