Imaging in secondary tumors of the ovary

Abdominal Radiology - Metastatic involvement of the ovaries is not rare. The most common tumor types metastasizing to the ovaries, from non-gynecological organs, are breast, colorectal, gastric,...     

The effect of ethanol intake on tendon healing: a histological and biomechanical study in a rat model

Introduction  

Ethanol has a suppressive effect on inflammation and the immune system, but the effect of ethanol on tendon healing in vivo has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the histological and biomechanical effects of ethanol intake on tendon healing in a rat tendon injury model.     

The role of bone scintigraphy in the assessment of chronic wrist pain without any trauma history

Bone scintigraphy of the hands and wrists represents an important adjunct imaging technique that complements plain film radiographic examination in the evaluation of chronic wrist pain. In this study, the effectiveness of bone scintigraphy was investigated in the evaluation of chronic wrist pain in the patients without the history of trauma and any radiological and rheumatological abnormalities. Seventy-one patients with normal conventional radiographs and unexplained wrist pain were evaluated prospectively between 1998 and 2003 in our hand surgery clinic. There was no trauma history and no specific physical examination findings in the patients. The bone scintigraphy was done in all patients. Fifty-two of the all patients had normal scintigram. Seventeen of the remaining 19 patients showed increased activity over triquetrum (5 cases), lunatum (4 cases), trapezium (4 cases), hamatum (2 cases) and psiforme (2 cases). As the additional radiological investigations like MRI and CT revealed no bony abnormalities, the results of bone scintigraphy were evaluated as chronic ligamentous injuries. Two patients had diffuse increased uptake compatible with synovitis. The evaluation of bone scintigraphy correlated with clinical findings is effective to choose the most efficient treatment method in chronic wrist pain.     

Effects of Hypothermia on Blood Endogenous Endotoxin Levels During Cardiopulmonary Bypass

A bstract Endotoxin activates white blood cells and complement and produces a spectrum of clinical syndromes ranging from fever to septic shock. Although production of endogenous endotoxemia during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has recently been reported, the role of hypothermia on endotoxemia is not clear. In this study, we evaluated the effects of moderate (24–28°C) and mild (32–34°C) hypothermia on blood endotoxin levels. The study population consisted of 20 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with CPB. Moderate systemic hypothermia was applied during aortic cross-clamping in ten patients (group 1) and mild hypothermia in the remaining ten patients (group 2). The mean rectal temperatures were 26.8 ± 1.2°C in group 1 and 33.8 ± 0.8°C in group 2. The blood samples for endotoxin level measurements were obtained before CPB, during aortic cross-clamping, immediately after the release of the cross-clamp, 20 minutes after the release of the cross-clamp, after CPB, and 2 hours postoperatively. There were no endotoxins in any of the samples before CPB, but it was detected after CPB in both groups. The endotoxin levels were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2. The present study suggests that when hypothermia is the technique of choice, the deleterious effects of endotoxemia on patients with comorbidity must be considered.     

The phenotypic overlap of syndromes associated with hereditary gingival fibromatosis: follow-up of a family for five years.

Hereditary gingival fibromatosis (HGF) is characterized by the slowly progressive fibrous enlargement of gingival tissue. It usually develops as an isolated disorder but can also be one feature of various syndromes. The currently preferred terminology of these syndromes mainly describes the clinical features of the disorder without identifying the cause. In this report, we present the 5-year follow up of a family with HGF and features of 3 previously described syndromes: Jones syndrome, Zimmerman-Laband syndrome, and HGF-hypertrichosis syndrome. The 45-year-old father had HGF, hypertrichosis, hearing loss, and short stubby fingers and toes with hypoplasia of the terminal phalanges and hypoplasia of the nails on the thumbs. The features of 13-year-old son were almost identical to those of his father except for hypertrichosis, but in addition he was mentally retarded. Although the 10-day-old son had HGF and defective fingers, the mother and 7-year-old daughter were unaffected. Owing to the overlap of these syndromes, we argue that the identification of the genetic pathways and mechanisms will be the most important factor in classifying these disorders, with the phenotype playing a minor role.     

