Association between dopamine beta hydroxylase gene polymorphism and age at onset in male schizophrenia.

Objectives: The heterogeneity of schizophrenia mainly results from variations in clinical expressions of the disease, such as age at onset, gender differences in onset of illness, symptoms and response to antipsychotic treatment. Enhanced sensitisation of dopamine pathways in males, having consistently an earlier onset, might be implicated as disease modifiers for schizophrenia in males.

Methods: In this study, we performed a case (n = 87)-control (n = 100) association study between the DBH5'-ins/del and DBH-444g/a polymorphisms of the DBH gene and also compared the level of psychotic symptoms between patients with different DBH genotypes/haplotypes with respect to antipsychotic therapeutic response and gender difference.

Determination of pain intensity risk factors among school children with nonspecific low back pain.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common disease among people under the age of 20. To the best of our knowledge few studies have been carried out on LBP among school children in Turkey, and none of them studied the correlation between pain intensity and related variables with LBP.

Material/methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the risk factors and their correlations with pain intensity among 222 school children (106 girls and 116 boys) aged 10-18 years in the city of Denizli.

Arginase, NOS activities, and clinical features in fibromyalgia patients.

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a form of nonarticular rheumatism characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal aching and tender points. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of arginase and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzyme activities in FM with respect to their importance in pathogenesis, and the relationship with FM-related clinical parameters.

Methods: After obtaining informed consent, 25 female FM patients were compared with 23 healthy female controls.

The association of mast cell density with myometrial invasion in endometrial carcinoma: a preliminary report.

It is known that cancer is not a single transformational event. It is rather a multistage process involving complex interactions with the surrounding cellular microenvironment. Mast cells accumulate at sites of tumor growth in response to numerous chemoattractants.

Determination of risk factors for hypertension through the classification tree method.

Most current statistical strategies for determining risk factors for hypertension (HT) among certain populations have proved inconclusive. In this study, the classification tree method, which is more practical and easy to understand than other statistical methods, was used to determine the risk for HT among outpatients in a clinic in Denizli province, western Turkey, between January 2002 and July 2004. The effects of 14 risk factors (body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, age, serum total cholesterol, serum triglycerides, sex, HT in first-degree relatives, diabetes mellitus, smoking, stress factors, alcohol consumption, dyslipidemia in first-degree relatives, dyslipidemia [previously diagnosed], and saturated fat consumption) on HT were evaluated in this population.

[Total serum IgE levels in children with enterobiasis.].

Enterobiasis is a helminthic disease which is very common especially in children. The IgE response has been associated with helminth infections and allergic diseases. Comparison of levels of total serum IgE of 36 children infected with Enterobius vermicularis and of 25 healthy children between 7 and 12 years of age was carried out The mean value of IgE in enterobiasis in children was 363.

Assessment of symptom severity and functional status in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome: reliability and functionality of the Turkish version of the Boston Questionnaire.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop a Turkish version of the Boston Questionnaire and assess its reliability and validity.

Methods: Sixty-seven patients with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome were included in the study. The Turkish version of Boston Questionnaire was obtained after translation process, and was then administered to subjects twice within seven days.

Effects of trapidil on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury.

There is increasing evidence to suggest that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species play a role in the pathogenesis of renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study was designed to determine the possible protective effects of trapidil treatment against oxidative and nitrosative tissue injury of kidney induced by I/R. A renal I/R injury was induced by a left renal pedicle occlusion by ischemia for 45 minutes, followed by 1 hour of reperfusion with contralateral nephrectomy in I/R and I/R + trapidil groups.

Hearing loss in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with or without extracorporeal circulation.

Background: Our aim was to investigate the differences in postoperative hearing thresholds in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with (Group I, n=20) or without (Group II, n=17) extracorporeal circulation.

Material/methods: 37 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with or without extracorporeal circulation were prospectively evaluated in terms of hearing threshold changes with the intention of documenting hearing losses postoperatively. The t-test for two independent variables was used for statistical analysis.

Lack of association with TNF-alpha-308 promoter polymorphism in patients with vitiligo.

Vitiligo is an acquired depigmentary disorder of the skin, characterized by incomplete penetrance, multiple susceptibility loci and genetic heterogeneity. An immunologic hypothesis is currently advanced as a possible pathogenesis of vitiligo. The cytokines have an important role in pathogenesis of autoimmunity in which tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a paracrine inhibitor of melanocytes, is especially important.

Angiographic and clinical outcome following paclitaxel-eluting stent (taxus) implantation: a single center experience.

Coronary stents dramatically improve acute outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions but also induce abundant intraluminal neointimal growth. Drug-eluting stents reduce intimal hyperplasia, the main cause of in-stent restenosis. The safety and beneficial effects of paclitaxel-eluting stents (Taxus) in patients treated in daily practice remains to be defined.

Relationship between ABO blood groups and skin cancers.

Studies of associations between various cancers and the ABO blood groups have shown elevated relative risks for some categories of disease. To date, no report has evaluated the relationship between the ABO blood groups and the skin cancers. To investigate this association, we conducted a retrospective study of premalignant and malignant tumors diagnosed in Turkey.

N-acetyltransferase 2 gene polymorphism and presbycusis.

