The effect of fundectomy on histopathological findings and metabolic hormones in rats.

AIM: Fundectomy, shown as an alternative to restrictive techniques, causes absorption restriction and metabolic changes. This study aimed to examine the histopathological changes caused by the fundectomy as a technique applied to rats by hormones that affect stomach and obesity metabolism and its effect on weight loss. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 2randomly selected Winstar-Hannover rat groups were evaluated by measuring their pre-and postoperative weights and biochemically measuring Gastrin, Ghrelin, and Leptin levels on day 30. After sacrification, the stomachs were taken for histopathological examination. RESULTS: Significant weight loss was observed in the fundectomy group in the 1stmonth postoperatively. Biochemically, Gastrin means in the fundectomy group were statistically significantly higher than in the control group. The mean Ghrelin and Leptin levels of the Fundectomy Group were statistically significantly lower (p=0.005). Immunohistochemically, Gastrin means ™at the antrum and proximal stomach parts of the Fundectomy Group were significantly higher than in the control group. As Ghrelin, a significant decrease was observed in all 3regions of the Fundectomy Group compared to the control group. Leptin results were significantly lower at the antrum and proximal stomach parts of the Fundectomy Group. Histopathologically, in the Fundectomy Group, cystic glandular hyperplasia was moderate at the proximal stomach, foveolar hyperplasia was mild at the antrum, fibrosis was moderate at the antrum and corpus, and high at the proximal stomach. CONCLUSION: Fundectomy is an effective method in terms of weight loss. This animal experiment, conducted as a pilot study, will be an essential step in elucidating metabolic and histopathological changes. KEY WORDS: Bariatric surgery, Fundectomy, Obesity.

The effect of subclinical hypothyroidism on ovarian volume in prepubertal girls.

OBJECTIVE: Enlargement and cystic changes in ovaries of patients with long-standing overt hypothyroidism have been described in numerous case reports. However, there are limited data about the effect of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) on ovarian volume. The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level and ovarian volume in prepubertal girls with SH. METHODS: Patients who were aged between 6 and 10 years and diagnosed with SH and age-matched healthy euthyroid controls were enrolled in the study. All subjects were prepubertal. RESULTS: Thirty-five children with SH (mean age; 7.6±1.0 years) and 50 euthyroid healthy girls (mean age; 7.7±1.2 years) were enrolled in the study. TSH and LH levels and both ovarian volumes were significantly higher in SH group than controls (p<0.05). In addition, TSH was positively correlated with ovarian volumes and LH in patients with SH (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that ovarian volumes of prepubertal girls with SH were significantly greater than those with normal thyroid function. Although ovarian enlargement and cyst formation is well recognized in long-standing overt hypothyroidism, it has been shown for the 1st time in patients with SH.

Effect of glutamine use on the formation of intestinal neomucosa on peritoneal surface in rats.

BACKGROUND: Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a clinical condition with high mortality and morbidity, which leads to the lack of absorption of fluids or nutrients necessary for the body due to the decrease in the length of the small bowel (SB). Glutamine is an amino acid essential for the nutrition and proliferation of intestinal mucosa cells. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of glutamine on intestinal neomucosa formation in rats which developed SBS. METHODS: Sixteen Wistar Hannover rats were randomly divided into two groups of eight rats. Saline was applied to the rats in Group 1 (control) following the enteroperitoneal anastomosis between mucosal surface of the ileum and the parietal peritoneum surface (adherent to abdominal wall) while glutamine was applied to the rats in Group 2 following the same anastomosis. Fourteen days later, the rats were euthanatized and blood samples were taken. Simultaneously, en bloc resection of the anastomosis part was performed and histopathological examination was carried out to observe neomucosa formation. The effects of glutamine on anastomosis were determined by microscopic and biochemical evaluations. RESULTS: Biochemical analyses were performed by measuring serum oxidant (malondialdehyde [MDA] and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine [8-OHdG]) and antioxidant (superoxide dismutase [SOD] and glutathione peroxidase [GPx]) parameters. Based on the biochemical evaluation results of the antioxidant values of the control and glutamine groups, it was found that while the serum antioxidant level (SOD and GPx activity) was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the glutamine-administered rats compared to the control group, the oxidative damage (MDA and 8-OHdG) was lower (p<0.05). In terms of the histological evaluations made for the neomucosa formation, the number of neomucosa formation was higher in the glutamine group, but the difference was not significant (p=0.315). CONCLUSION: The use of glutamine in patients with SBS may increase surface absorption by increasing neomucosa formation. However, additional studies of large statistical power are needed.

