In order to make assessments in understanding of physiological and genotoxic effects of imposing cadmium (Cd) on photosynthetic pigment contents along with the changes occurring in genetic material ...of Kalanchoe plants were used in relation to various Cd-treatments. Young plantlets were originated from a single host plant as clones, and developed in vitro. Developed clones were grown in standard pots with daily watering of Hoagland solution (20 ml) containing different concentrations of cadmium chloride for two months. Cd concentrations of the collected samples were measured by employing ICP-OES and RAPD-PCR technique was applied for detecting the genotoxic effects of Cd. After two month of experimental period, the comparisons between unexposed and exposed Kalanchoe clone groups revealed reductions in photosynthetic pigment contents, especially at the highest level of Cd exposure and a genomic instability when application of Cd concentration increases. RAPD-PCR analyses demonstrated the distinguishable banding pattern in number and band intensities between Cd-treated and control groups. In addition, progressive Cd accumulations in leaves, stems and roots of plant samples were observed when the application of exposure level increased.
Objective. Most patients with pancreatic cancer show an inoperable locally advanced/ metastatic tumour at the time of diagnosis. The present study was aimed at determining the prognostic factors in ...patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma treated with gemcitabine. Material and methods. Sixty-seven unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer patients treated with gemcitabine were included in the study and a total of 258 cycles of treatment were applied. Results. The overall response rate was 5%. Thirty-one percent of the patients had stable disease, whereas progressive disease was seen in 49%. Clinical benefit response rate was 15%. The median duration of response was 7.3 months. Median progression-free survival was 3 months, while median overall survival was 9 months. Univariate analysis revealed that worse results were found in patients with performance status (PS) = 2, and in patients with primary tumour location in the body or tail of the pancreas (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis of data revealed that the most important factor was PS of the patient, as the patients with PS = 2 had worse results than the patients with PS = 0-1 (p<0.05). Conclusions. Low PS is a negative predictive factor for the survival of patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma treated with gemcitabine.
The exact pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection is not fully understood. This study aims to evaluate the specific subset composition of peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with H. ...pylori-positive duodenal ulcer n = 14), chronic antral gastritis n = 28), since reports so far have led to inconclusive and conflicting results.
42 patients with dyspepsia and 50 controls underwent the following procedures: 1) gastroscopy and gastric biopsy (five specimens) 2) histology, 3) serologic test for anti-H. pylori antibodies IgG (Pyloriset EIA-G, Orion Diagnostica) and anticytotoxin associated gene A (cag A) IgG antibodies (VIVA Diagnositika by ELISA), 4) analysis of the peripheral blood lymphocytes using monoclonal antibodies reacting with lymphocyte cell surface antigens (anti-CD3, anti-CD19, anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-CD16 + CD56, anti-HLA DR) by flow-cytometry (Becton-Dickinson) to detect possible changes in the lymphocytes subpopulations in patients with duodenal ulcer and chronic antral gastritis.
We found no alteration in total T and B lymphocytes and CD4+ T, CD8+ T lymphocytes and natural killer cells of both duodenal ulcer and chronic antral gastritis patients compared to normal persons. Although there was a slight increase in the proportion of active T lymphocytes in duodenal ulcer and chronic antral gastritis groups comparing to healthy subjects the difference was not statistically significant.
These data indicate that there is no systemic alteration in the specific immune system in response to H. pylori in patients with duodenal ulcer and chronic antral gastritis.