Influence of a self-etching primer on compound nerve action potentials

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of self-etching primers on nerve conductance. A self-etching primer (One Up Bond F) which combines etching and bonding in one step, and a fifth-generation bonding agent (Prime&Bond NT ) were tested. Isolated rat sciatic nerves were placed between two platinum electrodes in a bath containing Tyrode solution. The bonding agents were brought into contact with the nerves and the evoked compound action potentials (CAP) were recorded before and after contact with the materials. One Up Bond F caused total inhibition of the CAP within an average time of 7 min. All CAPs in this group were blocked irreversibly. As with Prime&Bond NT, the reduction in CAP was 45.9% after an application time of 15 min, after which readings were terminated. Recovery of the CAP in this group were maintained after rinsing with fresh tyrode solution. One Up Bond F elicited faster blocking of nerve conductance under the conditions of this model. In the context of dentin desensitization with bonding agents, the self-etching primer may be more effective, clinically.     

Is ‘Omega Sign’ anatomical endoscopic enucleation of the prostate technique reproducible?

We aimed to evaluate the learning curve of the surgically standardised ‘Omega Sign’ anatomical endoscopic enucleation (AEEP) of the prostate surgery technique for junior surgeons. This study is a retrospective comparison of cases that underwent AEEP by a mentor surgeon and three junior surgeons who have completed their learning curve. A video-based laser enucleation of the prostate assessment tool (LEAT) composed of 8 steps of the technique was used to assess a senior surgeon and junior surgeons’ surgical compatibility and consistency. The surgeon who defined Omega Sign technique was determined as group 1, and cases by three junior surgeons were identified as group 2. The end points were to assess the reproducibility and repeatability and operative post-operative outcomes of the technique. 55 patients’ videos were rated by five experienced endourologists. There was no significant difference in LEAT scores between the groups among all steps. The most symmetry was found in the 1st and 3rd steps. Inter-rater consistency was also high for each step, with no statistically significant difference between the evaluators. The standardised anatomical ‘Omega Sign’ technique is reproducible for the junior surgeons. The operative steps can be performed with high consistency, and the functional and perioperative outcomes are comparable with the senior surgeon.     

Effect of water extract of Turkish propolis on tuberculosis infection in guinea-pigs.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H(37)R(v))-infected guinea-pig model was used to investigate the effect of water extract of propolis (WEP). After subcutaneous inoculation of tubercle bacilli, each animal received oral WEP (n=9), isoniazid (n=5) or saline (n=6) as placebo and were sacrificed 30 days later. Formation of necrosis was less prominent in the group treated with WEP, but was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The granuloma formation in the same group was more prominent than the placebo and isoniazid groups; however, this finding failed to reach statistical significance by the Kruskal-Wallis test (P>0.05). These findings suggest that Turkish WEP may have a limited effect on the development of tuberculosis infection in this guinea-pig model.     

Factors affecting live birth rate in intrauterine insemination cycles with recombinant gonadotrophin stimulation

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to identify the prognostic factors that influence the outcome of ovarian stimulation with intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles using gonadotrophins in couples with unexplained and mild male-factor subfertility. A total of 838 cycles in 456 women with unexplained and mild male-factor subfertility attending a university-based infertility clinic was evaluated. Of these cycles, 139 resulted in pregnancy (16.6% per cycle) and 96 out of 98 ongoing pregnancies resulted in live term birth. Live birth rate per patient and per cycle was 21.1% and 11.4%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that duration of infertility (P = 0.034), type of infertility (P = 0.003), aetiology of infertility (P = 0.004), number of treatment cycles (P = 0.0001) and number of dominant follicles before human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG; P = 0.024) were significant independent factors to predict clinical pregnancy. The duration of infertility (P = 0.043), number of treatment cycles (P = 0.0001) and number of dominant follicles before HCG (P = 0.024) were significant independent factors to predict live birth. In conclusion, for subfertile couples having shorter duration of subfertility, multifollicular response to gonadotrophins and in their first treatment cycle are more likely to succeed a live birth with IUI treatment using recombinant gonadotrophins.