The sensitivity of nasal eosinophilia in allergic rhinitis

Evaluation of nasal epithelial samples is a part of clinical allergy practice. The aim of this study is to reveal the sensitivity of the nasal eosinophilia using Rhino-probe and Wright-Giemsa staining by means of all available nasal eosinophilia scoring systems. In 30 patients (12 males, 18 females; mean age = 31.6 years) with clinical diagnosis of allergic rhinitis, both sides of the nose were sampled. The content of the cupped tip of the probe has been prepared and stained for nasal cytological examination under oil immersion by light microscopy. Nasal eosinophilia has been assessed by scoring systems. The sensitivity of nasal eosinophilia has been revealed. The nasal eosinophilia scores have been compared between nasal sides (right or left nose) and also between the examiners’ observations for the same sample. Sensitivity values of nasal eosinophilia according to previously described criteria in the literature have been found to be between 13.33 and 80%. As the agreements for the nasal eosinophilia diagnosis between the sides of the nasal cavity and between the blinded examiners, the criteria of nasal eosinophilia such as the ratio of eosinophils to neutrophils or to all inflammatory cells rendered different diagnoses between the examiners (P < 0.01). The results of nasal cavity sides and Meltzer-scoring yielded no differences (P > 0.05). The substantial intraindividual variations when comparing the results obtained from the nasal sides and low sensitivity reveal that the nasal cytology needs more objective and standardized methods for a better differential diagnosis of chronic rhinitis.     

Acetylcholinesterase,butyrylcholinesterase, and tyrosinase inhibition studies and antioxidant activities of 33 Scutellaria L. taxa from Turkey

The members of Scutellaria L. (Lamiaceae) is known to be rich particularly in flavonoids and among them, S. baicalensis has been recorded to be used for memory-enhancing purpose. Therefore, we initiated a study to screen the methanol extracts prepared from the aerial parts of 33 Turkish Scutellaria species for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities, which are the key enzymes taking place in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Besides, the methanol extracts were tested in vitro against another enzyme, tyrosinase, which is associated with melanin hyperpigmentation. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenger effect, ferrous ion-chelating ability, and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts were also determined. AChE, BChE, and tyrosinase inhibition of the extracts were performed on ELISA microplate reader by spectrophotometric method. The extracts showed weak inhibition against AChE and BChE, while the best tyrosinase inhibition was caused by the methanol extract of S. brevibracteata subsp. subvelutina. The extracts had a very high DDPH radical scavenging effect and moderate antioxidant activity in ferrous ion-chelating and FRAP tests.     

Psychological distress in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Stress is defined as the exposure of an individual to a threatening stimulus or overwhelming event. Increased rates of psychological distress have been established in patients with chronic diseases compared to healthy individuals. The objective of the present study is to assess the indicators and correlates of psychological distress in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. We evaluated the stress exposure (stressful events that COPD patients and control subjects had been exposed) by a life events checklist and psychological distress by General Health Questionnaire in 74 COPD patients and 30 control subjects. Serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels were measured as biochemical indicators of stress. Distress score was higher in COPD group compared to age‐matched controls, although the stress exposure score were not statistically different; indicating that COPD itself is a source of distress. 92% of COPD patients and 87% of control subjects had varying degrees of distress. Severe distress was more frequent in COPD group. Distress score was further increased in patients with severe COPD and severe hypoxemia.There was no significant difference in serum ACTH and cortisol levels of COPD patients and control subjects and distress scores were not correlated to serum ACTH and cortisol levels. However, serum cortisol was higher in patients with severe hypoxemia. These findings support the importance of screening for psychological distress symptoms in COPD outpatients. Since high degree of distress contributes to impaired quality of life and added morbidity, patients with COPD need a comprehensive care including a psychological evaluation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stimulatory effects of benzene on rabbit liver and kidney microsomal cytochrome P-450 dependent drug metabolizing enzymes

Treatment of rabbits with benzene (880 mg/kg/day), s.c. for 3 consecutive days, caused 3.8- and 5.7-fold increases in aniline 4-hydroxylation rates of liver and kidney microsomes, respectively. Benzene treatment markedly enhanced hydroxylation rates ofp-nitrophenol by liver and kidney by 7.2- and 4.2-fold, respectively. Both of these enzymes are associated with cytochrome P-450 LM3a. In contrast, the activity of benzphetamine N-demethylase, associated with P-450 LM2, was not altered significantly in either liver or kidney microsomes. Although the total cytochrome P-450 contents of liver and kidney microsomes were not altered significantly by the benzene treatment, in the case of liver microsomes, formation of a new cytochrome P-450 with an apparent M_r of 51,400 was observed on SDS-PAGE. On the other hand, in the kidney microsomes, the intensity of the bands corresponding to approximate M_r of 50000 and 51400 was markedly increased. The results of the present work, in combination with those of the previous work (Arinç et al. 1988), indicate the existence of tissue specificity in the induction of rabbit P-450 isozyme by benzene.A preliminary account of this work has been presented at the Nato Advanced Study Institute on Molecular Aspects of Monooxygenases and Bioactivation of Toxic Compounds, August 27–September 7, 1989, Izmir, Turkey.     

Detection of bladder tumors with 3-dimensional sonography and virtual sonographic cystoscopy.

OBJECTIVE: Bladder tumors are among the most common types of malignant neoplasms of the urinary tract. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential value of 3-dimensional (3D) sonography and sonographic cystoscopy in detection of bladder tumors. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with suspected or known bladder tumors were included this study. All patients underwent 3D sonography and conventional cystoscopy within 15 days. The number, size, location, and morphologic features of the lesions were evaluated on gray scale, 3D virtual, and multiplanar reconstruction images obtained from the patients. The results of 3D sonographic cystoscopy were compared with the findings from conventional cystoscopy, which was considered the reference standard. RESULTS: Twenty-eight (90.3%) of 31 3D virtual sonographic cystoscopic studies had good or excellent image quality. Conventional cystoscopy revealed 47 lesions in 22 of 28 patients; 3D sonographic virtual cystoscopy showed 41 (87.2%) of 47 lesions. Three-dimensional virtual sonography alone had sensitivity of 96.2%, specificity of 70.6%, a positive predictive value of 93.9%, and a negative predictive value of 80% for tumor detection. The combination of gray scale sonography, multiplanar reconstruction, and 3D virtual sonography had sensitivity of 96.4%, specificity of 88.8%, a positive predictive value of 97.6%, and a negative predictive value of 84.2% for tumor detection. CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional sonography is a promising alternative noninvasive technique for use in detection of bladder tumors, their localization, and perivesical spreading. The location, size, and morphologic features of the tumors shown on 3D sonography agreed well with the findings of conventional cystoscopy.