Parkinsonism caused by chronic usage of intravenous potassium permanganate.

Introduction: Chronic overexposure to manganese (Mn) may cause neuronal degeneration. Manganese intoxication is well known to induce parkinsonism. Manganese intoxication may be associated with abnormal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (abnormal signal hyperintensity in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra on T1-weighted images).

Investigation of hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis and glucose intolerance among the first-degree female relatives of women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: To assess the glucose intolerance and the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in the first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Design: Clinical study of the female FDRs of patients with PCOS.

Setting: Outpatients at endocrinology department of a university hospital.

Effects of alendronate and risedronate on bone mineral density and bone turnover markers in late postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

This study was undertaken to compare the effects of alendronate and risedronate on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers (BTMs) in late postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Thirty women older than 60 y of age were randomly assigned to receive alendronate 10 mg (n=16) or risedronate 5 mg (n=14) on a daily basis. The patients were followed every 3 mo for 12 mo.

Mitomycin C, 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin as a salvage therapy for patients with cisplatin-resistant advanced gastric cancer: a phase I dose escalation trial.

Background: This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility and toxicity of a salvage therapy with mitomycin C (MMC), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, and oxaliplatin in patients with cisplatin-resistant advanced gastric cancer.

Methods: A 3-patient cohort dose-escalating study design was used. The patients received FLO: oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2, 5-FU 2,600 mg/m2 (24 h), leucovorin 200 mg/m2 on days 1, 15, and 29 plus MMC on day 1 (FLOM).

Effect of nitric oxide on phagocytic activity of lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages: possible role of exogenous L-arginine.

Among the antimicrobial mechanisms associated with macrophages, NO produced by iNOS plays a major role in intracellular killing, but the relationship between NO and phagocytic activity after injection of inflammatory agents into the peritoneal cavity is not clear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of nitric oxide (NO) on macrophage function after treatment with intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the role of exogenous L-arginine administration in this event. Six experimental groups and one control group, each consisting of seven Wistar rats were used: Group I: Control; Group II: LPS; Group III: LPS+L-arginine; Group IV: LPS+L-arginine+Aminoguanidine; Group V: LPS+Aminoguanidine; Group VI: L-arginine; Group VII: Aminoguanidine.

Intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide in the management of cystoid macular edema in Behçet's disease.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (ivTA) injection in the management of cystoid macular edema (CME) due to uveitis in patients with Behçet's disease.

Methods: Ten eyes of seven patients with CME associated with Behçet's disease were included in the study. A quantity of 4 mg of triamcinolone acetonide was injected intravitreally in all of the eyes.

Corpus callosum areas in first-episode patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: Morphological changes in the corpus callosum (CC) have been described in bipolar disorder, but with inconsistencies among the reports. We investigated the CC areas by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 12 first-episode patients with bipolar disorder and 12 controls.

Method: Twelve medication-naive patients with bipolar I disorder (six males, six females; aged 28 x 2+/-6 x 5 years) with manic or mixed episodes and 12 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (six males, six females; aged 26 x 8+/-7 x 6 years) were recruited to the study.

Obstructive urodynamic findings in idiopathic detrusor overactivity.

Purpose: To investigate the obstructive findings urodynamically in idiopathic detrusor overactivity and compare them (maximum flow rate 'Q max' detrusor pressure at maximum flow 'PQ max') with control group.

Materials And Methods: Cystometric evaluation and pressure flow studies were performed in 25 women with symptoms of idiopathic detrusor overactivity and control group comprised 40 women with anatomic incontinence without cystocele. Patients with pelvic floor prolapse, motor urgency and poor compliance were excluded from the study.

[Comparison of microscopy and EIA in the diagnosis of Giardia intestinalis in stool specimens.].

In this study; we compared the direct microscopic method and EIA test in the investigation of the stools of patients with gastrointestinal symptoms who presented at clinics. A total of 188 stool specimens collected from clinics were investigated by direct microscopy using native-Lugol preparations. Giardia cysts and/or trophozoites were observed in 141 specimens.

Naproxen treatment prevents periprocedural inflammatory response but not myocardial injury after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background And Aim: Recent studies have documented that elevation of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have been predictive of adverse outcome. This study was performed to test the hypothesis that preprocedural use of naproxen sodium is associated with a reduction in the extent of inflammatory response and myocardial injury after PCI.

Methods: Ninety-seven patients who were scheduled for elective PCI were randomized either for naproxen sodium (500 mg bid) (n:39, 75% male, 59+/-10 years) or control (n:58, 76% male, 60+/-10 years).

A case of prosthetic mitral valve Brucella endocarditis complicated with torsades de pointes.

Brucella endocarditis is a zoonosis transmitted by contaminated dairy products. Endocarditis is a rare complication of brucellosis and mainly the aortic valve is infected. We present the case of a female patient with prosthetic mitral valve endocarditis associated with QT prolongation and torsades de pointes.

