Vitamin D insufficiency in a boy with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Vitamin D deficiency not only causes low bone mass but also may lead to neuropsychiatric disorders. In the present case, vitamin D supplementation reduced obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms associated with streptococcal infection in a 7‐year‐old boy. Sudden onset of symptoms, including excessive hand washing and fear of touching anything, had occurred 1 month before presentation. Although there are few studies on a possible causal relationship between vitamin D and neuropsychiatric disorders, the present report; together with previous data, suggest an etiological role of vitamin D‐related immune processes.     

Tyrosinemia type II: Novel mutations in TAT in a boy with unusual presentation

Tyrosinemia type II is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by deficiency of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT). It may occur with ocular and cutaneous symptoms with or without mental retardation, but epileptic seizure is a rare presentation of this disease. Herein we report the clinical, biochemical and genetic features of a 4‐year‐old boy who presented with afebrile seizure and photophobia. Genomic DNA was obtained from peripheral blood leukocytes from the whole family. Sequencing analysis was performed using the MiSeq next‐generation sequencing platform. Sequencing of TAT indicated two new homozygous mutations p.L312P (c.935T>C) and p.T408M (c.1223C>T) for the proband and his asymptomatic sister. During a 2 year follow‐up period, the patient had overall poor compliance with protein‐restricted diet, but his asymptomatic sister had good compliance with the diet. Cognitive function of the patient worsened steadily, but his asymptomatic sister maintained normal mental status. Tyrosinemia type II should be considered in the differential diagnosis of children presenting with epileptic seizure and photophobia; furthermore, early diagnosis and protein‐restricted regimen are important to reduce the risk of long‐term complications of tyrosinemia type II such as mental disability.     

Behavioral impairments of the aging rat

Several disturbances occurring during aging of humans and rodents alike stem from changes in sensory and motor functions. Using a battery of behavioral tests we have studied alterations in performance with advancing age in female and male rats of some frequently used strains. In parallel, we collected survival and body weight data. The median survival age was similar for female and male Sprague-Dawley rats, inbred female Lewis and outbred male Wistar rats (29-30 months). In contrast, male Fisher 344 had a significantly shorter median life span. During aging there is a gradual decline in locomotor activity and explorative behavior while disturbances of coordination and balance first became evident at more advanced age. In old age, also weight carrying capacity, limb movement and temperature threshold were impaired. While whole body weight continues to increase over the better part of a rats' life span, the behavioral changes in old age associated with a decrease in both total body weight and muscle mass. Dietary restriction increases median life span expectancy; retards the pace of behavioral aging and impedes sarcopenia. Housing in enriched environment did not improve the scoring in the behavioral tests but tended to increase median life span. Finally, there was an agreement between behavioral data collected from longitudinal age-cohorts and those obtained from multiple age-cohorts.     

Comparison of extracorporeal shock wave therapy and high-intensity laser therapy on pain,grip strength,and function in patients with lateral epicondylalgia: a randomized controlled study

Lasers in Medical Science - This study aimed to compare the effects of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) and high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) on pain, grip strength, and function in...     

Platelet function testing during 5-day storage of single and random donor plateletpheresis.

Platelet concentrates are routinely manufactured from whole blood by differential centrifugation (random donor platelets-RDP) or by plateletpheresis (single donor platelets-SDP). These platelet concentrates have a storage period of 5 days and many different approaches exist to measure the condition of platelets during their storage. In this study, platelet aggregation testing using adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and collagen and flow cytometric platelet activation analysis using CD41 FITC and CD62 PE before and after ADP was performed on days 1, 3 and 5 of storage of platelet preparations. Thirty three RDPs, stored in Baxter and Kansuk blood bags and 18 SDPs stored in Fresenius blood bags were evaluated. In RDPs and in SDPs; ADP and collagen induced PA responses were decreased significantly on the 3rd and 5th days compared to 1st day. CD62 positive platelet percentage after ADP were decreased significantly on the 3rd and 5th days compared to the 1st day in Kansuk((R)) bags. Flow cytometric analysis revealed minor changes in CD41 expression after ADP on the 3rd day compared to 1st day and on the 5th day compared to 3rd day. Differences in CD62 positive platelet percentage were not significant between the RDPs and SDPs. Our results suggest that: (1) ADP and collagen induced PA responses decrease both in RDPs and SDPs during storage. (2) Flow cytometric analysis does not show major significant changes in platelet activation after ADP during storage. (3) Continous shaking on the agitator does not cause a significant change in CD62 positive platelet percentage during storage. (4) Platelet aggregation responses in RDPs stored in Baxter((R)) and Kansuk((R)) blood bags do not differ during storage.     

Ursodeoxycholic acid induced generalized fixed drug eruption

Fixed drug eruption (FDE) is a rare form of drug allergies that recur at the same cutaneous or mucosal site in every usage of drug. Single or multiple round, sharply demarcated and dusky red plaques appear soon after drug exposure. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA: 3α,7β-dihydroxy-5β-cholanic acid) is used for the treatment of cholestatic liver diseases. Some side effects may be observed, such as diarrhea, dyspepsia, pruritus and headaches. We encountered only three cases of lichenoid reaction regarding the use of UDCA among previous studies. In this article, we reported a generalized FDE case related to UDCA intake in a 59-year-old male patient with cholestasis for the first time in the literature.     

Aortic cusp ablation for premature ventricular contractions and ventricular tachycardia in children: a 5-year single-center experience

Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology - Aortic cusps might be the source of supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmias. For many years, aortic cusp ablation has been widely used to...     

Chemical composition of the essential oil and n-hexane extract of Stachys tmolea subsp. Tmolea Boiss., an endemic species of Turkey,and their mosquitocidal activity against dengue vector Aesdes aegypti

Stachys tmolea subsp. tmolea Boiss. is endemic to Turkey and is a species of the genus Stachys L. which is one of the largest genera of the family Lamiaceae with about 300 species. The aims of this study were to examine the chemical composition of the essential oil and n-hexane extract of S. tmolea subsp. tmolea as natural sources of insecticidal activity against the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti. Analysis of the essential oil by GC-FID and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) systems identified hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (15%), viridiflorol (10%), hexadecanoic acid (7%) and 9-geranyl-p-cymene (6%) as major components. The volatile components of the n-hexane extract were extracted using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and were analyzed using GC-MS. The principal constituents were 3,4-dimethyl decane (16%), 3-methyl-3-pentanol (15%), 2-methyl-2-pentanol (12%), 1,4-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl) benzene (12%), heptanal (10%), acetic acid (6%) and decane (4%). Bioassay of the n-hexane extract, at 5 µg/mosquito, produced 90% mortality against adult Ae. aegypti while the S. tmolea essential oil demonstrated 13% mortality. No larvicidal activity was observed both in essential oil and n-hexane extract. Further studies are needed to assess the adulticidal activity of the responsible compounds in the crude extract.