Anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha treatment does not influence serum levels of the markers associated with radiographic progression in ankylosing spondylitis.

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the levels of change of the markers related to radiographic progression, such as Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1), sclerostin (SOST), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 and -4, and interleukin (IL)-17 and -23, in ankylosing spondyloarthritis (AS) during anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) treatment.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-three anti-TNF-α naïve AS patients (34 males, 19 females; median: 38 years; range, 20 to 52 years) refractory to conventional treatments meeting the modified New York criteria or Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society classification criteria were enrolled to this cross-sectional, controlled study between October 2015 and January 2017. Fifty healthy volunteers (35 males, 15 females; median: 36 years; range, 18 to 55 years) with similar age and sex characteristics were recruited.

The Relationship between Plasma Pentraxin 3 and Serum Amyloid P Levels and Disease Activity in Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Background: In clinical practice, it is hard to judge the level of disease activity in some patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who have low traditional acute phase reactant values such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) but have considerable pain and inflammation. The aim of this study is to investigate plasma pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and serum amyloid P (SAP) levels in patients with AS who had normal ESR and CRP but high disease activity.

Methods: 100 AS patients and 100 gender- and age-matched controls were included.

Are the specific and nonspecific ANA staining patterns of Behçet's Disease patients important?

Background: The autoinflammatory character of Behçet's Disease has led researchers to investigate the role of autoantibodies. However, no significant positive result has been reported for autoantibody tests for the disease.

Aims: To investigate the specific and nonspecific staining patterns of Behçet's Disease (BD) patients.

Are the Specific and Nonspecific ANA Staining Patterns of Behçet's Disease Patients Important?

Background: The autoinflammatory character of Behçet's Disease has led researchers to investigate the role of autoantibodies. However, no significant positive result has been reported for autoantibody tests for the disease.

Aims: To investigate the specific and nonspecific staining patterns of Behçet's Disease (BD) patients.

Epilepsy and autoimmunity in pediatric patients.

Our aim was to determine the presence and possible role of autoantibodies in epileptic patients with an undetermined etiology. Eighty epilepsy patients, who were referred to the Pediatric Neurology Department at Ankara University between November 2011 and April 2012, were enrolled in the study. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anticardiolipin IgG, antiphospholipid, antithyroid peroxidase, paraneoplastic, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antibodies were studied in our university laboratory.

The association between precancerous gastric lesions and serum pepsinogens, serum gastrin, vascular endothelial growth factor, serum interleukin-1 Beta, serum toll-like receptor-4 levels and Helicobacter pylori Cag A status.

Background And Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between serum pepsinogens, serum gastrin, serum vascular endothelial growth factor, serum interleukin-1 Beta, serum toll-like receptor-4 levels and Helicobacter pylori Cag A status in patients with various gastric precancerous lesions.

Methods: One hundred and sixty two consecutive patients with various gastric lesions [38 (23.5%) H.

Diagnostic and prognostic role of serum glypican 3 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

α-Feto protein (AFP) is the widely used tumor marker in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic validity of a novel marker, serum Glypican-3 (GPC3) and to compare AFP in patients with HCC. One hundred and twenty-eight patients (75 patients with HCC, 55 patients with cirrhosis, and 28 healthy controls) were included in this study.

Diagnostic and prognostic validity of Golgi protein 73 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Golgi protein 73 (GP73) expressions have been detected in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and bile duct carcinoma.

Aim: Our purpose was to determine the serum levels of GP73 in patients with HCC and to compare them with α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-five patients with HCC, 55 patients with cirrhosis and 28 healthy controls were included.

Genetic aspect of venom allergy: association with HLA class I and class II antigens.

Stings from bees and wasps can cause systemic allergic reactions in sensitized patients. However, the mystery of why some cases develop allergic reactions while others do not, remains poorly understood. We investigated whether particular human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II genes contribute to the development of venom allergy.

HLA types in Turkish children with celiac disease.

The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) groups in Turkish children with celiac disease (CD) and to investigate the association of HLA types and clinical manifestations of CD. Seventy-five children with CD were evaluated in two groups: Group I consisted of 45 classical celiac patients (15 males, 6.7+/-3.

Diagnostic accuracy of cytokine levels (TNF-alpha, IL-2 and IFN-gamma) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis patients.

