Hepatitis C virus infection among patients admitted to a rheumatology ward in northern Cyprus

Aim of the work: To detect the frequency of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among patients admitted to a rheumatology ward in northern Cyprus. Patients and methods: 154 patients admitted to the rheumatology department of Near East University Hospital. The demographic data, examination findings and the medical cause of admission together with clinical manifestations of their disease was recorded. All patients were screened for HCV antibodies and cryoglobulins. Results: The mean age of the patients was 46.6±15.8 years. The diagnosis amongst the 154 patients included rheumatoid arthritis in 24 (15.6%), arthralgia in 15 (9.7%), ankylosing spondylitis in 12 (7.8%), fibromyalgia syndrome in 11 (7.1%), osteoarthritis in 10 (6.5%), palindromic rheumatism in 10 (6.5%), systemic lupus erythematosus in 7 (4.5%), sjogren’s syndrome in 7 (4.5%),psoriatic arthritis in 17 (11.0%), vasculitis in 5 (3.2%), raynaud phenomenon in 5 (3.2%), scleroderma in 4 (2.6%), enteropathic arthritis in 4 (2.6%), familial mediterranean fever in 4 (2.6%), gout diseases in 3 (1.9%), reactive arthritis in 7 (4.5%), behcet’s disease in 1 (0.6%) and retroperitoneal fibrosis in 1 (0.6%) patients. HCV antibodies were negative in all the patients and only 1 male tested positive for cryoglobulins. Almost a quarter of the patients were receiving non-steroidal ant-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and 7.1% received colchicine. Conclusions: Although rheumatic diseases are noted at a high rate in north Cyprus, there is no associated HCV infection

The Cytotoxic Effects of Humic Acid on Human Breast Cancer Cells

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and in order to create alternative treatments different types of in vivo and in vitro studies have used various plant-based therapeutic agents. Humic acid (HA) induces apoptosis and has various pharmacological properties including anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects. In our study, we examined the cytotoxic effects of HA at concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 μg/mL in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line for 24 and 48 h. By using MTT method, it has been found out that HA 100 g/mL had cytotoxic effect on human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line at both 24 and 48 h; also found out that the effective dose of HA at the same time (24 and 48 h) was 50 μg/mL. The results of our study will shed light on the development of alternative therapeutic approaches in the treatment of cancer by evaluating the cytotoxic effect of HA

Effect of antidepressant drug use on virological response during the treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Viral Hepatitis Congress -- OCT 09-11, 2014 -- Frankfurt, GERMANYWOS: 000343738800047