Public Health Rep

19314804PMCnul

Trace elements as a component of oxidative stress in COPD

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the serum concentrations of those trace elements that act as a component of oxidative stress in COPD patients. Clinically stable COPD outpatients (n = 26) and healthy controls (n = 24) were studied.Methodology: Serum concentrations of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were determined using a Varian Spectra AA220 flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Serum concentration of iron (Fe) was measured by the ferene assay, using a commercially available kit (IL Test(TM) Iron) with the ILAb(TM) 900 autoanalyser. The lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum samples was measured spectrophotometrically in terms of TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances).Results: The serum MDA concentration in COPD patients was found to be similar to the control group (0.68 +/- 0.15 nmol/mL vs 0.62 +/- 0.13 nmol/mL, respectively; P = 0.163). The serum concentrations of the trace elements in both study groups were in the normal reference range. There was no difference in Fe concentration between COPD patients and the control group (0.81 +/- 0.38 mug/mL vs 0.92 +/- 0.41 mug/mL; P = 0.360). Copper concentrations were higher (1.06 +/- 0.26 mug/mL vs 0.92 +/- 0.19 mug/mL; P < 0.040); while zinc was lower in the COPD group compared to the controls (0.83 +/- 0.25 mug/mL us 1.03 +/- 0.23 mug/mL; P = 0.006). Serum Zn concentrations were lower in the severe COPD patients compared to mild-moderate COPD patients (P = 0.038).Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that there are alterations in serum concentrations of trace elements in COPD patients, suggesting that they may play a role in the pathophysiology of this disease by virtue of their role in oxidative stress. We recommend further studies on the role of trace elements in the pathophysiology of COPD, their association with markers of oxidant/antioxidant status and on the clinical significance of their deficiency

Epidemiology and distribution of interstitial lung diseases in Turkey

Introduction: There is very few data on the epidemiological features of interstitial lung diseases (ILD) in the literature. These studies on this subject suffer from limited number of patients. Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological features of ILD in Turkey. Methods: Fifty-four investigators, 31 centres in 19 cities from six regions of Turkey, participated in the study. Two thousand two hundred forty-five newly diagnosed patients (51.8% females), led by Turkish Thoracic Society Clinical Problems Study Group, enrolled in this prospective study. Results: The mean age was 51.8±16.7 years. The mean age among males was 50.5±18.6 years and 53.0±14.6 years among females (P<0.001). 23.8% of the cases had ILD with known causes, while 39.4% were in granulomatous group, 23.7% were idiopathic, and 4.4% were in the unclassified group. Overall, histopathologically confirmed diagnosis rate was 40.4%. Sarcoidosis was the most common disease (37%), whereas cases with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) constituted 19,9% of patients. 53% of the sarcoidosis patients were females, and the ratio reaches to 75% under 50 years of age (for this group, IPF ratio is %3). In contrast, sarcoidosis and IPF ratios were equal in males (25%). Sarcoidosis was 8% in men over 50, while IPF was %45. Conclusion: The overall incidence of ILD in Turkey was computed to be 25.8/100000. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Pattern of lung cancer in Turkey, 1994-1998

WOS: 000176736600005PubMed ID: 12097762Background: Lung cancer is the most common neoplasm in Turkey, but there is not enough data on the characteristics of this mortal illness in our country. Objectives and Methods: The Turkish Thoracic Society, Lung and Pleural Malignancies Study Group (TTS-LPMSG) conducted a national retrospective hospital-based study to determine the pattern of lung cancer in Turkey. Results: A total of 11,849 lung cancer patients were studied between 1994 and 1998, 90.4% were male and 9.6% were female. The majority of patients were smokers (77.9%) or ex-smokers (10.8%). The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 58.4 years (20-84) and 56.7% of the patients were aged between 46 and 65 years. The most common histological types were squamous cell (45.4%), small cell (SCLC; 20.5%) and adenocarcinoma (20.2%). The majority of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer were diagnosed with metastatic disease (40.4%). Of the patients with SCLC patients, 37.9% had limited stage disease and 62.7% extensive stage disease at diagnosis. Conclusion: The results of the largest data so far collected in Turkey show that the vast majority of patients with lung cancer are male, squamous cell is the most common histological type, and only a small proportion of patients are diagnosed at an early stage. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel