Choroidal Thickness in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Type Dementia

Aim. To asses both choroidal thickness differences among Alzheimer’s type dementia (ATD) patients, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and healthy control (C) subjects and choroidal thickness relationships with cognitive performance. Methods. A total of 246 eyes of 123 people (41 ATD, 38 MCI, and 44 healthy C subjects) were included in this study. Complete ophthalmological and neurological examination was performed in all subjects. Choroidal thicknesses (CT) were measured at seven locations: the fovea, 500-1500-3000 μm temporal and 500-1500-3000 μm nasal to the fovea by enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Detailed neurological examination including mini mental state examination (MMSE) test which evaluates the cognitive function was applied to all participants. Results. The ages and genders of all participants were similar in all groups. Compared with healthy C subjects, the CT measurements at all regions were significantly thinner both in patients with ATD and in patients with MCI than in healthy C subjects (p<0.05). The MMSE scores were significantly different among ATD patients, MCI patients, and healthy C subjects. They were 19.3±1.8, 24.8±0.9, and 27.6±1.2 in ATD, MCI, and healthy controls, respectively (p<0.001). There were also significant correlation between MMSE score and choroidal thickness at each location (p<0.05). Conclusions. CT was reduced in ATD patients and MCI patients. Since vascular structures were affected in ATD patients and MCI patients, they had thin CT. Besides CT was correlated with degree of cognitive impairment. Therefore CT may be a new biomarker in diagnosis and follow-up of MCI and ATD patients

Cognitive performance of primary open-angle glaucoma and normal-tension glaucoma patients

ABSTRACT Purpose: To assess cognitive performance differences among primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients, normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients, and healthy control (C) subjects. Methods: A total of 60 participants (20 POAG, 20 NTG, and 20 C subjects) were included in this study. A detailed ophthalmologic examination was performed on all participants. A spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system was used to measure the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknesses. To assess the cognitive performance of all participants, detailed neurological examinations, including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), were performed by the same neurologist. Results: There were no significant differences among the groups in terms of age (p =0.348) or gender (p =0.935). The mean RNFL thicknesses were significantly different among the groups (85.2 ± 14.7, 76.8 ± 10.3, and 91.4 ± 7.7 µm in the POAG, NTG, and C subjects, respectively; p <0.001). The mean GC-IPL thicknesses were 77.5 ± 9.7 µm in the POAG group, 73.4 ± 7.8 µm in the NTG group, and 78.8 ± 3.8 µm in the C group. Differences among the groups were not statistically significant (p =0.085). MMSE scores were 26.1 ± 1.4, 25.7 ± 2.3, and 28.8 ± 0.9 in the POAG, NTG, and C groups, respectively. There were significant differences among the three groups (p <0.001). Specifically, there were significant differences between the NTG and C groups (p <0.001), and between the POAG and C groups (p =0.001). There was no significant difference between the POAG and NTG groups (p =0.595). Conclusions: There appear to be similar risk factors in glaucoma and neurodegenerative disorders that cause deterioration in cognitive performance. Comparing the low MMSE scores of the POAG and NTG patients with the scores of healthy C participants supports our hypothesis. Consequently, it is recommended that a neurologist should also examine glaucoma patients

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and high dose chemotherapy in recurrent and/or chemotherapy resistant hodgkin lymphoma cases: A single center experience

Giriş: Standart tedavi alan Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) hastalarının yaklaşık %20’sinde hastalık dirençli seyredebilir veya tekrar edebilir. Tekrar eden/ dirençli HL’da standart tedavi yüksek doz kemoterapi ve takip eden otolog kök hücre naklidir (OKHN). Otolog KHN sonrası tekrar eden hastalarda ise allojeneik kök hücre nakli (AKHN) önemli bir kurtarma tedavisi olarak görülmektedir. Amaç: Medipol Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi çocuk kemik iliği nakil ünitesinde OKHN ve AKHN yapılan hastalarda sonuçları değerlendirmek. Yöntem: Tekrar eden/dirençli HL nedeniyle 2014 Kasım ile Temmuz 2019 tarihleri arasında merkezimizde OKHN yapılan 18 olgu retrospektif olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Otolog KHN sonrası hastalığı tekrar eden ve AKHN yapılan hastalarda ayrıca değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Onaltı hasta halen hayattadır. Onbir hastada OKHN sonrası has talık tekrar etmiştir. Relaps eden hastalardan 10’una AKHN yapılmıştır. Bu hastalardan üçünde tekrar görülmüş olup, sekizi nakil sonrası hayattadır lar.Background: Nearly 20% of patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) who receive standard treatment will relapse or have a refractory disease. Standard treatment for the Relapsed/Refractory (RR) HL is salvage high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (AuSCT). Management of RR HL after AuSCT with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is also considered as an important salvage therapy. Objective: To describe the outcome in pediatric patients with RR HL who underwent AuHSCT and ASCT in Medipol University hematopoietic stem cell transplantation center. Method: We retrospectively evaluated 18 pediatric patients with RR HL who underwent AHSCT between November 2014 and July 2019. The evaluation of ASCT after RR HL AuSCT is also done. Results: Sixteen patients are still alive. Eleven of them relapsed after AuHSCT. AllogeneicHSCT was performed on 10 patients who relapsed. Relapse was seen in three patients after AHSCT. Eight of them are still alive

Alternative test methods for assessing mechanical properties of disposable diapers

It is essential to examine the mechanical properties of disposable diapers that contact the skin and affect the dermatitis of babies and infants. Until now, the KES-F system has been used to determine the mechanical properties of disposable diapers. In this study, alternative methods are used to measure the mechanical properties of disposable diapers. We examined, in both dry and wet conditions, the coefficient of friction (MIU), the mean deviation of coefficient of friction (MMD), and the surface roughness (SMD) obtained from the friction tests, the compressional energy (WC), the compressional resilience (RC), and the linearity of compression curve (LC) obtained from the compression tests, the coefficient of heat transfer (K), and the maximum value of heat flux (q) obtained from the heat transfer tests, and the thickness (T) and the weight (W) obtained from the construction tests. The KES-F system has also been used for compression and friction tests for comparative reason. The contents of leakage performance were tested with wetback, absorption area, absorption capacity and retention capacity tests. After wetting, it appeared that while the MIU, MMD, SMD, and LC values increase, the RC values decrease in both the KES-F system and alternative methods. The results obtained from the KES-F system and the alternative methods demonstrate different characteristics, due to the differences in measurement techniques