Epidemiological features of irritable bowel syndrome in a Turkish urban society

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a widespread functional bowel disorder and its prevalence in Western societies ranges from 3-20%. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of IBS in eastern Turkey, particularly in urban parts of Elazig where 250 000 people live. METHODS: Of the 18 primary care centers, four were randomly selected for this study. All individuals (aged >17 years) living around the service area of these health centers were included. A total of 1900 subjects were randomly selected using the personal health records from the primary care centers. The total number of subjects that could be contacted was 1766. A questionnaire with multiple choice questions was applied to the subjects by medical students using the face-to-face technique. Prevalence of IBS and distribution of symptoms were evaluated by the Rome II criteria. RESULTS: Of the 1766 subjects, 45.4% were male and 54.6% were female. Prevalence of IBS was 5% in males, 7.4% in females and 6.3% overall. The percentage of subjects with IBS in the 17-30 years age group was 26.2%; 52.3% in the 30-50 years age group and 21.6% in the above 50 years age group. Prevalence of IBS was highest (10.2%) in persons who were illiterate and lowest (3.0%) in university graduates. A positive correlation was determined between low economical status and prevalence of IBS (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Although IBS is widely present in Turkey, its prevalence is lower than that reported in Western communities. In the region where this study was carried out, IBS was more prevalent in females and in individuals with low educational and economical status.     

Dried peel fraction of Citrus sinensis partially reverses pathological changes in rat model of liver cirrhosis

Citrus sinensis is a seasonal fruit. Its zester is rich in bioactive phytochemicals, such as limonene, β-sitosterol, and ascorbic acid, which possess pharmacological action. In this study, we report the effect of fraction prepared from dried peel of C. sinensis on biochemical and histopathological changes in rat model of liver cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis was induced in rats by administering thioacetamide at a concentration of 0.03% in drinking water for 16 weeks. Thioacetamide was discontinued after 16 weeks and from the 18th week rats were given the extract orally for 9 weeks. Following the completion of the treatment, animals were killed and biochemical and histopathological changes associated with liver cirrhosis were evaluated. The treatment was found to reverse the elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transferase, and other biochemical markers related to oxidative stress and selected drug metabolizing enzymes. Histopathology of the hepatic tissue confirmed the curative effect of the extract, and corroborated with the biochemical findings. HPTLC fingerprinting of the test fraction confirmed the presence of limonene, β-sitosterol, and ascorbic acid, which may partially explain the effect. The extract was also found to possess the anti-proliferative activity, determined by measuring the incorporation of radioactive thymidine by the hepatic DNA. The study indicates the inhibitory action of the test preparation on collagen accumulation in the extracellular matrix, and hence suggests its use as a potential therapeutic agent in liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.     

Prevalence of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection in chronic hepatitis B patients in eastern Turkey: still a serious problem to consider

Summary. Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a serious cause of liver‐related morbidity and mortality. Coexistent infection with HDV tends to aggravate the course of hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐associated liver disease. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HDV infection among patients chronically infected with HBV in the Elazig region, which is in eastern Turkey. A group of 282 patients infected with chronic HBV were investigated for the study. Anti‐HDV seropositivity was evaluated in all patients. The anti‐HDV‐positive patients were further tested for HDV RNA. Severity of liver disease was assessed by liver biopsy. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between independent variables and HDV positivity. Of 282 chronic HBV patients, 192 were men (68.1%) and 90 were women (31.9%). The mean age was 43.8 ± 12.7 (between 18 and 73 years). Anti‐HDV was positive in 45.5% of the patients (128/282). Among the 128 anti‐HDV‐positive patients, 116 were checked for HDV RNA and 56.9% were found positive (66/116). Chronic HDV infection rate was therefore present in at least 23.4% of the whole study group (66/282). There were 83 patients with cirrhosis (29.4%) in the study group. Anti‐HDV seroprevalence and HDV RNA presence were higher in those with cirrhosis (61.4% and 42.2%, respectively). No significant relationship was found between anti‐HDV seropositivity and demographic factors such as age, sex and operation or transfusion history except family history. HDV‐RNA‐positive patients had significantly higher ALT and lower albumin levels when compared to HDV‐RNA‐negative patients. HDV‐RNA‐positive patients also had a significantly higher fibrosis stage. In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that HDV infection is endemic and still a serious problem in the Elazig region of eastern Turkey. HDV infection is significantly related to the family exposure and increases the risk of severe liver fibrosis in this region.     

中国精神分裂症患者认知电位P300研究的系统评价

目的 评价中国精神分裂症患者认知电位P300的特点及影响因素.方法 制定原始文献的纳入标准、排除标准及检索策略,检索PubMed、EMBase、Web of knowledge、Cochrane Library、PsycINFO、中国期刊全文数据库、万方数据库、维普中文科技期刊数据库及中国生物医学文献光盘数据库等.应用加强观察性流行病学研究报告的质量(STROBE)为参照评价标准评价文献质量.采用Stata 11软件对满足纳入标准的研究资料进行Meta分析.结果 共有38篇文献符合纳入标准进行Meta分析.随机效应合并分析显示,精神分裂症患者P300波幅低于正常对照组[总效应Z=7.98,合并SMD=-0.937,95％CI( -1.167～ -0.706),P＜0.000 01],潜伏期大于正常对照组[总效应Z＝7.69,合并SMD=0.969,95％CI(0.722～1.215),P＜0.000 01],差异均有统计学意义.敏感性分析结果显示,两组的合并效应结果稳定性均较好.Meta回归显示波幅与检验仪器(P＝0.036)有关,而潜伏期可能与是否用药(P＝0.099)有关.结论 精神分裂症患者存在认知电位P300异常,表现为波幅降低和潜伏期延长,两个指标的稳定性均较好.     

FS03.7Tape stripping procedure: influence of anatomic site, application pressure, duration and removal

Background and Objectives:  Tape stripping is a common method for investigating stratum corneum (SC) physiology as well as bioavailability and bioequivalence of topical drugs. However, little is known concerning the influence of procedures (anatomic site, pressure, pressure duration, tape removal rate) inherent in each stripping protocol.
Methods:  Tape stripping was performed using tapes on the forearm, forehead and back. On the forearm different pressures (165 and 330 g cm⁻²), durations of pressure (2s and 10s), and removal rate (slow and rapid removal) was performed. Changes in skin physiology were evaluated by measurement of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and hydration.
Results:  A significant influence of all parameters on the TEWL‐increase as a function of tape strip number was observed. The fastest increase was demonstrated on the forehead, followed by the back and, lastly, the forearm. Rapid removal produced a protracted increase in comparison to the slow removal. 10s pressure induced a faster increase of TEWL than 2s pressure. Likewise, the 330 g cm⁻² pressure induced an earlier increase than the 165 g cm⁻². Skin hydration was not influenced by the variables tested.
Conclusion:  Tape stripping results are influenced dramatically by all investigated parameters. A standardized procedure is necessary for a comparable study design. A dynamic SC stress test to more closely investigate SC cohesion is proposed based on the present observations.