Transgelin gene is frequently downregulated by promoter DNA hypermethylation in breast cancer

Tables not included in the main manuscript have been listed. Table S1. Number of probe sets affected by AZA treatment; Table S2. Comparison of significantly altered probe sets with the independent study GSE20713 Dataset; Table S3. Cancer vs. normal analysis of TAGLN mRNA in Oncomine database. (PDF 18 kb

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Mental health screening and increased risk for anxiety and depression among treatment-seeking smokers

Background The aim of this study was to compare the risk for mental health disorders between smokers and non-smokers and to assess the risk for depression and anxiety according to addiction severity. Methods This cross-sectional study assesses the mental health status and relationship with the severity of nicotine addiction in a sample of smokers admitted to Pamukkale University Hospital Smoking Cessation Clinic (n = 101) from 1 June 2012 to 31 August 2012 compared to a group of non-smokers from the general population (n = 101). We conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews to collect sociodemographic data; we assessed the participants’ mental health status with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and we measured nicotine addiction severity with the Fagerström Test. Results The risk for mental illness reported by smokers based on the GHQ-12 was significantly higher than that for non-smokers (p = 0.001). The anxiety and depression scores according to HADS were higher among smokers (16.8% and 22.8%, respectively) than non-smokers (4.0% and 5.0%, respectively) (p = 0.006 and p = 0.001, respectively). The nicotine addiction severity was higher in smokers with higher anxiety and depression scores (p = 0.008). Conclusions We found high scores for mental illness in treatment-seeking smokers compared with non-smokers. The risk for anxiety and depression was higher among smokers. Increased nicotine addiction severity was associated with increased risk for mental illness and increased scores of anxiety and depression

Analysis of CC chemokine receptor 5 and 2 polymorphisms and renal transplant survival

Chronic rejection is an immune process leading to graft failure. By regulating the trafficking of leukocytes, chemokines and chemokine receptors are thought to be one of the reasons causing acute renal rejection (ARE), which increases the possibility of chronic rejection and organ destruction. This study was designed to investigate, in the Turkish population, an association of chemokine receptor genetic variants, CCR2V641, CCR5-59029-A/G, CCR5-A32 and acute renal rejection after renal transplant surgery. We carried out our study in 85 Turkish renal transplant patients (45 men, 40 women; mean age 39 2 years) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. We found no significant difference in the incidence of rejection among patients possessing or lacking CCR5-A32. For the groups with and without acute renal rejection, we found a significant difference between the groups in A and G allele distribution in both CCR2V641 and CCR559029 gene variants (p = 0.003 and p = 0.003, respectively). According to our findings, the risk of acute rejection in renal transplantation may be associated with genetic variation in the chemokine receptor genes CCR559029 and CCR2V641 in Turkey, and studies on these gene polymorphisms could be an ideal target for future interventions intended to prevent renal transplant loss. Copyright (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Effects of ACE I/D polymorphism on prostate cancer risk, tumor grade and metastatis

The aim was to substantiate the putative significance of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) (insertion/deletion) I/D polymorphism on prostate cancer risk, BTPSA-ATPSA (before treatment-after treatment prostate-specific antigen) levels and tumor development. Materials and Methods: 48 prostate cancer patients and 51 healthy volunteers were included. The ACE I/D genotypes were determined by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) techniques. Results: The DD genotype may have detrimental and the II genotype may have protective effect on prostate cancer (p=0.03). The highest before treatment PSA (BTPSA) values were found in the patient group having the DD genotype (p=0.017). PSA-AT levels were higher in homozygous mutant DD than homozygous II and the decrease in PSA-AT level was found to be statistically significant in each genotype (p=0.000). Patients with the D allele showed a higher prevalence of late stage prostate carcinoma when compared to the patients with II genotype (p=0.022) and the detrimental effects of the D allele, both in lymph node metastases and distant metastasis were observed. Conclusion: The risk of prostate cancer development, the PSA level and tumor metastasis may be associated with genetic variation in the ACE AID genotypes which may be used as an important biomarker for further studies

Fas-1377 A/G polymorphism in lung cancer

Background: Reduced expression of Fas and/or increased expression of FasL is known to exist in some cancer types including lung cancer, so the Fas/FasL system may play a role in the course of cancer. Lack of cell surface Fas expression is one of the main routes of apoptotic resistance in tumor formation and progression. Functional mutations in the Fas gene that impair apoptotic signal transduction are associated with susceptibility to various types of cancer. In this study, we focused on lung cancer. Patients and Methods: The genotypic tendencies that may occur due to a specific point mutation (Fas-1377 G -> A) on promoter region for Fas were evaluated. Results: We did not find any relationship between Fas-1377 G -> A polymorphism and lung cancer. But there was a significantly higher number of A G patients who smoked than GG ones. Conclusion: There was no relationship between Fas-1377 G-A polymorphism and lung cancer, but it was statistically significant that smoking might increase the possibility of creating lung cancer in AG genotypes more than in other genotypes

Is Nasal Septum-Tragus Length Measurement Appropriate for Endotracheal Tube Intubation Depth in Neonates? A Randomized Controlled Study

Objective Endotracheal intubation is a frequent procedure performed in neonates with respiratory distress. Clinicians use different methods to estimate the intubation insertion depth, but, unfortunately, the improper insertion results are very high. In this study, we aimed to compare the two different methods (Tochen's formula=weight in kilograms+6cm; and nasal septum-tragus length [NTL]+1cm) used to determine the endotracheal tube (ETT) insertion depth. Study Design Infants who had intubation indications were enrolled in this study. The intubation tube was fixed using the Tochen formula (Tochen group) or the NTL+1cm formula (NTL group). After intubation, the chest radiograph was evaluated (above T1, proper place, and below T2). Results A total of 167 infants (22-42 weeks of gestational age) were included in the study. The proper tube placement rate in both groups was similar (32.4 vs. 30.4% for infants34 weeks of gestational age and 56.8 vs. 45.0% in infants>34 weeks of gestational age). The ETT was frequently placed below T2 at a higher rate in infants with a gestational age of 34 weeks, especially in the NTL group (46% in the Tochen group and 60.7% in the NTL group). Conclusion The NTL+1cm formula led to a higher rate of ETT placement below T2, especially in infants with a birth weight of 1,500g. Therefore, more studies are needed to determine the optimal ETT insertion depth

C677T gene polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) in meningiomas and high-grade gliomas.

Background: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) plays a role in DNA biosynthesis, methylation and repair in actively dividing cells by acting on folate metabolism. A common C677T polymorphism in the gene for MTHFR leads to an enzyme with decreased activity. MTHFR polymorphisms have been studied in various cancers but not in primary brain tumors. The purpose of this case-control study was to explore a possible association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and primary brain tumors. Materials and Methods: The MTHFR C677T genotype was determined in 74 patients with histologically-verifred primary brain tumors and 98 cancer free control subjects. Results: The MTHFR 677T variant genotype was observed in 49% of cases and 46% of controls. Although the difference was not significant (p=0.194), the homozygous TT genotype was found at a higher frequency in high-grade glioma (HGG) patients compared to controls (15.4% and 7.1%, respectively). The MTHFR genotype was not associated with meningioma patients. Defining patients with the CC genotype as reference, the relative risk of HGG for subjects with the T allele (CT+TT genotype) was 1.17. Conclusion: In spite of the established effect of the MTHFR 677 TT genotype on DNA hypomethylation with concomitant inadequate folate levels, the MTHFR 677 TT genotype is not associated with individual susceptibility to HGG