Bisphenol derivatives in cord blood and association between thyroid hormones and potential exposure sources.

Endocrine-disrupting environmental chemicals are a public health concern, particularly fetal exposure to Bisphenol derivatives. This study aimed to assess fetal exposure to Bisphenol derivatives (BPA, BPF, and BPS) by measuring their levels in cord blood and investigating their association with plastic material used in daily life as well as cord blood TSH and free L-thyroxine (fT4) levels. In this descriptive study, a questionnaire with a face-to-face interview was administered before birth, and cord blood samples were taken immediately after delivery. The mean levels of BPA, BPF, TSH, and fT4 were measured as 10.69 ± 2.39 ng/ml, 3.80 ± 0.58 ng/ml; 2.36 ± 0.23 µIU/ml, and 14.18 ± 0.53 pg/ml, respectively, in a total of 104 cord blood samples. All BPS levels remained below the detection limit. Linear regression analysis revealed a positive association between birth weight and cord blood BPA concentration (ß = 0.26; p = 0.02). Further research on maternal exposure during the fetal and neonatal period is critical for public health.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Overshadowed by Traumatic and Degenerative Spinal Diseases: A New Assessment Proposal.

AIM: Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a rare disorder among the elderly, characterized by gait disorder, dementia, and urinary incontinence. Considering the rareness of NPH and a lot of other pathologies, such as Parkinson's disease, lumbar spinal stenosis, and even aging cause similar symptoms, NPH is an underdiagnosed entity. However, the percentage of misdiagnosis is not given in the literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study, patients diagnosed with NPH were retrospectively screened between 2015 and May 2019 in our clinical database and Ste-P formula was applied. Example cases showed that some of the patients receive inaccurate medical and surgical treatments before being diagnosed with NPH. RESULTS: As a result of the study was seen that a few out of 29 patients confused dizziness with trunkal ataxia or imbalance due to gait abnormality. As the time between onset of complaints and diagnosis increased, the value approached "zero", and diagnosis became difficult. CONCLUSION: Every unnecessary operation carries serious risks that may threaten the life of the patient and decrease the quality of life. These surgeries and instrumentation materials used may also result to additional financial cost. Similarly, long-term use of Parkinson's and dementia medications has a serious economical burden on the insurance systems and is detrimental to the patient's health. Considering all these diagnoses and physiological conditions that can be easily confused with each other, we recommend in this article a new formula to reduce the possibility of misdiagnosis and treatment in patients with walking disorder.