Association of Leptin with Glucose Intolerance and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Pregnant Women: Prospective Analytical Case-Control Study.

This study aimed to investigate the use of leptin as a marker for gestational diabetes by analyzing any correlation between serum leptin levels versus oral glucose tolerance tests (at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy) and increased body weight (during pregnancy). A total of 110 female cases (81 pregnant and 29 non-pregnant) were included in the study. The 81 pregnant cases were divided into 3 groups according to their oral glucose tolerance test results. A chi-square test was used for categorical variables. The distribution of numerical variables was tested with the Shapiro-Wilk test. ANOVA and a post-hoc Bonferroni test was used for parametric data. Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis was used for non-parametric data. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used for pairwise comparisons. Spearman correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis were performed for the evaluation of the correlation analysis between the parameters. Oral glucose tolerance test results were compared with leptin levels with a cut-off value of 11.43 for leptin. The ROC curve demonstrated an 83.3% sensitivity and 72.1% specificity for leptin. Leptin may play a role in the pathophysiology of gestational diabetes mellitus. However, the relationship between leptin levels and maternal weight gain during pregnancy is still unknown.

Investigation of fungus at stratum corneum of patients with acne vulgaris.

BACKGROUND: The pathophysiology of acne is complex and multifactorial. In recent years, fungal infections have increased significantly. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of fungi in the etiopathogenesis of acne vulgaris. METHODS: This was a prospective case-control study. A total of 200 individuals (100 with acne vulgaris and 100 without acne vulgaris) were enrolled in the study. Direct microscopic investigation and culturing of the samples were done according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute criteria. Descriptive analyses, independent sample t-tests, and chi-squared tests were used for statistical analysis. The subjects in the control group were paired by age and gender with the patients. RESULTS: Direct microscopic examination revealed hyphae in the samples of all subjects with acne and in the samples of four of the healthy controls. The cultures of 18 of the patients with acne vulgaris were positive for the following: 6 with Aspergillus spp., 7 with Penicillium spp., 3 with Cladosporium spp., 1 with Candida spp., and 1 with Acremonium spp. In addition, Candida spp. was observed in the cultures of two of the healthy controls. CONCLUSION: We conclude that fungi may be involved in the etiopathogenesis of acne vulgaris.

Association between Demodex folliculorum and Metabolic Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Demodex folliculorum mite infestation is associated with many diseases such as rosacea, pityriasis found with acne vulgaris, and blepharitis. AIM: In this research, the aim of this study was to investigate an association between patients who have metabolic syndrome and presence of Demodex folliculorum. PATIENTS/METHODS: This research was planned prospectively as a case-control study. Fifty cases who have metabolic syndrome and 50 control subjects in good health were included. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to the NCEP Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Standard superficial skin biopsy was performed for the presence of Demodex folliculorum mite infestation. RESULTS: It was detected that number of Demodex affected from the glucose level and each increase in glucose level cause an increase on Demodex as 0.190 (P = .00, t = 4.746, B = 0.190, r = 0.57, Durbin-Watson = 1.801, confidence interval = 0.110 to 0.271 (for glucose)). CONCLUSION: In this study, the presence of Demodex folliculorum was found to be higher in the cases who have metabolic syndrome compared to the healthy group. These results show that in cases with metabolic syndrome, high blood sugar levels make them more susceptible to infestation of Demodex folliculorum.

Determination of antibiotic resistance and high-performance liquid chromatography profiles for Mycobacterium species.

BACKGROUND: Incidence of mycobacterial infections has been increasing. However, diagnosis and treatment of mycobacterial infections can be difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the mycolic acids for rapid identification and dendrogram cluster analysis of mycobacterium species. METHODS: Clinical specimens received for mycobacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test were processed by standard laboratory protocols. Positive cultures were analyzed with HPLC method. Mycolic acid analysis with HPLC was used for diagnosis of tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections. These reports were compared with Sherlock Library mycobacterial species, and the similarity index was analyzed. This value was formed by a software in multidimensional space that was the calculation of the average distance between the nearest library profile and unknown profile. RESULTS: The ninety-two samples were identified as M. tuberculosis. (similarity index between 0.593 and 0.994). One of the other strains was identified as M. avium intracellulare (strain No. 82) (SI = 0.906); one of them was identified as M. interjectum (strain no. 89) (SI = 0.644). Total 94 samples were identified, and dendrogram was applied to these samples. Profile A (10.6%), profile B (59.6%), profile C (11.7%), profile D (3.2%), and other profiles as single different profiles were identified. Rates for each as 1% (89, 94, 1, 82, 26, 42, 32, 41, 100, 43, 47, 44, 40, 35). CONCLUSION: High-performance liquid chromatography is a useful, rapid, reliable, and practical method for diagnosis of mycobacterium species.

Antifungal susceptibilities of Candida species isolated from urine culture.

Candida spp. are the most common opportunistic mycosis worldwide. Although Candida albicans is the most common cause of urinary tract infections, the frequency of non-albicans Candida species is increasing with common use of antifungal in the prophylaxis and treatment. This may lead to difficulties in treatment. Antifungal tests should be applied with identification of species for effective treatment. In this study, identification of Candida species isolated from urine culture and investigation of susceptibility of these strains to amphotericin B, flucytosine, fluconazole, voriconazole was aimed. In this study, 58 Candida strains isolated from urine cultures at Osmaniye State Hospital between January 2012 and April 2013 were included. Urine culture and antifungal susceptibility tests were applied. Incidence rate of Candida spp. was determined as C. albicans (56.9%), Candida glabrata (20.6%), Candida tropicalis (10.3%), Candida parapsilosis (7%), Candida krusei (3.4%), Candida kefyr (1.8%). Most of the isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B, flucytosine, fluconazole, voriconazole. Twenty three (39.7%) Candida strains were isolated from internal medical branches and Intensive Care Unit and 12 (20.6%) from the Surgical Medical Branches. C. albicans and C. glabrata species were isolated most frequently as a candiduria factor in this hospital between January 2012 and April 2013. The analysis of antifungal susceptibility profile shows no significant resistance to antifungals.

