Epidemiology of vitiligo, associated autoimmune diseases and audiological abnormalities: Ankara study of 80 patients in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Recent clinical studies suggest that the pathogenetic mechanisms of vitiligo could be of systemic origin as vitiligo is associated with auditory abnormalities as well as other autoimmune disorders. OBJECTIVES: To investigate clinical, genetic characteristics and laboratory findings of vitiligo as well as auditory abnormalities and the association of the disease with the other autoimmune disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January to December 2008, we collected-data from 80 vitiligo patients to establish the clinical and epidemiological profile of vitiligo in Turkey. RESULTS: Thirty patients were men and 50 were women, with a mean age of 37 years and a mean onset age of 10 years. Vitiligo vulgaris was the most common type, followed by focal, acrofacial, segmental and universal types. Forty-four (55%) patients had an associated autoimmune disease. These associated diseases were Hashimoto thyroiditis in 25, alopecia areata in 10, pernicious anaemia in seven and diabetes mellitus in two patients. Statistically significant changes in human leukocyte antigen in patients with vitiligo were HLA A24,-30, B63, CW6, DR15, DR51, DQ5,-6. Auditory problems were observed in 37.7% patients. Nine of the 20 patients showed unilateral minimal hearing loss (>30 dB), while the other 11 demonstrated bilateral hearing loss (>30 dB) over a large range of frequencies (2000-8000 Hz). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that vitiligo is a part of systemic autoimmune process. Audiological examination should be performed in all patients for auditory problems which are commonly presented as hypoacusis.

Airway inflammation in nasal polyposis: immunopathological aspects of relation to asthma.

BACKGROUND: Nasal polyposis (NP) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the upper respiratory tract, which is often coexist with asthma. However, the pathogenesis of especially in patients with NP is still a matter of debate. OBJECTIVE: To better understand the immunopathologic mechanism involved in this relationship, we investigated the inflammatory cell profiles in bronchial and nasal tissues of patients with NP alone and with concomitant asthma. METHODS: Seventeen patients with NP (six male, 11 female, age range: 19-63, mean age: 38.29+/-13.27 years) were selected for the study. Subjects were divided into two groups based on the presence of asthma or bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR). NP without BHR (Group 1) (n=8), NP and asthma or BHR (Group 2) (n=9). All patients underwent atopy evaluation including detailed history, skin prick test (SPT), total and specific IgE determination in sera. None of the subjects had taken inhaled, nasal or oral corticosteroids for at least 1 month before the study. Respiratory symptoms of asthmatic patients were controlled with only short acting beta(2)-agonist inhaler drugs as needed. NP tissue, nasal and bronchial mucosa biopsies were taken from all patients using fiberoptic endoscopy. CD3, CD8, CD16, CD68, AA1 (mast cell tryptase), human leucocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) and eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) expressing cells in specimens were determined by immunohistochemical methods. Positively staining inflammatory cell types were counted. Subepithelial lamina propria and periglandular areas were separately evaluated. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in polyp tissue, nasal and bronchial CD3(+), CD8(+), CD16(+), CD68(+), AA1(+), HLA-DR(+) and EPO(+) positive cells between groups. There were significantly higher numbers of CD8(+), CD16(+), HLA-DR(+), EPO(+) cells in the polyp tissue and nasal mucosa vs. the bronchial mucosa in all groups (P<0.05). However, CD8(+) cells were significantly increased in the polyp tissue and bronchial mucosa of patients with NP alone when compared with the patients with both asthma and NP (P<0.05). CD3(+), CD68(+) and CD16(+) cell counts were tended to be higher within the nasal polyp tissue of patients with isolated NP compared with counts within nasal and bronchial mucosa of patients with NP and asthma. Also, patients with isolated NP showed more HLA-DR(+) cells in the nasal polyp tissue and nasal mucosa than those of patients with NP and asthma. Immunoreactivity for EPO(+) eosinophils within the nasal and bronchial mucosa was more prominent in patients with NP and asthma compared with patients with NP alone. The number of EPO(+) eosinophils within the polyp tissue, nasal and bronchial mucosa was higher in the skin prick test negative (SPT -ve) group than the SPT positive (SPT +ve) ones. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that infiltration of inflammatory cells in the nasal and the lower airways do not remarkably differ between patients with NP alone who has no evidence of BHR and asthmatic patients with NP. However, patients with SPT-ve NP reveal more intense eosinophilic inflammation in the entire respiratory mucosa.

Adjunctive use of mitomycin C on endoscopic lacrimal surgery.

AIMS: Endoscopic endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) has some advantages over external DCR as a less invasive method with no skin incisions. But the success rate of the operation has not reached the level of external method. In this study, a wound healing inhibitor mitomycin C was used intraoperatively to prevent the closure of the osteum after the operation. METHODS: Endoscopic endonasal DCR was performed on 40 eyes of 39 patients (26 female, 13 male). Mitomycin C was applied to the ostium in 14 of 23 patients who had undergone primary endoscopic DCR by means of a microdrill and in eight of 17 patients who had a revision endoscopic DCR secondary to a previously failed external DCR. RESULTS: The postoperative follow up period was 9-27 (mean 18.2) months. The success rate of endoscopic DCR with intraoperative mitomycin C was 77.3%, whereas the success rate of endoscopic DCR without mitomycin C was 77.8%. The statistical analysis did not show a difference between the two groups according to the ostium size and their success rates. CONCLUSIONS: Adjunctive use of a wound healing inhibitor is considered to increase the success rate of endoscopic endonasal DCR. Its intraoperative use seems to be easy and safe. But the study of this limited series shows no benefit in using it.

Histopathologic effects of mitomycin-C on endoscopic transnasal dacryocystorhinostomy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The antimetabolite mitomycin-C is now being used in endoscopic transnasal dacryocystorhinostomies to prevent the closure of osteotomies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 0.5-mg/ml solution of mitomycin-C was applied to the osteotomy site for 2 1/2 minutes intraoperatively. Specimens from four patients were collected during surgery and at 15 days, 1 months, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery. The specimens were examined under light and electron transmission microscopy and were compared with control specimens. RESULTS: Light microscopy showed attenuated epithelium with intracytoplasmic vacuoles. Subepithelial connective tissue was looser and hypocellular. Electron microscopy confirmed these findings and demonstrated swelling of mitochondria, dilatation of endoplasmic reticulum, and chromatin-dense granules in nuclei of fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: By causing a decrease in density and cellularity of mucosa, topical use of mitomycin-C may enhance the success of surgery; however, further studies are necessary to determine the ultimate potential of this agent for this procedure.

Histological study of atelocollagen infused into the human vocal cords.

There have been only three case reports of histological study on injection of atelocollagen into the human vocal cords, and none of these have indicated foreign body reaction. We histologically examined the larynx of a 70-year-old man, which had to be excised 44 days after infusion of atelocollagen into the vocal cords. The atelocollagen infused was found to have been replaced with the collagen of host cells, but no foreign body reaction was observed. As in conventional reports, the histoaffinity of atelocollagen was confirmed.