Premarital screening of 466 Mediterranean women for serum ferritin, vitamin B12, and folate concentrations

Background/aim: Iron, folate, and vitamin B12 serum levels are closely related with dietary habits and have an essential role in the healthy development of a fetus. We aimed to investigate hemoglobin, ferritin, folate, and vitamin B12 levels in preconceptional women in an area where a plant-based diet referred to as Mediterranean cuisine is commonly used. Materials and methods: The study population included 466 women between the ages of 18 and 45 years admitted for thalassemia screening. Sociodemographic variables and history of menometrorrhagia, pica, and dietary habits were collected. Serum vitamin B12, folate, ferritin, and hemoglobin levels were measured. Ferritin of <12 μg/L, vitamin B12 of <200 pg/mL, and folate of <4 ng/mL were accepted as deficiencies. Hemoglobin level of <12 g/dL was classified as anemia. Results: Polymenorrhea was present in 11.7% and hypermenorrhea in 24.8% of women. Anemia was detected in 24.9% and thalassemia trait in 3.0% of women. Low ferritin levels were observed in 46.1%, vitamin B12 in 21.6%, and folate in 3.4% of women. In the group with low vitamin B12, decreased meat consumption was more prevalent (27.5% vs. 16.9%; P = 0.019). Conclusion: Vitamin B12 and iron are the main micronutrients depleted in our community. This necessitates implementing a public health program for women consuming a Mediterranean diet. © TÜBİTA

The relation of CD3, CD4, CD8 and PD-1 expression with tumor type and prognosis in epithelial ovarian cancers

Objectives: Ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease, where chronic inflammation plays a key role in carcinogenesis. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the relationship with prognosis and chemotherapy response to clinicopathologicalnvariables in epithelial ovarian cancers such as proliferation of PD-1 +, CD8 +, CD4 +, CD3 + T-lymphocytes infiltrating the tumor and tumor stroma.Material and methods: Seventy-six cases diagnosed with primary epithelial ovarian tumor from biopsy or surgical resection materials were included in the study. Immunreactivity of CD3, CD4, CD8, PD1 was evaluated immunohistochemically in lymphocytes in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and stromal lymphocytes.Results: Seventeen (22.4%) of the cases were Type I, 59 (77.6%) of them were Type II ovarian carcinoma. PD-1 positivity was observed in stromal and intraepithelial lymphocytes in 22 (28.9%) of 76 cases. In the presence of PD-1 + T-lymphocytes that infiltrate tumor and stroma, disease-free survival are shorter (p = 0.037). The presence of stromal CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocytes was more common in late stage patients (p = 0.012, p = 0.036; respectively). The disease-free and overall survival rate was statistically significantly shorter in the presence of CD8 + T lymphocytes (p = 0.009, p = 0.003; respectively).Conclusions: CD3, CD4 and CD8 may contribute to PD-1 mediated tumor control. Anti PD-1 therapy may be an alternative to chemotherapy in PD-1 positive patients. Identifying patients who do not respond to chemotherapy through PD-1 expression prior to immunotherapy will help develop potential personalized immunotherapy

Caesarean scar endometriosis: Analysis of three cases in our clinic

Scar endometriosis is a disease of abdominal wall and generally develops after obstetric or gynecological operations. After caesarean section, prevalence is reported to be between 0.03-0.4% whereas, this increases as high as 5.08% after second trimester hysterotomy. Preoperative diagnosis of scar endometriosis is difficult because scar endometriosis are similar to some pathologies including abcess, lipoma, hematoma, incisional hernia, desmoid tumor, sarcoma, lymphoma and primer or metastatic carcinoma. Menstruation related mass and pain with a palpable subcutaneous lesion in patients with a history of obstetric or gynecological surgery should raise the suspicion of scar endometriosis after exclusion of other pathologies. In this article, we reviewed three cases of scar endometriosis and ultrasonographic and magnetic resonance imaging features of mass with regard to the current literature perspective. Copyright © 2015 by Türkiye Klinikleri

Caesarean scar endometriosis: Analysis of three cases in our clinic

Scar endometriosis is a disease of abdominal wall and generally develops after obstetric or gynecological operations. After caesarean section, prevalence is reported to be between 0.03-0.4% whereas, this increases as high as 5.08% after second trimester hysterotomy. Preoperative diagnosis of scar endometriosis is difficult because scar endometriosis are similar to some pathologies including abcess, lipoma, hematoma, incisional hernia, desmoid tumor, sarcoma, lymphoma and primer or metastatic carcinoma. Menstruation related mass and pain with a palpable subcutaneous lesion in patients with a history of obstetric or gynecological surgery should raise the suspicion of scar endometriosis after exclusion of other pathologies. In this article, we reviewed three cases of scar endometriosis and ultrasonographic and magnetic resonance imaging features of mass with regard to the current literature perspective. Copyright © 2015 by Türkiye Klinikleri

