Inhibitory effect of essential oil on aflatoxin activities

Aflatoxins, which are well-known to be mutagenic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic and immunosuppressive, also inhibit several metabolic systems. Aflatoxins are biologically active secondary metabolites produced by certain strains of Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus nominus and Aspergillus flavus. Many different substances, such as essantial oils, flavanoids, could inhibit theaflatoxin production and growth of Aspergillus. In this study, aflatoxins biosyntesis, aflatoxins damaged and aflatoxins with essential oils interaction are evaluated

New Evidence-Based Treatment Approach in Behçet's Disease

Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic, relapsing, and debilitating systemic vasculitis of unknown aetiology with the clinical features of mucocutaneous lesions, ocular, vascular, articular, neurologic, gastrointestinal, urogenital, and pulmonary involvement. The disease is much more frequent along the ancient “Silk Route” extending from Eastern Asia to the Mediterranean basin, compared with Western countries. The disease usually starts around the third or fourth decade of life. Male sex and a younger age of onset are associated with more severe disease. Although the treatment has become much more effective in recent years, BD is still associated with severe morbidity and considerable mortality. The main aim of the treatment should be the prevention of irreversible organ damage. Therefore, close monitoring, early, and appropriate treatment is mandatory to reduce morbidity and mortality. The treatment is mainly based on the suppression of inflammatory attacks of the disease using immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive agents. In this paper, current state of knowledge regarding the therapeutic approaches is outlined. To provide a rational framework for selecting the appropriate therapy along the various treatment choices, a stepwise, symptom-based, evidence-based algorithmic approach was developed

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection and Woven Coronary Artery: Three Cases and a Review of the Literature

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and woven coronary artery anomaly (WCAA) are relatively rare. A few of the previously reported woven coronary artery cases have involved in a single coronary artery. We present an unusual woven case involving all coronary arteries and two patient with SCAD. We have also reviewed the literature related to these disease, as they resemble one another

Mnogie naczyniaki jamiste rdzenia kręgowego w zespole Klippla-Trenaunaya-Webera

Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome (KTWS) is a rare, congenital vascular disorder characterized by cutaneous haemangiomas, venous varicosities, and hypertrophy of the osseous and soft tissue. Various vascular anomalies of the central nervous system have been described in this syndrome. Two previous associations between KTWS and spinal cord cavernous malformations have been reported in the English literature. In this report, we present a patient in whom multiple cavernous malformations located in the conus medullaris region and cauda equina were associated with KTWS. General physical examination as well as neuroradiological and operative findings are described.Zespół Klippla-Trenaunaya-Webera (ZKTW) to rzadkie, wrodzone schorzenie naczyniowe, w którym stwierdza się naczyniaki skóry, żylaki oraz przerost kości i tkanek miękkich. W przebiegu zespołu obserwowano różnorodne nieprawidłowości naczyniowe ośrodkowego układu nerwowego. W piśmiennictwie anglojęzycznym opisano wcześniej dwukrotnie związek ZKTW z obecnością naczyniaków jamistych rdzenia kręgowego. W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono przypadek pacjenta, u którego w przebiegu ZKTW występowały mnogie naczyniaki jamiste okolicy stożka rdzeniowego i ogona końskiego. Omówiono wyniki badania klinicznego, badań obrazowych i nieprawidłowości stwierdzone w czasie leczenia chirurgicznego

Hayvanın Tehlike Yaratabilecek Şekilde Serbest Bırakılması (TCK m. 177)

Hayvanlar ve insanlar yüzyıllar boyunca birlikte yaşamışlardır. Fakat günümüz modern dünyasında bu birlikteliğe kanunlarla bazı sınırlamalar getirilmiştir. Mevzuat ile gerek insanlardan hayvanlara yönelik gerekse hayvanlardan insanlara yönelik tehlike ya da zarar oluşturan davranışlara yaptırım uygulanması öngörülmüştür. Bu doğrultuda 5237 sayılı TCK (Türk Ceza Kanunu) üçüncü kısım birinci bölüm olan “Genel tehlike yaratan suçlar” başlığı altında m. (madde) 177’de “Hayvanın tehlike yaratabilecek şekilde serbest bırakılması” suç olarak düzenlenmiştir. Suç, fail açısından özellik göstermekte olup özgü suç niteliğindedir. Seçimlik hareketli ve aynı zamanda bağlı hareketli bir suçtur. TCK m. 177’nin gerekçesinde suçun somut tehlike suçu olduğu ifade edilmiş olmakla birlikte suçun soyut tehlike suçu olduğu yönünde görüşler de vardır. Doktrinde suçun konusunun hayvan olduğu görüşü ağır basmaktadır. Suç resen araştırılan bir suçtur. Suçun unsurlarına ilişkin doktrindeki farklı görüşlere çalışmada yer verilmeye çalışılmıştır. Özellikle sahipsiz hayvanlar tarafından meydana getirilen tehlikelerin suçun kapsamına girip girmediği sorusu cevaplanmaya çalışılmıştır. Yine suça ilişkin yol gösterici nitelikte olan çeşitli Yargıtay ve Danıştay kararları da çalışmada incelenmişti

Antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of Viscum album fruit ethanolic extract in human lymphocytes

