Neopterin, homocysteine, and ADMA levels during and after urticaria attack.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Urticaria is a vascular skin reaction characterized with papules and plaques. Neopterin is accepted as an immunologic marker and an indicator of activation of the immune system. Homocysteine and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) are the markers of increased vascular resistance. Alteration in vascular resistance has a role in the pathogenesis of urticaria. We aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between urticaria and neopterin, homocysteine, or ADMA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is designed as a prospective descriptive study and patients with a diagnosis of urticaria in the emergency department were included in the study. Demographic data and characteristics of the disease were recorded. Neopterin, homocysteine, and ADMA levels were measured both during and after urticaria attacks. All data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The differences between neopterin levels measured during and after urticaria attacks were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The differences between homocysteine and ADMA levels measured during and after urticaria attacks were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that neopterin levels in patients with urticaria attacks are increased and the level of neopterin is also a useful parameter in acute urticaria. Further studies should clarify whether homocysteine levels contribute to diagnosis of acute urticaria. However, no relation was found between ADMA and urticaria.

Comparing the fatty acid levels of preterm and term breast milk in Turkish women.

AIM: Lipids are the main source of calories and considered very important in infant growth. We aimed to compare fatty acid composition of term and preterm breast milk. This is the first study that compares the fatty acid levels of preterm and term breast milk in Turkish women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Breast milk samples were obtained from mothers of term (n = 15) and preterm (n = 15) infants on postnatal days 3, 7, and 28. Fatty acid composition of human breast milk was determined longitudinally by gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry. RESULTS: There Were 31 fatty acids measured in the milk samples. In the first month, 17 fatty acid levels had significant differences. In group comparison, some fatty acids (C14:0, C16:0, C18:1 and C20:5) had significantly increased in the preterm group (P = 0.041, P = 0.046, P = 0.027, P = 0.033, respectively), whereas myristoleic acid (C14:1) and eicosanoic acid (C20:0) had significantly increased in the term group (P = 0.015, P = 0.048, respectively). CONCLUSION: Term and preterm milk have different compositions of fatty acids. Breast milk composition changes over time. As a general conclusion, breast milk provides the lipid requirements of infants.

Pediatric reference intervals for plasma and urine essential amino acids in a Turkish population.

AIM: To establish age- and sex-specific reference intervals for essential amino acids in a healthy Turkish pediatric population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 945 clinically healthy children (531 boys and 414 girls, ranging in age from birth to 14 years) were enrolled. Plasma and urine amino acids' concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Concentrations of essential amino acids in plasma were higher in girls than in boys in the age groups of 0-1 months and 7-14 years; however, there was no difference in the other age groups. Concentrations of essential amino acids in urine were higher in girls than in boys in the age group of 0-1 months; however, there was no difference in the other age groups. Our results demonstrated the sex-related differences in concentrations ofleucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, lysine, and histidine in plasma, which increased with age in boys but not in girls. The concentrations of leucine, tryptophan, methionine, and lysine in urine declined with age in girls but not in boys, which were sex-related differences, too. CONCLUSION: We defined essential amino acids' reference intervals in a Turkish pediatric population.

Effects of general and spinal anesthetic techniques on endothelial adhesion molecules in cesarean section.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of anesthetic techniques used during general anesthesia (GA) and spinal anesthesia (SA) on endothelial adhesion molecules in the fetal circulation of healthy parturients undergoing elective cesarean section. METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to either the general anesthesia (n = 20) or spinal anesthesia (n = 20) group. Maternal and cord blood neopterin, sE-selectin, and sL-selectin levels were measured in both groups. RESULTS: Cord blood neopterin concentrations in the SA group were not different from those in the GA group, but maternal neopterin levels in the SA group were different from those in the GA group. Maternal blood levels of sE-selectin and sL-selectin were not different between the two groups. Similarly, the cord blood levels of sE-selectin and sL-selectin were not different between the two groups. We found an increased inflammatory process in the fetal circulation depending on the anesthetic method used. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the effects of general and spinal anesthetic techniques on serum sL-selectin, sE-selectin, and neopterin levels in neonates and parturients undergoing elective cesarean section. sE-selectin and neopterin concentrations and leukocyte counts were higher in the fetal circulation than in the maternal circulation during both GA and SA.

