Valvular heart disease: plasma B-type natriuretic peptide levels in patients with pure rheumatic mitral stenosis.

Objective: Our study is designed to evaluate the plasma BNP levels in patients with pure MS and its possible correlation with clinical and echocardiographic parameters of the disease.

Methods And Results: The study included 29 patients (27 women, 2 men, mean age 43.4 +/- 11.

The relationship of epicardial adipose tissue thickness to clinical and biochemical features in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

The amount of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), a component of body visceral adiposity, has been linked to the presence and severity of cardiovascular disease through multiple mechanisms. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by insulin resistance and subclinical inflammation, which participate in the mechanism of atherosclerosis. We searched if the patients with PCOS have increased EAT thickness (EATT), along with its relation to the measures of adiposity and insulin sensitivity.

Parenthood in pediatric liver transplant patients.

Liver transplantation has become a universally accepted treatment for numerous congenital and acquired hepatic disorders that cause liver failure. Without liver transplantation, patients in their reproductive years are afflicted with oligospermia or azoospermia in men and amenorrhea in women, with infertility being a consequence in both sexes. The aim of this study is to describe our experiences concerning the parenthood of pediatric individuals who are successful recipients of liver transplantations coming into the reproductive years of life.

Liver involvement in children with Familial Mediterranean fever.

Aim: Familial Mediterranean fever is characterised by recurrent, febrile, inflammatory attacks of the serosal membranes. Prolonged inflammatory response is triggered secondary to cytokine stimulation due to reduced activity of pyrin. Inflammatory cytokines play major role in the pathogenesis of acute liver injury; and chronic, recurrent cytokine production may cause chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis.

High plasma level of long Pentraxin 3 is associated with insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by insulin resistance. Chronic low-grade inflammation has been anticipated to play role in the pathogenesis of both insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an inflammatory mediator synthesized in a variety of cells and tissues including heart, vascular endothelial cells, macrophages and adipocytes.

Unusual presentation of biliary atresia splenic malformation syndrome with autosomal dominant hypospadias.

Biliary atresia is associated with polysplenia in 2-10% of cases and is defined as Biliary Atresia Splenic Malformation syndrome (BASM). The main features of BASM syndrome include extrahepatic biliary atresia and polysplenia besides the characteristic findings of laterality anomalies, cardiac anomalies, intraabdominal vascular anomalies, pancreatic anomalies and malrotation. Here we present a 6-month-old male patient with BASM having atrial septal defect, umblical hernia, inguinal hernia, and hypospadias.

Zolmitriptan-induced acute myocardial infarction.

Triptans are an established treatment for acute migraine attacks. By activating 5HT1B/1D receptors they lead to vasoconstriction of the cerebral blood vessels which are dilated during migraine attacks. Moreover, they reduce secretion of vasoactive peptides and conduction of pain stimuli over the cerebral cortex.

Oral findings and salivary parameters in children with celiac disease: a preliminary study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of dental enamel defects, recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) and caries experience and to measure salivary flow rate, buffer capacity, saliva and plaque pH and salivary cariogenic microflora in patients with celiac disease (CD) compared to healthy subjects.

Subjects And Methods: Thirty-five patients, aged 6-19 years, with a diagnosis of CD and 35 healthy children of the same age participated in the study. Enamel defects were diagnosed and classified using Aine's classification.

Ambulatory blood pressure variability is associated with restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention in normotensive patients.

Background: Previous studies have showed that BP variability is associated with cardiovascular events. However, no data were available regarding binary restenosis as an end-point after percutenous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods And Results: This multicenter study included 100 consecutive normotensive patients with stable coronary artery disease who were planned for PCI.

Micronucleus evaluation for determining the chromosomal breakages after radionuclide synovectomy in patients with hemophilia.

Objective: To investigate the genotoxic effects of (90)Y and (186)Re in patients with hemophilia who were undergoing radionuclide synovectomy (RS) procedure in the last 3 years.

Methods: Nineteen patients were enrolled in the study. Most of the patients (n = 17) were hemophilia-A (mean age 20.

Late-onset graft-versus-host disease after pediatric living-related liver transplantation for Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

GVHD is the most common and well-known cause of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic BM transplantation. The GVHD following OLT is an uncommon complication but has a high mortality and poses a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We herein discussed a 12-month-old girl with multi-system LCH, who developed end-stage liver disease despite intensive chemotherapy.

