The relationship between prognosis of patients with traumatic brain injury and microRNA biogenesis proteins.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate whether the expression levels of proteins involved in microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis vary in early- and late-stage traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and to evaluate its effect on prognosis. METHODS: Dicer, Drosha, DiGeorge Syndrome Critical Region eight (DGCR8), Exportin5 (XPO5), and Argonaute2 (AGO2) levels were measured in the blood samples of severe TBI patients collected 4-6 h and 72 h after the trauma and compared with the control group. Prognostic follow-up of the patients was performed using the Glasgow Coma Scale score. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant changes in the expression of the miRNA biogenesis proteins Dicer, Drosha, DGCR8, XPO5, and AGO2 in patients with severe TBI. However, the expression of Dicer increased in the patients who improved from the severe TBI grade to the mild TBI grade, and the expression of AGO2 decreased in most of these patients. The Dicer expression profile was found to increase in patients discharged from the intensive care unit in a short time. CONCLUSION: MicroRNAs and their biogenesis proteins may guide prognostic and therapeutic decisions for patients with TBI in the future.

A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia.

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom's northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia.

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe.

By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra-West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe.

Polysialic acid glycomimetic promotes functional recovery and plasticity after spinal cord injury in mice.

Regeneration after injury of the central nervous system is poor due to the abundance of molecules inhibiting axonal growth. Here we pursued to promote regeneration after thoracic spinal cord injury in young adult C57BL/6J mice using peptides which functionally mimic polysialic acid (PSA) and human natural killer cell-1 (HNK-1) glycan, carbohydrate epitopes known to promote neurite outgrowth in vitro. Subdural infusions were performed with an osmotic pump, over 2 weeks. When applied immediately after injury, the PSA mimetic and the combination of PSA and HNK-1 mimetics, but not the HNK-1 mimetic alone, improved functional recovery as assessed by locomotor rating and video-based motion analysis over a 6-week observation period. Better outcome in PSA mimetic-treated mice was associated with higher, as compared with control mice, numbers of cholinergic and glutamatergic terminals and monaminergic axons in the lumbar spinal cord, and better axonal myelination proximal to the injury site. In contrast to immediate post-traumatic application, the PSA mimetic treatment was ineffective when initiated 3 weeks after spinal cord injury. Our data suggest that PSA mimetic peptides can be efficient therapeutic tools improving, by augmenting plasticity, functional recovery when applied during the acute phase of spinal cord injury.

Role of quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen levels in predicting liver biopsy time in treatment-naive chronic hepatitis B patients.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) level indicates the amount of transcriptional activity of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and integrated DNA in hepatocytes which plays a role in development of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and may help decide whether the treatment is necessary or not. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between serum qHBsAg levels and viral replication and stage of liver fibrosis in treatment-naive CHB patients and to determine the role of qHBsAg levels in predicting when liver biopsy is necessary. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 967 patients were included in the study. Because of refusal of liver biopsy the study was conducted on 123 patients. The association between qHBsAg levels with HBV DNA, a-fetoprotein, fibrosis stage and histology activity index was evaluated. RESULTS: Of the patients, mean age was 48 ±11.2 years and 56.1% were male. We found that patients with HBV DNA ≥ 2000 IU/ml had a higher qHBsAg titer in comparison with HBV DNA < 2000 IU/ml. However, there was no relationship between qHBsAg titer and liver necroinflammation or fibrosis stage. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring of qHBsAg together with HBV DNA may be helpful in CHB management. However, qHBsAg level does not provide knowledge about the timing of biopsy or the decision of CHB treatment.

Calprotectin levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis to assess and association with exercise treatment.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, and autoimmune disease that can cause permanent joint damage. In our study, we aim to analyze the change in calprotectin levels following the low-density exercise levels applied to the patients with RA. Twenty-eight patients with RA and 30 healthy controls were included in this study. To evaluate the activity of disease in RA, scores of disease activity that has increased (DAS-28) are figured. Calprotectin, nitric oxide (NO), white blood cell (WBC) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and rheumatoid factor (RF) levels are tested as the laboratory evaluation. Calprotectin, NO, CRP, ESR, WBC, and RF levels were significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group (p < 0.01, p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively). In correlation analysis applied to the patient group with RA, there has been determined a positive relation with calprotectin, and DAS-28, CRP, NO, RF, and WBC (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, p < 0.001, p < 0.05, and p < 0.05, respectively). In result of the low-density exercise treatment applied to patients with RA for 8 weeks, there has been determined a significant decrease in calprotectin, DAS-28, NO, CRP, ESR, and RF levels (p < 0.05, p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, and p < 0.05, respectively). As a result, a significant relation is found between RA disease activity and calprotectin levels and other inflammatory parameters. At the same time, it shows that calprotectin which is a significant indicator of local inflammation can be used as a good identifier in following up exercise treatment.

