Evaluation of total oxidant status, total antioxidant capacity and oxidative stress levels in humor aqueous of diabetic cataract patients

Purpose: Diabetic retinopathy (DRP) is one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus and various studies have demonstrated the role of increased oxidative stress due to hyperglycemia in its pathophysiology. There are few studies in the literature examining total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant status (TOS) in humor aqueous, and we were unable to find any, which measured oxidative stress index (OSI). The aim of this study was to investigate whether TAC, TOS, and OSI in the aqueous humor changed according to DRP stage. Materials and Methods: This prospective study included a total of 86 cataract patients: 31 healthy patients with senile cataract (Group 1), 19 diabetic patients without DRP (Group 2), 17 patients with nonproliferative DRP (Group 3), and 19 patients with proliferative DRP (Group 4). Aqueous humor samples were obtained prior to cataract surgery. TAC, TOS, and OSI levels were measured spectrophotometrically and compared between the groups. Results: The analysis of TAC levels revealed that TAC levels were significantly higher in the control group (Group 1) compared to DRP patients (Group 3 and 4, p=0.042 and p=0.02, respectively), while TOS and OSI levels were lower in Group 1 compared to all diabetic groups (Group 2, 3, and 4) (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings of increased TOS and OSI and decreased TAC levels in diabetic patients support the belief that oxidative stress might be an important etiologic factor in DRP. Increased oxidative stress may be a potential therapeutic target in the prevention and management of DRP. © 2020 Gazi Eye Foundation. All rights reserved

Exploring educational inequalities in hypertension control, salt knowledge and awareness, and patient advice : insights from the WHO STEPS surveys of adults from nine Eastern European and Central Asian countries

Objective: To inform strategies aimed at improving blood pressure (BP) control and reducing salt intake, we assessed educational inequalities in high blood pressure (HBP) awareness, treatment and control; physician’s advice on salt reduction; and salt knowledge, perceptions and consumption behaviours in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Design: Data were collected in cross-sectional, population-based nationally representative surveys, using a multi-stage clustered sampling design. Five HBP awareness, treatment and control categories were created from measured BP and hypertension medication use. Education and other variables were self-reported. Weighted multinomial mixed-effects regression models, adjusted for confounders, were used to assess differences across education categories. Settings: Nine Eastern European and Central Asian countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan). Participants: Nationally representative samples of 30 455 adults aged 25–65 years. Results: HBP awareness, treatment and control varied substantially by education. The coverage of physician’s advice on salt was less frequent among participants with lower education, and those with untreated HBP or unaware of their HBP. The education gradient was evident in salt knowledge and perceptions of salt intake but not in salt consumption behaviours. Improved salt knowledge and perceptions were more prevalent among participants who received physician’s advice on salt reduction. Conclusions: There is a strong education gradient in HBP awareness, treatment and control as well as salt knowledge and perceived intake. Enhancements in public and patient knowledge and awareness of HBP and its risk factors targeting socio-economically disadvantaged groups are urgently needed to alleviate the growing HBP burden in low- and middle-income countries

Country activities of Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD): focus presentations at the 11th GARD General Meeting, Brussels

© Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.The Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) is a voluntary network of national and international organizations, institutions and agencies led by the World Health Organization (WHO), working towards the vision of a world where all people breathe freely (1). GARD is supporting WHO in successfully implementing the WHO’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) 2013–2020. The GARD report on GARD activities is published on a regular basis. Collaboration among GARD countries is critical for sharing experiences and providing technical assistance to developing countries based on each country’s needs (2). The annual GARD meeting is a unique opportunity for assembling all of the GARD participants from developed and developing countries: European countries, North and South American Countries, China, Vietnam as well as Eastern Mediterranean, and African countries. Coordinator for Management of NCDs in the WHO Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention (Cherian Varghese) is present at this meeting. The annual meeting of GARD is a forum for exchanging opinions in order to improve care for chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and to achieve the GARD goal—a world where all people breathe freely. Experts—in collaboration with WHO—are helping developing countries to achieve their projects regarding teaching, research and programming for CRD. Each year, there is a poster presentation session on country activities. Each participant is able to present his/her country activities that have been achieved since the last meeting. This is followed by discussion. In this paper, we summarize the posters presented during the 11th GARD general meeting. We hope that this will give readers of the GARD section an opportunity to learn for their countries. We can find all posters on the link: https://gard-breathefreely.org/resources-poster/.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Surviving through tactics : ǂthe ǂeveryday life of Syrian refugees in Turkey

