Traumatic growth and psychological resilience status of female victims of violence inpatients in a district psychiatric hospital

The aim of this study was to examine the traumatic mental growth and psychological resilience status of females who were receiving inpatient treatment at a district mental health hospital and had a history of being subjected to violence. One hundred-twenty female patients with a history of exposure to violence participated in the study. An introductory information form, the Traumatic Growth Inventory (TGI) and the Psychological Resilience Scale for Adults (PRSA) were used for data collection. This study found that all the participants were subjected to emotional violence, 65.8% to physical violence, 30.8% to sexual violence, and 94.2% to verbal violence at some point in their lives. Their TGI mean score (60.96?±?11.91) was above average, while their PRSA mean score (97.90?±?9.18) was below average. The participants' mean scores on the TGI and PRSA did not vary significantly by the type of violence (p?>?0.05) to which the women were exposed. Moreover, no statistically significant relationship was found between the TGI and the PRSA total scale and subscale mean scores (p?>?0.05). This study found that the posttraumatic growth of females who had a history of physical or emotional or sexual abuse was positive, and that their psychological resilience levels were inadequate.     

Correlation of serum IgE levels with severity of acute pulmonary thromboembolism

We aimed to investigate whether there is a direct correlation of serum IgE concentration with severity of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTINGS: University medical center. Forty-six patients (27 female, 19 male) who were diagnosed as acute PTE in our clinic between 01 October 2000 and 30 November 2001 comprised the study group. Mean age was 55 (range was 20-82). The study group was divided into three groups according to severity of PTE: Group A, submassive PTE without pulmonary infarction (20 patients); group B, submassive PTE with pulmonary infarction (15 patients); and group C, massive PTE (11 patients). Serum IgE concentrations were measured by ELISA method at 1st, 5th, 15th, 30th, 60th, 90th days, and 120th days, if needed, after the diagnosis. Statistical analysis was made by Post hoc Tukey test. First day serum IgE levels were highest in group B (mean 507.7) followed by group C (mean 324.2), and were lowest in group A (mean 117.2). The differences between group B and group C, between group B and group A, and also between group C and A were all statistically significant (p< 0.5, p< 0.0001, p< 0.015, respectively). 5th day and 15th day results showed statistically significant differences between group B and A, and between group C and A (at 5th day: p<0.0001, p< 0.015 respectively, and at 15th day: p< 0.0001, p< 0.012 respectively). At 30th, 60th, and 90th days of diagnosis serum IgE concentrations were higher in group B than in group A which were statistically significant (p< 0.0001, p< 0.0001, p< 0.019 respectively). Patients with submassive PTE and pulmonary infarction had the highest serum IgE concentrations and the longest duration of high levels of IgE.     

Diagnostic and prognostic value of Ischemia‐modified albumin in patients with Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever

The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic and prognostic significance of ischemia modified albumin (IMA) levels in patients with Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). This retrospective study was conducted with patients with CCHF. IMA levels in patients with CCHF were determined using the rapid colorimetric method. IMA levels of CCHF patients were significantly higher compared with the control group (P = 0.0001). At an IMA cut‐off point of 0.555 ABSU (absorbance units), sensitivity was 65.1%, specificity 82.5%, positive predictive values (PPV) 82.5%, and negative predictive values (NPV) 65.1%. IMA levels of patients with hemorrhage were significantly higher compared with patients without hemorrhage (P = 0.005). IMA has been validated as both a new and sensitive ischemia and oxidative stress biomarker. In addition to its diagnostic significance, IMA investigated in CCHF patients at time of arrival may be an important marker with its prognostic role in determining in the early stage whether the disease will follow a hemorrhagic course. J. Med. Virol. 85:684–688, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Evaluation of serum zonulin level in prediabetic patients