Polyphenolic compounds are widely distributed in plants and known to be excellent antioxidants in vitro. They have the capacity to reduce free-radical formation by scavenging free-radicals. In this studywe have evaluated the antioxidant and antimutagenic potencies of polyphenolic compounds of Viscum album against trichloroethylene (TCE)-induced oxidative and genotoxic damage. V. album extract (VAE0.5 g/ml) protected human lymphocytes against TCE. In chromosomal aberration (CA) analysis, no significant increase in total aberrations were found after treatment with TCE and all VAE concentrations. The mitotic index (MI) showed significant increase in 0.5 ìg/ml VAE samples whencompared with TCE-treated (2 ìM) group. VAE (0.5 ìg/ml) reduced the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly wherease VAE (1.0 and 2.0 ìg/ml) samples increased MDA concentrations significantly. We have also shown that the various DNA effects of TCE treatment seem to be DNA damages, but not mutations as TCE treated profiles were reverted back to the control like profiles by most probably DNA repair mechanisms in VAE 0.5 g/ml treated group

Is there a difference between normotensive and hypertensive patients in terms of blood parameters and cardiovascular diseases?

Objectives: It has been stated in various studies that there is a difference in some blood parameters between hypertensive and normotensive patients for a long time. Mean platelet volume (MPV), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW), have been studied in hypertensive patient groups in many studies. Hypertension is a classic risk factor for ischemic stroke and myocardial ischemia, as known. In our study, we examined whether there was a difference between hypertensive patient groups and normotensive patients in terms of blood parameters such as MPV and RDW, and the incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction.Methods: Blood samples and twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) results of 552 patients admitted to our outpatient clinic with a pre-diagnosis of hypertension were retrospectively analyzed. According to ABPM results, we divided the study participants into four groups; dippers, non-dippers, extreme dippers, and normotansives. Complete blood count and biochemical test results were found in the database of our hospital for all patients and differences between groups were investigated.Results: One hundred seventy three normotensives (Group 1) (mean age, 47.4 ± 15.4 years), 210 non-dippers (Group 2) (mean age, 53.8 ± 15.8 years), 67 extreme dippers (Group 3) (mean age, 49.1 ± 15.9 years) and 102 dippers (Group 4) (mean age, 52.2 ± 12.5 years). Daytime mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and night-time mean SBP and DBP were significantly different in groups (Group 1: 117 [90-193] mmHg and 71 [55-87] mmHg; Group 2: 137 [107-188] mmHg and 83 [107-188] mmHg; Group 3: 143 [115-193] mmHg and 88 [56-122] mmHg; and Group 4: 140.5 [116-173] mmHg and 76 [55-124] mmHg), p < 0.001; respectively. MPV and RDW levels were different in all four groups (p < 0.001). We found a significant difference in the rates of stroke and coronary artery disease between the four groups (p = 0.018 and p = 0.002, respectively). In the ROC curve analysis MPV had sensitivity of %77. 8 and specificity of 78. 1% for stroke when the cut-off value MPV was 9.25 (Area under curve: 0.808, 95% confidence interval: 0.726-0.889, p < 0.001).Conclusions: In our study, MPV and RDW levels and the rates of stroke and cardiovascular disease were significantly higher in non-dipper patients compared to other groups

Relationship between plasma osmolality and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Aim: Heart failure (HF), a progressive disease, is accompanied by chronic inflammation and changes in osmolality. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) demonstrates a sys- temic inflammatory response in most diseases; however, the relationship between plasma osmolality and the systemic inflammatory response in HF patients is not yet clear. There- fore, we aimed to investigate the possible associations of NLR with plasma osmolality levels in patients with HF. Materials and Methods: The present study included 189 consecutive patients with chronic HF with an ejection fraction (EF) of <40%. They were classified into four groups based on admission plasma osmolality quartiles: hypo-osmolar (first quartile), normo- hypo-osmolar (second quartile), normo-hyperosmolar (third quartile), and hyperosmolar (fourth quartile). We evaluated the relationship between NLR, plasma osmolality, type-B natriuretic peptide (BNP), and the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class. Results: The hyperosmolar group had an increased NLR (p = 0.007). The presence of NYHA class 3–4 functional capacity, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and high osmo- lality were independent predictors of increased NLR. In correlation analysis, osmolality was significantly positively correlated with NLR (r = 0.201, p = 0.011). Conclusion: Higher NLR values may be associated with increased plasma osmolality, which may indicate an increased inflammatory status in the HF phenomenon

Atipik semptomlarla seyreden sol ana koroner arter total tıkanıklığı

Sol ana koroner arter tıkanıklıkları genellikle ölümle sonuçlandığı için koroner anjiyografilerde nadir saptanır. Kliniğimize efor anjinası ve çarpıntı ile başvuran ve 6 ay önce sol ana koroneri tam tıkanıklığına bağlı terleme, baş dönmesi ve bayılma hissi hikayesi olan 55 yaşında erkek bir olguyu sunduk.Left main coronary artery total occlusion is rarely determined by coronary angiography because; it almost always results in death. Here, we report a case of a 55 year old man who was admitted to our clinic with exertional angina and palpitations. He also had a history of dizziness, sweating and faintness six months previously due to total occlusion of the left main coronary artery