A rare and unexpected case of retained foetal bone after an unsafe abortion

Unsafe abortion is one of the most neglected healthcare problems in developing countries. One of the rare complications of unsafe abortion is retained foetal bone. Prevalence of disease is around 0.15% among patients undergoing diagnostic hysteroscopy. Patients have no specific symptoms. Case reports have focused on subfertility, abnormal uterine bleeding, lower abdominal pain, abnormal vaginal discharge, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhoea and spontaneous passage of bony fragments. Retained foetal bone fragments may cause acute pelvic inflammatory disease in rare cases regardless of the time interval after abortion. This condition can also present as recurrent vagitinis or endometritis refractory to ampirical antimicrobial treatment. In such cases, foreign body in uterine cavity should be kept in mind. Such patients should primarily be evaluated by ultrasonography which has substantial clinical importance in differential diagnosis of these cases. We present a case of misdiagnosed retained foetal bone complicated with recurrent vaginal discharge and acute pelvic inflammatory disease. © 2015, Pakistan Medical Association. All rights reserved

Public Health Rep

19883147490PMCnull650

Microarray expression results of VEGF, YAP1 and PTEN immunostains in preeclampsia cases

We aimed to evaluate the expression of YAP1, PTEN, VEGF in the placenTaş of patients with preeclampsia and placenTaş of healthy pregnant women for trophoblast invasion, which is similar to cancer etiopathogenesis. The placenTaş of 70 women who gave birth, including 30 preeclampsia and 40 healthy controls, were evaluated. YAP1, PTEN and VEGF immunohistochemical staining were performed using the microarray method on placental tissue. The mean ± standard deviation for YAP1, PTEN and VEGF intensity were; 1.57 ± 0.71,2.59 ± 0.80, 1.61 ± 0.59, respectively. PTEN intensity was statistically significantly lower in the preeclampsia group than in the control group (2.37 ± 0.99 vs 2.75 ± 0.58, p = .049). There was no difference between the groups in terms of YAP1 and VEGF staining (p > .05). The etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia is still unclear. However, sİnce trophoblast invasion and endothelial repair have similar aspects with cancer mechanisms, both preeclampsia and cancer studies are progressing by supporting each other. Our study is a prototype study showing that large-participation studies can be carried out easily by using the microarray method as an economic model. © 2023 Taylor ; Francis

Validation of Turkish version of Premenstrual Symptoms Impact Survey™ (PMSIS™) for assessing status of premenstrual syndrome in women of reproductive age

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of a Turkish adaptation of the Premenstrual Symptoms Impact Survey™ (PMSIS™), a six-question health survey that measures the impact of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) on an individual’s functional health and well-being. Methods: The PMSIS™ was independently translated into Turkish and its adaptation to Turkish language was performed via back-translation. The reliability and validity of the PMSIS™ were examined with 63 women of reproductive age, found healthy during annual wellwoman gynecologic examination. Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS), a Turkish questionnaire, was administered to assess the concurrent validity of the PMSIS™. For the assessment of survey data, the content validity, test-retest reliability, Cronbach’s alpha, concurrent validity, and construct validity tests were used. Results: The content validity index of the Turkish version of PMSIS™ was found as high (91%). After reliability analyses, the intra-class correlation coefficient between the PMSIS™ scores at the first and second assessments was 0.70, showing a good agreement between test and retest values; and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.89, indicating adequate and high internal consistency. Regarding the concurrent validity, the Pearson's correlation coefficient between the PMSIS™ (first assessment) and PMSS scores was 0.70. Regarding the construct validity, factor analysis revealed that one dimension was found; and factor loading of items ranged from 0.74 t0 0.84 and total variant of scale was expressed as 65.1%. The PMSIS™ had a good concurrent and construct validities. Conclusions: The Turkish version of PMSIS™ has good reliability and validity properties. It is a reliable, consistent, and valid instrument to assess the status of PMS in women of reproductive age and the outcome of PMS treatment in Turkish population. © 2015, Cukurova University, Faculty of Medicine. All rights reserved