The Syrian civil war and related migration affected Turkish border cities such as Antakya, Şanlıurfa, Mardin, Gaziantep, and Kilis. In this study, we explore the tactics and strategies developed by Syrian asylum seekers in order to cope with the prejudices and negative perceptions about Syrians commonly shared by locals. The findings of our research are drawn from the in-depth interviews we conduc-ted with more than one hundred refugees, locals, and staff members of different NGOs. Our arguments and conclusions in this article are also the result of obser-vations made during several research trips and a thorough examination of news about refugees in local and national media. Our field research lasted from August 2014 to February 2015, but the substantial part of this study was conducted bet-ween January and February 2015.Sirska državljanska vojna in z njo povezane migracije so prizadele turška ob-mejna mesta, med njimi Antakyo, Sanliurfo, Mardin, Gaziantep in Kilis. V študiji raziskujemo taktike in strategije, ki so jih razvili sirski prosilci za azil, da bi se lahko spopadli s predsodki in negativnimi predstavami o Sircih, ki so splošno prisotni med lokalnim prebivalstvom. Ugotovitve naše raziskave izhajajo iz poglobljenih intervjujev, ki smo jih izvedli z več kot sto begunci, domačini in uslužbenci raz-ličnih nevladnih organizacij. Utemeljitve in sklepi, podani v tem članku, so tudi rezultat opazovanj med več raziskovalnimi potovanji in temeljitega pregleda novic o beguncih, objavljenih v lokalnih in državnih medijih. Čeprav je naša terenska raziskava trajala od avgusta 2014 do februarja 2015, je bil večji del te študije opravljen med januarjem in februarjem 2015

Boston Adlandırma Testi’nin Türk Yaşlı Örneklemi için Uyarlama ve Norm Belirleme Çalışması

Introduction: The main purpose of this research is develop the Turkish version of the BNT long form (consist of 60 items) [BNT-60 (TR)] and to determine the normative data for Turkish healthy geriatric population. BNT is a neuropsychological test which was widely used to measure naming disorders associated with a variety of neuropathological events. This research consists of two stages. In the stage of pilot study, adaptation of test was completed and BNT-60 (TR) version was developed; and in the stage of normative study, normative data was collected and norm determination was completed. Methods: Ninety healthy and volunteer elderly were participated in pilot study and 317 were in normative study. Three screening tests called Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were administered for participant selection. BNT-60 (TR) was applied to participants who meet the inclusion criteria. Results: According to 5 (age) x 2 (gender) x 3 (education) factorial ANOVA results, main effects of age and education level on BNT-60 (TR) total score were found statistically significant. Then according to MANOVA results, main effects of age and education level on BNT-60 (TR) sub-scores were found statistically significant. On the other hand, main effect of gender was not significant on BNT-60 (TR) scores. The age and BNT-60 (TR) total score were negatively correlated. This results consistent with other normative studies of BNT in the literature. Conclusion: Finally, BNT-60 (TR) is adopted for Turkish culture, determined normative data and a test which is evaluating naming ability of the older adults was put into use.WoSTr-Dizi