Depression, Anxiety, and Anger in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a syndrome of heterogeneous nature, affecting multiple systems, particularly the endocrine system. We propose to investigate the possible relationships among hormonal changes, levels of anxiety, depression, and anger in patients with PCOS. METHOD: Forty-four female patients with PCOS and 44 body mass index (BMI )-matched healthy women participated in this study. We measured the sociodemographic features, some serum hormonal levels (insulin, gonadotropins, prolactin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), 17 OH-progesterone, and total and free testosterone), and some other biochemical parameters of the participants. Also, all participants completed the Trait Anger-Anger Expression Scale (STAS), Beck Depression, and Beck Anxiety Inventories. We evaluated the psychiatric scale scores obtained from PCOS patients and control subjects. We used the independent-samples t-test for parametric data to evaluate normal distribution, and Mann-Whitney U-test was used for both abnormally distributed and nonparametric data. We used Pearson correlation analysis to evaluate the potential connection between the two groups' data. RESULTS: The mean ages of the patients with PCOS and control subjects who participated in this study were 27.3±5.6 and 27.4±6.1 years, respectively. The measures of BMI, insulin, luteinizing hormone (LH), DHEAS, and total testosterone serum levels in the patient group were significantly higher than in the control group (p<.05). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between Beck anxiety scores and serum DHEAS levels (Pearson r=.4366, P=.0001). We found significant differences between the two groups in terms of trait anger, anger control, outward and inward anger, anxiety level, and depression scores (P<.05). CONCLUSION: Anxiety symptoms indicate a stronger relationship compared to depression with DHEAS serum levels via the autonomic nervous system, considering the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-antagonistic effect of DHEAS. Obesity, hirsutism, and infertility may reduce self-confidence and create depressive symptoms in patients with PCOS. In addition, changes in hormonal levels may lead to anxiety directly. Possibly, depressive symptoms are a secondary reflection of these changes.

The effects of N-acetylcysteine and ozone therapy on oxidative stress and inflammation in acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity model.

INTRODUCTION: Acetaminophen (APAP) is an analgesic and antipyretic agent. In overdoses, it is associated with nephrotoxicity. We examined the potential protective effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and NAC + ozone therapy (OT) combination against APAP-induced nephrotoxicity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: sham, control (APAP), NAC, and NAC + OT. In the APAP, NAC, and NAC + OT groups, kidney injury was induced by oral administration of 1 g/kg APAP. The NAC group received NAC (100 mg/kg/day). NAC + OT group received NAC (100 mg/kg/day) and ozone/oxygen mixture (0.7 mg/kg/day) intraperitoneally for 5 days immediately after APAP administration. All animals were killed at 5 days after APAP administration. Renal tissues and blood samples were obtained for biochemical and histopathological analyses. Neopterin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 levels were measured in sera. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were determined in renal homogenates. RESULTS: NAC and NAC + OT significantly decreased MDA and TNF-α levels and increased IL-10 levels and GPx activities. Serum neopterin and IL-6 levels were not different among all groups. APAP administration caused tubular necrosis in the kidney. The degrees of renal necrosis of the APAP group were higher than the other groups. Renal injury in rats treated with combination of NAC and OT were found to be significantly less than the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that NAC and OT prevented renal injury in rats and reduced inflammation. These findings suggest that combination of NAC and OT might improve renal damages because of both oxidative stress and inflammation.

The effects of medical ozone therapy on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury.

INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to investigate the possible beneficial effects of medical ozone therapy (OT), known as an immunomodulator and antioxidant, on the renal function, morphology, and biochemical parameters of oxidative stress in kidneys subjected to ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were classified into three groups: control, renal IRI, and renal IRI + OT. The IRI group was induced by bilateral renal ischemia for 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 6 h. After reperfusion, the kidneys and blood of rats were obtained for histopathologic and biochemical evaluation. RESULTS: Renal IRI increased the tissue oxidative stress parameters (lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and nitrite plus nitrate) and decreased the antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase). The serum neopterin levels showed correlation with oxidative stress parameters. All these parameters were brought to control values in the treatment group. Histopathologically, the kidney injury in the treatment group was significantly lesser than in the renal IRI group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results clearly showed that OT has beneficial effect to protect kidney against IRI. The serum neopterin levels might be used as a marker to detect the degree of renal IRI.