Comparison of Before and After Varicocelectomy Levels of Trace Elements, Nitric Oxide, Asymmetric Dimethylarginine and Malondialdehyde in the Seminal Plasma and Peripheral and Spermatic Veins.

Increased oxidative damage has been suggested to play an important role in the spermatogenesis and sperm function changes in patients with varicocele. However, changes in levels of nitric oxide (NO), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), malondialdehyde (MDA), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in blood and seminal plasma, and semen quality, are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the NO, ADMA, Fe, Cu, Zn and MDA levels from seminal plasma and peripheral and spermatic vein blood samples of patients with varicocele before and after varicocelectomy. In this before and after comparative study, 29 consecutive patients attending a training hospital in Tekirdag, Turkey, were recruited. MDA and NO levels were determined by spectrophotometric methods. The levels of ADMA were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Trace element level was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. The levels of MDA in the seminal plasma and peripheral and spermatic vein samples were observed to decrease significantly in the comparison of before and after phases of the study group (p = 0.022, p = 0.001 and p = 0.034, respectively). Also, the levels of NO in the seminal plasma and spermatic vein samples decreased significantly in the comparison of before and after phases of the study group (p = 0.025 and p = 0.001, respectively), while the levels of ADMA in seminal plasma and spermatic vein samples increased significantly in the comparison of before and after phases of the study group (p = 0.003 and p = 0.001, respectively). There were no significant differences in the levels of trace elements and sperm count (p > 0.05). Oxidative stress is significantly higher in the spermatic vein and seminal plasma samples of patients with varicocele before varicocelectomy. In conclusion, these events may be evaluated accordingly for the potentially beneficial treatment methods.

Can low brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels be a marker of the presence of depression in obese women?

OBJECTIVE: Depression is a common condition in obese women that can result in severe impairment of their physical and social functioning. A deficiency of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in the mechanism of depression. The aim of this study is to investigate whether BDNF levels differ between obese female patients and healthy controls and whether BDNF levels alter with affective states in depressive obese women. METHODS: The study group included 40 obese, 40 preobese, and 40 normal weight women. BDNF levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in patient and control groups. For identifying the depression and anxiety status, Beck Depression/Anxiety Inventories were used; and for the evaluation of cognitive functions, the mini-mental state examination was used. RESULTS: BDNF levels were significantly lower in obese patients compared to the control group (P<0.01). BDNF levels were significantly lower in obese patients with depression compared to the obese patients without depression (P<0.05). The Beck Depression Inventory showed a negative correlation with BDNF (r=-0.044; P<0.01) and a positive correlation with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (r=0.643; P<0.001), vitamin B12 levels (r=0.023; P<0.001), and insulin levels (r=0.257; P<0.05) in obese patients. When receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to analyze the suitability of BDNF to identify depression in obese women, the area under the curve for BDNF, 0.756, was found to be significant (P=0.025). BDNF levels lower than 70.2 pg/mL were associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that the decrease in BDNF levels can be used as a marker for depression diagnosis in obese patients.

Relationship between levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Studies have suggested that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a role in glucose and lipid metabolism and inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum BDNF levels and various metabolic parameters and inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 88 T2DM patients and 33 healthy controls. Fasting blood samples were obtained from the patients and the control group. The serum levels of BDNF were measured with an ELISA kit. The current paper introduces a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) generalization curve to identify cut-off for the BDNF values in type 2 diabetes patients. RESULTS: The serum levels of BDNF were significantly higher in T2DM patients than in the healthy controls (206.81 ± 107.32 pg/mL versus 130.84 ± 59.81 pg/mL; P < 0.001). They showed a positive correlation with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r = 0.28; P < 0.05), the triglyceride level (r = 0.265; P < 0.05), and white blood cell (WBC) count (r = 0.35; P < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, age (P < 0.05), body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.05), C-reactive protein (CRP) (P < 0.05), and BDNF (P < 0.01) were independently associated with T2DM. In ROC curve analysis, BDNF cut-off was 137. CONCLUSION: The serum BDNF level was higher in patients with T2DM. The BDNF had a cut-off value of 137. The findings suggest that BDNF may contribute to glucose and lipid metabolism and inflammation.