Dispersion and infectivity of Toxocara canis eggs after passage through chicken intestine

Parasitology Research - Toxocariasis is an important, but neglected, worldwide zoonosis. It is considered a primarily soil-transmitted disease, but food-borne transmission has been associated with...     

Correlation between spheno-occipital synchondrosis,dental age,chronological age and cervical vertebrae maturation in Turkish population: is there a link?

Objective: To assess the correlation between third molar mineralization (TMM), spheno-occipital synchondrosis (SOS) fusion, chronologic age and cervical vertebrae maturation (CVM) for skeletal maturation.

Materials and methods: Radiographs for 116 patients between 8 and 28 years were evaluated for age determination using mandibular TMM, SOS fusion and CVM. Spearman Correlation and Kappa test analyses were used to assess the relationship between variables and for intraobserver reliability.

Results: Strong correlation was found between chronological age and TMM for males (r?=?.802) and females (r?=?.842), very strong correlation was found between age and CVM for males (r?=?.812) and moderate for females (r?=?.449), it was strong between age and SOS fusion for males (r?=?.810) and females (r?=?.643). Correlation between TMM and SOS was found to be strong for males (r?=?.759) and moderate for females (r?=?.534), it was strong between TMM and CVM for males (r?=?.723) and weak for females (r?=?.371). Very strong correlation was found between CVM and SOS fusion for males (r?=?.851) and strong correlation for females (r?=?.618).

Conclusion: Good correlation was found between the degrees of TMM, fusion of SOS and CVM in young Turkish population.     

Combined methylphenidate and atomoxetine pharmacotherapy in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Object?ves. Pharmacological treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) includes stimulant and non-stimulant medications. Our purpose in this study is to investigate efficacy, safety and tolerability of combined methylphenidate and atomoxetine pharmacotherapy. Methods. We included 12 patients of the 824 patients with ADHD using methylphenidate and atomoxetine combined therapy between the years 2010 and 2014. Kiddie-SADS, Turgay DSM-IV Based Child and Adolescent Behavior Disorders Screening and Rating Scale, Child Behavior Checklist, Clinic Global Impression Scale Severity and Impression (CGIS-S-I) scales were used. Results. Patients were between the ages of 7 and 17 years. Before combined pharmacotherapy the CGIS-S score mean was 5.08. Mean CGIS-S score after the combined pharmacotherapy was 3.08 (P = 0.03; –2,980). The most common side effects were irritability (n = 5, 41.6%), appetite reduction (n = 3, 25%), palpitations (n = 2, 16.7%), headache (n = 1, 8.3%). Conclus?ons. Nine of these 12 patients showed significant improvement in their symptoms, combined therapy enhanced the effectiveness of monotherapy.     

Oral flurbiprofen spray for mucosal graft harvesting at the palatal area: A randomized placebo‐controlled study

1 Background

Flurbiprofen which is a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAID), has been safely used for the control of postoperative patient's morbidity after periodontal plastic surgeries requiring palatal graft harvesting, but there is little information on the efficacy of topical use. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether patient pain perception was reduced and patient morbidity was improved by using oral spray of flurbiprofen after palatal graft harvesting.

2 Methods

Forty‐eight patients (21 males and 27 females), scheduled for subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) and free gingival graft (FGG) requiring periodontal plastic surgeries were selected. The patients were randomly assigned to each group and used oral spray of flurbiprofen or placebo three times a day for a week. The palatal donor area was evaluated at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 42, and 56‐day follow‐up after the surgery for postoperative pain, patients’ discomfort, complete epithelialization, changes in dietary habits, burning sensation, color match, the amount of systemic analgesic consumption and the presence of delayed bleeding. Wound healing scores were recorded at 14‐day follow up.

3 Results

The prevalance of complete epithelialization was significantly higher in the placebo‐FGG group than flurbiprofen‐FGG group at 21 days postoperatively (P < 0.05), while there was no significant alteration for both flurbiprofen‐SCTG and placebo‐SCTG groups at any follow‐up periods. In flurbiprofen‐FGG group, significant improvements were observed for postoperative pain, patients’ discomfort and burning sensation at 14 days postoperatively (P < 0.05).

4 Conclusion

Oral flurbiprofen spray reduces patient's morbidity, however it might have negative effects on epithelialization of secondary wound healing after FGG operations.     

Associations of HLA‐DRB1 alleles with anti‐citrullinated protein antibody‐positive and anti‐citrullinated protein antibody‐negative rheumatoid arthritis in northern east part of Turkey

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐DRB1 alleles with genetic susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and production of antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti‐CCP antibody) and rheumatoid factor (RF) in Turkish RA patients. Methods: We studied 291 RA patients and 253 controls. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction with sequence‐specific oligonucleotide probes hybridization method. Serum levels of anti‐CCP antibody, IgM‐RF and high sensitive C‐reactive protein titers were measured by commercial kits using immunological methods. Results: We found that HLA‐DRB1*04 and *09 alleles were associated in anti‐CCP+ and anti‐CCP+ RA patients (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.001, respectively), while DRB1*01 and *04 were determined to be higher in RF+ RA patients (P < 0.001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). Moreover, DRB1*11 and DRB1*13 alleles were determined to be lower in RF and anti‐CCP/RF+ RA patients (P < 0.001 for both). HLA‐DRB1*04 was identified as a common responsible allele for susceptibility to the disease in anti‐CCP, RF and anti‐CCP/RF? RA patients (P = 0.0018, P = 0.0004 and P = 0.0023, respectively). HLA‐DRB1*13 allele alone was found to be protective against to anti‐CCP+ and RF? RA (P = 0.0003 and P = 0.006, respectively). On the contrary, there was no protective allele in anti‐CCP/RF? RA as well as anti‐CCP? RA patients. Conclusion: This study indicates that associate and protective HLA‐DRB1 allele distributions are different in autoantibody (anti‐CCP or RF or anti‐CCP/RF)+ RA and autoantibody? RA patients, with exceptions of DRB1*04 and DRB1*13.