Chronic renal failure patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) have a number of ECG abnormalities and cardiac arrhythmias. Clinical and experimental data have shown that increased QT dispersion is ...associated with severe ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the uremic patients receiving long-term HD have increased QTc interval and/or QTc dispersion compared to normal subjects and to evaluate the effect of electrolyte changes between the predialysis and postdialysis phases on these parameters. Forty patients with end-stage renal failure on long-term HD (22 men, 18 women, mean age 44 years) were included in this study. Serum concentrations of K +, Na+, Ca++, Mg++, Cl-, phosphate, urea, creati nine, HCO3 -, and arterial blood gases (PO2, PCO2), together with blood pH, were monitored and QTc intervals and QTc dispersion were measured from 12-lead ECG in predialysis and postdialysis phases. The hemodialyzed patients had an increased predial ysis QTc maximum interval and QTc dispersion compared to normal subjects (480 ±51 vs 310 ±38 msec, p < 0.001 and 61 ±17 vs 42 ±14 msec, p < 0.001, respectively). Both QTc maximum interval and QTc dispersion increased significantly at the end of the HD (480 ± 51 vs 505 ±49 msec p< 0.001 and 61 ± 17 vs 86 ± 18 msec, p< 0.001, respec tively). The serum K+(5.3 ±0.56 vs 3.36 ±0.41 mEq/L, p < 0.001), phosphate (7.19 ± 1.62 vs 3.81 ± 1.02 mg/dL, p <0.001), magnesium (0.87 ± 18 vs 0.75±0.14 mg/dL) and urea concentrations (174 ±22 vs 74 ± 14 mg/dL, p < 0.001) significantly decreased, whereas the Ca++ (2.21 ±0.18 vs 2.47 ±0.24 mg/dL, p < 0.001), HCO3- (15.5 ±3.2 vs 20.1 ±3.4 mmol/L, p< 0.001) concentrations and pH (7.27 ± 1.1 vs 7.43 ± 1.2, p < 0.001) significantly increased after HD compared to predialysis values. There was significant correlation between the QT dispersion increase and serum electrolyte changes (K+, Ca++, and pH levels) (p < 0.05). The association between serum electrolyte changes, acid-base status and QT measurements might provide new insights into the evaluation of the ionic bases involved in inhomogeneous ventricular repolarization.
Background: The aim of this study was to assess the short and long-term effects of carotid artery stenting (CAS) procedure on blood pressure (BP) through ambulatory BP monitoring. Methods: One ...hundred fifty three patients who underwent CAS for primary or secondary protection from December 2010 to September 2013 were enrolled to our study. The BP levels of total of 123 patients were monitored for 1 year. Thereafter, the pre-procedure levels of BP were compared with BP levels at the 24-hour and the first year intervals after the procedure. Results: Systolic and diastolic BP levels at the 24-hour and the first year intervals after CAS were significantly lower than the pre-procedure BP levels. The mean 24-hour systolic BP was 113 13 mmHg and diastolic BP was 63 8 mmHg, both of which were significantly lower (p ＜ 0.001 and p ＜ 0.001 respectively), while the pre-procedure mean systolic BP was 133 10 mmHg and the mean diastolic BP was 75 9 mmHg. Moreover, the mean first-year systolic BPwas 125 10 mmHgwith a decline of 8 8 mmHg and mean diastolic BPwas 71 8 mmHgwith a decline of 4 7 mmHg, both of which were again significantly lower compared to the pre-procedure levels (p ＜ 0.001 and p ＜ 0.001 respectively). Conclusions: The results of our study suggested that systolic and diastolic BP levels diminished after CAS. Additionally, BP reduction continued even 1 year after the CAS.
Amaç: Kronik konstipasyon yaygın olarak karşılaşılan klinik bir sorundur. Kronik konstipasyonlu hastalarda rutin sağaltım yöntemleri her zaman başarılı olamamaktadır. Kolşisin'in akut gut artriti ve ...ailesel akdeniz ateşindeki kullanımıyla ilgili deneyimler, bu ilacın intestinal motiliteyi arttırdığını ve diareye neden olduğunu göstermiştir. Çalışmamızda, bilinen ilaçlarla sağaltıma cevap alınamayan refrakter konstipasyon olgularında kolşisin'in etkinliği denenmiştir. Yöntem: Rutin kan tetkikleri, batın USG, batın BT, gastroskopi, kolonoskopi ve kolon grafisi ile değerlendirildikten sonra toplam 59 olgudan 4'inde (%6.7) konstipasyon etyolojisinde organik hastalıklar tespit edilmiş ve geri kalan 55 (%93.2) hastaya Roma-2 kriterlerine göre kronik fonksiyonel konstipasyon tanısı konulmuştur. Bunlardan laksatiflere cevapsız 13 (%23.6) hasta (8 erkek, 5 kadın, yaş ortalaması:42.4±6.7 yıl) çalışmaya alınmıştır. Hastalara 0.5 mg günde 3 kez oral kolşisin verilmiş ve 12 hafta sonra hastaların defekasyon sıklığı değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Defekasyon sıklığı ilk başvuruda 1.1±0.6/hafta; laksatif ve enemaların kullanıldığı dönemde 1.6±0.8/hafta; kolşisin sağaltımı altında ise 5.8±1.1/hafta olarak bulunmuştur(p<0.05). Oral kolşisin kullanımı sırasında laksatif ve enemaların kullanımı sırasında gözlenen abdominal ağrı, şişkinlik, gaz, bulantı ve kusma gibi yakınmalar da belirgin şekilde azalmıştır (p<0.05). Kolşisin kullanımı süresince hiç bir hastada ilacın kesilmesini gerektirecek yan etkiye rastlanmamıştır. Sonuç: Kronik fonksiyonel konstipasyonda oral kolşisin'in günde 3 kez 0.5 dozunda kullanılması etkili ve güvenli bir sağaltım şekli gibi görünmektedir.
