SERUM VITAMIN D LEVELS IN DIFFERENT MORPHOLOGIC FORMS OF AGE RELATED CATARACT.

PURPOSE: Vitamin D insufficiency and age related cataract (ARC) are public health problems. We evaluated serum vitamin D levels in ARC patients. METHOD: A prospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was designed to measure the vitamin D status of patients with ARC. Patients have grouped either presence of any type of posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) (group 1) or ARC without the PSC component (Group 2). After full ophthalmologic consideration, patients over 40 years of age with no history of ocular trauma, multivitamin supplement ingestion, chronic renal failure, thyroidectomy, parathyroidectomy, skin cancer, and cigarette smoking were included in the study. RESULTS: Totally, 79 subjects of which 26 (32.9%) subjects in group 1 and 53 (67.1%) subjects in group 2 were included in the study. Group 1 had mean vitamin D levels of 17.31±13.30 ng/mL. Vitamin D levels in Group 2 were 13.34±7.87 ng/mL. Group 1 did not show vitamin D insufficiency (P = 0.31; one-sample t-test). However, Group 2 showed a statistically significantly lower vitamin D level compared to the insufficiency level of 20ng/mL (P= 0.00; one-sample t-test). CONCLUSION: Vitamin D may have an important function in lens metabolism. Vitamin D deficiency and cataract development need further extensive researches.

Serum levels of thyroid hormone, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folic acid, C-reactive protein, and hemoglobin in Pseudoexfoliation and primary open angle Glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To examine levels of serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), vitamin D, vitamin B12 (B12), folic acid (FA), c-reactive protein (CRP), and hemoglobin in pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (XFG) and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital-based, prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2016 through June 2017 and October 2017 through January 2018. The number of patients was 33 in the control group, 29 in the XFG group and 77 in the POAG group. RESULTS: The mean±SD levels of TSH, fT4, fT3, vitamin D, B12, FA, CRP, and hemoglobin were 2.52±2.07 mU/l, 1.15±0.24ng/dl, 3.16±3.37pg/ml, 20.83±14.06ng/ml, 318.29±115.48pg/ml, 7.7±4.01ng/ml, 3.78±3.83mg/l, 13.36±2.08g/dl in control group respectively. The levels for the XFG patients were as follows: TSH 2.02±1.16 mU/l, fT3 3.10±0.46pg/ml, fT4 1.18±0.19ng/dl, vitamin D 20.02±19.30ng/dl, B12 302.13±142.44pg/ml, FA 9.55±3.67ng/ml, CRP 3.69±3.22mg/l, and hemoglobin 13.58±1.38g/dl. In the POAG group, serum levels of TSH, fT4, fT3, vitamin D, B12, FA, CRP, and hemoglobin were 1.88±1.13 mU/l, 1.23±0.14ng/dl, 3.16±0.43pg/ml, 15.7±12.0ng/ml, 297.71±150.66pg/ml, 9.1±4.1ng/ml, 4.16±5.12mg/l, and 14.09±1.45 respectively. Only mean vitamin D levels show a significant difference between the control group and POAG (p=0.015). CONCLUSION: POAG patients show decreased Vitamin D levels. Our study shows no significant differences in other biochemical markers between XFG, POAG and control subjects.

Biomarkers of airway and systemic inflammation in obese asthmatic paediatric patients.

BACKGROUND: It is thought that airway inflammation is more common in obese asthmatic patients because inflammation is harder to control and does not respond well to glucocorticoid treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study's aim was to investigate the effect of obesity on airway and systemic inflammation in children with asthma and to identify the biomarkers that play a role in this inflammation. METHODS: The study included patients aged 6-16 years who were diagnosed with asthma in the paediatric allergy outpatient clinic of Bagcilar Training and Research Hospital in Turkey. Complete blood count parameters were compared between three groups: obese asthmatic (n=43), obese non-asthmatic (n=45), and non-obese non-asthmatic (control group, n=30). Levels of high-sensitive CRP (hs-CRP), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), osteopontin (OPN), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and 25(OH)-vitamin D were compared between the groups. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were observed in 25(OH)-vitamin D, NGAL, OPN, hs-CRP, and MMP-9 levels between groups. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between FEV1/FVC and NGAL and MMP-9. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to investigate levels of hs-CRP, NGAL, OPN, MMP-9, and 25(OH)-vitamin D in obese asthmatic children. Larger studies with sputum and BAL examinations are required to determine the potential of biomarkers for identifying inflammation in obese asthmatic children.