Objectives/hypothesis: The enzyme of N-acetyltransferase (NAT) is involved in the metabolism and detoxification of cytotoxic and carcinogenic compounds as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS). The excessive amount of ROS generation occurs in the ageing inner ear. The exact etiopathogenesis of presbycusis is not known, but it is generally accepted that it is the result of series of insults, such as physiologic age-related degeneration, noise exposure, medical disorders and their treatment, as well as hereditary susceptibility.

Inspiratory and expiratory HRCT findings in Behçet's disease and correlation with pulmonary function tests.

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to describe the pulmonary parenchymal changes of Behçet's disease using high-resolution computed tomography and to correlate them with pulmonary function tests.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-four patients with Behçet's disease (18 men, 16 women), 3 of whom were symptomatic, were included as the study group. Four of 34 patients were smokers.

Genetic polymorphism of N-acetyltransferase 2 in the susceptibility to laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether polymorphism of N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) genotypes are associated with the risk of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Methods: The study group consisted of 45 white patients with laryngeal SCC (42 men, with a mean age of 54 years [range, 37-70 years] and three women, with a mean age of 47 years [range, 32-55 years]) and 104 control subjects (68 men and 36 women; mean age, 50 years; range, 28-73 years). All of the patients were primarily treated with surgical intervention.

Determination of osteoporosis risk factors using a multiple logistic regression model in postmenopausal Turkish women.

Objective: To determine the risk factors of osteoporosis using a multiple binary logistic regression method and to assess the risk variables for osteoporosis, which is a major and growing health problem in many countries.

Methods: We presented a case-control study, consisting of 126 postmenopausal healthy women as control group and 225 postmenopausal osteoporotic women as the case group. The study was carried out in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey between 1999-2002.

The comparison of the efficacy of scoring systems in organophosphate poisoning.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II scoring systems for organophosphate poisoning (OPP) in an intensive care unit (ICU). The following data were collected on all consecutive patients who were admitted to the ICU between June 1999 and December 2004. Demographic data, GCS, APACHE II and SAPS II scoring systems were recorded.

Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in diabetic and non-diabetic patients: does it really contribute to atherosclerosis?

Objective: The exact mechanism of the increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in type-2 diabetes is still undefined. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of apolipoprotein E (apo E) polymorphism and other factors on atherosclerotic vascular disease in type-2 diabetic patients. We also examined the association between apo E polymorphism and lipid profile in diabetic patients.

Effects of trapidil after crush injury in peripheral nerve.

In this study, we evaluated the effects of trapidil on crush injury by monitoring nitric oxide, malondialdehyde and transforming growth factor-Beta2 levels and by transmission electron microscopy in the rat sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve was compressed for 20 sec by using a jewelers forceps. Trapidil treatment groups were administrated a single dose of trapidil (8 mg/kg) intraperitoneally just after the injury.

Protective effect of trapidil against oxidative organ damage in burn injury.

Animal models of thermal injury indicate reactive oxygen species and inflammatory cytokines as causative agents in tissue injury on various organs distant from the original wound. Trapidil has various properties, such as inhibition of platelet aggregation and lipid peroxidation as well as reduction of the inflammatory response to injury. This study was designed to determine the possible protective effect of trapidil treatment against oxidative organ damage in lung, intestine and kidney induced by cutaneous thermal injury.

Effects of apolipoprotein E genotypes on the development of exfoliation syndrome.

Apolipoprotein E (apo E) is directly involved in the amyloid deposition and fibril formation and is present in many cerebral and systemic amyloidoses immunologically. It is encoded by a polymorphic gene and it has three common alleles-epsilon2, epsilon3, and epsilon4. Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is characterized by the deposition throughout the body of focal fibrillogranular aggregates in which there have been some reports of amyloid or amyloid-like features.

Glutathione S-transferase M1, T1, P1 genotypes and risk for development of colorectal cancer.

The glutathione S-transferase (GST) supergene family is an important part of cellular enzyme defense against endogenous and exogenous chemicals, many of which have carcinogenic potential. The present investigation was conducted to detect a possible association between polymorphisms at the GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 genes and the interaction with cigarette smoking and colorectal cancer incidence. We examined 181 patients with colorectal cancer and 204 controls.

Determination of depression risk factors in children and adolescents by regression tree methodology.

We used a regression tree method (RTM) to determine risks of depression in children/adolescents. The survey records of 4,143 children/adolescents in a study based in Mersin, Turkey served as data in this study, and multi-step, stratified, and cluster sampling were used. Effects of 24 variables (sex, smoking, parental problems, etc.

Poly (adp-ribose) synthetase inhibition reduces oxidative and nitrosative organ damage after thermal injury.

Poly (ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARS) is a nuclear enzyme activated by DNA single-strand breakage, which can be triggered by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Activation of this enzyme depletes the intracellular concentration of energetic substrates such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). Eventually, this process results in cell dysfunction and cell death.

Glutathione S-transferase gene polymorphisms in presbycusis.

Hypothesis: Glutathione and glutathione-related antioxidant enzymes are involved in the metabolism and detoxification of cytotoxic and carcinogenic compounds as well as reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species generation occurs in prolonged relative hypoperfusion conditions such as in aging. The etiology of presbycusis is much less certain; however, a complex genetic cause is most likely.