SLCO1B1 Polymorphisms are Associated With Drug Intolerance in Childhood Leukemia Maintenance Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Therapy discontinuations and toxicities occur because of significant interindividual variations in 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and methotrexate (MTX) response during maintenance therapy of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). 6-MP/MTX intolerance in some of the patients cannot be explained by thiopurine S-methyl transferase (TPMT) gene variants. In this study, we aimed to investigate candidate pharmacogenetic determinants of 6-MP and MTX intolerance in Turkish ALL children. METHODS: In total, 48 children with ALL who had completed or were receiving maintenance therapy according to Children's Oncology Group (COG) protocols were enrolled. Fifteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 8 candidate genes that were related to drug toxicity or had a role in the 6-MP/MTX metabolism (TPMT, ITPA, MTHFR, IMPDH2, PACSIN2, SLCO1B1, ABCC4, and PYGL) were genotyped by competitive allele-specific PCR (KASP). Drug doses during maintenance therapy were modified according to the protocol. RESULTS: The median drug dose intensity was 50% (28% to 92%) for 6-MP and 58% (27% to 99%) for MTX in the first year of maintenance therapy, which were lower than that scheduled in all patients. Among the analyzed polymorphisms, variant alleles in SLCO1B1 rs4149056 and rs11045879 were found to be associated with lower 6-MP/MTX tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: SLCO1B1 rs4149056 and rs11045879 polymorphisms may be important genetic markers to individualize 6-MP/MTX doses.

Comparative study on fatty acid composition of olive (Olea europaea L.), with emphasis on phytosterol contents.

The present study was designed to determine the fatty acid composition and phytosterol contents of Turkish native olive cultivars, namely Kilis Yaglik and Nizip Yaglik cv. In this context, olive fruits from 34 locations were sampled and then screened for their components in comparison. Fifteen different fatty acids were found in both olive oils. In the order of abundance, the most important ones were oleic acid (18:1) > palmitic acid (16:0) > linoleic acid (18:2) > stearic acid (18:0). Significant differences were observed in the contents of oleic acid (18:1), palmitic acid (16:0), linoleic acid (18:2) but not for stearic acid content in comparison both oils (p < 0.01). There were significant differences in terms of unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (p < 0.01). The seven phytosterols - cholesterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, ß-sitosterol, Δ-5-avenasterol, Δ-7-stigmastenol and Δ-7-avenasterol - were studied in both oil sources. The predominant sterols were ß-sitosterol, Δ5-avenasterol and campesterol in the samples analysed. However, no significant differences were found in the levels of the phytosterols between the two olive cultivars.

Aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxins in ground red chilli pepper after drying.

In this study, 180 red chilli pepper (RCP) berry samples were obtained from two different croplands of Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras (Turkey) in August, September and October. RCP berry samples were dried under sunlight and grinded. Ground red chilli pepper (GRCP) samples were analysed for aflatoxins (AFs, sum of B1, B2, G1 and G2) and AFB1 contamination. According to the results, in 49 of 180 samples, AFB1 and in 37 samples, AFs were higher than legal limits. The lowest amounts of AFs and AFB1 were obtained in August and the highest amounts in October. χ(2) analysis showed that there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between cities among 3 months according to number of samples with AFs and AFB1 above legal limits. According to the Duncan multiple-range test, there was no significant difference between all months. Strict measures are necessary to produce high-quality GRCP. RCP berry must be treated to reduce moulds before production of GRCP.

Prevalence of obesity in elementary schools in mardin, South-eastern of Turkey: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE: This research determines the frequency of obesity among primary school-aged children and evaluates the relationship between obesity and family and environmental factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three thousand four hundred sixty students, aged 6-15 years in three primary schools in Mardin city center were taken into the study. Information about eating habits and family-environmental factors were obtained by questionnaire. For each student we calculated the body mass index (BMI) and the ≥97 percentile was defined as obese, and between 85-97(th) percentile as overweight. These values were calculated with the SPSS statistical program. Chi-square and t-tests were used for analysis. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: 48.2% of the students were female. In the assessment of body mass index (BMI) the overweight rate for children was 15.78%, the obese rate was 10.57%. The prevalence of obesity according to gender was 9.05% for girls and 11.97% for boys (p<0.01). The mean BMI of the girls in the age group 13-15 is higher than in males of the same age. Those in the higher socio-economic group had a higher prevalence of obesity (p<0.01). Paternal obesity affected child obesity (p<0.01). Children who eat irregular meals (p=0.05), watch more than 2 hours per day TV (p=0.03), were breastfed for less than 6 months (p<0.05) and the mothers' obesity (p<0.05) were found to have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity. CONCLUSION: Obesity is increasing throughout the world as a health problem. Being obese in childhood and having obese parent(s) are two of the risk factors of being obese in adulthood. Persistence of obesity into adulthood is the most serious aspect of the problem. The therapeutic success rate in obesity is unfortunately not high. Therefore, a preventive strategy involving early identification of those at risk by incorporating body mass assessments to routine childhood growth assessment appears to be the most prudent strategy.