Plasmapheresis in a Patient With "Refractory" Urticarial Vasculitis

Immune complexes are found in the circulation of 30%-75% of patients with urticarial vasculitis and much evidence supports the role of these immune complexes in the pathogenesis of urticarial vasculitis. Plasmapheresis is effective for removing these immune complexes; however, there are few reports on the use of plasmapheresis in the treatment of urticarial vasculitis. We describe a case of "refractory" urticarial vasculitis in which the symptoms improved after plasmapheresis treatment. We suggest that plasmapheresis be considered as an option in patients with severe or treatment-resistant urticarial vasculitis

CYP17, GSTP1, PON1 and GLO1 gene polymorphisms as risk factors for breast cancer: an Italian case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Estrogens, environmental chemicals with carcinogenic potential, as well as oxidative and carbonyl stresses play a very important role in breast cancer (BC) genesis and progression. Therefore, polymorphisms of genes encoding enzymes involved in estrogen biosynthesis pathway and in the metabolic activation of pro-carcinogens to genotoxic intermediates, such as cytochrome P450C17α (CYP17), endogenous free-radical scavenging systems, such as glutathione S-transferase (GSTP1) and paraoxonase 1 (PON1), and anti-glycation defenses, such as glyoxalase I (GLO1), could influence individual susceptibility to BC. In the present case-control study, we investigated the possible association of CYP17 A1A2, GSTP1 ILE105VAL, PON1 Q192R or L55M, and GLO1 A111E polymorphisms with the risk of BC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The above-said five polymorphisms were characterized in 547 patients with BC and in 544 healthy controls by PCR/RFLP methods, using DNA from whole blood. To estimate the relative risks, Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using unconditional logistic regression after adjusting for the known risk factors for BC.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CYP17 polymorphism had no major effect in BC proneness in the overall population. However, it modified the risk of BC for certain subgroups of patients. In particular, among premenopausal women with the A1A1 genotype, a protective effect of later age at menarche and parity was observed. As to GSTP1 and PON1 192 polymorphisms, the mutant Val and R alleles, respectively, were associated with a decreased risk of developing BC, while polymorphisms in PON1 55 and GLO1 were associated with an increased risk of this neoplasia. However, these findings, while nominally significant, did not withstand correction for multiple testing.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Genetic polymorphisms in biotransformation enzymes CYP17, GSTP1, PON1 and GLO1 could be associated with the risk for BC. Although significances did not withstand correction for multiple testing, the results of our exploratory analysis warrant further studies on the above mentioned genes and BC.</p

Optic nerve head vessel density in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome/glaucoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Exfoliative material has been shown to accumulate in ocular and systemic tissues. We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the current literature evaluating optic nerve head vessel density (VD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with XFS and XFG.Methods: Studies were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Studies comparing patients with XFS and/or XFG patients to healthy controls, using the optic nerve head-centred 4.5 x 4.5 mm square OCTA scan protocol were included. Pooled results are presented as standardised mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Meta-regression analysis was performed between mean difference in circumpapillary VD between XFG and controls and mean pRNFL thickness in patients with XFG.Results: Fifteen studies with 1475 eyes were included in this review. Whole image VD and circumpapillary VD (cpVD) were significantly decreased in patients with XFS [-0.78(95% Cl:-1.08,-0.47);-0.55(95% Cl:-0.80, -0.30); respectively] and XFG [-1.85(95% CI:-2.33,-1.36);-1.84 (95% CI:-2.30,-1.39); respectively] compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, pRNFL thickness decreased in patients with XFS [-0.55(95% Cl: -0.72,-0.35)] and XFG [-1.78(95% Cl:-2.21,-1.36)] compared to healthy controls. Meta-regression showed that pRNFL thickness decreased with increasing mean cpVD difference in XFG patients compared to healthy controls.Conclusions: OCTA provides non-invasive, objective and reproducible assessment of peripapillary VD and is important for the detection of vasculopathy in patients with XFS or XFG. This study provides strong evidence for decreased cpVD in the eyes of patients with XFS and XFG

ALTMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE MOST-CITED 100 ARTICLES ON THE RETINA PUBLISHED BETWEEN 2010 AND 2020.

