Serum neopterin and orexin-A levels in different stages of diabetic retinopathy.

Clinical Relevance: Retinopathy is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus and is the leading cause of vision loss in the working middle-aged population.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the value of neopterin and orexin-A levels in patients with diabetes mellitus with different stages of diabetic retinopathy and without diabetic retinopathy and to compare those findings with results from healthy individuals without diabetes mellitus.

Methods: In total, 65 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 22 healthy individuals without diabetes mellitus were enrolled in this prospective study.

Relationship of Frontal QRS-T Angle with Coronary Flow Grade and Adverse Events Before Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Objective: Electrocardiography is used in the initial risk assessment of patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The frontal QRS-T angle is an electrocardiography parameter that may be affected by the alterations in the coronary blood flow. This study aimed to explore the relationship of the frontal QRS-T angle with coronary flow grade and adverse events in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients.

Effect of Superimposed Russian Current on Quadriceps Strength and Lower-Extremity Endurance in Healthy Males and Females.

Context: More studies are needed to compare the effect of voluntary contraction, electrical stimulation, and electrical stimulation superimposed onto voluntary contraction in improving trained and untrained homolog muscle strength and lower-extremity endurance.

Design: Seventy-six healthy young adults (age = 20.41 [3.

Laryngoscopic Examination During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Turkish Voice Speech and Swallowing Disorders Society and Turkish Professional Voice Society Recommendations.

COVID-19 is highly transmissible and spreads rapidly in the population. This increases the occupational risk for health care workers. In otolaryngology clinic practice, patients with upper respiratory tract infection symptoms are common.

Principles of Subglottic and Tracheal Visualization with Transnasal Flexible Laryngoscopy.

Objective: The subglottic area and trachea are important parts of the upper airway, and can be visualized easily using transnasal flexible laryngoscopy (TFL). The aim of this study was to develop a clinical grading system to assist in documentation of the subglottic area and trachea with TFL, and to demonstrate the basic principles of visualization of these anatomic areas as a laryngology practice.

Methods: The TFL videos of 100 randomized patients were evaluated by three laryngologists.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell microRNAs in coronary artery disease.

The accuracy of risk prediction for coronary artery disease can be improved with the use of novel molecular or genetic biomarkers. In this study, we investigated the difference of five selected microRNAs (miR or miRNA) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and controls, assessed by coronary angiography. The study population consisted of 85 subjects, aged between 18 and 75 years and underwent invasive coronary angiography.

Reliability of thermocautery-assisted circumcision: retrospective analysis of circumcision performed voluntarily in countries of low socioeconomic status.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of thermocautery-assisted circumcision performed voluntarily in patients of poor countries.

Material And Methods: Between 2016 and 2019, 32,000 children aged 7 days to 17 years were circumcised in multiple countries. The patients' urological examinations were done before the administration of local anaesthesia.

The Effect of Obesity on Transnasal Flexible Laryngoscopy.

Objective: Transnasal flexible laryngoscopy (TFL) is a practical and cost-effective procedure, allowing excellent evaluation of the upper airway with minimal risk of complications. The effect of obesity on endoscopic examination still remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine if obesity has an effect on TFL.

Do 'standard laparoscopic box trainers' represent real-life conditions during transperitoneal laparoscopical interventions of the upper tract?

Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate the representativeness of the conventional laparoscopic standard box trainers in terms of real-life circumstances in transperitoneal laparoscopical interventions of the upper tract, using questionnaire inquiries with experienced surgeons.

Materials And Methods: The study was conducted with 44 laparoscopists, whose level of renal surgery experience was either high (primary surgeon in >100 cases), moderate (primary surgeon in >50 cases) or basic (primary surgeon in >20 cases). We used the box widely preferred in international training courses, which consists of a 10-mm 30° laparoscope, real endoscopic instruments, light source, monitor and chicken bone materials.