Corneal Collagen Crosslinking Treatment in a Case with Pneumococcal Keratitis

Bacterial keratitis is a serious ocular infectious disease that can threaten vision. The disease generally progresses rapidly and can lead to corneal scar, stromal abscess formation, perforation, and dissemination to adjacent tissues if not treated properly. Recent studies showed that corneal collagen crosslinking (CCC) using ultraviolet-A/riboflavin is effective in the treatment of bacterial keratitis refractory to topical antibiotic treatment. In addition to being bactericidal, CCC also decreases risk of perforation by strengthening the corneal collagen structure. Herein, we report a male patient with Streptococcus pneumonia keratitis 6 months after a keratoplasty procedure, which did not respond to fortified topical antibiotic therapy and was treated successfully with riboflavin/ultraviolet-A CCC. His pain decreased remarkably in a few days. The corneal epithelial defect healed and infiltration regressed within 2 weeks after CCC. His vision improved significantly from hand movement to 20/400. CCC might be used as adjuvant treatment in bacterial keratitis refractory to medical treatment

Topikal proparakain suistimaline bağlı gelişen toksik keratopati

Gözde ağrı, yanma, batma ve yaşarma şikayetleri ile başvuran kırk iki yaşındaki erkek olguda kornea santralinde epitel defekti, stromal ülserasyon ve korneal ödem saptandı. Sanayide kaynak işi yapan ve şikayetlerinin 40 gündür mevcut olduğunu ifade eden olgunun ısrarlı sorgulanması sonucunda proparakainin topikal formunu kullandığı öğrenildi. Özellikle sanayi, inşaat gibi kornea yaralanması oranı yüksek olan meslek gruplarında proparakain suistimali daha sık görülmektedir. Bu nedenle, kornea epitel defekti, epitel iyileşmesinde gecikme, stromal erime, şiddetli ağrı ve görme keskinliğinde azalma görülen özellikle bu meslek gruplarındaki hastalarda propakain suistimali akla getirilmelidi

Isparta İlinde Ambalajsız Dondurmaların Kalite Düzeylerinin Belirlenmesi

Bu çalışmada Isparta ilinde açıkta satışa sunulan sade dondurma örneklerinin mikrobiyolojik ve kimyasal kalite düzeyleri araştırılmıştır. Bu araştırma 22 ayrı satış noktasından alınan örneklerle 3 tekerrürlü olarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Dondurma örneklerinde mezofilik bakteri, koliform grubu bakteri, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus ve Pseudomonas spp. sayımları ile pH, yağ ve kurumadde analizleri yapılmıştır. Dondurma örneklerinde %19,75'inin Türk Gıda Kodeksinde belirtilen mikrobiyolojik kriterlere uygun olduğu, % 81,25'inin ise uygun olmadığı belirlenmiştir. Koliform grubu bakteri sayısının yüksek olmasının yanı sıra (log 4-5), bazı örneklerde sırası ile ortalama 4,16- 5,18 log kob/ml ve 4,41- 4,18 log kob/ml arasında değişen sayıda Salmonella spp., ve S. aureus tespit edilmiştir. Dondurma örneklerinin kurumadde oranları % 34-37 arasında değişmekle birlikte yağ oranlarının dondurma tebliğinde belirtilen değerlerden çok düşük olduğu belirlenmiştir. Yapılan çalışma ile, Isparta ilinde ambalajsız satılan dondurma örneklerinin mikrobiyolojik kalitelerinin yetersiz olduğu, hijyen kriterlerinin istenilen düzeyde olmadığı tespit edilmiştir

Bilateral Adie’s Tonic Pupil

A 37-year-old male patient applied with the complaint of photophobia and having difficulties in reading. Both pupils were found to be dilated and unreactive to light but responsive to accommodation. The case was diagnosed with bilateral tonic pupil following neurological, radiological and laboratory evaluations. Tonic pupil should be kept in mind in eyes with light-near dissociation. In this case report, bilateral tonic pupils and the possible mechanism which may cause this disorder were discussed. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2013; 43: 64-6