Background/aims: Chronic constipation is a common clinical problem that frequently does not respond to routine therapeutic measures. Colchicine may be effective in this condition because it is known to stimulate intestinal motility and commonly causes diarrhea in patients taking the drug for either gouty arthritis or familial mediterranean fever. Methods: We evaluated 59 patients with constipation and found organic pathology in four (6.7%) of them. The other 55 (93.2%) patients were diagnosed as functional constipation according to Rome-2 criteria and were prescribed laxatives. Thirteen (23.6%) of these 55 patients with functional constipation were resistant to medical therapy and were studied prospectively. There were eight males and five females with a mean age of 42.4±6.7 years. They were treated with oral colchicine 0.5 mg three times a day for 12 weeks. Results: During the study, the mean number of spontaneous bowel movements was 1.1±0.6 per week initially, 1.6±0.8 during routine treatment of constipation with laxatives and enemas and 5.8±1.1 per week with colchicine treatment (p<0.05). Symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea and bloating improved significantly during colchicine treatment. Conclusions: Oral colchicine (0.5 mg three times a day) therapy appears to be a promising treatment for chronic functional constipation.
OBJECTIVE: To study whether the increasing doses of omeprazole,
lansoprazole and famotidine afford protection against ethanol-induced
gastric damage and to compare their antioxidant effect with that ...of
melatonin. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Mucosal damage was evaluated by
macroscopic examination and by the measurement of lipid peroxidation
(LPO), glutathione (GSH) levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity.
RESULTS: Ethanol administration-induced significant gastric damage,
increased gastric acidity, and LPO and MPO activities, while tissue GSH
levels decreased. The antiulcer drugs decreased the gastric acidity in
a dose-dependent manner, whereas melatonin had no effect on this
parameter. Biochemical parameters of oxidative damage, namely gastric
LPO and GSH levels and MPO activities were reversed by both the
antiulcer drugs and melatonin in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION:
These findings suggest that, parallel to increased acidity, reactive
oxygen species have an important role in the pathogenesis of
ethanol-induced gastric damage, and that melatonin, famotidine,
lansoprazole and omeprazole are protective by their antioxidant
property. However, according to our findings, inhibition of acid
secretion is as important as the inhibition of oxidative damage in
affording protection against ethanol-induced damage, and in this aspect
melatonin seemed to be less efficient than the antiulcer drugs.
