Relationship between IL28B gene rs8099917 polymorphism and SVR in Turkish patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1.

Background And Objective: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) which infects 3% of the world's population is a global challenge. Recently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified that the IL28B gene rs8099917 polymorphism was associated with the response to the pegylated-interferon alpha/ribavirin (PegIFNα/RBV) combination therapy in patients infected with HCV genotype 1. IL28B gene rs8099917 polymorphism should be determined before beginning treatment of HCV-infected patients to predict an individual's response.

No association of pre-microRNA-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma development in Turkish population: a case-control study.

Aim: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small non-protein coding RNAs with posttranscriptional regulatory functions as tumor suppressors and oncogenes. Aberrant expression and structural alteration of miRNAs are considered to participate in tumorigenesis and cancer development. It has been suggested that the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms in precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs) can alter miRNA processing, expression, and/or binding to target mRNA and represent another type of genetic variability that can contribute to the susceptibility of human cancers.

p53 codon 72 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma in the Turkish population: a case-control study.

The tumor suppressor p53 gene plays a crucial role in preventing carcinogenesis through its ability to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis following DNA damage and oncogene activation. A guanine (G)/cytosine (C) common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at second position of codon 72 in exon 4 of p53 gene determines a arginine (Arg) to proline (Pro) (Arg72Pro) aminoacidic substitution within the proline-rich domain of p53 protein. Arg72 and Pro72 allele are different from a biochemical and biological point of view and many reports suggest that they can modulate individual cancer susceptibility.

Atherosclerosis and acetylsalicylic acid are independent risk factors for hemorrhage in patients with gastric or duodenal ulcer.

Objective: Risk factors for hemorrhage due to gastric and/or duodenal ulcer in patients diagnosed by upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy were investigated in the present study.

Methods: Medical records of 350 patients (226 males, 124 females) diagnosed as duodenal or gastric ulcers by GI endoscopy in the gastroenterology clinic were scanned retrospectively. Upper GI hemorrhage was detected in 92 patients by upper endoscopic examination.

No association of NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) C609T polymorphism and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma development in Turkish subjects.

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the two-electron reduction of numerous quinoid compounds into their less toxic form, thus NQO1 protecting cells against oxidative stress. The gene coding for NQO1 has a single nucleotide polymorphism (C-->T) at nucleotide position 609 (proline to serine substitution at position 187 in amino acid sequence (P187S)) (rs1800566) of the NQO1 cDNA which results in very low enzimatic activity, so it would be expected that individuals with the homologous NQO1 C609T polymorphism would have a susceptibility developing cancer. Previous studies of the association between functional NQO1 C609T polymorphism and several human cancers have had mixed findings but association of NQO1 C609T polymorphism with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development has yet to be investigated.

Influence of CYP2C19 functional polymorphism on Helicobacter pylori eradication.

Background/aims: Proton pump inhibitors are mainly metabolized by cytochrome P450 2C19 in the liver. Recently, some studies have shown that the acid suppressing effect of proton pump inhibitors are influenced by a functional polymorphism of cytochrome P450 2C19. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of cytochrome P450 2C19 polymorphism on Helicobacter pylori eradication in patients who received proton pump inhibitors based triple therapy.

Potential benefits of combined N-acetylcysteine and ciprofloxacin therapy in partial biliary obstruction.

This study investigates the potential benefits of antibiotics and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a mucolytic agent, in patients who are candidates for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) due to partial bile duct obstruction. In total, 102 patients who had choledocholithiasis and choledochal dilatations by abdominal ultrasonography were included in the study. The patients were divided into placebo and NAC therapy groups.

New therapeutic option with N-acetylcysteine for primary sclerosing cholangitis: two case reports.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a progressive, cholestatic hepatic disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by progressive inflammation, destruction, and fibrosis of the intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. Several medical therapies have been tried such as penicilamin, colchicine, methatraxate, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, and ursodeoxycholic acid.

Recurrent hypersplenism caused by giant accessory spleen due to portal hypertension after splenectomia.

Splenectomy is one of the primary choices of treatment in immune thrombocytopenic purpura. However, the disease may relapse despite splenectomy. One of the leading causes of relapse is the presence of accessory spleen, which may become enlarged significantly with underlying pathologies such as presence of portal hypertension.

The significance of E266K polymorphism in the NOD1 gene on Helicobacter pylori infection: an effective force on pathogenesis?

The severity of Helicobacter pylori-related diseases varies greatly among infected individuals and seems to be influenced by both host and bacterial factors. Infection with a cytotoxin-associated gene pathogenicity island (Cag PAI)-positive H. Pylori strain causes a higher grade of gastric mucosal inflammation than an infection caused by a negative strain.

Negative correlation between viral load and HBsAg levels in chronic HBV-infected patients.

The objective of this study is to reveal the relationship between viral load (as HBV DNA) and HBsAg levels. Ninety-two chronically HBV-infected patients were included in the study. The patients were divided in two different groups: the cirrhotic group (n = 32) and the non-cirrhotic group (n = 60).