Serum fructosamine correlates with gingival index in children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)

Abstract Fructosamine assay, which is used in diagnosing and monitoring diabetic patients, is compared with the hemoglobin and plasma glucose assays in children and adolescent insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients. We demonstrated that the gingival index scores were correlated with fructosamine values in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients but not in non-diabetic controls. We also found that there was no correlation between gingivitis scores and fasting plasma glucose and HbAlc values. Periodontitis was found to be rare in diabetic children and adolescents.     

The role of cell adhesion molecules in ischemic epididymal injury

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the role of adhesion molecules in epididymal injury induced by I–R in the rats. Study design A total of 20 male Sprague–Dawley rats were separated into two groups. A sham operation was performed in group 1 (control). In group 2 (I–R), following 6 h of unilateral spermatic cord torsion, 1-h detorsion of the testis was performed. Then, epididymides were removed to measure the tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and to make histological examination. Results MDA values increased in the group 2. In the group 2 rats demonstrated significant disorganization of the epithelium and loss of microvilli in the epididymal tissue. No abnormal microscopic findings of the epididymis of the rats in the control group. The tenascin expression in the interstitial area of the epididymis was intense in the group 2. ICAM-1 expression by intense brown staining was seen along the basement membrane in epididymal tissue from I to R group rats. The microvillus sites of the epithelia in I–R group were stained mildly by lectin. Conclusion The increased expression of adhesion molecules found in epididymal injury induced during postischemic reperfusion might implicate importance of inflammatory infiltration.     

Assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with type 2 diabetes in Turkey

We measured the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of 376 type 2 diabetes patients in Turkey using the Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL) instrument and examined which patient socio-demographic and diabetes-related clinical characteristics are associated with better quality of life (QoL). The influence of patient socio-demographic and clinical characteristics on QoL was examined using independent sample t-tests and one-way analysis of variance. Diabetes significantly affected the HRQoL of patients included in this study. The mean score of the total DQOL measure was higher among patients who were less than 40 years of age, male, married, had less than 8 years of education, lived with their family and had no family history of diabetes (p<0.05). Similarly, patients with less than 5 years of disease duration, no complications or prior hospitalization, receive insulin, and with HbA(1)c<7 reported significantly better overall HRQoL (p<0.05). Patients with BMI<24 had higher levels of satisfaction with diabetes than those with BMI>or=24 (p<0.05). Diabetes-related HRQoL information is clearly of supreme importance to family physicians and policy makers to identify and implement appropriate interventions for achieving better management of diabetes and ultimately improving the QoL of diabetes patients.     

Thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor levels in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: An increased incidence of thromboembolic events has been described in patients with cancer. Cancer cells are attributed with producing procoagulant substances such as cysteine protease and tissue factor to activate factor X and factor VII, respectively. However, there are limited data on the pathogenesis behind this hypercoagulability state, and the thrombin generation, fibrinolytic system, and coagulation inhibition system during cancer are largely obscure. In this study, we investigated the changes of different steps of coagulation pathway in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and compared the data with those of healthy controls. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients with NSCLC and 36 age-matched controls were recruited for this study. Prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F 1 + 2) were used as a marker of thrombin generation; thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) immunologic activity level was measured for inhibition of the fibrinolytic system, and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) activity was assessed for the coagulation inhibition system. In the patient group, the relationships between TAFI activity levels and patient parameters (age, sex, body mass index [BMI], histopathology, and stage) were evaluated. RESULTS: The TAFI activity, F 1 + 2 levels, and TFPI activity were significantly higher in patients with lung cancer than in subjects in the control group (P < .05; P < .0001; and P < .0001; respectively). However, there were no statistically significant associations between TAFI activity levels and patient age, sex, BMI, histopathology, or stage of disease (P > .05). CONCLUSION: In this study, it was clearly shown that patients with lung cancer have hypercoagulable states and that the pathogenesis of thrombotic events in these patients is multifactorial. Increased TFPI is a reflection of thrombin activity in this patient group. Confirmatory studies with larger patient groups should be performed in this population.     

The role of cell adhesion molecules in ischemic epididymal injury

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the role of adhesion molecules in epididymal injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) in the rats. Study design About 20 male Sprague-Dawley rats were separated into two groups. A sham operation was performed in group 1 (control). In group 2 (I-R), following 6 h of unilateral spermatic cord torsion, 1-h detorsion of the testis was performed. Then, epididymides were removed to measure the tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and to make histological examination. Results Malondialdehyde values increased in group 2. In group 2, the rats demonstrated significant disorganization of the epithelium and loss of microvilli in the epididymal tissue. No abnormal microscopic findings of the epididymis of the rats in the control group. The tenascin expression in the interstitial area of the epididymis was intense in group 2. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression by intense brown staining was seen along the basement membrane in epididymal tissue from I-R group rats. The microvillus sites of the epithelia in I-R group were stained mildly by lectin. Conclusion The increased expression of adhesion molecules found in epididymal injury induced during of postischemic reperfusion may implicate importance of inflammatory infiltration.