Phytocontact dermatitis due to Ranunculus arvensis mimicking burn injury: report of three cases and literature review

Ranunculus arvensis (corn buttercup) is a plant species of the genus Ranunculus that is frequently used in the Far East to treat rheumatic diseases and several dermatological disorders. In Turkey, the plant is seen in the eastern and southeastern Anatolian highlands, which are underdeveloped areas of the country. Herein, we report three patients who used Ranunculus arvensis for the treatment of arthralgia and osteoarthritis. A distinctive phytodermatitis developed on the right thumb in one patient (48-year-old male), on the anterior aspect of both knees in another patient (70-year-old female) and all around both knees in a third (59-year-old female). The patients were treated with topical antibiotics and daily wound dressing, and none of them experienced any complications. Ranunculus arvensis was confirmed as the cause of the phytodermatitis in the three cases. Poultices of plants applied to the skin demonstrate beneficial effects on many dermatological and rheumatic diseases; however, they have several adverse effects that should not be ignored. In this study, we also present a review of 25 cases reported in the literature

Correlation of elevated leptin levels in amniotic fluid and maternal serum in neural tube defects

OBJECTIVE: To measure maternal serum and amniotic fluid leptin concentrations in pregnant women diagnosed antenatally as having fetuses with a neural tube defect in the second trimester

Long-term effects of continuous oral and transdermal estrogen replacement therapy on sex hormone binding globulin and free testosterone levels

Objective: To determine the long-term effects of estrogen replacement therapy on sex hormone binding globuline (SHBG) and free testosterone (fT) levels in surgical postmenopausal women. Study Design: Forty patients with surgical menopause were enrolled in this prospective study. The women were randomly divided into two groups. The first group received oral therapy (continuous conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) - 0.625 mg per day) and the second group received transdermal therapy (patches delivering continuous 17 beta -estradiol (E2) - 0.05 mg per day). Serum SHBG and fT levels were determined at baseline and after first and second years of treatment. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni adjusted post-hoc test and unpaired-t-test were performed for statistical analysis with SPSS program. Results: Serum SHBG levels increased significantly with oral CEE after first year of treatment (P < 0.05) and remained at this level for the next year. Transdermal therapy did not affect SHBG levels after first and second years (P < 0.05). Serum fT levels did not change significantly in either group at the end of the first or second years (P < 0.05) although there was a significant difference between the groups after 2 years (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Oral conjugated estrogens increased SHBG levels during therapy. This effect may balance the increased estrogen and androgen stimulation on breast tissue and may be more beneficial to the cardiovascular system in postmenopausal women. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata by detection of rhizomelic shortening and bilateral cataracts

Antenatal sonographic diagnosis of rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata depends on recognization of the combination of rhizomelic bone shortening and epiphyseal stippling. This is the only report of prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of bilateral cataracts in a fetus with rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (type 1). Also, this is the first report of severe rhizomelic limb shortening, and bilateral cataracts prior to the recognization of epiphyseal stippling. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Twenty two weeks of transdermal estradiol increases sex hormone-binding globulin in surgical menopausal women

Objective: To compare the effects of continuous noncombined transdermal estradiol versus oral conjugated estrogen on serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels prior to and during the 10th and 22nd weeks of therapy in patients with surgical menopause. Study design: Open, comparative trial. Patients were consecutively assigned to three groups: group 1 (n=18) received continuous transdermal estradiol (0.050 mg/day), group 2 (n=18) continuous oral conjugated estrogens (0.625 mg/day), whereas group 3 (n=15) received no treatment. Serum SHBG levels were determined before treatment and after 10 and 22 weeks of treatment. Results: Serum SHBG increased significantly with oral conjugated estrogens at 10 (p0.05). Conclusion: Transdermal estrogen has no effect on SHBG, whereas oral conjugated estrogens causes a considerable increase. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd

EPC 34, Poems / William Shenstone. Image 054

https://repository.wellesley.edu/epc34/1053/thumbnail.jp

Human papillomavirus frequency of women at-low risk of developing cervical cancer: a preliminary study from a Turkish university hospital

Purpose: To investigate the frequency of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among low-risk women for cervical cancer in our region