Severe aplastic anemia following liver transplantation in a patient with non-A-E fulminant hepatitis.

Aplastic anemia is a rare complication after liver transplantation. Its incidence has been estimated to be 0.007%.

Coronary artery-left ventricular microfistulae associated with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

A 58 year-old Caucasian man was admitted to the coronary care unit with angina pectoris. There were deep inverted T waves and ST segment depression at anterior precordial derivations. Coronary angiography revealed widespread coronary artery to left ventricular microfistulae arising from distal portions of both left and right coronary systems.

The effect of sinus rhythm restoration on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels and their association with long-term atrial fibrillation recurrence after electrical cardioversion.

Objective: Recent studies have shown that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) measured before cardioversion (CV) plays a significant role in predicting atrial fibrillation (AF) relapse. The time course of changes in hs-CRP after successful electrical CV remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to assess the prognostic value of pre- and post-CV hs-CRP levels in predicting the long-term risk of AF.

Evaluation of growth after liver transplantation in Turkish children.

Aims: Currently, the main interest in childhood liver transplantation (LT) is to prevent long-term complications and optimize growth. The aim of this study is to analyze (1) nutritional status in the pretransplantation period, and (2) posttransplantation growth and associated factors in children.

Patients And Methods: Eighty children were included in the study.

A case of mitral papillary muscle rupture due to blunt chest trauma.

Mitral regurgitation due to papillary muscle rupture after blunt chest trauma is uncommon. Sudden onset severe mitral regurgitation may lead to death due to heart failure if surgical repair is delayed. A previously healthy 12-year-old girl underwent splenectomy and chest tube insertion for pneumothorax after a traffic accident in a vehicle 15 days before.

Transcutaneous measurement of bilirubin in Turkish newborns: comparison with total serum bilirubin.

Routine use of transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurement in the newborn nursery could reduce costs, readmission rates for hyperbilirubinemia and the need for total serum bilirubin (TSB) measurements. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between TcB measurement, as performed using BiliCheck, and TSB, measured with high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and with standard laboratory methods, and to determine the TcB cutoff points with desirable sensitivity and specificity values for various clinically relevant TSB levels by HPLC. Fifty-four infants of > or = 30 weeks of gestational age were enrolled in the study.

Safety of clopidogrel in older patients: a nonrandomized, parallel-group, controlled, two-centre study.

Background: The safety and efficacy of clopidogrel therapy in patients with stable coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndromes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have been demonstrated.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety (primary outcome, defined as any bleeding complication or thrombocytopenia) and adverse outcomes (secondary outcomes, defined as death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction or stroke) of clopidogrel therapy in patients aged ≥75 years with stable or unstable coronary artery disease undergoing PCI, and to compare these outcomes with those in younger controls.

Methods: Patients with both stable coronary heart disease and acute coronary syndromes undergoing PCI were included in the study.

Migration of the breakthrough: the advantage of noncontact mapping in targeting inappropriate sinus tachycardia.

We report on a 42-year-old female patient with inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST), in whom an effective sinus node modification was made by using the noncontact mapping system. The patient was admitted with palpitations and a heart rate between 90-110 beats per minute (bpm). Her heart rate increased to 150 bpm during minimal exercise.

Serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), homocysteine, vitamin B(12), folate levels, and lipid profiles in epileptic children treated with valproic acid.

Recent reports have demonstrated elevated serum homocysteine (Hcy) levels in children receiving valproic acid (VPA) therapy. Elevated Hcy levels might play a potential role in the resistance to antiepileptic drugs, and might lead to an increased risk for a vascular disease. It has been reported that elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) levels are associated with elevated asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels, which are factors that may be better indicators of endothelial dysfunction compared to serum homocysteine levels, because they are less sensitive to changes, such as fasting status, physical activity, and other factors.

A case of systemic lupus erythematosus presenting with hypereosinophilia and Loeffler endocarditis.

A 15-year-old boy who was admitted to the neurology department had multiple cerebral infarcts on cranial magnetic resonance imaging. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed myocardial thickening and apical thrombus in the left ventricle suggesting Loeffler endocarditis. There was remarkable hypereosinophilia on the haemogram.

Heart rate profile during exercise in patients with early repolarization.

Background: Both early repolarization and altered heart rate profile are associated with sudden death. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate an association between early repolarization and heart rate profile during exercise.

Methods: A total of 84 subjects were included in the study.