Amino acids and fatty acids in patients with beta thalassemia major.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative damage and increasing of lipid peroxidation are caused by chronic iron overload in patients with beta thalassemia major. Fatty acids are important structural elements for palmitoylation of membrane proteins which constitute a great part of natural membranes. Oxidative damages caused by reactive oxygen derives in thalassemic erythrocytes can be determined with lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and antioxidant system elements. The aim of study was to evaluate the relationship between amino acid and fatty acid levels with iron overload and antioxidant enzymes in beta thalassemia major. METHODS: A total 40 patients with beta thalassemia major with regular blood transfusion and chelating agents were included in the study. The levels of serum amino acid, fatty acid, ferritin, antioxidant enzymes and malondialdehyde were measured. RESULTS: Only C16- palmitoyl level was found significantly low in patients, other fatty acids and amino acids were in normal range. There were lower malondialdehyde and ferritin levels in patients with low C-16 palmitoyl level (p<0.05).  Conclusions: The high levels of ferritin and malondialdehyde in the patients with low C16-palmitoyl levels might be caused by this fatty acid's preventative effect on oxidative stress.

Effects of long-term pre- and post-natal exposure to 2.45 GHz wireless devices on developing male rat kidney.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate oxidative stress and apoptosis in kidney tissues of male Wistar rats that pre- and postnatally exposed to wireless electromagnetic field (EMF) with an internet frequency of 2.45 GHz for a long time. METHODS: The study was conducted in three groups of rats which were pre-natal, post-natal. and sham exposed groups. Oxidative stress markers and histological evaluation of kidney tissues were studied. RESULTS: Renal tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant (TOS) levels of pre-natal group were high and total antioxidant (TAS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were low. Spot urine NAG/creatinine ratio was significantly higher in pre- and post-natal groups (p < 0.001). Tubular injury was detected in most of the specimens in post-natal groups. Immunohistochemical analysis showed low-intensity staining with Bax in cortex, high-intensity staining with Bcl-2 in cortical and medullar areas of pre-natal group (p values, 0.000, 0.002, 0.000, respectively) when compared with sham group. Bcl2/Bax staining intensity ratios of medullar and cortical area was higher in pre-natal group than sham group (p = 0.018, p = 0.011). CONCLUSION: Based on this study, it is thought that chronic pre- and post-natal period exposure to wireless internet frequency of EMF may cause chronic kidney damages; staying away from EMF source in especially pregnancy and early childhood period may reduce negative effects of exposure on kidney.

Unilateral Renal Vein Thrombosis and Adrenal Hemorrhage in A Newborn with Homozygous Factor V Leiden and Heterozygous Of MTHFR-677T, MTHFR-1298C Gene Mutations.

Renal vein thrombosis (RVT) occurs as an acute and life-threatening event in neonates. RVT is the most common non-catheter-related thrombosis in infancy and occurs primarily in the newborn period. Non-catheter-related abdominal thrombosis on neonates has a higher incidence of genetic prothrombotic risk factors. RVT and adrenal hemorrhage can both be encountered in the neonatal period and they may occur at the same time (Bokenkamp et al., Eur J Pediatr 159:44-8, 2000; Lau et al. Pediatrics 120:1278-84, 2007). We report a case of unilateral RVT and adrenal hemorrhage in a newborn with homozygous factor V Leiden mutation and heterozygous of the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene mutations.

[Seroepidemiology of pertussis in 10-15 years old healthy children in Isparta province, Turkey]. / Isparta ilinde 10-15 yas grubu saglikli çocuklarda bogmaca seroepidemiyolojisi.

