Prevalence and predictors of psychological response during immediate COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: COVID-19 pandemic has created a serious psychological impact worldwide since it has been declared. This study aims to investigate the level of psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Turkish population and to determine related factors.

Methods: The study was carried out by an online questionnaire using the virtual snowball sampling method.

The impact of the IL-1β, IL-1Ra, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 gene polymorphisms on the development of Behcet's disease and their association with the phenotype.

Background And Objective: This trial was designed to investigate the effects of the interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-1Ra, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 gene polymorphisms on Behcet's disease (BD) occurrence and the association between the polymorphisms and the phenotype.

Materials And Method: The study population consisted of 71 patients and 70 age and gender-matched healthy subjects. Each of the participants had 2cc of blood withdrawn, which was placed into a whole blood tube, and the DNA was obtained using the NucleoSpin(®) Blood DNA Isolation kit.

Mortality attributable to carbapenem-resistant nosocomial Acinetobacter baumannii infections in a Turkish university hospital.

This study was performed to compare the mortality associated with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) and carbapenem-sensitive A. baumannii (CSAB) infections, to identify potential risk factors for CRAB infections, and to investigate the effects of potential risk factors on mortality in CRAB and CSAB patients. This retrospective case-control study was conducted in a university hospital between January 1, 2005 and December 30, 2006.

Sleep disorders in Behçet's disease, and their relationship with fatigue and quality of life.

Behçet's disease, a systemic vasculitis, can cause varying degrees of activity limitation, fatigue and quality of life impairment. To date, there have been no studies regarding sleep disturbance and its relationship with fatigue and life quality in Behçet's disease. We aimed to evaluate sleep disorders and polysomnographic parameters, and to determine their relationship with fatigue and quality of life in Behçet's disease.

Pneumonia in patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in Southeastern Turkey.

The objective of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and the radiological and laboratory findings of the hospitalised patients who had novel, laboratory-confirmed, swine-origin influenza A virus (S-OIV) infection with pneumonia. Between October and December 2009, 56 patients hospitalised for pneumonia who were tested for S-OIV infection were retrospectively evaluated. Thirty-three patients had positive S-OIV infections.

Bacterial translocation in experimental stroke: what happens to the gut barrier?

The reasons of post-stroke infections are still incompletely understood. Bacterial translocation (BT), the passage of viable microbes across an even anatomically intact intestinal barrier, has been described in many critical illnesses. To date, it has not been studied as a source of infection in an animal stroke model.

Hyperhomocysteinemia as an independent risk factor for cardioembolic stroke in the Turkish population.

Homocysteine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, is an intermediate during the conversion of methionine to cysteine. Homocysteine can cause vascular injury and atherosclerotic plaque instability. In addition, homocysteine may be directly correlated with hyperlipidemia and lipoprotein(a) and inversely with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism has no effect on the risk of atherosclerotic stroke or hypertension.

Background And Purpose: Stroke is a heterogeneous multifactorial disease. Hence, a large number of candidate genes are involved in stroke pathophysiology, such as blood pressure regulation and atherosclerosis. Although angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE I/D) polymorphism is considered to have a role in hypertension, coronary artery disease, and myocardial infarction, its relationship with cerebrovascular disease and hypertension in stroke in different ethnic populations is still inconsistent.

Relationship of apoE polymorphism with lipoprotein(a), apoA, apoB and lipid levels in atherosclerotic infarct.

Background And Purpose: Apolipoprotein E (apoE) polymorphism is suggested to be a risk factor in stroke in some populations, either by affecting lipid parameters or independently. Its effect on lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is not known. The roles of apoE polymorphism and of high Lp(a) levels in atherosclerotic stroke (AS) in the Turkish population are unclear.

Unnoticed dysautonomic syndrome of the face: Harlequin syndrome.

Harlequin sign and harlequin syndrome, which are used interchangeably in the literature, are characterized by sudden onset of hemifacial sweating and flushing, induced by exercise and heat. Hemifacial sweating and flushing with normal ocular sympathetic innervation, known as harlequin syndrome, is rarely associated with tonic pupils, parasympathetic oculomotor lesion and pre- or postganglionic sudomotor sympathetic deficit. In the literature, hemifacial sweating and flushing in patients with apparently abnormal ocular sympathetic innervation has been defined as harlequin sign.

P-wave duration and dispersion in patients with coronary slow flow and its relationship with Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction frame count.

Aim: P-wave dispersion (PD), and duration has been reported to be associated with inhomogeneous and discontinuous propagation of sinus impulses. The aim of this study was to investigate the PD in patients with coronary slow flow (CSF) phenomenon.

Methods: Study population included 48 patients with angiographically proven normal coronary arteries and slow coronary flow in all 3 coronary vessels (group I, 36 men; mean age, 54 +/- 9 years) and 32 subjects with angiographically proven normal coronary arteries without associated slow coronary flow (group II, 24 men, mean age, 53 +/- 10 years).

The Ala-9Val polymorphism in the mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) of the manganese superoxide dismutase gene is not associated with juvenile-onset asthma.

Background: We aimed to investigate the possible association between Mn-SOD polymorphism in the mitochondrial targeting sequence and asthma.

Methods: Alanine or valine polymorphism in the signal peptide of Mn-SOD gene was evaluated using a primer pair to amplify a 107-bp fragment followed by digestion with NgoM IV.

Results: No significant difference in genotype frequencies was found between patients and controls.

Fourteen-year trend of tuberculosis dynamics in the northwest of Turkey.

Background: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in different countries as estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) vary from 23/100,000 and less in industrialized countries, 191/100,000 in Africa and 237/100,000 in South East Asia.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of TB in the northwest of Turkey, between 1988 and 2001.

Methods: All pulmonary TB cases reported to the National Tuberculosis Center by local TB dispensaries during 1988-2001 were analyzed.

Common variable immunodeficiency in an adult with recurrent pneumonia.

Primary immunodeficiency syndromes are rarely diagnosed among adults. Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a congenital immunological disorder characterized by defective antibody production. In this report, we describe a 35-year-old male suffering from a common variable immunodeficiency, referred to us because of a lobar pneumonia.

Progression in acute ischemic stroke: frequency, risk factors and prognosis.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, possible predictive factors and the prognosis of deteriorating ischemic stroke.

Methods: A total of 266 stroke patients who presented within 24h of onset were enrolled. Clinical deterioration was defined as a decrease of > or =1 points in the Canadian Neurological Scale (CNS).