Evaluation of peripheral blood inflammatory biomarkers in sickle cell disease with and without retinopathy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of blood-cell associated inflammation markers in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and sickle cell retinopathy (SCR). METHODS: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), systemic immune inflammation index (SIII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), systemic inflammation modulation index (SIMI) and aggregate systemic inflammation index (AISI) were calculated. This study included 45 healthy controls (Group 1) and 100 SCD (Group 2). Patients in Group 2 were then divided into two groups: without SCR (Group 3) and with SCR (Group 4), and patients with SCR (Group 4) were further divided into two groups: non-proliferative sickle cell retinopathy (NPSCR) (Group 5) and proliferative sickle cell retinopathy (PSCR) (Group 6). RESULTS: The mean values for NLR, PLR, SIII, SIRI, AISI, and SIMI were significantly higher in Group 2 compared to Group 1 (p = 0.011 for NLR, p = 0.004 for SIII, and p < 0.001 for others). Furthermore, AISI and SIMI parameters demonstrated statistically significant discriminatory power to distinguish Group 5 from Group 6 (p = 0.0016 and p = 0.0006, respectively). CONCLUSION: Given the critical role of inflammatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis of SCD and its related complications, the assessment of blood-cell-associated inflammatory markers may present a pragmatic and advantageous approach to the clinical oversight and therapeutic intervention of SCD.

The relationship between sphenoidal sinus and sella turcica morphometry in the Turkish population: a retrospective study.

PURPOSE: The anatomical position of the sphenoidal sinus (SS) is very important for neurosurgeons because of the transsphenoidal approach to the pituitary gland. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the volume and shape of the SS and its relationship with the morphometry of the sella turcica. METHODS: This study included CT images of 282 males and 258 females with a mean age of 50.52 years (range 18-75) who underwent head CT. The morphometric values of the sella turcica and the volume of the SS were measured on the included radiologic images. Measurements were made on the sagittal slice closest to the midline in T1 sequence. Morphometric measurements were made with Micro Dicom Viewers software program and volume measurements were made with ITK SNAP software program. RESULTS: In this study, 4 types of SS shapes were obtained in the whole population: amorphous, pentagonal, triangular and quadrilateral. The mean SS volume was 7055.88 mm3 in males and 5694.48 mm3 in females and a statistically significant difference was observed (p < 0.001). In addition, a statistically significant difference was found between the sexes in the width and surface area parameters of the sella turcica (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, the morphometric relationship between the shape of the sinus sphenoidale and sella turcica was demonstrated between men and women. In particular, the shape of the sinus sphenoidale was found to be anthropometrically different between men and women in the Turkish population. It is hypothesised that the data obtained in our study will guide surgeons performing transsphenoidal approach.