Deep spatial profiling of human COVID-19 brains reveals neuroinflammation with distinct microanatomical microglia-T-cell interactions

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Diagnostic value of screening tests in subgroups of women with recurrent pregnancy loss

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of screening laboratory tests in women who had recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).

Methods: A total of 252 women with RPL managed in our tertiary referral research and education hospital were included in the study. Risk factors recorded involved age, gravidity, parity, number of prior live births, number of pregnancy losses, and thrombophlia tests. The cases were divided into three different groups and each group was analyzed separately.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the first and second groups in terms of clinical and laboratory parameters (p?>?0.05). In the third group, there was a statistically significant difference among cases in terms of parity, gravidity, number of pregnancy losses, serum AT III levels, APCR, and age of the women. According to the logistic regression model, odds ratios (95% CI) were 6.116 (3.797–9.852), 5.665 (2.657–12.079), 4.763 (3.099–7.321), 4.729 (3.080–7.260), 2.820 (1.836–4.333), and 1.911 (1.232–2.965), respectively.

Conclusions: We do not recommend the screening of all women with RPL, but in women with high parity and those who had prior live birth pregnancies, increased AT III, and APCR may be diagnostic markers for subsequent pregnancy loss.     

Corrosive Substance Ingestion in Children

Objectives

To evaluate children who ingested corrosive substances, in terms of demographic features, nature of ingested substances, clinical findings, management and complications.

Methods

A total of 1709 cases aged between 0 and 16 y who ingested corrosive substance were analyzed retrospectively by evaluating the medical records of the patients.

Results

The mean age of the cases was 35.23?±?30.65 mo and male:female ratio was 1.45. Forty one percent of corrosive substances causing intoxication contained NaOH. Thirty percent of the families consisted of 5 or more members. Fourteen percent of the mothers were illiterate. Stricture formation was observed in 29 (1.69 %) of the cases during follow-up. In 79.31 % of those cases alkaline substance ingestion was responsible for stricture development. It was found that stricture formation occurred more frequently among cases who were older than 5 y of age and this finding was statistically significant (p?=?0.001).

Conclusions

The cases older than 5 y of age with the diagnosis of grade 2b esophagitis must be followed up closely for the stricture formation. In order to protect children from corrosive ingestion, importance must be given to preventive measures such as education of families, keeping and storing these agents out of the reach of children and providing safety caps for these products.     

The correlation of plasma homocysteine with insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome

AIM: This study aims to investigate the existence of any relationship between homocysteine levels and insulin resistance in Turkish women with polycystic ovary syndrome. METHODS: A case-controlled, cross-sectional, observational study was undertaken in a total of 94 infertile Turkish women who required professional help in the Department of Infertility of Dr Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Research and Education Hospital. The correlation between serum homocysteine with age, body mass index, hormone profile, fasting insulin and glucose concentrations and insulin resistance were examined in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and the results were compared to those of women with normal ovaries, who served as a control group. RESULTS: The mean serum fasting glucose and insulin levels, thus insulin resistance index of women with polycystic ovary syndrome, were significantly higher than those of the control subjects. The mean serum homocysteine levels were significantly higher in women with polycystic ovary syndrome than those in the control group. A positive correlation was detected between the mean homocysteine, the insulin resistance index determined by homeostasis model assessment and the fasting insulin levels in polycystic ovary syndrome patients. CONCLUSIONS: Serum homocysteine levels are elevated in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, and this elevation is associated with the serum insulin level rather than androgen excess. The intense treatment of hyperhomocysteinemia in women with polycystic ovary syndrome might improve reproductive outcome and contribute to protection from cardiovascular risks.     

Ginger (zingiber officinale) might improve female fertility: A rat model

Background

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a well known and extensively used antioxidant in traditional remedies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ginger powder on ovarian folliculogenesis and implantation in rats.

The presence of clinical signs in malnourished infants with acute lower respiratory tract infections

OBJECTIVES:

To determine the reliability of respiratory rate and subcostal retractions in diagnosing acute lower respiratory tract infection in malnourished children.

METHODS:

One hundred forty-three children with acute lower respiratory tract infection were classified according to the Gomez classification as normal, mildly, moderately or severely malnourished. The presence of tachypnea, subcostal retractions and the sensitivity of either sign in identifying children with a clinical and radiological diagnosis of acute lower respiratory tract infection in each of the nutritional categories were evaluated and compared.

RESULTS:

According to the Gomez classification, 21 (15%) of 143 subjects were severely malnourished, 40 (28%) were moderately malnourished, 38 (26%) were mildly malnourished and 44 (31%) were well nourished. The mean respiratory rates in subjects with normal nutrition and in mildly, moderately and severely malnourished subjects were 62.6±9.38 breaths/min, 61.3±5.57 breaths/min, 57.6±11.65 breaths/min and 49.9±9.04 breaths/min, respectively. The mean respiratory rate of those with normal nutrition was not significantly different from that of those with mild malnutrition (P>0.05), but there was a statistically significant difference between the normal subjects and both the moderately malnourished (P=0.03) and severely malnourished (P<0.001) subjects. Subcostal retraction was observed in 78% of total children, which represents 41 (93%) subjects with normal nutrition, 34 (89%) mildly malnourished subjects, 30 (75%) moderately malnourished subjects and 10 (47%) severely malnourished subjects.There was no statistically significant difference between the frequencies of subcostal retractions observed in children with normal nutrition and mildly malnourished children (P>0.05), but subcostal retraction frequencies were significantly lower both in moderately (P=0.03) and severely (P<0.001) malnourished children. Tachypnea frequency was also found to be significantly lower in moderately (P=0.04) and severely (P=0.03) malnourished children compared with the normal group. As a consequence, the sensitivity of the presence of both of these signs was found to be lower in these two groups. The coexistence rates of both findings were 95% for the patients with normal nutrition and 47% for the severely malnourished patients.

CONCLUSIONS:

The current World Health Organization algorithm must be supported with other signs for the diagnosis of acute lower respiratory tract infection, especially in severely mal-nourished children.     

Discovering the "anatomy" in students' mind through metaphors

Purpose  

This study aims to obtain clues about the beliefs of medical students on learning anatomy through metaphor analysis which has not been used in this field before.