The Potential Role of Boron in the Modulation of Gut Microbiota Composition: An In Vivo Pilot Study.

: The role of the gut microbiome in the development and progression of many diseases has received increased attention in recent years. Boron, a trace mineral found in dietary sources, has attracted interest due to its unique electron depletion and coordination characteristics in chemistry, as well as its potential role in modulating the gut microbiota. This study investigates the effects of inorganic boron derivatives on the gut microbiota of mice.

Oral small molecule agents in management of ulcerative colitis: fact or fancy?

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic, immune-mediated disease characterized by recurring episodes of mucosal inflammation in the colon and rectum. The primary pathogenic mechanism of ulcerative colitis is the dysregulation of the mucosal immune response. The disease follows a relapsing-remitting course, and the goal of management is to successfully induce and then maintain remission.

Optimal cutoff value of carotid stump pressure for determining the need for a carotid shunt in carotid artery endarterectomy.

Objective: This study was conducted to identify the diagnostic value of carotid stump pressure for determining the need for a carotid artery shunt in patients undergoing carotid artery endarterectomy.

Materials And Methods: Carotid stump pressure was prospectively measured in all carotid artery endarterectomies performed under local anesthesia between January 2020 and April 2022. The shunt was selectively used when neurological symptoms appeared after carotid cross-clamping.

Comparison of radial peripapillary capillary density results of individuals with and without Helicobacter pylori infection.

Purpose: To evaluate the radial peripapillary capillary density using optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with and without Helicobacter pylori infection.

Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional study comprised 52 patients (52 eyes: Group 1) and 38 patients (38 eyes: Group 2) with and without H. pylori infections, respectively.

An interesting finding: What is the relation between aortic enlargement and COVID-19?

Background: We aim to compare the diameters of ascending aorta in COVID-19 patients and COVID-19-free individuals referred to our pandemic hospital.

Methods: The medical records and thorax tomographies of patients admitted to the "pandemic central" state hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 were observed between April 2020 and May 2020 in this case-control study. The first group consisted of patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and the second group consisted of patients without the disease.

MONOCYTE/HDL RATIO IN NON-ALCOHOLIC HEPATIC STEATOSIS.

Background: Non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis (NAS) is characterized by excess fat accumulation in hepatocytes, causing portal and lobular inflammation and hepatocyte injury.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the alterations in monocyte count to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) in patients with grade 2 or 3 fatty liver disease and the association of this marker with liver function tests and insulin resistance.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis; patients diagnosed and followed for the grade 2 or 3 fatty liver disease were included in the patient group and the patients who had undergone abdominal ultrasound for any reason and who were not having any fatty liver disease were included in the control group.

Gamma-glutamyl-transferase may predict COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalised patients.

Aim: In this study, we aimed to define the predictive role of liver function tests at admission to the hospital in outcomes of hospitalised patients with COVID-19.

Material And Method: In this multicentric retrospective study, a total of 269 adult patients (≥18 years of age) with confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalised for the treatment were enrolled. Demographic features, complete medical history and laboratory findings of the study participants at admission were obtained from the medical records.

Long-term proton pump inhibitor use is a risk factor for mortality in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

Background And Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the long-term (≥4 weeks) use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is a risk factor for intubation requirement and mortality in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

Materials And Methods: In this multicentric retrospective study, a total of 382 adult patients (≥18 years of age) with confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized for treatment were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups according to the periods during which they used PPIs: the first group included patients who were not on PPI treatment, and the second group included those who have used PPIs for more than 4 weeks.

Modified quadruple therapy or bismuth-containing quadruple therapy in the first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori in Turkey.

Aim: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication is still an important issue in countries with high antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of two bismuth-containing treatment modalities in H.

Social stigmatization in Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis B and C.

Background And Aim: Viral hepatitis is the most important cause of chronic hepatitis worldwide. Stigmatization is defined as a feeling of rejection and isolation of patients by society due to illness. There are no studies on chronic viral hepatitis in the literature in English, which has its own religious and socio-cultural structure.

The association of oxygen saturation, tomography findings and D-dimer levels in coronavirus disease 2019 patients.

: Coronavirus disease is a highly contagious disease caused by systemic acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 with high mortality rates. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum D-dimer levels and tomography findings at the time of admission in patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study included 94 patients, 48 women (51%) and 46 men (49%), diagnosed by PCR method.

