Correlation between vaspin and PANSS scores in schizophrenia patients with obesity.

OBJECTIVE: Metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome, and abnormal levels of plasma adipokines have been observed in patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate the differences and correlations of plasma vaspin levels with metabolic parameters in patients with schizophrenia and to compare with healthy controls. METHOD: We measured plasma levels of vaspin and metabolic parameters of 100 patients with schizophrenia and 95 healthy controls. Patients with schizophrenia were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and The Global Assessment of Functioning. RESULTS: Mean levels of body mass index, waist circumference, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of the patients were statistically higher than those of the healthy controls (p = 0.002, p < 0.001, p = 0.03, and p = 0.002, respectively). Plasma levels of vaspin were 0.96 ± 0.73 ng/ml in patients with schizophrenia and 0.29 ± 0.15 ng/ml in the healthy controls (p < 0.001). Plasma vaspin levels were statistically higher in patients with schizophrenia than healthy controls both in groups with and without metabolic syndrome and obesity (p < 0.001). Plasma vaspin levels showed a positive correlation with triglyceride in patients with schizophrenia (r = 0.26, p = 0.007). There were positive correlations between vaspin and PANSS scores in schizophrenia patients with obesity (PANSS Positive: r = 0.42, p = 0.01; PANSS Negative: r = 0.42, p = 0.01; PANSS General: r = 0.43, p = 0.01; PANSS Total: r = 0.47, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a significant relationship and positive correlation between vaspin and PANSS scores in schizophrenia patients with obesity. Vaspin may play an important role in the metabolic processes of patients with schizophrenia.

Screening Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with High Depression Scores.

OBJECTIVE: Protection against cardiovascular diseases is provided by the dynamics of risk screening and counseling of primary health care services. Depression is known to pose a risk for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of our study was to determine which specific features of well-known depressed people who had not yet experienced a cardiovascular event were associated with cardiovascular risk. METHODS: This study was conducted in patients at the Corum Gulabibey Family Health Center between June 2016 and June 2017. Patients without a known cardiovascular disease were subjected to Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Framingham risk scale. Framingham risk scores were compared by dividing the participants into two groups according to having Beck depression scores of equal/above 10 points (high BDI = HBDI) and below 10 points (low BDI = LBDI). RESULTS: Age, LDL, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood pressure were all correlated with risk scores. In contrast, HDL and body mass index were only correlated with the risk scores in HBDI participants. From the HBDI patients, those who were obese had higher risk scores than those without obesity. CONCLUSION: Obesity is a high cardiovascular risk predictor that can be screened at one site in depression. While the body mass index of depressed individuals was correlated with the cardiovascular risk, this index being above 30 was indicative of high cardiovascular risk.

Vision screening in children: Is 7-9 years of age a threshold for visual impairment?

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of decreased visual acuity, strabismus, and spectacle wear in children aged 5 to 13 years. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in primary education schools. A total of 1938 participants, including 940 females (48.5%) and 998 males (51.5%) with a mean age 8.96 ± 2.31 (5-13 years old), were screened. The comparisons were performed with gender, age, and age groups. The children attended to vision screening were assigned to three age groups as 5-6 years, 7-9 years, and 10-13 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of the parameters was detected as decreased visual acuity 12.4%, strabismus 2.2%, and spectacle wear 6.9%. The prevalence of decreased visual acuity was significantly higher in girls and in children aged 7-9 years old (p = 0.013, p < 0.001). The prevalence of spectacle wear was significantly higher in girls and in children aged 7-9 years old (p = 0.019, p < 0.001). There was a visual acuity decrease in 33 of 106 (31.1%) children despite wearing own spectacle. There was no significant difference among three age groups for strabismus. CONCLUSION: Increased prevalence of decreased visual acuity, as well as the higher frequency of spectacle wear in children at ages of 7-9 years old may point out a threshold for visual impairment.

The Effects of Kefir on Kidney Tissues and Functions in Diabetic Rats.

This study was designed to determine the protective effect of kefir on the oxidative damage, as well as histological and biochemical changes that occur in the kidney tissues of experimental diabetic rats. Forty rats were allocated into four groups as "healthy saline" (SF), "healthy kefir" (KF), and the same groups with experimentally induced diabetes (DSF and DKF). Diabetes was induced by administering 65 mg/kg single-dose streptozotocin. Oral kefir was given 10 ml/kg/day for 35 days to the rats in the groups KF and DKF. The same amount of saline was given to the groups SF and DSF. On the 36th day of the study, blood glucose, urea, and creatinine were measured besides glucose, creatinine, microalbuminuria, and sodium in the urine. Additionally, histological examination was performed on the kidney tissues. Blood glucose, creatinine, and urea levels were significantly lower in the DKF group compared with those of the DSF group (p < 0.001). Also, the creatinine level was significantly decreased (p < 0.001), and microalbuminuria was increased (p < 0.001) in the DKF group compared with that of the DSF group. Histologically, intermittent expansion in the renal glomeruli, reduction of cast formation in the tubules, and improvement in the renal epithelial tissues of the DKF group were observed. Kefir decreased the damage caused by diabetes. These results indicate that kefir supplementation may contribute to better control of oxidative stress, which is related to the improvement of renal functions, suggesting its use to slow down the progression of diabetic nephropathy.

