Vitamin D and inflammation: evaluation with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Introduction: Association of vitamin D, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, beside the classic bone metabolism disorders, may explain the pathogenesis of numerous diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency. While large numbers of reports support the relationship of vitamin D with inflammation, several reports fail to confirm this relationship. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are novel and inexpensive markers of inflammation that can be studied in all centers.

Primary hyperparathyroidism in pregnancy: a case series and literature review.

Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHP) in pregnancy constitutes a serious danger to mother and fetus. The diagnosis of PHP in pregnancy presents a challenge, and PHP commonly goes unidentified and untreated in pregnancy. We present four case reports about patients having PHP, which is very rare condition in pregnancy and their treatment modalities.

Natural History of Congenital Generalized Lipodystrophy: A Nationwide Study From Turkey.

Context: Congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by near-total lack of body fat.

Objective: We aimed to study natural history and disease burden of various subtypes of CGL.

Design: We attempted to ascertain nearly all patients with CGL in Turkey.

Levels of endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 (ESM-1) in overt hypothyroidisim.

Purpose: Endothelial cell-specific molecule-1, endocan, is a proteoglycan that is expressed by the vascular endothelium. Endocan can be a biomarker of endothelial dysfunction caused by endothelial cell-dependent disorders. Endothelial dysfunction is an early step of atherosclerosis and is developed in hypothyroid patients, which indicates an association between hypothyroidism and atherosclerosis.

Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Early-Stage Diabetic Retinopathy With Vitamin D Deficiency.

Purpose: To evaluate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in early-stage diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients with and without vitamin D deficiency (VDD).

Methods: This study compared 50 early-stage DR patients with VDD (group 1) and 50 early-stage DR patients without VDD (group 2). All patients were examined by the same ophthalmologist.

Association of uric acid, atherogenic index of plasma and albuminuria in diabetes mellitus.

Background: The associations of serum uric acid (UA), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and albuminuria with cardiovascular disease have been shown. Several studies focused on association of serum UA and dyslipidemia, serum UA and renal impairment, dyslipidemia and renal impairment. However, to date, in literature, there have been no studies demonstrating the relationship between these parameters in diabetic patients together.

Schwannomatozis of the Chest Wall: FDG PET Findings.

Authors present a rare case of bifocal schwannoma of thoracic wall showing metabolic activity on FDG PET images. A 43-year-old male with palpable mass on lateral chest wall was referred for F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging for differential diagnosis. His medical history and basic laboratory results were unremarkable.

Spectrum and prevalence of nodular thyroid diseases detected by ultrasonography in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate thyroid diseases and the prevalence of goiter by ultrasonography (US) in a moderately iodine deficient area.

Material-methods: The MELEN Study is a prospective cohort study on the prevalence of thyroid diseases in Turkish adults. A total of 2233 subjects with a mean age of 50 (age range 18 to 92) were submitted to study.

Unusually high prolactin level for medication-induced hyperprolactinemia: a case report.

Hyperprolactinemia has a number of etiologies, including physiological, pathological and pharmacological causes. Hyperprolactinemia is frequently associated with the use of certain medications. Patients using medications known to cause hyperprolactinemia generally develop a mild form of the condition, and the prolactin level rarely exceeds 100 ng/mL in these cases.

Efficiency of radioactive I-131 therapy in geriatric patients with toxic nodular goiter.

Background And Aims: The success of I-131 therapy in geriatric patients who were referred to an endocrinology clinic with toxic nodular goiter and who lived in iodine-deficiency regions was studied.

Materials And Methods: Patients older than 60 years who received I-131 therapy were included via retrospective data analyses. Fifty-nine patients between 60 and 82 years of age were enrolled in the study.

[Normal value correlates of carotid intima- media thickness and affecting parameters in healthy adults].

Objective: Early changes in atherosclerosis can be diagnosed by the carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurement. Normal range of CIMT in healthy subjects has not been studied yet in our country. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure the CIMT in healthy individuals and investigate affecting parameters of CIMT.

Cystatin C levels in patients with dipper and nondipper hypertension.

Objective: Subjects with nondipper hypertension carry a higher risk of cardiovascular events than their normotensive counterparts. The present study was designed to investigate cystatin C levels in patients with dipper and nondipper hypertension.

Methods: Eighty-eight consecutive patients who had been treated with antihypertensive drugs for at least 6 months were included in the study.

Benign localized fibrous tumor of the pleura: report of 25 new cases.

Objective: Benign localized fibrous tumors (BLFT) of the pleura are very rare slow-growing neoplasms that generally have a favorable prognosis. The aim of this manuscript is to evaluate the predictors of outcome with the review of the literature in a series of 25 patients with BLFT.

Methods: Between January 1985 and November 2009, 25 patients underwent an operation due to BLFT.

Association of mean platelet volume with DSM-IV major depression in a large community-based population: the MELEN study.

The relationship between major depression and increased platelet activity has been previously stated by several studies. This study sought to test the relationship between mean platelet volume (MPV)--an indicator of platelet activity--and major depression, in an adult Turkish population sample. Respondents were 2286 participants interviewed in a regional survey.

Rheumatoid arthritis masquerading as acromegaly recurrence: report of two cases.

Acromegaly is a chronic endocrinopathy characterized by hypersecretion of growth hormone (GH) and consequently of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). The arthropathy in acromegaly is the most frequent and important cause of morbidity and functional disability in acromegaly. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a rarely reported clinical situation in patients with acromegalic.

Mean platelet volume in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Mean platelet volume (MPV) is an indicator of platelet activation. Platelet activation and aggregation are central processes in the pathophysiology of coronary heart disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is present up to one-third of the general population and the majority of patients with cardio-metabolic risk factors such as abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes and other components of the metabolic syndrome (MS).

Alveolar adenoma of the lung. Immunohistochemical and flow cytometric characteristics of two new cases and a review of the literature.

Alveolar adenoma is a rare and benign tumour of the lung that usually presents in asymptomatic patients as a coin lesion on chest radiography. Only 25 cases have been reported in the English medical literature. Alveolar adenoma has a characteristic multicystic histology and often resembles the normal lung parenchyma.

An uncommon tumor of the diaphragm malignant schwannoma.

Primary neoplasms of the diaphragm are rare. Neurogenic tumors of the diaphragm, particularly those showing malignant degeneration are quite rare. We report herein a case of a 48-year-old woman, who was found to have a malignant schwannoma of the diaphragm.

Comparison of mersilene mesh-methyl metacrylate sandwich and polytetrafluoroethylene grafts for chest wall reconstruction.

We report the outcomes of patients who underwent reconstruction with Mersilene mesh-methyl methacrylate (MM-MM) sandwich and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts after a large chest wall resection. Between June 1990 and September 2001, 59 consecutive patients (37 men, 22 women; mean age, 48.1 +/- 11.

Parenchyma-preserving surgery in the management of pulmonary hydatid cysts.

Pulmonary hydatid cysts remain a significant health problem in endemic regions like Turkey. Here, we present our surgical experience in patients with pulmonary hydatid cysts. Between January 1985 and January 2001, 1118 operations were performed in 1032 patients (528 males, 504 females; mean age 32.

[The superiorities of invasive procedures in nodal staging of non-small cell lung cancers].

The staging of non-small cell lung cancer is the most important factor that affects the treatment form and prognosis. The management strategy includes serious variations according to clinical condition of the patient, preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative pathologic staging outcomes. Today, obtaining the histopathological diagnosis preoperatively became mandatory.