A Novel Marker of Inflammation: Azurocidin in Patients with ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

(1) To investigate the role of azurocidin, an antimicrobial protein, in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). (2) This single-center prospective observational study included patients with STEMI and healthy age- and sex-matched control subjects. Baseline demographic, clinical and biochemical data were compared between the two groups.

The Effect of External Approach Septoplasty on Olfactory Function.

Objective: Septal deviation-induced nasal obstruction is frequently accompanied by hyposmia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of external approach septoplasty on olfactory function.

Methods: Thirty patients (23 males, 7 females) who had external approach septoplasty were included in the study.

Surgical Treatment Options for the Diabetic Charcot Hindfoot and Ankle Deformity.

Charcot neuroarthropathy is associated with progressive, noninfectious, osteolysis-induced bone and joint destruction. When the ankle and/or hindfoot is affected by the destruction process, management is further complicated with collapse and destruction of the talar body, which increases instability around the ankle. In this patient population, arthrodesis is the most commonly used surgical procedure.

Surgical treatment results for flexible flatfoot in adolescents.

Objective: Idiopathic flexible pes planus (IFPP) is a common foot problem in adolescents and young adults. Hypothesis for the present study was that combination of procedures for IFPP can achieve results in adolescents and young adults that are as good as those seen in adult-acquired pes planovalgus (AAPP) treatment in adults.

Methods: A total of 21 feet of 18 patients (10 boys, 8 girls) with mean age of 15.

Spontaneous regeneration capacity of controlled small bowel perforations: an experimental study in rats.

Background: Selective observation method has started to replace routine laparotomy application for abdominal penetrating trauma patients after Shaftan's selective observation method applied in the 1960s. In this respect, there is a possibility of bowel perforations healing without operations. An experimental model was established in this study in order to clarify this possibility.

Computed tomographic analysis of frontal sinus drainage pathway variations and frontal rhinosinusitis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to radiologically determine frontal sinus drainage pathway variations with respect to superior attachment of uncinate process (SAUP) and their effect on prevalence of frontal rhinosinusitis.

Design: This was a retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Computed tomography scans of the 919 frontal sinus sides of 460 patients (252 female, 208 male; mean age, 35.

Defect closure with "8-shaped crisscross tensile suture" technique.

Background: Sutures and suturing techniques compose the basis of the surgery. Although many surgical methods such as the skin grafts or flaps has been described for the closure of large defects, proper primary suturing may sometimes yield very successful results and decrease the need of complicated procedures. In this article, a new combined skin-subcutaneous tissue suturing technique called as "8-shaped crisscross tensile suture (8CTS)" designed for the closure of large skin defects is presented.

Bileaflet versus posterior-leaflet-only preservation in mitral valve replacement.

In the present study of mitral valve replacement, we investigated whether complete preservation of both leaflets (that is, the subvalvular apparatus) is superior to preservation of the posterior leaflet alone. Seventy patients who underwent mitral valve replacement in our clinic were divided into 2 groups: MVR-B (n=16), in whom both leaflets were preserved, and MVR-P (n=54), in whom only the posterior leaflet was preserved. The preoperative and postoperative clinical and echocardiographic findings were evaluated retrospectively.

Pressure-controlled mechanical ventilation is more advantageous in the follow-up of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease after open heart surgery.

Objective: Cardiopulmonary bypass deteriorates pulmonary functions to a certain extent. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with increased mortality and morbidity risks in the postoperative period of open-heart surgery. In this study we compared 2 different mechanical ventilation modes, pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV) and volume-controlled ventilation (VCV), in this particular patient population.

Use of decorin to prevent epidural fibrosis in a post-laminectomy rat model.

The formation of epidural fibrosis adjacent to the dura mater is a complex multi-step process that is associated with a marked reduction in tissue cellularity and the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components. Extensive epidural fibrosis is a major cause of post-laminectomy syndrome. Decorin strongly inhibits fibrosis formation in various tissues via blockade of transforming growth factor-β1.

Serum calcitonin gene-related peptide levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Purpose: Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is an amino acid neuropeptide with widespread expression. It has potent effects on lipid and energy metabolism. It induces insulin resistance.