Curcumin Enhanced the Neomucosa Formation by Mediating the Antioxidation Mechanism in Rats.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to examine the possible effects of curcumin on the formation of neomucosa in parietal peritoneum which was applied as a patch for terminal ileal defect in rats. Methods: Sixteen male Wistar Hannover rats were split into two groups. The control group was injected with saline and curcumin (2 mL/kg/day, by gavage) was given to the experimental group. In both groups, amounts of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde (MDA), the activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were determined in serum. The development of neomucosa formation was examined morphologically. Results: Serum antioxidant levels and glutathione peroxidase activity in rats given curcumin were significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.05). The levels of oxidative markers (MDA and 8-OHdG) in rats given curcumin were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). In the histopathological examination, 62.5% of rats in the curcumin group showed formation of neomucosa while 37.5% of control rats showed neomucosa. Conclusion: The use of curcumin in rats with terminal ileal defect enhanced the formation of neomucosa by decreasing the oxidation level and increasing the antioxidation level. Curcumin may be used in the patients with short bowel syndrome to increase the absorption surface area.

Evaluation of Serum Biomarkers in Patients with Sarcoidosis: Can Visfatin Be a New Biomarker for Sarcoidosis?

OBJECTIVES: Sarcoidosis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease that affects multiple organ systems. The role of biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of sarcoidosis is increasing. Interest in the role of adipose tissue-mediated inflammation in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases has increased in recent years. Visfatin is a proinflammatory adipocytokine that has been studied for several inflammatory diseases such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. We aimed to assess serum visfatin levels in sarcoidosis and its relationship with other markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein (CRP), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 59 patients with sarcoidosis and 21 healthy controls and measured plasma levels of visfatin, along with serum CRP, ESR, and ACE using ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) kits (Blue Gene Biotech, Shanghai, China). RESULTS: Visfatin levels did not differ significantly between the patients and control subjects (29.9±15.8 ng/mL for patients and 23.93±16.73 ng/mL for controls, p=0.15), and there was no correlation between visfatin and serum CRP, ACE, or ESR in patients with sarcoidosis. CONCLUSION: Visfatin is recently being discussed as a biomarker for inflammatory diseases in several studies, and results are controversial. In our study, no differences were found in the serum levels of visfatin between patients with sarcoidosis and the control group.

Serum omentin-1 levels in obese children.

Background Obesity is an important cause of morbidity, and it has an increasing frequency in childhood. Studies have reported that 33% of adults and 20-27% of children and adolescents are obese. Recently, it has been shown that the prevalence of obesity in the childhood group is higher than the past years. Omentin-1 is an adipokine which is synthesized from the visceral fat tissue but not synthesized in the subcutaneous fat tissue. Omentin-1 has been shown to increase insulin-mediated glucose uptake, especially in the adipose tissue. Studies have shown that plasma omentin-1 levels, which play an important role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, are significantly lowered in obese, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between obesity and omentin-1 levels in children. Methods The study included obese children with a body mass index (BMI) greater than the 95th percentile and healthy children with a BMI lower than the 85th percentile. Obese and healthy individuals had similar age and sex distributions. Glucose, insulin, lipid profiles, thyroid panels and metabolic markers were evaluated. Results The levels of omentin-1 in obese children were significantly lower than in the control group (p<0.05). Results of Spearman's correlation analysis for all participants showed that omentin-1 levels were negatively related with triglycerides, total cholesterol, serum free thyroxine (FT4), insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), body weight, waist circumference (WC) and BMI percentile values. Conclusions Our findings indicate that serum omentin-1 levels are lower in obese children than in non-obese individuals. Omentin-1 can be used as a metabolic biomarker in children and adolescents.