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the relationship between lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and zonulin levels and also to show the effect of acute hyperglycemic stress induced by oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) on zonulin levels in pre-diabetic patients.MethodsFour groups were constituted according to the criteria of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), based on OGTT results: control group (n:40); prediabetic group (n:56), divided into two subgroups: impaired fasting glucose group (IFG) (n:36), and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) + IFG group (n:20) and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) group (n:45).ResultsZonulin and LPS did not significantly differ between the prediabetes and control groups, but were significantly higher in the T2DM group compared to both the prediabetic and the control group (P < 0.001). After OGTT, zonulin and LPS were significantly higher in the prediabetes group compared to the control group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively), and significantly lower in the IFG and IFG + IGT groups compared to the T2DM group (P < 0.001, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). A positive correlation was detected between fasting zonulin and 2-hour zonulin (r = 0.727, P < 0.001) and between fasting LPS (r = 0.555, P < 0.001) and 2-hour LPS (r = 0.567, P < 0.001) in the prediabetic group. Increased zonulin and LPS levels and the positive correlation between these levels during the prediabetic period although non significant suggests onset of intestinal permeability.ConclusionsDuring acute hyperglycemia in prediabetic patients, up-regulation of zonulin and LPS may affect intestinal function. The intestines may play a key role in up-regulation of glucose and the pathogenesis of diabetes.     

Sequence analysis of rpoB mutations in rifampin-resistant clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Turkey

Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a serious problem throughout the world. Resistance to Rifampicin (RIF) is mainly caused by the mutations in the rpoB gene coding the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase. In this study, we aimed to detect the distribution of rpoB gene mutations in 80 RIF-resistant clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates from Turkey. The rpoB gene was amplified by PCR and mutations leading to RIF resistance were determined by automated sequence analysis. A total of 72 of the 80 isolates (90%) were found to carry mutations in the amplified region, whereas eight isolates (10%) carried no mutations. Overall, 24 different missense mutations affecting 14 codons, and two deletion mutants were identified. Nine new mutations, six in the hot-spot region and three outside this region, were found. The codon numbers of the most frequently encountered mutations were 531 (51.4%), 526 (18.1%), 516 (13.9%), and 513 (12.5%). As a result, 90% of the RIF-resistant MTB isolates from the Turkish patients were found to carry a mutation in the rpoB gene, Ser531Leu being the most frequent one. Although molecular methods identify mutations leading to RIF resistance very quickly, results of the antimycobacterial susceptibility tests must be taken into consideration for the patients carrying no mutations in this region.     

Relative erythrocytosis of patients with end stage renal failure undergoing CAPD

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Although the majority of patients with end stage renal failure have anemia, some have relative erythrocytosis. Patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) having relative erythrocytosis were studied in order to determine the factors that would be responsible. METHODS: Nine out of 89 CAPD patients (10%) were identified as having relative erythrocytosis. Age-, sex- and duration of disease-matched eight patients undergoing CAPD were taken as control. Beside factors of etiologies of renal failure, smoking, renal cysts, viral hepatitides, residual renal function, the adequacy of CAPD, nutritional status, hypertension, serum levels of erythropoietin, IL-1, IL-6, TNF-, and IGF-1 levels were also investigated. RESULTS: Relative erythrocytosis occurred most often in diabetic and amyloidosis patients. None of the parameters studied were found to be significantly different between groups. During 2-year follow-up, although statistically non-significant, patients having relative erythrocytosis seemed to have higher mortality rate due to vascular complications. CONCLUSION: No single factor seemed to explain erythrocytosis in patients undergoing CAPD. Being diabetic or with amyloidosis may increase the risk.     

Role of G(s) proteins in hypoxic constriction of sheep pulmonary artery rings

The introduction of hypoxia is well known to cause contraction of pulmonary artery rings in vitro. Despite intensive studies, the cellular mechanisms of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction are still not well defined. In this study, we aimed to determine the contribution of G(S) proteins in hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction in large-diameter sheep pulmonary arteries using cholera toxin (CT). Hypoxia caused further contractions in serotonin but not in NaF-precontracted pulmonary artery rings. However, hypoxic vasoconstriction due to lowering of pO(2) from 97 to 5 mm Hg was totally abolished by preincubation with CT in serotonin-precontracted arteries. These preliminary results indicate that signal transduction mediated by G(s) proteins may be an important mechanism in the hypoxic vasoconstriction of isolated pulmonary arteries of sheep.