Purpose: Altmetric analysis is a way of assessing the social impact of scientific articles. In this study, we aimed to analyze the 100 most-cited articles on the topic of the retina published in ophthalmology journals in traditional metrics and altmetrics. Methods: The term "retina" was searched in the Web of Science database, and articles published in ophthalmology journals were filtered out. A total of 100 highly cited articles from 2010 to 2020 were evaluated for bibliographic data and altmetrics. First, descriptive statistics and then correlation analysis between traditional bibliographies and altmetrics were performed. Results: According to the Web of Science search, the number of citations of the articles listed in the top 100 list ranged from 809 to 137. The altmetric scores of the articles listed in the top 100 list ranged from 0 to 1,340. There was no statistically significant correlation between the altmetric scores and the number of citations, but there was a statistically weak correlation between the altmetric scores and the average citations per year, H index, impact factor, and number of years since publication. Conclusion: Altmetrics is not sufficient to determine the scientific value of articles and can be affected by many factors, unlike traditional bibliometrics. However, being a good communicator in social media can support scientific productivity and create social impact

Use of knee height for the estimation of stature in elderly Turkish people and their relationship with cardiometabolic risk factors

The determination of the approximately truest value in height measurement is important in many fields, but it is difficult to perform true measurements, especially in the elderly individuals. We planned to investigate the following items in geriatric Turkish population: to calculate the decrease in height with advancing age by using the standing height measurement and estimated height derived from the knee height; to evaluate the significance of difference between the two measurement methods in the calculation of body mass index (BMI) and waist/height ratio (WHtR); to determine the cut-off value of WHtR according to estimated height in elderly individuals. We studied 551 cases aged between 19 and 97 years. Knee height was measured using a sliding caliper in a sitting position. Linear regression analysis was carried out to derive predictive equations for the estimation of stature with adults ( 60 years (mean: 69.51 +/- 7.12). Estimated BMI (EBMI) measurements in the females and males > 60 years were in average 1.23 kg/m(2) and 0.92 kg/m(2) higher than their real BMIs, respectively. EBMI measurements in the females 60 years, as compared to our estimated WHtR (EWHtR) measurements (p 60 years in our study, respectively. WHtR seemed to be a better anthropometric index that could predict most cardiometabolic risk factors in our study. EWHtR emerged to be a better cardiometabolic risk index especially in the elderly group. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

A Conservative Approach by Unilateral Maximal Single-Muscle Recession Surgery for the Treatment of Cyclic Esotropia

PURPOSE: Cyclic esotropia (alternate-day squint) is a poorly understood form of strabismus that mostly occurs at younger pediatric ages. It demonstrates classically a 48-hour cycle with 24 hours of manifest esotropia and 24 hours of orthotropia, which is conventionally managed by bilateral or unilateral 2-muscle surgery. We aimed to report a child with cyclic esotropia who was surgically treated by a conservative unilateral 1-muscle approach. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 3.5-year-old girl presented to the strabismus department with an intermittent esodeviation for 2 years that became cyclic in the last 3 months. The diagnosis of primary classical cyclic esotropia was made after seeing her multiple times on different days. The girl was emmetropic bilaterally, had normal visual acuities in both eyes, and high-angle right esodeviation (45-50(Δ)) with normal laboratory and MRI results. Unilateral maximal single-muscle recession of the right medial rectus was performed, and the child was followed up for 9 months. The girl developed excellent alignment after the surgery both at distance and near without cyclic pattern, and near-normal stereopsis (by animals: 100 sec. of arc) with binocularity was reached. The girl did not experience under- or overcorrection nor have a recurrence postoperatively. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of “one eye single-muscle” surgery for high-angle cyclic esotropia. Conservative unilateral medial rectus recession seems to be sufficient to permanently block the circadian rhythm and restore binocular fusion and stereopsis

A critical assessment of the deterrent capacity of the Turkish criminal justice system

The Turkish Criminal Justice System (TCJS) has widely been developed on the philosophical foundations of the Classical School of Criminology, which emerged out of the Enlightenment Era in Europe. Drawing on the official statistics and other related data, this study first demonstrates that the TCJS has not been successful in creating the anticipated deterrent and preventive effect on crime and then points out the problems and pitfalls of the TCJS in meeting the requirements of an effective criminal justice system in deterring and preventing crime, as proposed by the classical criminology and several empirical studies evaluating the propositions of this school of thought. Consequently, several policy recommendations are discussed to develop the deterrent and preventive capacity of the TCJS against crimes.Journal ArticleFinal article publishe