Deaf athlete: is there any difference beyond the hearing loss?

Regular physical activity and sport is important for enhanced physical fitness and skill performance of deaf athletes. However there are few data in the literature about their medical considerations. In this study we aimed to determine the morphological findings and cardiac status of the deaf athletes and compare them with the normal ones. Thirty deaf and twenty-two normal male athletes without cardiovascular diseases participated in the study. Transthoracic echocardiography and exercise stress testing were performed. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI)-derived myocardial performance index (MPI) was also evaluated. VO2 max and heart rate recovery were calculated after exercise stress testing. Total cholesterol, LDL and trigliseride levels were significantly increased in the deaf athletes, but they were still found to be in normal ranges according to age and risk factor profile (p< 0.05). End-diastolic diameter and left ventricular mass index were found to be significantly increased in the controls when compared with the deaf athletes (p< 0.001). Heart rate recovery at 1 minute did not show any difference in the deaf group when compared with the control group (p> 0.05). MPI calculated from TDI-derived variables was found to be 0.41±0.073 in the deaf group and 0.46±0.061 in the controls respectively and significantly decreased in the deaf (p < 0.05). Beyond having a hearing loss, the deaf athletes have many cardiac structural and functional differences from their normal counterparts. The factors that give rise to these differences have to be revealed by further research

Liver histology according to the presence of metabolic syndrome in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease cases

AIM: To investigate the histologic features of the liver in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cases according to the presence of metabolic syndrome or its individual components. METHODS: We enrolled 81 patients (40 male, 41 female) who were diagnosed with fatty liver by ultrasonographic scan and fulfilled the inclusion criteria. First anamnesis, anthropometric, clinical, laboratory and imaging features of all participants were recorded and then liver biopsy was performed after gaining consent from patients. Diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was dependent on patients having 3 or more out of 5 risk criteria defined by the WHO. Biopsy specimens were assessed according to Brunt et al's classification. RESULTS: Sixty-nine of the 81 patients had nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), 11 had simple fatty liver and 1 had cirrhosis according to histologic evaluation. Comparisons were made between two groups of NASH patients, those with and without metabolic syndrome. We did not detect statistically significant differences in liver histology between NASH patients with and without metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: NASH can progress without metabolic risk factors or the presence of metabolic syndrome

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis with normal aminotransferase values

AIM: To investigate the aspects of liver histology in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) who had normal aminotransferase levels

Liver histology according to the presence of metabolic syndrome in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease cases

AIM: To investigate the histologic features of the liver in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cases according to the presence of metabolic syndrome or its individual components

Effects of Body Mass Index, Infrapatellar Fat Pad Volume and Age on Patellar Cartilage Defect

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between patellar cartilage defects and body mass index (BMI), infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) volume and age. METHODS: 100 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were aged 18 to 60, were evaluated retrospectively. The BMI’s of the participants were evaluated according to their weight and height. For detecting and measuring patellar cartilage defects, axial sequences were used and sagittal sequences for were used to evaluate IPFP volumes in MRI. RESULTS: 40 patients were found to have patellar cartilage defects. In this group, age and BMI were higher in both sexes when compared with the controls (P<0.05). The IPFP volume was lower in the group with the patellar cartilage defect when compared with the control group (P<0.05). The IPFP volume was statistically significantly lower in women (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Patellar cartilage defects were found to be related to age and BMI. In women, the decrease in IPFP volume seems to be one of the causative factors for patellar cartilage defects. The effect of IPFP volume on articular cartilage in healthy people is unknown. Further studies focusing on patellofemoral cartilage damage are needed to reveal this association

Evaluation of The Seroprevalence of H1N1 IgG Antibodies Between Healthcare Workers and Outpatients

