Headache in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of and risk factors for primary headaches in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Headache was classified in 75 patients with JME using a questionnaire, and its prevalence was correlated with the literature on the general population and clinical data. Headache was present in 47 patients. Thirty-one had migraine [20 migraine without aura (MO), 11 migraine with aura (MA)]. Fourteen patients with migraine had tension-type headache (TTH) in addition. Sixteen had only TTH. Comparison with the general population revealed a significantly higher prevalence of migraine (RR 4.4), MO (3.6), MA (7.3) and TTH (3.4) in JME. Risk factors for migraine and MO were female gender and for MA family history of migraine in first-degree relatives. Migraine and MA were associated with fairly controlled generalized tonic clonic seizures, MO with absences. Together with its strong genetic background, JME appears to be an attractive homogenous subtype of epilepsy for genetic research on migraine

Antioxidative, antiradical, and antimicrobial activities of extracts from Antep Pistachio hulls

Pistacia vera L. is the only genus of more than ten in Pistacia species consumed as a nut and has commercial value. Turkey is one of the homelands of the pistachio species, and they are named Antep pistachio. When Antep pistachios are processed into nuts, their reddish purple hulls are removed as a waste after the processing. In this research, Antep pistachio hull samples extracted by methanol, ethanol and water were tested for antioxidant and antiradical (IC(50) value) potentials, and antimicrobial activities as well. The values of total phenolic content of methanol extracts of Antep pistachio hull was 167.49 +/- A 0.48 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry extract. The ethanol and aqueous extract of the pistachio hulls were determined as 89.87 +/- A 0.44 and 31.73 +/- A 0.21 mg GAE/g dry extract, respectively. The antioxidant activities of extracts were evaluated by the phosphomolybdenum method. The highest antioxidant activity of the hull extracts was determined in the methanol extracted samples (152.10 +/- A 0.19 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE)/g dry extract), while the lowest value was in the ethanol extracts (15.19 +/- A 0.00 mg AAE/g dry extract). The values of IC(50) in methanol, ethanol and aqueous extracts of the pistachio hulls were 16.01, 21.62 and 24.45 mu g/ml, respectively. The highest antiradical activity was in the methanol extract of Antep pistachio hulls. In this research, the pistachio hull extracts were tested for antimicrobial activities against total 15 microorganisms, 13 bacteria and 2 yeasts. The aqueous extract of the hull was the most ineffective extract against the microorganisms tested. The methanol and ethanol extracts of the pistachio hulls, which had limited antimicrobial effect against the bacteria, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Salmonella typhimurium, Proteus mirabilis and Yersinia enterocolitica, and the yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans, and were effective on the other microorganisms constituted inhibition zones diameter as between 10 and 39 mm. All extracts of the pistachio hulls exhibited antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes (6-38 mm) and Escherichia coli O157: H7 (8-28 mm). In conclusion, the hulls of Antep pistachio can be evaluated as a potential antimicrobial and antioxidant resource in the food systems