Metabolic syndrome and vaspin in patients with bipolar disorder.

Metabolic disorders and abnormal levels of circulating adipokines have been reported in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the correlations of vaspin plasma levels and metabolic parameters between two groups: patients with BD and mentally healthy persons. We measured plasma levels of vaspin, metabolic parameters, and metabolic syndrome (MS) in 101 patients with BD and 90 healthy control (HC) subjects. Patients with BD were evaluated with the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) to assess manic symptoms and the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) to assess depressive symptoms. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) was used to evaluate the general functions of the patients. Body mass index (BMI), weight, waist circumference (WC), fasting glucose, and triglyceride levels of the study group were statistically higher than those of the healthy controls (p = 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.027, and p = 0.001 respectively). Plasma levels of vaspin were 0.978 ng/ml in patients with BD and 0.292 in the HC group (p < 0.001). Our study revealed associations between metabolic parameters/metabolic syndrome and vaspin plasma concentrations in patients with BD. Vaspin can play a specific role in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders in these subjects and can be a specific indicator substance in BD.

Effect of Topically Applied Azithromycin on Corneal Epithelial and Endothelial Apoptosis in a Rat Model of Corneal Alkali Burn.

PURPOSE: To investigate the antiapoptotic effect of topically administered azithromycin (AZM) on corneal epithelial and endothelial cells in a rat model of corneal alkali burn. METHODS: Twenty-four Wistar albino rats were divided into 4 equal groups as pseudovehicle (group 1), control (group 2), alkali burned (group 3), and treatment (group 4) groups. Alkali injury was induced only in the right corneas of rats belonging to groups 3 and 4 using 1N NaOH. The rats in group 3 and the rats in group 4 were respectively treated either with an artificial tear gel or with 1.5% AZM eye drops for 5 days. At the fifth day of the experiment, the apoptosis in the corneal epithelium and endothelium of all rats was assessed using a terminal dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. In addition, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) density in the corneal epithelium was measured in all rats. RESULTS: The mean numbers of TUNEL+ cells in the corneal epithelium and endothelium of rats in group 3 were 117.1 ± 23.8 and 34.6.± 11.3, respectively, whereas in group 4, they were 75.8 ± 15.7 and 14.7 ± 3.5, respectively. Also the mean TNF-α densities in the corneal epithelium in group 3 and group 4 were 2.65 ± 1.3 and 1.65 ± 1.1, respectively. There was a significant decrease in the mean number of TUNEL+ cells in the corneal epithelium and endothelium and in the mean TNF-α density in the corneal epithelium of rats in group 4, when compared with group 3. CONCLUSIONS: Topically applied AZM can decrease TNF-α-induced apoptosis in corneal alkali burn.

Diclofenac- and Pantoprazole-Induced Rhabdomyolysis: A Potential Drug Interaction.

BACKGROUND: Drugs represent one of the etiologic causes of acute rhabdomyolysis (AR) with drug-induced rhabdomyolysis most commonly associated with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. AR etiology can also result from the use of diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor. Cases of AR triggered by pantoprazole have never before been reported, although it has been observed that its inclusion in multiple drug therapies can result in muscle events. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old man presenting with complaints of fatigue and extensive body pain was diagnosed with acute rhabdomyolysis. His symptoms started on the fourth day of the concomitant use of diclofenac and pantoprazole. The patient was using diclofenac 50-mg tablets once daily for 1 month and pantoprazole 40-mg tablets once daily during the previous week for headaches and pyrosis, resulting in an increase in his creatinine kinase levels to 3114 IU/L (reference range 24-190 IU/L) on the fifth day of concomitant use. His creatinine kinase levels returned to normal and his complaints disappeared after the seventh day of discontinuation of both treatments. DISCUSSION: A third case of diclofenac-induced rhabdomyolysis was defined in which, different from previous cases, AR was detected during the concomitant use of diclofenac and pantoprazole. The timing of the symptom development and the limited number of AR cases induced by diclofenac and pantoprazole suggested a drug interaction. CONCLUSION: The close relationship between diclofenac and pantoprazole, and the cytochrome P450 and P-glycoprotein systems offers a strong indication that a drug interaction may be occurring. While evaluating the side effects of drugs in patients undergoing monotherapy, clinicians should also consider the mechanisms that play a part in drug absorption and distribution.