Cytokines, adipocytokines and inflammatory markers in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: Cytokines are essential mediators of immune response. Chronic renal failure patients suffer from chronic inflammation that results from factors such as impaired renal function, accumulation of uremic toxins and bio incompatibility of dialyzer membranes. These patients are also at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. We have evaluated cytokines, adipocytokines and inflammatory markers in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis (HD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We have determined serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), leptin and ghrelin levels of chronic renal failure patients treated with either HD (n = 20) or CAPD (n = 20). TNF-α, IL-6, ghrelin and leptin measurements were performed by commercially available kits based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. hsCRP levels were determined by turbidimetric methods. RESULTS: Serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels of patients on HD were significantly higher than those of the ones on CAPD (p < 0.05). Ghrelin, leptin and hsCRP concentrations were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: We can conclude that cytokine production is more obvious in HD process.

The Rate of Inducible MLSB Resistance in the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococci Isolated From Clinical Samples.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococci are one of the most common pathogens in nasocomial and community-acquired infections. Methicillin-resistant staphylococci are known to be resistant against all beta-lactam antibiotics. Therefore, non-beta-lactam antibiotics such as macrolide and lincosamides can be used. Resistance to those antibiotics may lead to therapeutic failure. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (MLSB ) resistance by using D-test in staphylococcal isolates from various clinical samples. METHODS: Seventy-one methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus isolates (six S. aureus, 65 coagulase negative staphylococci) were included in this study. Staphylococci were identified with conventional methods. According to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) criteria, susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. RESULTS: One of six (16.6%) methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates and 19 of 65 (29.2%) methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CNS) were detected as D-test positive. Twenty of 71 (28.1%) staphylococcal isolates detected as D-test positive. Inducible clindamycin resistance was found at a higher rate in MR-CNS. CONCLUSION: Since the resistant community and hospital acquired staphylococcal infections have become a therapeutic problem, it is very important to detect MLSB resistance routinely in microbiology laboratories. D-test is a cheap and reliable diagnostic method that can be performed in every laboratory.

[Fascioliasis and brucellosis in same patient]. / Ayni Hastada Fascioliazis ve Bruselloz.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease that can affect many organs and systems and leads to very different clinical circumstances. Brucellosis is rare in association with various infectious agents. Fascioliasis is a zoonotic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica, popularly referred to as a large leaf-shaped liver fluke. This case is a 39-year-old male patient, and his complaints began a week ago, which were chills, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, weakness, sweating, and widespread pain. The patient was considered brucellosis in the preliminary diagnosis. Rose Bengal test and Wright test (1/640) were detected as positive. Due to patients having elevated liver enzymes, abdominal ultrasound was taken. A liver lesion was seen with abdominal ultrasound. So, abdominal computed tomography (CT) was taken. The CT result report came in the form that at the left lobe of the liver segment 2, largely necrosis that showed no contrast enhancement, approximately 61x63 mm in size (compatible with fascioliasis) is viewed. The patient's IHA test results, required for fascioliasis, were detected as 1/320 positive. Especially for zoonotic diseases in areas with high endemicity, it should be considered that more than one infectious agent can be present together in high-risk patients.

[Evaluation of Western Blot method for the detection of antibodies to Helicobacter pylori antigens in patients with gastric carcinoma and cases with epigastric complaints]. / Gastrik karsinomali hastalar ile epigastrik yakinmalari olan olgularda Helicobacter pylori antijenlerine karsi antikor varliginin saptanmasinda western blot yönteminin degerlendirilmesi.

Helicobacter pylori proteins CagA (cytotoxin-associated gene A) and VacA (vacuolating cytotoxin A) are among the virulence factors of this species. CagA gene carrying H. pylori strains are particularly associated with gastric adenocarsinoma. This study was conducted to evaluate Western Blot (WB) method to determine specific H. pylori antibodies in a group of patients with gastric cancer and in a control group with no malignancy. A total of 99 patients with gastric cancer (94 adenocarcinoma, 2 adenosquamous cell carcinoma, 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma) and 150 control cases with epigastric complaints such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gastroesophageal reflux and abdominal pain, were included to the study. H. pylori IgG-ELISA was positive in all study (mean age: 56.7 +/- 1.2 years, 62 male) and control (mean age: 24.2 +/- 1.3 years, 64 male) patients. Specific antibodies against CagA, VacA, OMP (outer membrane protein)-67, urease-A, urease-B, HSP (heat shock protein) and flagellin antigens determined by a commercial WB-based kit (RIDA Blot Helicobacter, R-Biopharm GmbH, Germany). Interestingly, no anti-VacA positivity was detected in none of the patient and control groups. The positivity rates for H. pylori CagA, OMP-67, urease A, urease-B, flagellin and HSP specific antibodies were as 78%, 54%, 37%, 60%, 53% and 82% in the gastric cancer group and 85%, 71%, 55%, 43%, 61% and 75% in the control group, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) between gastric carcinoma and control groups in terms of CagA, HSP and flagellin antibodies (p > 0.05). On the other hand, a statistically significant difference was found between the 2 groups in terms of urease-A, urease-B and OMP-67 (p < 0.01). These results suggested that this test should be assessed again by the manufacturer for its detection power directed towards specific H. pylori antibodies, especially for Vac-A. Further molecular and clinical studies are necessary to determine the factors that affect H. pylori virulence and disease prognosis.