Anti-inflammatory activity of bupropion through immunomodulation of the macrophages.

Depression might manifest itself with a chronic inflammation in different tissues and organs independent of the central nervous system. Psoriasis, Crohn's disease, and fibromyalgia are among these disorders accompanying the depression. The treatment options for these conditions are a combination of the anti-depressants and anti-inflammatory agents. Bupropion has been widely utilized as an anti-depressant. It has been preferred among the patients with Crohn's disease and psoriasis due to its anti-inflammatory role, as well. In this study, we aimed to decipher its target in the immune system. Macrophages were activated in the presence of LPS and increasing concentrations of the bupropion. TNF-α, IL-6, GM-CSF, and IL-12p40 cytokines' production levels were measured by ELISA to compare it to the control groups. These cytokines have been associated with the aggressive inflammation in different tissues. Moreover, p38 and PI3K proteins' phosphorylated levels were measured to examine whether bupropion acts through these pathways or not. Our results suggest that bupropion had anti-inflammatory action on the activated macrophages and its mechanism of action was partially dependent on p38 but independent of PI3K pathways.

A Rare Cause of Recurrent Cerebral Ischemia and Syncope: Eagle Syndrome.

Eagle syndrome is defined as symptomatic elongation of the styloid process or calcification of the stylohyoid and stilomandibular ligament. The syndrome was described by WW Eagle in 1937. The styloid process is located between the internal and external carotid arteries and laterally in the tonsillar fossa. Patients with cerebrovascular ischemia causing syncope or hemiparesia due to Eagle syndrome are rarely published in the literature. The authors presented a patient with recurrent cerebrovascular attacks due to long styloid process.

A database for screening and registering late onset Pompe disease in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to search for the frequency of late onset Pompe disease (LOPD) among patients who had a myopathy with unknown diagnosis registered in the pre-diagnostic part of a novel registry for LOPD within a collaborative study of neurologists working throughout Turkey. Included in the study were 350 patients older than 18 years who have a myopathic syndrome without a proven diagnosis by serum creatine kinase (CK) levels, electrodiagnostic studies, and/or muscle pathology, and/or genetic tests for myopathies other than LOPD. Acid alpha glucosidase (GAA) in dried blood spot was measured in each patient at two different university laboratories. LOPD was confirmed by mutation analysis in patients with decreased GAA levels from either both or one of the laboratories. Pre-diagnostic data, recorded by 45 investigators from 32 centers on 350 patients revealed low GAA levels in a total of 21 patients; from both laboratories in 6 and from either one of the laboratories in 15. Among them, genetic testing proved LOPD in 3 of 6 patients and 1 of 15 patients with decreased GAA levels from both or one of the laboratories respectively. Registry was transferred to Turkish Neurological Association after completion of the study for possible future use and development. Our collaborative study enabled collection of a considerable amount of data on the registry in a short time. GAA levels by dried blood spot even from two different laboratories in the same patient may not prove LOPD. LOPD seemed to be rarer in Turkey than in Europe.

Cytokine polymorphism in patients with migraine: some suggestive clues of migraine and inflammation.

OBJECTIVE: There are contrasting results obtained in migraineurs concerning the levels and the role of both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. In this study, the association of the occurrence and clinical characteristics of migraine with the polymorphisms of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) -308 G/A (rs1800629), interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) +4845 G/T (rs17561), IL-1beta+3953 C/T (rs1143634) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist variable number tandem repeat (IL-1RA VNTR) genes were studied. We also investigated the genetic linkage between these genes. DESIGN, SETTING, PATIENTS: Sixty-seven patients with migraine without aura (MwoA) and 96 unrelated, age- and sex-matched migraine-free, healthy control subjects from the same geographic area were investigated. RESULTS: We observed significant differences in the genotypic distribution of the TNF-alpha-308 G/A and IL-1beta+3953 C/T polymorphism for migraineurs compared with controls (P = 0.004). Frequency of the TNF-alpha-308 GG genotype was higher in the control group than MwoA group (82.1% vs 55.2%). Differences in the distribution of the allele frequencies were also observed, being the TNF-alpha-308 G allele overrepresented in control group and TNF-alpha-308 A allele in MwoA group. In addition, there was a significant increase of the IL-1beta+3953 T allele in MwoA cases compared with controls (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the present results indicate the possible contribution of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta gene polymorphisms to migraine headache generation in MwoA patients.