Investigation of serum macrophage migration inhibitor factor and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 levels in irritable bowel syndrome

Aim: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional disorder of the bowel, has been thought to result from immune activation. The aim of this study was to evaluate macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MMIF) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) levels in IBS patients. Materials and methods: We enrolled 30 IBS patients and 30 healthy controls. The MMIF and MCP-1 levels of all patients and controls were detected using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Results: Serum MMIF and MCP-1 levels were markedly higher in IBS patients than in controls. White blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, and basophil counts did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusion: These results show that alterations in MMIF and MCP-1 affect the proinflammatory process. They also suggest that MMIF and MCP-1 may play a substantial role in IBS

Adenomatöz kolon polipli hastalarda oksidatif stres mekanizmasının paraoksonaz ve arilesteraz üzerinden değerlendirilmesi

Amaç: Adenomatöz polip, rektum ve kolonda adenomların lümene doğru gelişimi ile karakterize klinik bir durumdur. Birçok dejeneratif ve tümöral hastalığın patogenezinde artmış oksidatif stres rol oynamaktadır. Bu çalışma adenomatöz kolon polipli hastalarda paraoksonaz, indüklenebilir paraoksonaz ve arilesteraz enzim aktivitelerinin tespiti ve oksidatif stres ile hastalığın patofizyolojisi arasındaki ilişkiyi ortaya koymak amacı ile planlanmıştır. Gereç ve yöntem: Namık Kemal Üniversitesi Araştırma ve Uygulama Hastanesi Gastroenteroloji Polikliniği’ne başvuran hastalardan kolon polipi saptananlar ve sağlıklı gönüllüler çalışmaya alındı. Paraoksonaz, indüklenebilir paraoksonaz ve arilesteraz düzeylerinin ölçümleri spektrofotometrik olarak yapıldı. Bulgular: Kolon polipli hastalar ile sağlıklı kontroller karşılaştırıldığında, kolon polipli hastalarda, paraoksonaz, indüklenebilir paraoksonaz aktiviteleri istatistiksel olarak anlamlı oranda düşük bulunurken, arilesteraz aktivitesinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark bulunmadı. Sonuç: Kolon polipli hastalarda paraoksonaz ve indüklenebilir paraoksonaz aktivitesinin sağlıklı polülasyondan düşük bulunması, oksidan-antioksidan dengenin oksidan yönünde bozulmasının polipli hastalarda polip gelişimi ile yakın ilişki içinde olduğunu düşündürmektedi

Patient use of complementary and alternative medicine for psoriasis vulgaris and factors believed to trigger the disease: A multicenter cross-sectional study with 1621 patients

Introduction: Due to the chronic recurrent nature of psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and lack of definitive treatment for the disease, patients often resort to alternative treatments. Physicians seem to have low awareness of this issue. Objectives: To elicit the perceptions of 1,621 PV patients on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and examine factors reported to worsen PV. Methods: The patients sociodemographic characteristics, Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), disease duration, and severity were recorded, and the patients CAM use was questioned in detail. The patients were also asked about factors that worsened PV and their experiences with a gluten-free diet. Results: Of the patients, 56.51% had used CAM. The mean age, illness duration, PASI scores and DLQI of those using CAM were significantly higher. CAM use was significantly higher in those with facial, genital involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis. The patients mostly referred to CAM when PV became severe (46.4%). Of the CAM users, 45.52% used herbal topicals. The physicians of 67.03% did not inquire whether they used CAM. Of the participants, 37.73% considered that stress worsened their disease. Gluten-free diet did not affect PV symptoms in 52.22%. Conclusions: Patients CAM use is often overlooked by dermatologists. Our results showed that more than half the patients used CAM and did not share this information with their physicians. Therefore, the awareness of physicians should be increased and patients should be asked about the use of CAM and directed to the appropriate medical treatment options by physicians

Habits of using social media and the internet in psoriasis patients

Introduction: Psoriasis significantly affects the patients quality of life, which often leads patients to seek online information about this disease. Objectives: To explore the habits of patients with psoriasis related to their use of social media (SM) and the internet to obtain information about their disease. Methods: 1,520 patients completed the survey and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. The Psoriasis Area Severity Index scores (PASI) and clinical data of the patients were recorded by their physicians. Results: Of the 1,114 patients that reported using SM and internet, 48.38% regularly and 31.14% sometimes resorted to obtain information about psoriasis. The use of SM and internet for psoriasis was statistically significantly higher among young people (P = 0.000), those with university or higher education (P = 0.009), higher DLQI (P = 0.000) and PASI (P = 0.011) scores, facial (P = 0.050), scalp (P = 0.032), hand (P = 0.048), genital (P = 0.001) and inverse (P = 0.000) involvement, and arthralgia/arthritis (P = 0.006). The participants mostly used the Google (86%) and Facebook (41%). More than half of the participants (62.8%) expected dermatologists to inform society that psoriasis is not contagious. Conclusions: Internet and SM being widely available and offering substantial information to be easily accessed make it very attractive for patients to use these platforms to investigate diseases, including psoriasis. If what is presented on SM conflicts with what the physician says, patients mostly trust the latter, but at the same time, they tend not to share the results of their online inquiries with their physicians