Publications by authors named "Pınar Ozen"

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the biggest health challenge of recent times. Studies so far reveal that vaccination is the only way to prevent this pandemic. There may be factors that decrease or increase vaccine effectiveness.

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Objectives: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory, autoimmune and demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and is often characterized by attacks of severe optic neuritis and long segment myelitis. Identifying the disease-specific pathogenic anti-AQP4 autoantibody in NMOSD has allowed the development of highly effective disease-modifying drugs in the treatment phase. Eculizumab is a humanized antibody that binds to complement C5 and inhibits the formation of the C5b-induced membrane attack complex.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study focuses on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) taking various disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), primarily comparing mRNA vaccines (like Pfizer-BioNTech) with inactivated virus vaccines (like Sinovac).
  • Results showed that while both types of vaccines resulted in similar rates of seropositivity, the mRNA vaccine group had significantly higher antibody levels compared to the inactivated virus vaccine group.
  • The study also found that pwMS on certain DMTs, specifically ocrelizumab, fingolimod, and cladribine, had reduced humoral responses to the vaccines, highlighting the impact of therapies on vaccine efficacy
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Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) haploinsufficiency is the defect of one of the checkpoint inhibitory molecules and defined as a primary immunodeficiency characterized by immune dysregulation. A 26-year-old female with a history of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, autoimmune thrombocytopenia, and hypogammaglobulinemia was admitted with an inability to walk, urinary hesitancy, and bowel incontinence. Neurological examination revealed mild weakness, pyramidal, and deep sensorial involvement of the left lower extremity.

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Objective: Immunoglobulin free light chain (FLC) abnormalities are common in patients with monoclonal gammopathies and the kidneys are the most affected organs. Immunoassays that provide quantitative measurement of FLC in serum indicate monoclonal FLC production based on the presence of an abnormal FLC kappa:lambda (κ:λ) ratio. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of serum FLC measurement as a diagnostic tool for detecting plasma cell dyscrasias in comparison to standard assays, and to ascertain its sensitivity and specificity in patients with acute renal failure (ARF).

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Objective: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of bone is a rare entity. The most common histological subtype is diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The major presenting symptoms are soft tissue swelling, bone pain and pathological fracture.

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