Plasma melatonin and urinary 6-hydroxymelatonin levels in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second most frequent cause of death in the world, after AIDS. Delay in diagnosing TB is an important worldwide problem. It seriously threatens public health. Cell-mediated immune responses play an important role in the pathogenesis of TB infection. The course of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) infection is regulated by two distinct T cell cytokine patterns. Melatonin is a biomolecule (mainly secreted by the pineal gland) with free radical scavenging, antioxidant and immunoregulatory properties. Melatonin has both its direct and indirect immunomodulatory effects on the immune system. In this study, we measured plasma melatonin and urine 6-hydroxy melatonin sulphate (6-HMS) concentrations in patients with newly diagnosed TB for the purpose of investigating whether there was a relationship between their levels and MTb infection. Thirty-one newly diagnosed patients presenting with active TB and 31 healthy subjects as the control group were included in this study. Blood and 24-h urine samples were collected from all individuals. Plasma melatonin levels and urine 6-HMS were measured. Our results show that in patients with TB, mean melatonin and 6-HMS concentrations were significantly lower than in the control subjects (p = 0.037, p < 0.001, respectively). We believe that the treatment of TB patients with melatonin might result in a wide range of health benefits including improved quality of life and reduced severity of infection in these patients. Supplementation with melatonin may be considered as an adjunctive therapy to classic treatment of pulmonary TB, especially during the acute phase of infection.

Evaluation of the oxidative effect of long-term repetitive hyperbaric oxygen exposures on different brain regions of rats.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO(2)) exposure affects both oxidative and antioxidant systems. This effect is positively correlated with the exposure time and duration of the treatment. The present study aims enlightening the relation of HBO(2) with oxidative/antioxidant systems when administered in a prolonged and repetitive manner in brain tissues of rats. Sixty rats were divided into 6 study (n = 8 for each) and 1 control (n = 12) group. Rats in the study groups were daily exposed 90-min HBO(2) sessions at 2.8 ATA for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 days. One day after the last session, animals were sacrificed; their whole brain tissue was harvested and dissected into three different regions as the outer grey matter (cortex), the inner white matter and cerebellum. Levels of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation and activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were measured in these tissues. Malondialdehyde, carbonylated protein and glutathione peroxidase levels were found to be insignificantly increased at different time-points in the cerebral cortex, inner white matter and cerebellum, respectively. These comparable results provide evidence for the safety of HBO treatments and/or successful adaptive mechanisms at least in the brain tissue of rats, even when administered for longer periods.

A useful method for the detection of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid- and cold agglutinin-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia.

INTRODUCTION: Pseudothrombocytopenia (PTCP), caused by platelet (PLT) aggregation, is usually associated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-dependent antibodies and cold aggluti-nins against PLT antigens. The aim of this study was to identify the PTCP and discover the most practical method to distinguish it from real thrombocytopenia. METHODS: This study included 85 patients without hemorrhagic abnormalities and suspected PTCP. Blood samples containing EDTA, citrate and EDTA-kanamycin (KN) were analyzed at room temperature and 37°C. RESULTS: PTCP was detected in 24 of 85 patients. In 23 of 24 patients, EDTA-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia (EDTA-PTCP) was detected; 5 of whom had also the cold agglutinin-dependent PTCP. In only 1 of 24 patients, the cold agglu-tinin-dependent PTCP was found. In this study, no significant difference was observed in leukocyte counts comparing EDTA and citrate blood samples in cases with EDTA-PTCP. CONCLUSION: In clinical laboratories, a significant portion of the cases with low PLT counts was attributable to EDTA-PTCP and, therefore, did not require treatment. Even if these cases can be detected by bringing the blood samples containing EDTA to 37°C or by adding KN to blood samples containing EDTA, the use of blood samples containing citrate taken for erythrocyte sedimentation rate analysis is a more practical priority method.