Management and in-hospital outcome of patients with first episode of acute myocardial infarction: impact of diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study is to compare clinical characteristics, management, complications, in-hospital outcome and mortality of diabetic and nondiabetic patients after the first episode of acute myocardial infarction (MI). This retrospective case-matched study included 60 diabetic and 55 non-diabetic patients. Medical information about patients was retrieved from the hospital recordings.

Hippocampal 1H MRS in patients with bipolar disorder taking valproate versus valproate plus quetiapine.

Background: No study to date has examined the effects of mood stabilizer alone and the combination of mood stabilizer and atypical antipsychotic, quetiapine, on hippocampal neurochemical markers of bipolar disordered patients concurrently. We therefore undertook a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) study of drug-free patients with bipolar disorder (drug-free group), patients undergoing valproate treatment (valproate group), patients administered valproate+quetiapine (valprote+quetiapine group) and healthy controls, focusing on the in vivo neuroanatomy of the hippocampus.

Method: Thirty patients from the Firat University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and 10 healthy controls gave written informed consent to participate in the study.

Standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy on a pelvic kidney without any ancillary modalities.

We are presenting a patient with two calculi in a right pelvic kidney managed by percutaneous nephrolithotomy with an access just above the iliac crest in the prone position.

Malon dialdehyde, nitrite and adrenomedullin levels in patients with premenstrual syndrome.

Objective: To assess the levels of malon dialdehyde (MDA); a lipid peroxide product, total nitrite; a stabile product of nitric oxide (NO), and adrenomedullin (AM), to determine whether their levels are altered in premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and to search for their possible pathophysiological role in this peculiar syndrome.

Study Design: Twenty-one patients aged between 28 and 37 years, who had regular menses for at least six previous cycles, and were in general good health condition, were taken into the study. Blood samples were obtained from each patient at the 3rd and 21st day of their menstrual cycles.

Investigation of the skin characteristics in patients with severe GH deficiency and the effects of 6 months of GH replacement therapy: a randomized placebo controlled study.

Objective: The presence of GH receptor in human skin and its appendages suggests a direct effect of GH on skin characteristics. The skin is usually thin and dry in patients with GH deficiency (GHD). Sheehan's syndrome classically refers to postpartum hypopituitarism and GH is one of the earliest pituitary hormones lost.

Effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, and their combination on microalbuminuria in normotensive patients with type 2 diabetes.

The goal of this study was to compare the effects of lisinopril, losartan, and their combination on microalbuminuria in normotensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups: group 1 (n=9), group 2 (n=9), and group 3 (n=8) received 10 mg lisinopril, 50 mg losartan, and 10 mg lisinopril plus 50 mg losartan, respectively, each day. For 12 mo, the 24-h urine albumin excretion rate was assessed at 3-mo intervals.

Synergistic effects of valproic acid and mitomycin C in adenocarcinoma cell lines and fresh tumor cells of patients with colon cancer.

Valproic acid has been demonstrated to mediate cytotoxic effects against tumor cells by acting as a histone-deacetylase inhibitor. However, to date, there are only limited data on the effects of valproic acid in colon cancer. Moreover, information regarding combinations of the drug with chemotherapeutic agents is very limited.

[Investigation of autoantibody, anti-HCV and anti-HIV seropositivities in "anti-HBc alone" positive samples].

"Anti-HBc alone" which is an unusual serologic pattern of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, may be detected in the seropositive samples for hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and in the presence of autoantibodies due to cross reactions. In this study, 20 serum samples with isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, which were detected in May 2005, have been investigated by means of the presence of some autoantibodies (anti-nuclear antibody; ANA and rheumatoid factor; RF), anti-HCV and anti-HIV, in the Central Laboratory of Dicle University Medical School. All of the "anti-HBc alone" samples were negative for HBV-DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and liver enzyme (ALT and AST) levels were normal except for three patients.

The role of RELN in lissencephaly and neuropsychiatric disease.

Reelin is an extracellular matrix-associated protein important in the regulation of neuronal migration during cerebral cortical development. Point mutations in the RELN gene have been shown to cause an autosomal recessive human brain malformation termed lissencephaly with cerebellar hypoplasia (LCH). Recent work has raised the possibility that reelin may also play a pathogenic role in other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Cingulate gyrus volumetry in drug free bipolar patients and patients treated with valproate or valproate and quetiapine.

In patients with bipolar disorder, recent brain imaging studies have reported cingulate cortex volume change. We performed a volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study to assess the subregions of the cingulate gyrus; left anterior cingulate (LAC), left posterior cingulate (LPC), right anterior cingulate (RAC), and right posterior cingulate (RPC). Our sample consisted of bipolar patients that are either unmedicated (n=10), on valproate monotherapy (n=10) or on valproate plus quetiapine (n=10) versus healthy comparisons (n=10).