Amaç: Helicobacter pylori'ye bağlı enfeksiyonun patogenezi henüz kesin olarak açıklığa kavuşmuş değildir. Metod: Bu çalışmada Helicobacter pylori pozitif duodenal ülserli (n=14) ve kronik antral ...gastritli (n=28) hastalar periferik kan lenfositlerinin subgrupları açısından değerlendirildi. Duodenal ülseri veya kronik antral gastriti bulunan Helicobacter pylori pozitif toplam 42 hasta ve Helicobacter pylori negatif dispepsi yakınması bulunan ancak duodenal ülser veya kronik antral gastriti belirlenmeyen 50 kontrole aşağıdaki işlemler uygulandı. 1) gastroskopi ve gastrik biopsi (5 ayrı bölgeden alınan örnek), 2) histoloji, 3) serolojik olarak Anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG (Ploriset EIA-G, Orion Diagnostika) ve anti cytotoxin associated gene A (cagA ) IgG (VIVA Diagnostika by ELISA) 4) periferal kan lenfositlerinin analizi; bu işlem için flow-cytometri'de lenfosit hücre yüzey antijenleri (anti-CD3, anti-CD19, anti-CD8, anti-CD16+anti-CD56, anti-HLA DR) ile reaksiyona giren monoklonal antikorlar kullanıldı. Bu yöntemle duodenal ülserli ve kronik antral gastritli hastaların lenfosit subpopülasyonundaki olası değişikliklerin belirlenmesi amaçlandı. Tüm biyopsi örnekleri histopatolojik olarak Helicobacter pylori yoğunluğu, kronik inflamasyon, aktivite, intestinal metaplazi, atrofi ve lenfoid agregat varlığı açısından Sydney sistemine uygun olarak değerlendirildi. Hasta grubunda Helicobacter pylori infeksiyonu varlığı hem hızlı üreaz testinin, hem de histolojik değerlendirmenin Helicobacter pylori varlığını göstermesi durumunda kabul edildi. Kontrol grubunda Helicobacter pylori infeksiyonu bulunmadığı ise her iki testinde negatif olması ile belirlendi. Bulgular: Kronik inflamasyon ve intestinal metaplazi kontrol grubunda, diğer gruplardan daha düşük bulundu (p<0.05). Atrofi ve lenfoid agregat bulunma yüzdeleri de kontrol grubunda belirgin olarak daha azdı(p<0.05). Kontrol ve hasta gruplar arasında doku inflamatuvar yanıtının bu kadar farklı olmasına rağmen, total T ve B lenfositlerde, CD4+T ve CD8+T lenfositlerde ve natural killer hücrelerde gruplar arasında farklılık gözlenmedi (p>0.05). Aktif T lenfosit oranında duodenal ülser ve kronik antral gastritli gruplarında, kontrollere göre hafif bir yükseklik gözlendiyse de, bu fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmadı (p>0.05). Sonuç: Bu bulgular, duodenal ülserli ve kronik antral gastritli hastalarda Helicobacter pylori infeksiyonuna cevap olarak spesifik immün sistemde bir değişiklik oluşmadığını göstermektedir.
Background/aims: The exact pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection is not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the specific subset composition of peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with Helicobacter pylori positive duodenal ulcer (n=14) and chronic antral gastritis (n=28), since reports to date have given inconclusive and conflicting results. Methods: Fourty-two Helicobacter pylori positive patients with duodenal ulcer or chronic antral gastritis and 50 Helicobacter pylori negative control subjects with dyspepsia but without duodenal ulcer or chronic antral gastritis, underwent the following procedures: 1) gastroscopy and gastric biopsy (five specimens) 2) histology, 3) serologic test for anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies IgG (Pyloriset EIA-G, Orion Diagnostica ) and anti-cytotoxin associated gene A (chronic antral gastritis A) IgG antibodies (VIVA Diagnositika by ELISA), 4) analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes using monoclonal antibodies reacting with lymphocyte cell surface antigens (anti-CD3, anti-CD19, anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-CD16 + CD56, anti-HLA DR) by flow-cytometry (Becton-Dickinson). The aim of this was to detect possible changes in lymphocyte subpopulations in patient and control groups. All biopsy samples were studied for Helicobacter pylori density, chronic inflammation, activity, intestinal metaplasia, atrophy and the presence of lymphoid aggregates (according to Sydney system) by histological examination. Patients were considered to have Helicobacter pylori infection if both histology and rapid urease test showed Helicobacter pylori presence. Control subjects were determined by the negativity of both tests at the same time. Results: The control group had a lower degree of chronic inflammation and intestinal metaplasia than the other groups (p<0.05). The percentages of atrophy and lymphoid aggregates present were also significantly lower in the control group than patient groups (p<0.05). Although there was a great difference in the inflammatory response in gastric tissue between the patient and control groups, there was no alteration in total T and B lymphocytes and CD4+T or CD8+T lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells between the groups (p>0.05). Although there was a slight increase in the proportion of active T lymphocytes in the patient groups compared to control subjects, this difference was not significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: These data indicate that there is no systemic alteration in the specific immune system in response to Helicobacter pylori in patients with duodenal ulcer and chronic antral gastritis.