The factors affecting morbidity and mortality in low birth-weight infants

jective: To investigate the frequency of short term morbidity and mortality and the factors affecting them for the infants born with low birth-weight at our hospitalMethods: At our hospital, 195 infants born with low birthweight within a period of 18 months were identified and 150 infants born with normal birth-weights were selected as the control group. Results: Within the mentioned period of time, 4.4% (n=168) of the infants born in our hospital had low birthweight, 0.7% (n=27) had very low birth-weight (VLBW). Multiple pregnancies and asphyxiating birth rates were significantly high in these infants as compared to the control group. (p=0.029, p=0.011, respectively). For VLBW infants, the rates of asphyxiating birth (OR=14.2, 95% CI (6.6-30.7, p<0.001), hospitalization at the neonatal intensive care unit (OR=34.8, 95% CI (4.7-256.3, p<0,001) and diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome (OR=11.5, 95% CI (4-33.5, p<0.001) were significantly high. In all infants, the transient metabolic disorders were identified at a significantly high rate (p=0.045). The birth-weight and gestational age of infants were inversely correlated with their fetal and neonatal mortalities (for all p<0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the most important factor affecting infants was multiple pregnancies. The birth-weight and gestational age of infants were inversely correlated with their morbidity and mortality rates.Key words: Low birth weight, perinatal risk factors, morbidity, mortalit

Potentiation of cytotoxicity by combination of imatinib and chlorimipramine in glioma.

Rat C6 glioma is a chemo-resistant experimental brain tumor that is difficult to treat with various drug combinations. Previous studies suggested that imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) is effective in pre-clinical trials for glioblastoma. Also, chlorimipramine (Anafranil) is an anti-depressant drug in use in the clinic and shown to have anti-neoplastic activity. We hypothesized that treatment of resistant C6 glioma with combination of imatinib and chlorimipramine may potentiate cytotoxicity and reverse resistance. C6 glioma was examined both as monolayer and as spheroid cultures. Several experimental designs were examined all of which showed synergistic activity albeit at different time kinetics. Combination treatment resulted in inhibition of cell growth and enhanced cell death as determined by dye exclusion. Further, the combination treatment resulted in significant induction of apoptosis as determined by Annexin V-FITC and PI. Also, there was inhibition of DNA synthesis and cAMP. Altogether, these findings supported the antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects of the combination treatment. Morphological studies were also performed using transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Significant synergistic apoptosis was detected by the combination treatment in both the monolayers and spheroid cultures. There was also a synergistic effect in autophagy by the combination. Several altered morphological features were noted by both the individual compound and enhanced by the combination treatment. The present findings support our hypothesis and demonstrate the potentiation of cytotoxicity by the com-bination of imatinib and chlorimipramine in C6 glioma. Further, the findings suggest the potential clinical application of the combination in the treatment of drug-resistant glioma

Decreased therapeutic effects of noscapine combined with imatinib mesylate on human glioblastoma in vitro and the effect of midkine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glioblastoma (GBM) develops resistance to the advances in chemotherapy leading to poor prognosis and life quality. Consequently, new treatment modalities are needed. Our aims were to investigate the effects of combined noscapine (NOS) and imatinib mesylate (IM) on human GBM <it>in vitro </it>and the role of midkine (MK) in this new combination treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Monolayer and spheroid cultures of T98G human GBM cell line were used to evaluate the effects of IM (10 μM), Nos (10 μM) and their combination on cell proliferation and apoptotic indexes, cell cycle, the levels of antiapoptotic MK, MRP-1, p170, PFGFR-α, EGFR, bcl-2 proteins, apoptotic caspase-3 levels, morphology (SEM) and ultrastructure (TEM) for 72 hrs. Results were statistically analyzed using the Student's t-test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The combination group induced highest decrease in cell proliferation and apoptotic indexes, caspase-3 levels, MRP-1 and PDGFR-α levels. The decrease in p170 levels were lower than IM but higher that NOS. The highest increases were in EGFR, MK, bcl-2 and cAMP levels in the combination group. The G0+G1 cell cycle arrest at the end of 72^ndhr was the lowest in the combination group. Apoptotic appearence was observed rarely both in the morphologic and ultrastructural evaluation of the combination group. In addition, autophagic vacuoles which were frequently observed in the IM group were observed rarely.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The combination of Nos with IM showed antagonist effect in T98G human GBM cells in vitro. This antagonist effect was correlated highly with MK levels. The effects of NOS on MRP-1, MK and receptor tyrosine kinase levels were firstly demonstrated in our report. In addition, we proposed that MK is one of the modulator in the switch of autophagy to cell death or survival/resistance.</p

Combination of imatinib mesylate with lithium chloride and medroxyprogesterone acetate is highly active in Ishikawa endometrial carcinoma in vitro

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate whether lithium chloride and medroxyprogesterone acetate can potentiate the cytotoxicity of imatinib mesylate in human endometrial cancer in vitro and the effect of midkine in these therapies

Evaluation of Light-Emitting Diode (LED-660 Nm) Application over Primary Osteoblast-Like Cells on Titanium Surfaces: An In Vitro Study

Background: The goal of this study was to evaluate the behavior of neonatal rat calvarial osteoblast-like cells cultured on different implant surfaces and exposed once or three times to a 660-nm light-emitting diode (LED)

The effects of Covid-19 on physical medicine and rehabilitation in Turkey in the first month of pandemic

Objectives: The outbreak of novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) has affected Turkey very seriously, as well as all around the world. Many urgent and radical measures were taken due to the high contagious risk and mortality rate of the outbreak. It is noteworthy that isolation recommendations and the provision of health services for pandemic have a negative impact on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) services. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the PMR services and physiatrists immediately after the first month of pandemic in Turkey. Patients and methods: An online survey consisting of 45 items was sent to the members of the Turkish Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The main goal of the survey was to evaluate the changes in the provided service of PMR and conditions of physiatrists one month after the first reported COVID-19 case in Turkey. Results: A total of 606 PMR specialists and residents responded to the survey. The mean number of the patients visited the outpatient clinics was 148.2 +/- 128.5 per week before the pandemic, it significantly decreased to 23.4 +/- 33.1 per week after the first month of the reported first COVID-19 case. Similarly, the mean number of the patients of inpatient service significantly decreased from 21.7 +/- 39.3 per week to 2.5 +/- 10.0 per week after the first month of the pandemic. Most of the residents (69%) reported that their training was seriously affected due to pandemic. From the economic aspect, 69.2% of the participants who were working at private hospitals reported a decrease in their monthly salary, and 21% of them were sent to an unpaid vacation. A total of 21.9% of private-practice institutions paused their services. During the first month, 46.9% of the participants were assigned to the different services such as COVID-19 inpatient service, emergency or COVID-19 outpatient clinics. According to the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Health guideline and algorithm, 15.7% of the physicians were in the category of healthcare workers with suspected COVID-19. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic affected seriously both the services and the PMR physicians as early as the first month. This effect is expected to become worse, when the duration of pandemic prolongs. Proper arrangements and measures should be planned to ameliorate the negative effects of the pandemic on the patients and PMR physicians