Conjunctival Histopathological Changes and Clinical Tear Film in Children with Atopic Dermatitis.

PURPOSE: Evaluation of changes in the ocular surfaces in children with a diagnosis of atopic dermatitis (AD). METHODS: Thirty-six children with a diagnosis of AD (Eye-AD group) and 40 healthy subjects (Eye-HS group) were enrolled in this prospective case-control study. Tear film break-up time (T-BUT), Schirmer tear test (STT), conjunctival impression cytology (CIC), tear meniscus height (TMH), tear meniscus area (TMA), and ocular surface disease index (OSDI) were measured. RESULTS: The participants were similar in terms of demographic characteristics, such as mean age and gender (p > 0.05). The mean T-BUT was 9.3 ± 2.22 s (5 - 16) in the Eye-AD group and 11.83 ± 2.03 s (7 - 16) in the Eye-HS group. The mean STT was 11.12 ± 3.28 mm (5 - 21) in the Eye-AD group and 15.44 ± 3.8 mm (8 - 20) in the Eye-HS group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). The mean OSDI scores were 13.12 ± 1.41 (10 - 15) in the Eye-AD group and 13.97 ± 2.93 (8 - 20) in the Eye-HS group (p = 0.052). Mean TMH and TMA were 306.48 ± 7.29 µm and 0.22 ± 0.004 mm2, respectively, in the Eye-AD group, and 312.94 ± 5.31 µm and 0.027 ± 0.005 mm2, respectively, in the Eye-HS group. In the CIC analyses, 22 of the samples in the Eye-AD group and 35 in the Eye-HS group had a classification of grade 0, 10 in the Eye-AD group and 5 in the Eye-HS group had a classification of grade 1, and 4 in the Eye-AD group and none in the Eye-HS group had a classification of grade 2 (p = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Pediatric patients with AD may have significant changes in conjunctival histopathology. These changes can be manifested in the tests used to measure the tear film. Dry eye was shown to be present in the majority of children with AD.

Wound Healing Effect of Kaempferol in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Rats.

BACKGROUND: Flavonoids have previously been suggested to play a role in wound healing. To date, however, limited information is available on the wound healing effect of kaempferol (KM), which belongs to the class of flavonoids. The objective of this study was to determine the wound healing effects of KM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The wound healing effects of KM with two different concentrations (0.5% and 1% [weight/weight, w/w]) were evaluated in incisional and excisional wound models on diabetic and nondiabetic rats by macroscopic, biomechanical, biochemical, and histopathological analyses. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin. The KM ointments were prepared using a mixture of glycol stearate:propylene glycol:liquid paraffin (3:6:1); 0.5 g of the ointments were topically applied on the wounded areas once a day for 7 and 14 d. On days 0, 7, and 14, wounds were photographed, and macroscopic examination of the wounds was performed. After 7 and 14 d, hydroxyproline levels, biomechanical analysis, and histopathological parameters (reepithelialization, thickness of granulation tissue, angiogenesis, presence of inflammation, deposition of collagen, presence of fibrosis, degree of dermal inflammation, and number of mast cells) were assessed. RESULTS: The best wound healing effect was observed in the diabetic excisional and nondiabetic incisional wounds (92.12% and 94.17%, respectively) treated with 1% (w/w) KM ointment for 14 d according to macroscopic examination. The nondiabetic excisional (14th day) and incisional (7th day) wounds treated with 1% (w/w) KM ointment showed statistically higher levels of hydroxyproline than the control groups (2.84 and 2.07 µg/mg, respectively, P < 0.01). Reepithelialization scores of KM-treated diabetic and nondiabetic excisional wounds on both 7 and 14 d (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01) and incisional wounds on the day 14 (P < 0.05) were significantly higher than controls. The maximum tensile strength was observed in nondiabetic and diabetic groups (0.92 and 0.82 g/s, respectively) treated with 0.5% (w/w) KM ointment on day 14. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, KM appears to be an effective topical wound healing agent in the treatment of both nondiabetic and diabetic wounds.