Background: The determination of cytokine concentrations in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) may contribute to the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) since cytokines have been ascribed an important role in TB pathogenesis.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and IL-2 levels in serum and BALF of smear-negative pulmonary TB patients.

Method: BALF was obtained from the affected lobe in patients with smear-negative TB or other pulmonary diseases (OPD), and from the right middle lobe in healthy controls.

Antinucleosome antibodies and systemic lupus erythematosus.

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of antinucleosome antibody in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their association with disease activity and renal involvement. The study included 131 patients with SLE, 74 rheumatoid arthritis, 26 systemic sclerosis, and 50 healthy individuals. Antinucleosome antibody and anti-dsDNA antibody were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The significance of serum transforming growth factor beta 1 in detecting of gastric and colon cancers.

Background/aims: TGF-beta1 is a growth factor with wide ranging effects on proliferation, differentiation, immune suppression, apoptosis and matrix remodeling. We aimed to clarify the clinical significance of circulating levels of TGF-beta1 as a tumor marker in gastrointestinal tract cancers by comparing it to CEA across a range of parameters such as cancer type and severity.

Methodology: Sera collected from patients with gastrointestinal tract cancers (32 gastric, 36 colon) and from 25 healthy volunteers were analyzed for TGF-beta1 and CEA.

Antibodies to beta2-glycoprotein-I: relation of anticardiolipin antibodies with clinical and laboratory parameters in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: There are controversial reports on the frequency of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Thus, we aimed to determine the frequency and clinical importance of aPL isotypes in Turkish patients with SLE.

Design And Methods: Fifty-nine patients with SLE and 41 healthy controls were included.

Serum-soluble selectin levels in patients with Behçet's disease.

Soluble forms of selectins may play a regulatory role in inflammatory responses. The aim of this study was to examine the levels of serum-soluble (s) selectins in Behçet's disease (BD) patients and to evaluate the associations of these molecules to disease activity, clinical findings, and drugs taken for BD, mainly colchicine. Serum sE-, sL-, and sP-selectins levels were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 28 BD patients and 22 healthy subjects.

The lack of genetic association of the Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) Arg753Gln and Arg677Trp polymorphisms with rheumatic heart disease.

Unlabelled: Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a non-suppurative inflammatory disease after group A, beta haemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis. Certain individuals can develop ARF. This finding implies variability in host predisposition to ARF.

Impact of TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels on development of cachexia in newly diagnosed NSCLC patients.

Objectives: We investigated the role of cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in cachexia development in newly diagnosed nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods: : We evaluated 44 (M/F:41/3) NSCLC patients and 12 (M/F:10/2) age matched healthy smokers. NSCLC cases with a weight loss of > or =10% consisted the cachectic group (n:23, M/F:21/2) and the ones with <10% weight loss consisted the noncachectic group (n:21, M/F:19/2).

Clinical manifestations and antiphosphatidylserine antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: is there an association?

Objective: Antiphospholipid antibodies are a group of heterogeneous autoantibodies which have been reported in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) in association with thrombosis, fetal loss, and thrombocytopenia. In this study, we aimed to reveal the prevalence and correlation of IgG, IgA, and IgM isotypes of antibodies to cardiolipin (aCL) and antiphosphatidylserine (aPS) with clinical and laboratory manifestations of SLE patients.

Methods: Fifty-nine SLE patients and 41 healthy controls were included.

Association between anticardiolipin antibodies and recurrent cardiac events in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

To determine whether the presence of anticardiolipin (aCL) antibodies in patients with acute coronary syndrome is predictive of recurrent cardiac events in hospital stay and follow-up. The study population consisted of 80 patients with acute coronary syndrome. IgM and IgG aCL levels were determined before hospital discharge.

The importance of alpha-fodrin antibodies in the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: We wanted to determine the prevalence of IgA and IgG antibodies against alpha-fodrin in the patients with primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and also to compare with anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies in the diagnosis of SS.

Methods: We tested the prevalence of anti-alpha-fodrin IgA, IgG, anti-Ro, anti-La antibodies, anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) and rheumatoid factor (RF) in naive patients with primary (n = 20) and secondary SS (n = 20) (Rheumatoid Arthritis [RA]+SS, n = 10; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus [SLE] + SS, n = 10), RA (n = 10), SLE (n = 10) and in healthy controls (n = 20). Salivary gland biopsies were performed in the patients with primary and secondary SS.