PPARA and IL6: exploring associations with athletic performance and genotype polymorphism.

This study aims to investigate the Interleukin (IL)-6 rs1800795 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARA) rs4253778 polymorphism distributions in the relatively faster and slower subgroups of national cross-country skiing athletes and to identify advantageous genotypes for endurance performance. IL-6 is an inflammatory mediator that is effective in muscle tissue hypertrophy, repair, and the immune system. On the other hand, PPARA transcription factor is a molecule associated with fatty acid, sugar metabolism and inflammation formation. Total of 30 professional cross-country skiing athletes were examined in three groups as athletes, female athletes, and male athletes. DNA of the participants were isolated from blood and genetic polymorphisms were determined by RT-PCR. Athletes were divided into two subgroups as faster and slower referring to their "1-kilometer cross-country skiing time averages (CCSTA)". Polymorphism distributions in these subgroups were analyzed statistically with Fisher's exact test and descriptive tests. In addition, the 1 km-CCSTA values of the genotypes were determined by descriptive statistical methods and the time advantages were calculated. It was determined that the combination of IL-6 rs1800795 GC and PPARA rs4253778 GG genotypes was observed to be more prominent among the faster categories of cross-country skiing competitors, particularly in the athletes and male athletes categories, and it had a time advantage at 1 km-CCSTA. The GC genotype (p= 0.0098) and C-allele (p=0.0398) of IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphism were detected at a higher rate in the fast subgroup in male athletes. These genotypes may support endurance performance.

Impact of Chronic Rheumatic Valve Diseases on Large Vessels.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF STUDY: Rheumatic valvular heart disease, which remains a common health problem in developing countries, has numerous consequences on the heart chambers and circulation. The study aim was to investigate the effects of chronic rheumatic valve disease on the diameters of the descending aorta (DA) and inferior vena cava (IVC). METHODS: A total of 88 patients with echocardiographically documented rheumatic valvular heart disease and 112 healthy controls were enrolled into the study. All patients underwent detailed echocardiographic examinations, while their height and body weight were recorded and adjusted to their body surface area. RESULTS: The most common involvement was mitral valve disease, followed by aortic valve disease and tricuspid valve disease. The mean diameter of the DA (indexed to BSA) was 1.79 ± 0.49 cm for patients and 1.53 ± 0.41 for controls (p <0.001). The mean diameter of the IVC (indexed to BSA) was 1.69 ± 0.73 for patients and 1.38 ± 0.35 cm for controls (p <0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between mitral valve mean gradient and IVC diameter (p = 0.01, r = 0.18). There were also strong associations between the mitral valve area and the diameters of the DA (p = 0.001, r = -0.239) and IVC (p <0.001, r = -0.246). CONCLUSION: Rheumatic valve disease, especially mitral stenosis, was closely related to remodeling of the great vessels.

The effect of blood glucose regulation on sarcopenia parameters in obese and diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the effect of blood glucose regulation on sarcopenia parameters in sarcopenic, obese, and poorly- regulated diabetic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between June 2013 and December 2013, a total of 147 patients (64 males, 83 females; mean age 70.3±6.3 years; range, 60 to 90 years) who were diagnosed with sarcopenia according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria were included in the study. All patients were obese with a body mass index (BMI) of >30 kg/m2 and their glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were above 8%. Sarcopenia parameters including the gait speed, muscle strength, muscle mass, and handgrip strength were assessed. After a six-month treatment period, the patients were divided into two groups according to their HbA1c levels as having <8% or >8%. Sarcopenia parameters were evaluated before and after receiving treatment. RESULTS: The mean disease duration was 16±6.2 years. Sixty patients were found to have a HbA1c level of <8% and 45 patients with a HbA1c level of ≥8% at sixth months of follow-up. In better regulated group, sarcopenia parameters such as gait speed, muscle mass, and handgrip strength improved; however, only the change in the muscle mass was found to be statistically significant (p=0.041). There was no significant change in the parameters of sarcopenia in the patient group with a HbA1c level ≥8%. A negative correlation was found between the muscle mass and HbA1c levels in good- and poorly-regulated groups (p=0.039 r:-0.327 and p=0.044 r:-0.183, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that lowering HbA1c levels may have positive effects on the muscle mass even in diabetic and sarcopenic obese elderly individuals.

Internal jugular vein thrombosis in Behcet's disease: a rare complication.

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disorder characterised by oral/genital ulcers, ocular lesions, and gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, neurological and major vessel involvements. Venous manifestations are more common than arterial involvements. In this case report, we present a patient with internal jugular vein thrombosis, which is a very rare complication of BD.