Pertussis, a highly contagious respiratory disease, commonly affects infants and young children and can be fatal, especially in babies less than one year of age. Bordetella pertussis continues to circulate even in populations where a high vaccine coverage of infants and children is achieved. Adults are reservoirs for infections in infants, in whom pertussis may be severe and life-threatening. Despite the rising rates of vaccination in our country and all over the world for the past 25 years, the number of pertussis cases among adolescents and adults has been increasing. To decrease the risk of pertussis infection and thus protect adults and adolescents against pertussis, booster doses should be administered to preschool children and adolescents. In order to decide when to administer the booster doses in a country, age-specific seropidemiology of the disease should be known. The aim of this study was to determine the pertussis toxin antibody levels of fully vaccinated healthy children in Isparta, Turkey, aged 10-15 years old. A total of 296 participants, that comprised fully vaccinated 254 healthy elementary-school students aged between 10-15 years (126 male, 128 female) and 42 adults between 18-39 years old (21 male, 21 female) were included in the study with informed consent. The sensitivities of subjects to pertussis were tested by the determination of pertussis toxin IgG levels with the use of commercial ELISA test (Genzyme Virotech, Germany). In our study, the seropositivity rate was found 12.6% (32/254) for 10-15 age group, however all the adult subjects were seronegative. Thus the total seropositivity rate was estimated as 10.8% (32/296). Pertussis toxin IgG seropositivity rate was 12.7% (16/126) for males and 12.5% (16/128) for females, and there was no significant gender difference (p> 0.05). The highest seropositivity rates were detected at 10(th) (23.8%) and 11(th) (19%) years in males, and 12(th) and 14(th) (23.8%) years in females. No seropositivity was detected in individuals over age 15 in our study. Since adults lose their immune protection gained by pertussis vaccination, they start becoming an infection source for infants. Therefore, a booster dose of acellular pertussis vaccine should be considered in preschool period and at ages 14-18. Further studies regarding diagnosis and surveillance of pertussis disease are required, as well as enhancement of vaccination rates.

The effects of chelators on zinc levels in patients with thalassemia major.

Zinc which is an essential element has very important effects on growth and immune system in patients with thalassemia major (TM). The effects of two oral iron chelator agents, desferrioxamine (DFO) and deferiprone (DFP), on zinc levels were investigated in previous studies and they were found to cause zinc deficiency. Zinc level alteration by the new chelator deferasirox (DFX) is not present in the literature. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of different oral chelators on serum and urine zinc levels in TM patients. Zinc levels are compared in the patients who received different chelators: only DFX, combined chelation with DFO plus DFP and the healthy control group. A total of 56 patients with TM were involved in this study: 39 patients received only DFX and 17 patients were given combined treatment DFO+DFP between August 2008 and August 2009. In addition, a control group was established from the healthy population. Blood was taken from all the patients for serum zinc levels and 24hour-urine samples were collected for urine zinc levels. Serum zinc levels were found to be 64.8±14.8µg/dL in DFX group and 66.5±15.1µg/dL in DFO+DFP group. These levels were statistically lower than that in the control group (149±54.3µg/dL) (p<0.05), but there was no statistically difference between the two different chelation groups (p>0.05). The urine zinc levels of DFX and DFO+DFP group were 662.2±428.2µg/day and 1182.3±980.3µg/day respectively (p<0.05). Urinary zinc excretion in the chelation groups (DFX and DFO+DFP) was significantly higher than the control group (395.1±208.9µg/day) (p<0.05). As a conclusion, the new chelation agent, DFX, also leads to zinc deficiency, though its urinary zinc excretion is lower. New studies are required to examine the effects of DFX on zinc extensively. Zinc levels of patients with TM should be followed up regularly and zinc supply should be given at early ages.

Effects of a formal training programme on consanguineous marriages on high school students' knowledge and attitudes: an interventional study from Turkey.

Consanguineous marriage is traditionally common throughout the eastern Mediterranean region. Research has suggested that it is closely linked to the sociocultural and socioeconomical status of individuals, and education plays a critical role in decreasing the number of cases. This study aimed to determine the effects of a formal training programme on consanguineous marriages on the knowledge of, and attitudes towards, consanguineous marriage of high school students (n=804) in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Seniors from three randomly selected public high schools participated in the pre-test and post-test design study. To determine the effects of the programme, students who received the training were compared with those who did not receive any formal training about the subject. After the post-tests were administered, data were collected and analysed using chi-squared and McNemar tests. The results showed significant differences in knowledge and attitudes among the students who had received the formal training programme and those who had not. In addition, the results indicated potential peer influence between the students who received training in consanguineous marriage and those who did not.