Alterations in the tear film and ocular surface in pediatric migraine patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ocular surface (OS) parameters in the pediatric migraine patients (PMPs). METHODS: This prospective case-control study consisted of 51 PMPs (PMP group) and 55 healthy pediatric patients (HPP group). In all participants, tear function was evaluated subjectively using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, objectively using Schirmer tear test (STT) and tear film disintegration time (TBUT), and with clinical and laboratory examinations (conjunctival impression cytology). The PMP group was subdivided into two groups according to their aura. RESULTS: The mean age and gender distribution of the study groups were almost the same ( P > 0.05 for both of them). In the PMP group, both the STT value and the TBUT value were significantly lower than those determined in the HPP group ( P = 0.021 and P = 0.018, respectively). In the PMP group, the OSDI scores were higher than those in the HPP group ( P = 0.032). In the PMP group, the goblet cell density values were lower than those in the HPP group ( P = 0.01). With regard to the aura, the TBUT and STT values were nonsignificantly lower in the PMP aura-positive group than in the PMP aura-negative group ( P > 0.05 for both of them). The OSDI assessment was similar in both the groups. With regard to the goblet cell count, it was observed to be less in the PMP aura-positive group than in the PMP aura-negative group ( P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Influence of OS in children with migraine was also demonstrated using the samples taken from the conjunctiva. These changes were also demonstrated by objective tests such as STT and TBUT. Both clinical objective evaluations and pathologic changes were more prominent in the migraine with aura group.

Expression analysis of novel long non-coding RNAs for invasive ductal and invasive lobular breast carcinoma cases.

AIM: Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) serve as important regulatory molecules of gene expression and protein functionality at multiple biological levels, and their deregulation plays a key role in tumorigenesis including in breast cancer metastasis. Therefore, in this study, we aim to compare the expression of novel lncRNAs in the landscape of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and invasive lobular (ILC) carcinoma of breast. MAIN METHODS: We have designed an in-silico approach to find the lncRNAs that regulate the breast cancer. Then, we used the clinical samples to carry out the verification of our in silico finding. In the present study, the tissues of breast cancer were deparaffinized. RNA was extracted by the TRIzole method. After synthesizing cDNA from the extracted RNA, expression levels of lncRNAs were analyzed by qPCR using primers specifically designed and validated for the targeted lncRNAs. In this study, breast biopsy materials from 41 female patients with IDC and 10 female patients with ILC were examined histopathological and expression changes of candidate lncRNAs were investigated in line with the findings. The results were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 version. RESULTS: The mean age of the cases was 53.78 ± 14.96. The minimum age was 29, while the maximum age was 87. While 27 of the cases were pre-menopausal, 24 cases were post-menopausal. The number of hormone receptor-positive cases was found to be 40, 35, and 27 for ER, PR, and cerb2/neu, respectively. While the expressions of LINC00501, LINC00578, LINC01209, LINC02015, LINC02584, ABCC5-AS1, PEX5L-AS2, SHANK2-AS3 and SOX2-OT showed significant differences (p < 0.05), the expressions of LINC01206, LINC01994, SHANK2-AS1, and TPRG1-AS2 showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). In addition, it was determined that the regulation of all lncRNAs could be able to involve in the development of cancer such as the NOTCH1, NFKB, and estrogen receptor signalings. CONCLUSION: As a result, it was thought that the discovery of novel lncRNAs might be an important player in the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic development of breast cancer.

Coexistence of adenomyosis in women operated for benign gynecological diseases.

BACKGROUND: To compare demographic, clinical and histopathological characteristics of women diagnosed with adenomyosis (AG) after hysterectomy to those of women diagnosed with leiomyoma (LG) and to investigate the predisposing factors for AG. METHODS: This study was carried out on 204 patients who underwent gynecologic surgery for various indications except for gynecologic malignancy between January 2005 and December 2009 and whose histopathological analysis of hysterectomy/myomectomy specimen revealed either AG or LG. Women with AG and those with LG were compared with respect to age, parity, menstrual pattern, history of induced abortion, history of prior uterine surgery, smoking, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain and coexisting endometrial and ovarian pathologies. RESULTS: The mean age of our patients was 51 ± 8 years (range 28-85), 40% of them were postmenopausal, and 64% had a history of uterine surgery. The mean age (p = 0.014), gravida (p = 0.018), parity (p = 0.017) and previous endometrial sampling (p < 0.01) were significantly higher in AG. Main symptoms were abnormal uterine bleeding (39%), dysmenorrhea (63%) and nonmenstrual pelvic pain (62%). Age (p = 0.01), menometrorrhagia (p = 0.02) and endometrial sampling (p < 0.01) were the significant covariants in binary logistic regression for AG. CONCLUSION: AG is an enigmatic disease frequently causing gynecologic complaints and endomyometrial junction deterioration during endometrial sampling may be a trigger point for developing AG.