Role of γ-glutamyl transferase levels in prediction of high cardiovascular risk among patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background & Objectives: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an important cause of elevated liver functions. There is evidence showing an association between NAFLD and subclinical atherosclerosis independent of traditional risk factors. We undertook this retrospective study to determine the association of Framingham cardiovascular risk scoring system with liver function tests and inflammatory markers and to find the role of liver function tests in determination of CVD risk among non-obese and non-diabetic subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Increased microalbuminuria prevalence among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria, that is an indirect predictor of coronary artery disease, among non-obese and non-diabetic patients with fatty liver disease.

Material And Method: This retrospective study was carried out on non-obese (body mass index (BMI) < 30) and non-diabetic 290 female and 189 male, totally 479 cases. All subjects underwent liver ultrasonography scanning to determine the presence and stage of fatty liver disease.

MTHFR 677C/T and 1298A/C mutations and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Common genetic mutations encountered in folate metabolism may result in increased homocysteine (Hcy) levels. It has been reported that increased serum Hcy levels may affect the intracellular fat metabolism and may cause enhanced fatty infiltration in the liver resulting in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In total, 150 patients diagnosed with FLD by ultrasound examination and 136 healthy control patients that do not have any fatty infiltration in the liver were included in the study.

Use of the Amplatzer Type 2 Plug for Flow Redirection in Failing Autogenous Hemodialysis Fistulae.

Purpose: To present our experience with redirecting the outflow of mature arteriovenous fistulae (AVFs) in patients with cannulation and/or suboptimal flow problems by percutaneous intervention using the Amplatzer Vascular Plug II (AVP II).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who presented with difficulty in cannulation and/or suboptimal flow in the puncture zone of the AVF and who underwent intervention using the AVP II to redirect the outflow through a better cannulation zone from March 2009 to November 2012. The mean survival rate of all AVFs was estimated, and the effects of patient age, sex, and AVF age on the AVF survival time were determined.

The association of elevated mean platelet volume with the outcome of acute mesenteric ischemia.

Mesenteric ischemia is a life-threatening vascular emergency with high mortality rates. Mean platelet volume (MPV) has been shown to be closely related to platelet activation. We investigated whether MPV was associated with outcome of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI).

The platelet activating factor acetyl hydrolase, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, paraoxonase 1 and arylesterase levels in treated and untreated patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Purpose: To evaluate the platelet activating factor acetyl hydrolyze (PAF-AH), oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), paraoxonase 1 (PON1), arylesterase (ARE) levels and the effects of metformin and Diane-35 (ethinyl oestradiol + cyproterone acetate) therapies on these parameters and to determine the PON1 polymorphisms among PCOS patients.

Methods: Ninety patients with PCOS, age 30, and body mass index-matched healthy controls were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups: metformin treatment, Diane-35 treatment and no medication groups.

Low vitamin D levels are associated with increased risk for fatty liver disease among non-obese adults.

Recent data have revealed an inverse relationship between insulin resistance, which is associated with fatty liver disease, and blood 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels. The aim of the present study was to determine the association of vitamin D levels with the presence and stage of fatty liver disease among non-obese subjects and to determine the effect of vitamin D status on fatty liver disease development. A total of 613 non-obese (body mass index <30 kg/m(2)) gastroenterology and internal medicine outpatients (472 women and 141 men) were enrolled in the study.

The NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 2 is a suppressor of microglial activation and brain inflammation.

Deleterious sustained inflammation mediated by activated microglia is common to most of neurologic disorders. Here, we identified sirtuin 2 (SIRT2), an abundant deacetylase in the brain, as a major inhibitor of microglia-mediated inflammation and neurotoxicity. SIRT2-deficient mice (SIRT2(-/-)) showed morphological changes in microglia and an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines upon intracortical injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Levels of thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor in gestational diabetes mellitus.

Thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is a procarboxypeptidase, which is synthesised in liver and activated by thrombin and the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex. TAFI suppresses fibrinolysis by removing carboxy-terminal lysine residues from partially degraded fibrin. In this study we aimed to assess the circulating levels of TAFI antigen, 'a fibrinolytic parameter' in women with gestational diabetes (GDM).

The association between serum asymmetric dimethyl arginine levels and a history of gestational diabetes among healthy women.

In recent years, asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) has emerged as an early marker and/or mediator of endothelial dysfunction and it has been proved to be a novel, independent risk factor of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Our aim in this study was to compare the ADMA concentrations among patients with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with controls. Thirty women with a history of GDM and 40 age-matched and BMI-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study.