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) sadece gastrik epitelde kolonize olabilmektedir. Rutin pratikte, H. pylori infeksiyonu varlığı yalnızca antral biopsi örneklerinde araştırılmaktadır. Son zamanlarda ...yapılan bazı çalışmalarda eradikasyon tedavisinin H. pylori'yi gastrik mukozadan tamamen te-mizleyemediği, sadece suprese ettiği düşüncesi ileri sürülmektedir. Bu prospektif çalışmada üçlü eradikasyon tedavisinin (1 haftalık, lansoprazol, klaritromisin, amoksisilin) H. pylori'nin gastrik epiteldeki kolonizasyonunu ne şekilde etkilediği ve gastrik mukozada H. pylori varlığının tespitinde antral biyopsinin tek başına yeterli olup olmadığı araştırılmıştır. Hastalarda H. pylori varlığı antrum, korpus ve fundusdan alınan biyopsi örnekleri ile tedavi öncesi ve 1 haftalık tedavi sonrası 7. haftada (başvurudan 8 hafta sonra) değerlendirilmiştir. Peptik ülserli 37, kronik antral gastritli 65 toplam 102 H. pylori enfeksiyonuna sahip hasta çalışmaya alınmıştır. H. pylori 102 hastanın 93'ünde antrumda, 82'sinde korpusda, 59'unda fundusda histolojik olarak saptanmışdır. ikinci endoskopik değerlendirmede H. pylori 102 hastanın 9'unda fundusda, 12'sinde korpusda, ve 10'un da da antrumda gösterilmiştir. Fundus korpus ve antrumdaki bu dağılım farklılığı istatistiksel olarak anlamlı değildir. Sekiz hastada midenin tüm bölgelerinde H. pylori'ye rastlanmış olması, bu hastalarda başarısız eradikasyon olduğunu düşündürmüştür. Tedavi sonrasında sadece 3 hastada (%2.9) H. pylori korpus ve fundus da tespit edilmiş ancak, antrumda gösterilememiştir. Tedavi sonrasında fundus ya da korpusa kaçışın sadece %2.9 oranında gerçekleşmesi, eradikasyon kontrolünde antral biyopsinin tek başına yeterli olabileceğini düşündürmektedir.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) colonises only gastric type epithelium. In routine practice, H. pylori status is assessed on antral biopsy specimens alone. More recent reports suggest that eradication therapy partly suppresses, but does not eradicate H. pylori completely. This prospective study aimed to examine the effect of triple eradication therapy on the distribution of H. pylori and whether antral biopsy is sufficient for the evaluation of persistence of H. pylori within the stomach. Our study consisted of 102 patients with H.pylori infection, of whom 37 had peptic ulcer and 65 chronic antral gastritis H. pylori positivity was determined by both rapid urease test and histological examination. Subjects underwent an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy specimens were taken from the gastric antrum, body, and fundus. They were then prescribed lansoprazole (30 mg bid), clarithromycin (500 mg bid), and amoxycillin (1 g bid) for a week. At the 8th week a second endoscopy was performed and further biopsy specimens were obtained from the same sites as at initial endoscopy. H. pylori was seen in 100 of 102 antral, 82 of 102 corpus, and 59 of 102 fundic biopsy specimens prior to eradication therapy. Two patients had no antral H. pylori. One of these patients had H. pylori in both the fundus and corpus. The remaining one patient had only fundic H. pylori infection. At the second endoscopy, H. pylori was found in the gastric fundus in 11 of 102, subjects, in the corpus in 10 of 102, and in the antrum in 10 of 102; the differences between fundus, corpus and antrum were not statistically significant. Persistant antral infection in eight patients may have resulted from generalised treatment failure as all had H. pylori throughout the stomach. After treatment, H. pylori was present in the corpus and fundus without antral infection in two subjects (1.96%) and in only fundus in one subject (0.98%). This study reveals that a one week lansoprazole clarithromycin and amoxycillin treatment is effective at clearing H. pylori from all over the stomach. Resistance to treatment documented by presence of H.pylori in both corpus and antrum of 2.94% of patients suggests that antral biopsy alone may be sufficient for confirmation of complete eradication.
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