Amaç: Pandemik influenza döneminde sağlık çalışanlarında H1N1 influenza virüsü IgG antikor sıklığının H1N1 döneminde üst solunum yolu semptomları ile müracat eden ve olası pandemik H1N1 enfeksiyonu olan poliklinik hastaları ile karşılaştırılması idi.Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmaya 53 sağlık personeli [ 15 doktor (, 16 hemşire , 22 yardımcı sağlık personeli ile 29 poliklinik hastası olmak üzere influenza A (H1N1) aşısı uygulanmamış 82 kişi dahil edildi. Sağlık çalışanlarında ve poliklinik hastalarında influenzaya yönelik semptomların varlığı sorgulandı. Sağlık personeli ve hasta grubunda H1N1 IgG antikor düzeyleri ELISA yöntemiyle belirlendi. İstatistiksel analizler SPSS programında yapıldı. p<0,05 için sonuçlar istatistiksel olarak anlamlı kabul edildi. Bulgular: Sağlık çalışanlarında ve poliklinik hastalarında H1N1 IgG antikor pozitiflik oranları sırasıyla; %43.3 ve %6.9 idi. H1N1 IgG antikor pozitifliği açısından cinsiyete ve yaş ortalaması açısından anlamlı farklılık saptanmadı ( p değerleri sırasıyla cinsiyet için p: 0.87, yaş ortalaması için p: 0.657) H1N1 IgG antikor pozitifliği açısından sağlık personeli ile poliklinik hastaları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık vardı ( p< 0.001). Sağlık çalışanlarında H1N1 IgG antikor poizitifliği oranı poliklinik hastalarından daha yüksekti. Sağlık çalışanları kendi arasında karşılaştırıldığında H1N1 IgG antikor pozitifliği açısından farklılık saptandı. Doktorlarda H1N1 IgG antikor pozitifliği oranı, hemşire ve sağlık personelinden daha yüksekti. Sonuç: Sağlık çalışanlarında pandemik influenza döneminde H1N1 ile karşılaşma sıklığı ve antikor pozitifliği oranı, influenza ile uyumlu üst solunum yolu semptomları olan poliklinik hastalarından daha yüksekti. Sağlık çalışanları influenza enfeksiyonu açısından risk grubundadır bu nedenle sağlık çalışanları aşılama konusunda eğitim verilerek teşvik edilmelidir.Aim: The aim of the present study was to compare the seroprevalence of pandemic H1N1 IgG antibodies between health care workers and patients presenting with upper airway symptoms suggestive of H1N1 influenza infection who are admitted to the outpatient clinics during pandemic H1N1 influenza infection.Material and Methods: The present study comprised 82 subjects unvaccinated with influenza A (H1N1) vaccination, including 53 health care workers (33 females, 20 males, 15 doctors; median age: 38 years), 16 nurses (median age: 26.5 years), 22 auxiliary health care workers (median age: 32 years), and 29 outpatients (14 females, 15 males; median age: 38 years). The presence of symptoms suggestive of pandemic influenza infection was questioned in the health care providers and outpatients. Serum H1N1 IgG antibody levels were determined in the health care workers and outpatients using the ELISA method. The statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software package. ANOVA (analysis of variance) was used to evaluate the significance of difference between the groups, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to evaluate the significance of difference in terms of median values. The nominal variables were analyzed using Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. A p value of &lt; 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The seroprevalence of H1N1 IgG antibody positivity for health care workers and outpatients were %43.3 and %6.9, respectively. H1N1 IgG antibody seropositivity did not show a significant relation with gender and mean age (p=0.87 and p=0.657, respectively). There was a statistically significant difference between health care workers and outpatients in terms of H1N1 IgG antibody seropositivity (p&lt;0.001). The prevalence of H1N1 IgG antibody seropositivity was significantly higher in health care providers compared to outpatients. The intra-group comparison of health care workers shows a significant difference in terms of H1N1 IgG antibody positivity. The prevalence of H1N1 IgG antibody positivity among the doctors was higher compared to nurses and auxiliary health care workers (p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: Exposure to the H1N1 virus and the prevalence of the H1N1 antibody positivity among health care workers during pandemic influenza infection was higher compared to outpatients presenting with upper airway symptoms suggestive of an influenza infection. Therefore, health care workers who are at risk of acquiring influenza influenza infection encouraged through training about immunization