The Role of Aortic Stiffness Parameters in Evaluating Myocardial Ischemia.

Background: Arterial stiffness is a process resulting in deterioration of hemodynamic function of the aorta, a decrease in its compliance and elasticity, caused by the proportional change of components of the extracellular matrix. Although many researches have been done to determine the etiologies of myocardial ischemia in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease, none of them has investigated the relation between the parameters of aortic stiffness and the myocardial ischemia documented by the exercise stress test. The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the difference of aortic stiffness parameters between the groups separated by exercise stress test result as positive and negative ischemic findings in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease

NATURAL HISTORY OF CONGENITAL ISOLATED MILD AORTIC VALVE AND MILD PULMONARY VALVE STENOSIS: A SINGLE-CENTER FOLLOW-UP STUDY

Objective: Most of the available information on the natural history of aortic stenosis (AS) and pulmonary stenosis (PS) in children is based on studies carried out over the past 35-40 years using cardiac catheterization. This study aimed to reveal the natural history of congenital isolated mild valvular AS and PS in children using serial Doppler echocardiographic examinations

Patient specific follow-up to monitor the risk of malignant transformation on oral mucosa

[No Abstract Available

EFFECT OF SOME PRO AND PREBIOTICS ON FATTY ACID AND ORGANIC ACID COMPOSITION OF SYMBIOTIC GOAT CHEESE

WOS: 000431926200011The effects of probiotic cultures including Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei and prebiotics including inulin, oligofructose and their blends on fatty acid and organic acid compositions of goat-milk white cheese were examined throughout 90-day storage period. Goat-milk cheeses were produced in an industrial plant following the standard production procedure for white cheeses, with some modifications. The highest value of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in experimental cheeses were found be palmitic acid (C16) and oleic acid (C18: 1) respectively. The most abundant organic acid among all experimental samples was lactic acid whereas the lowest one was acetic acid. The results indicated that the probiotic culture type and the percentage of prebiotic added to goat milk effected fatty and organic acid contents of goat-milk white cheeses at different levels.Scientific and Technological Research Council of TurkeyTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [TOVAG 106O763]We would like to express our gratitude for the financial support of this work to The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Project Number: TOVAG 106O763

Assessment of subclinical cardiovascular alterations in nonfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas

Background/aim: Adrenal incidentalomas have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk and have a prevalence as high as 10%. This study aims to evaluate carotid-intima media thickness (CIMT), left ventricular mass, and epicardial adipose tissue thickness in nonfunctioning adrenal incidentaloma patients and compare their results with healthy controls. Materials and methods: Patients who were referred to the endocrinology clinic for adrenal incidentaloma between 2014 and 2019 were assessed with 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test, 24-h urine metanephrines and normetanephrines, plasma aldosterone to renin ratio. Age and gender-matched subjects without an adrenal mass formed the control group. Left ventricular mass, epicardial adipose tissue thickness, and CIMT of both groups were measured. Results: A total of 41 adrenal incidentaloma patients (21 female, 52.5%) and 40 healthy controls (19 female, 46.3%) were included in the study. Patients with adrenal incidentalomas had increased CIMT. No differences were observed in left ventricle mass or epicardial adipose tissue thickness. There was no correlation between CIMT and adenoma size or serum cortisol (p = 0.2 and p = 0.6, respectively). There was a statistically significant correlation between CIMT and age (p = 0.016, r = 0.295). HBA1c (p = 0.001) and age (p = 0.05) were independently associated with CIMT in regression analysis. Conclusion: Adrenal incidentaloma patients need to be monitored for cardiac dysfunction. CIMT may be used to evaluate adrenal incidentaloma patients for early cardiovascular risk

ERCC1 Expression Does Not Predict Survival and Treatment Response in Advanced Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cases Treated with Platinum Based Chemotherapy

WOS: 000328271800037PubMed ID: 24083725Background: ERCC1 is considered as a promising molecular marker that may predict platinum based chemotherapy response in non small cell lung cancer patients. We therefore investigated whether its expression is indeed associated with clinical outcomes in advanced stage NSCLC patients. Materials and Methods: Pretreatment tumor biopsy samples of 83 stage 3B and 4 non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with platinum based chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed for immunohistochemical ERCC1 expression. None of the patients received curative surgery or radiotherapy. Results: By calculating H- scores regarding the extent and intensity of immunohistochemical staining of tumor biopsy samples, ERCC1 expression was found to be positive in 50 patients (60.2%). ERCC1 positive and negative groups had no statistically significant differences regarding treatment response, progression free survival and overall survival (respectively p=0.161; p=0.412; p=0.823). Conclusions: In our study we found no association between ERCC1 expression and survival or treatment response. The study has some limitations, such as small sample size and retrospective analysis method. There is need of more knowledge for use of ERCC1 guided chemotherapy regimens in advanced stage NSCLC

Prior angina reduces ischemic mitral regurgitation in patients with ST-Elevation myocardial infarction, role of ischemic preconditioning

Mitral regurgitation may develop due to left ventricular (LV) remodeling within 3 months following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and is called ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR). Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) has been reported as the most important mechanism of the association between prior angina and the favorable outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of prior angina on the development and severity of IMR at 3rd month in patients with ST elevation MI (STEMI). Fourty five (45) patients admitted with STEMI and at least mild IMR, revascularized by PCI were enrolled. According to presence of prior angina within 72 h before STEMI, patients were then divided into two groups as angina (+) (n:26; 58%) and angina (-) (n:19; 42%). All patients underwent 2D transthoracic echocardiography at 1st, 3rd days and 3rd month. IMR was evaluated by proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) method: PISA radius (PISA-r), effective regurgitant orifice area (EROA), regurgitant volume (Rvol). LV ejection fraction (EF %) was calculated by Simpson's method. High sensitive troponin T (hs-TnT), creatine phosphokinase myocardial band (CK-MB) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptid (NTpro-BNP) levels were compared between two groups. Although PISA-r, EROA and Rvol were similar in both groups at 1st and 3rd days, all were significantly decreased (p = 0.012, p = 0.007, p = 0.011, respectively) and EF was significantly increased (p< 0 .001) in angina (+) group at 3rd month. NTpro-BNP and hs-TnT levels at 1st day and 3rd month were similar, however CK-MB level at 3rd month was found to be significantly lower in the angina (+) group (p = 0.034). At the end of the 3rd month, it was observed that the severity of IMR evaluated by PISA method was decreased and EF increased significantly in patients who defined angina within 72 h prior to STEMI, suggesting a relation with IPC

Are Clinical Predictors of Oral Malignancy Risk Changing? A Sample Study

Objective: Our study assesss the clinical features of oral lesions that require histological examination and patient-reported symptoms to estimate the risk of malignancy and to determine the presence of any altered features. Materials and Methods: Demographic characteristics of 70 patients and clinical features of lesions were analyzed using chi-square test, Fisher's Exact test of Independence and discriminant function analysis. Results: Margins, lymphadenopathy, patient's self-awareness of the lesion associated with mass effect, surface texture, colour, ulceration, loss of function and pain were significant parameters indicating the risk of malignancy (p<0.05). Analyses of the parameters related to the high risk of malignancy have led to a statistical model for clinical differentiation of benign lesions from malignancies with an accuracy of 91.4% (p=0.016). The statistical model demonstrated that the most important discriminative features were margins, surface texture, patient's self-awareness, lymphadenopathy, loss of function, ulceration, colour, and pain, respectively. Conclusion: In our study, age, gender, duration and localization did not anticipate the nature of the lesion. Our statistical model showed that irregular/indistinct margins and surface textures and the presence of lymphadenopathy have a higher risk of malignancy