Incidental Findings in Routine Histopathological Examination of Appendectomy Specimens; Retrospective Analysis of 1970 Patients.

Diseases and tumors of the appendix vermiformis are very rare, except for acute appendicitis. This study aimed to examine rare findings in the histopathologic examinations of specimens of patients undergoing appendectomy due to the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. The files of 1970 patients undergoing appendectomy due to the diagnosis of acute appendicitis between March 2012 and March 2016 were retrospectively investigated. Rare findings were found in 59 (3 %) patients, and these were evaluated in detail. Patients' age, gender, pathology reports, and postoperation follow-ups were recorded. The rare histopathological findings of 59 patients were examined. Of these, 31 were female (52.5 %) and 28 were male (47.5 %). The average age was 33.1 ± 18.2 years. The unusual findings were as follows: 16 fibrous obliteration, 11 Enterobius vermicularis, 2 schistosomiasis, 3 appendiceal neuroma, 2 granulomatous appendicitis, 1 Crohn's disease, 3 chronic appendicitis, 1 endometriosis, 2 hyperplastic polyps, 9 mucinous cystadenoma (+mucocele), 8 carcinoid tumors, and 1 lymphoma. All of the malignant tumors were localized in the distal end of the appendix, and all of the patients were treated with appendectomy. Patients with parasitic diseases also underwent anthelmintic treatment, while chemotherapy was administered to the patient with lymphoma. All of the patients diagnosed with malignancy were alive reported no problems at their follow-ups. Although all of the appendectomy samples were normal macroscopically, data from this study suggest that all specimens should be sent for routine investigation.

Unexpected findings in the routine histopathological examinations of appendectomy specimens A retrospective analysis of 1,970 patients.

INTRODUCTION: Diseases and tumors of the appendix vermiformis are very rare, except for acute appendicitis. This study aimed to examine rare findings in the histopathologic examinations of specimens of patients undergoing appendectomy due to the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. METHODS: The files of 1,970 patients undergoing appendectomy due to the diagnosis of acute appendicitis between March 2012 and March 2016 were retrospectively investigated. Rare findings were found in 59 (3%) patients, and these were evaluated in detail. Patients' age, gender, pathology reports, and post-operation follow-ups were recorded. RESULTS: The rare histopathological findings of 59 patients were examined. Of these, 31 were female (52.5%) and 28 were male (47.5%). The average age was 33.1±18.2 years. The unusual findings were as follows: 16 Fibrous obliteration, 11 Enterobius vermicularis, 2 Schistosomiasis, 3 Appendiceal neuroma, 2 Granulomatous appendicitis, 1 Crohn's disease, 3 Chronic appendicitis, 1 Endometriosis, 2 Hyperplastic polyps, 9 Mucinous cystadenoma (+mucocele), 8 Carcinoid tumors and 1 Lymphoma. All of the malignant tumors were localized in the distal end of the appendix and all of the patients were treated with appendectomy. Patients with parasitic diseases also underwent anthelmintic treatment, while chemotherapy was administered to the patient with lymphoma. All of the patients diagnosed with malignancy were alive reported no problems at their follow-ups. CONCLUSION: Although all of the appendectomy samples were normal macroscopically, data from this study suggest that all specimens should be sent for routine investigation. KEY WORDS: Appendicitis, Appendectomy, Carcinoid, Mucocele, Endometriosis.

Giant malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of thigh in an adolescent with neurofibromatosis type 1: a case report.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare sarcomas of children and adolescents, and they are aggressive tumors with a high rate of local recurrence. We present a 15-year-old boy with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), who had a giant MPNST on the right thigh taking into account the available literature. Diagnosis of MPNST may be delayed in NF1 patients due to confusion with a neurofibroma and/or a plexiform neurofibroma. Malignancy should be considered, especially in cases with big masses, with heterogeneous involvement, or in the presence of cysts or necrotic nodules. The aim of surgical treatment is complete surgical excision.