Deaf athlete: is there any difference beyond the hearing loss?

Regular physical activity and sport is important for enhanced physical fitness and skill performance of deaf athletes. However there are few data in the literature about their medical considerations. In this study we aimed to determine the morphological findings and cardiac status of the deaf athletes and compare them with the normal ones. Thirty deaf and twenty-two normal male athletes without cardiovascular diseases participated in the study. Transthoracic echocardiography and exercise stress testing were performed. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI)-derived myocardial performance index (MPI) was also evaluated. VO2 max and heart rate recovery were calculated after exercise stress testing. Total cholesterol, LDL and trigliseride levels were significantly increased in the deaf athletes, but they were still found to be in normal ranges according to age and risk factor profile (p< 0.05). End-diastolic diameter and left ventricular mass index were found to be significantly increased in the controls when compared with the deaf athletes (p< 0.001). Heart rate recovery at 1 minute did not show any difference in the deaf group when compared with the control group (p> 0.05). MPI calculated from TDI-derived variables was found to be 0.41±0.073 in the deaf group and 0.46±0.061 in the controls respectively and significantly decreased in the deaf (p < 0.05). Beyond having a hearing loss, the deaf athletes have many cardiac structural and functional differences from their normal counterparts. The factors that give rise to these differences have to be revealed by further research

Association of total serum antioxidant capacity with the Tei index in echocardiography in patients with microvascular angina

Objectives Cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is a conditioncharacterized by exercise-induced chest pain that occursconsidering a normal coronary angiogram. We aimed toinvestigate the total serum antioxidant capacity (TAC) andbiventricular global functions using echocardiography inpatients with CSX.Patients and methods The study population included 55patients with typical anginal symptoms and a positiveexercise stress test, or ischemia in myocardial perfusionscintigraphy and normal coronary arteries detectedangiographically, and 49 healthy volunteers with atypicalchest pain and a negative stress test. TAC was assessedfrom blood samples. Transthoracic echocardiography wasperformed for the entire study population. The Tei index wascalculated using the formula IVCT+IVRT/ET.Results TAC was found to be significantly lower in the CSXgroup compared with the control group (0.70 ± 0.37 vs.1.5± 0.30, respectively, P1.77 mmol/l), it was found that the Tei indexwas higher in the decreased TAC group compared with theother groups (0.66 ± 0.18 vs. 0.49 ± 0.10 and0.46± 0.13 mmol/l, P<0.001, respectively).Conclusion Our study suggested that TAC wassignificantly decreased in CSX patients and decreasedantioxidant levels were related to impaired Tei index inechocardiography in patients with microvascularangina. Coron Artery Dis 26:620–625 Copyright © 2015Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Effect of Stem Cell Application on Asherman Syndrome, on Experimental Rat Model

We evaluate the effect of stem cells to induce endometrial proliferation and angiogenesis on Asherman Syndrome (AS). The experimental study was performed in stemcell research laboratory. Forty Wistar-Albino rats were divided according to groups. In group1 (n = 10) to establish the model; trichloroacetic acid was injected to right uterine horn. Two weeks later, intrauterine synechia was confirmed. In group2 (n = 10), 2 weeks later, 2 x 106 mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were injected into right uterine horn followed by three intraperitoneal injections of MSCs. In group3 (n = 10), daily oral estrogen was initiated on the second week. In group4 (n = 10), MSC injections and oral estrogen was given together. The amount of fibrosis, vascularisation, inflammation and immunohistochemical staining with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67 were evaluated in the uterine tissues. In all treatment groups; fibrosis decreased but vascularisation and immunhistohemical stainings increased in the experimental side. The amount of fibrosis, vascularisation, Ki-67 and PCNA scores were similar between group2 and 3. In group4, comparing to group2, less fibrosis but more Ki-67, PCNA and VEGF staining was observed. Stem cells, when added to estrogen, are a highly effective alternative to induce regeneration of endometrium in Asherman Syndrome therapy.Wo

Predictive value of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and serum ischemia-modified albumin for early diagnosis in patients with contrastinduced acute kidney injury

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and serum ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels could serve as early biomarkers of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) in patients with normal serum creatinine values who undergo coronary angiography (CAG). Methods: This study was conducted in 78 patients undergoing CAG. Urinary NGAL and serum IMA values which measured prior to and 6 hours after CAG were compared with creatinine values that measured prior to and 48 hours after CAG. Results: IMA and NGAL values obtained 6 hours after CAG differed significantly from those obtained at baseline. Statistically significant differences were found between the baseline and 6th-hour values of urinary NGAL and serum IMA (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between baseline and 48th hour serum creatinine levels (p=0.081). In addition, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between pre-processing and 6th-hour NGAL and IMA levels, (r=0.277, p=0.014; r=0.407 and p<0.001, respectively). Conclusion: An increase in urinary NGAL and serum IMA levels were detected without an increase in serum creatinine values which is routinely used in determining CI-AKI. When compared to serum creatinine, urinary NGAL and serum IMA may be early and sensitive biomarkers for predicting CI-AKI.