Evaluation of peripheral olfactory pathways in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis.

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to radiologically evaluate the olfactory bulb (OB) volume and olfactory sulcus (OS) depth of adult patients diagnosed with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients over 18 years of age with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 66 healthy controls with normal thyroid function tests were included in the study. OB volume and OS depth measurements were performed using cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained from coronal T2-weighted images. The relationship between thyroid function tests, autoantibodies, and measurements of the OB and OS were evaluated. RESULTS: The right and left OB volumes were significantly lower in the patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis than in the control group (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found between the patient and control groups in terms of OS depth (p > 0.05). There were significantly negative correlations among TSH, thyroid antibodies, and the bilateral OB volume measurements. In the Bonferroni post hoc analysis, when people with euthyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis and the control group were compared, there was no statistically significant difference between bilateral OB volumes and thyroid function tests. CONCLUSION: Diminished bilateral OB volumes were found in our patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis. Interestingly, the OB volumes were not affected in patients with euthyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis. When a decrease in OB volume is detected on MRI, it should be kept in mind that odor dysfunction in hypothyroid patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis may occur and patients should be clinically evaluated.

Choroidal thickness in obese women.

BACKGROUND: Excessive weight is a well-known risk factor for microvascular diseases. Changes in thickness in a vascular tissue, such as the choroid, can be useful to evaluate the effect of obesity on the microvascular system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the choroidal thickness (CT) changes in obese women, using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: The prospective clinical study included examination of the right eyes of 72 patients. The right eyes of 68 patients were examined and served as the controls. A complete ophthalmological examination and OCT imaging were performed for each group studied. The CT in each eye was measured using OCT. RESULTS: The obese group consisted of 72 female patients with a mean age of 37.27 ± 1.18 years. The control group included 68 female subjects with a mean age of 37.85 ± 7.98 years (p > 0.05). There was no statistical significant difference for the foveal retinal thickness measurements between the two groups (p > 0.5). Our study revealed significant choroidal tissue thickening subfoveally and at areas 500 µm temporal, 500 µm nasal, and 1500 µm nasal to the fovea in the obese group (all p < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) and CT changes. CONCLUSIONS: CT may increase in obese women and a positive correlation was found between BMI and CT. The trial protocol was approved by the Local Ethical Committee of the Kirikkale University, date of registration: April 27, 2015 (registration number: 10/11).

The importance of speckle tracking echocardiography in the early detection of left ventricular dysfunction in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hormonal and metabolic abnormalities and is thought to increase a risk for cardiovascular diseases. In this study we use speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to evaluate left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the early period of the disease. We enrolled 31 patients with PCOS and 32 healthy volunteers as a control group. The participants' ages ranged between 18 and 40 years. PCOS was diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria. LV strain (LS) and strain rate (SR) were evaluated using apical two-chamber (2C), three-chamber (3C), and four-chamber (4C) imaging. Global LS and SR were calculated as average of three apical views. The waist-to-hip ratio, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and fasting insulin and triglyceride levels were higher in the PCOS group than in the controls (p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.001, and p=0.005, respectively). In the PCOS group, the mitral A wave, deceleration time (DT), and isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) were significantly higher than in the controls (all p<0.05). The LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global longitudinal SR systolic (GLSRS) were significantly lower in the PCOS patient group (both p= 0.001). There were strong negative correlations between GLS and both fasting insulin (r=-0.64) and DT (r=-0.62) (both p<0.05). The study demonstrated that PCOS patients had decreased LV function using STE. Therefore, STE imaging appears to be useful for the early detection of subclinical LV dysfunction in patients with PCOS.

Mean platelet volume in a patient with male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: the relationship between low testosterone, metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and cardiovascular risk.

Isolated male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) can be congenital or acquired. Mean platelet volume (MPV), determinant of platelet function, is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to evaluate MPV values in male IHH and the relationships between MPV, low testosterone levels, metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and cardiovascular risk. Thirty-one patients with untreated, normosmic, isolated, male IHH (mean age 22.5 ± 7.58 years) and 30 age and BMI-matched healthy individuals (mean 22.51 ± 4.94 years) were included in the study. All hormonal analyses were done by chemiluminesance assay. All study participants were evaluated by biochemical and platelet parameters. MPV were significantly higher in IHH than controls (8.6 ± 0.65 and 7.6 ± 0.54 fl, respectively; P = 0.000). MPV had a positive correlation between metabolic syndrome (r = 0.444; P = 0000), IFG (r = 0.371; P = 0.04), insulin (r = 0.820; P = 0.02), homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-IR (r = 0.822; P = 0.0023) and BMI (r = 0.373; P = 0.012). MPV had a negative correlation between total testosterone (r =  -0.586; P = 0.0000), free testosterone (r =  -0.634; P = 0.0000), luteinizing hormone (r =  -0.471; P = 0.0000) and FSH (r =  -0.434; P = 0.0000). Although control patients did not have metabolic syndrome and IFG, IHH patients had metabolic syndrome and IFG significantly more often (P < 0.001, P = 0.003, respectively). Age, metabolic syndrome, IFG, BMI, fasting glucose, insulin, CRP and HOMA-IR were independent predictive factors of MPV in the multiple regression analysis. These results suggest that men with IHH are susceptible to increased platelet activation and increased MPV values that contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. From this study, it has been observed that IHH with low testosterone may be a feature of the metabolic syndrome, IFG, increased MPV levels and cardiovascular risk in young adult males.