Intestinal effects of iron deficiency anemia in children.

A group of 11 children with iron deficiency anemia were studied with respect to intestinal structure and function. In six cases there were histological abnormalities of intestinal mucosa in varying degrees consisting of villous damage, increased activity in the crypts, increased lymphoplasmocytic infiltration and changes in the surface epithelium. Ultrastructurally, microvilli lesions, mitochondrial changes and an increase in lysosomes were observed. Relative malabsorption of iron and d-xylose malabsorption were present in a minority of patients. Functional and structural changes were correlated. Our results suggest that these changes are due to impairment of cell metabolism.     

The effect of alternate-day low dose prednisolone on bone age in children with steroid dependent nephrotic syndrome

Radius, ulna, short bones (RUS), carpal (CARP) bone age (BA), tibial corticodiaphyseal (C/D) ratio and trabecular aspect were assessed in 19 children with steroid dependent nephrotic syndrome and 15 age matched healthy children. Both RUS and CARP BA were significantly lower than in the controls. Trabecular aspect and tibial C/D ratio did not show any statistical significance. There was a positive correlation between HSDS and RUS BA delay (r=−0.476, p<0.05); CARP BA delay and RUS BA delay (r=0.563, p<0.01) and RUS BA and CARP BA (r=0.891, p<0.001). In conclusion, RUS and CARP BA are both retarded and positively correlated in steroid dependent nephrotic children.     

Immediate ultrastructural effects of endothelin-1 on rabbit basilar artery

Summary In this study intra-arterial Endothelin-1 was applied to rabbit basilar arteries and morphological findings were compared between two groups who were either perfusion fixed or immersion fixed. We planned to establish the quantitative dimension of the drug-induced morphological alterations, independent of the fixation technique's effect.There was an abundance of collagenous fibres deposited among the smooth muscle cells which was not observed in control arteries and after immersion fixation. These degenerative changes are similar to the finding following subarachnoid haemorrhage. The only fixation-related difference was the fact that lamina elastica interna was not corrugated in the perfusion fixation group.It is concluded that, the observed changes in the connective tissue of the arterial wall alter the passive elastic properties and so affect the degree of the response to the vasoactive messengers.     

Role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in the treatment of mucormycosis

Several problems in the management of life-threatening mucormycosis remain unresolved, necessitating new methods of management. Four patients with histopathologically proven rhinocerebral mucormycosis were treated with high cumulative doses of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). All had multiple predisposing factors for mucormycosis, particularly leukemia and neutropenia. Two patients refractory to fluconazole therapy were treated with liposomal amphotericin B. The improvement in clinical manifestations was closely related to neutrophil recovery, and all patients were alive at the end of therapy. In addition to surgical debridement and antifungal therapy, G-CSF seems to have played a role in their survival.     

Prevalence of childhood asthma and allergic diseases in Ankara, Turkey

Kalyoncu AF, Selçuk ZT, Karakoca Y, Emri AS, Çöplü L, Şahin AA, Bariş YI. Prevalence of childhood asthma and allergic diseases in Ankara, Turkey.
The first epidemiologic survey of the prevalence of childhood asthma and other allergic disease in Ankara, Turkey, was done in May 1992. A questionnaire on factors influencing the atopic status and allergic symptoms was distributed to parents of 1226 children aged 6-12 years. In this questionnaire, parents were asked to give information about physician-diagnosed asthma and atopic dermatitis (AD), and self-reported wheezing and rhinoconjunctivitis (perennial or seasonal). The overall response rate was 85 % and included 502 boys (48.5%) and 534 girls (51.5%). The lifetime prevalences of asthma, wheezing, rhinoconjunctivitis, and AD were 17.4%, 23.3%, 28%, and 6.1%, respectively, and the reported prevalences for the last 12 months were 8.3%, 11.9%, 15.4%, and 4%, respectively. Asthma and other allergic disease had been recognized in 23.2% of the children during the last year; in half of these, more than one disease was present. Eight percent of the families kept pet animals; 95.4% of children had been breast-fed, of whom 61% for more than 6 months; and at least one person smoked at home in the case of 73.9% of children. Some health insurance was available to 72.8% of the families. Cumulative prevalences of wheezing, rhinoconjunctivitis, and AD were significantly associated with the presence of pets, passive smoking at home, and absence of health insurance. The prevalence of asthma was not affected by any of these factors except atopic family history. In conclusion, asthma and other allergic diseases constitute a major health problem for schoolchildren in Ankara.     

An independent indicator of erectile dysfunction is C-reactive protein/albumin ratio

Research has found that, instead of passive lipid-accumulated vascular damage, atherosclerosis which is the primary cause of erectile dysfunction (ED) can be seen as an active inflammatory cycle and that inflammation has a central role in the entire atherosclerotic process. As an inflammatory marker, serum C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin ratio (CAR) may link to ED and ED severity. The CAR, demographic features and other criteria of 198 patients with ED who visited our outpatient clinic during March 2019–April 2020 were prospectively evaluated. The research also included healthy control subjects without systemic or infectious diseases. The mean difference of CAR between ED and no ED was statistically significant (0.55 ± 0.27 and 0.79 ± 0.49, p = .002 respectively). On the basis of the ROC analysis, CAR has a good ED diagnostic value with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.63 (95% CI:0.541–0.714) and better diagnostic performance to distinguish ED severity (AUC:0.73, 95% CI:0.620–0.842). Additionally, mean CAR gradually increased with increasing severity of ED (for all p < .001). The CAR has been described as an independent ED indicator in the multivariate analysis (p = .001OR = 8.934; 95% CI:2.449–32.583). Increased CAR is associated with ED severity and increased ED risk. For CAR predicting ED and ED severity, a considerable cut-off point was identified.     

The Effect of Tizanidine on Chronic Vasospasm in Rats

Summary ? Background. Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has remained a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with SAH. Excitatory neurotransmitters are gathered in the extracellular space during ischemia due to cerebral vasospasm and initiate or stimulate a series of pathophysiological biochemical processes which consequently lead to neuronal death. Tizanidine (Sandoz compound DS 103–282, 5-chloro-4,2 (2-imidazolin-2-yl-amino)-2,1,3-benzothiazol hydrochloride) is a centrally-acting muscle relaxant and a selective α 2 adrenoreceptor agonist which shows its effect by stimulating presynaptic α 2 adrenoreceptors in central ASPergic and GLUergic system by inhibiting aspartic acid and glutamic acid release. In this study, the effect of Tizanidine on vasospasm was evaluated.  Methods. We used a femoral artery vasospasm model in rats which has been described by Okada et al. 60 rats were examined in three groups. The first group was used as control group (Control) (n=20), in the second group subarachnoid hemorrhage was performed (SAH) (n=20), in the third group Tizanidine was administered in addition to SAH (SAH+Tizanidine administration) (n=20). Animals in SAH+Tizanidine administration group received 0,3 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally for 7 days. Seven days after the experiment, after perfusion-fixation, 10 mm segments of both femoral arteries were removed and the femoral artery was prepared for light microscope examination, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and for morphometric analysis.  Results. There was a statistically significant difference between the electron, scanning and light microscopic observations and morphometric analysis of SAH+Tizanidine administration group and SAH group, and no statistically significant difference between SAH+Tizanidine administration group and control group.  Conclusion. This study has disclosed that Tizanidine administration before the vasospasm reduces ultrastructural and morphometric vasospastic insult significantly. However, the clinical application of Tizanidine as a protective and therapeutic agent in cerebral vasospasm needs further studies including the employment of clinically more relevant SAH models.