Detection of VDR gene ApaI and TaqI polymorphisms in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using PCR-RFLP method in a Turkish population

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is by far the most common type of diabetes and is characterized by insulin resistance and altered insulin secretion. Some genes, such as the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR, NM_001017535; GI: 7421), involved in its metabolic pathway have been regarded as good candidates for T2DM. In this study, we investigated whether there was an association of VDR: g.59979G>T or c.1025-49G>T (ApaIG>T) and g.60058T>C or c.1056T>C (TagIT>C) polymorphisms in the 3' untranslated region of VDR with T2DM in a Turkish population. We collected blood samples from 241 individuals (72 patients with T2DM and 169 healthy individuals), and their DNA was isolated. Polymorphisms of the VDR were analyzed by DNA amplification with polymerase chain reaction and endonuclease digestion with ApaI and TaqI. Body mass index was higher in T2DM patients than in control individuals. However, the frequency of g.59979TT genotype in T2DM patients was not significantly increased compared to healthy subjects (37.5% vs. 36.1%, respectively). Although the VDR g.60058CC genotype in T2DM patients (19.4%) was higher than that in healthy individuals (11.2%), there was no significant difference. In the same way, there was no difference between the groups in allele frequencies. In conclusion, our study did not provide evidence for the association of two examined VDR polymorphisms with T2DM in a Turkish population. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier In

Efficacy and safety of oral deferasirox treatment in the posttransplant period for patients who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT)

Iron overload is considered to be associated with various complications in patients who undergo both allogeneic (allo) and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A total of 23 alloHSCT recipients who started deferasirox treatment due to hyperferritinemia (ferritin a parts per thousand yen1,000 ng/mL) were analyzed retrospectively. The demographic characteristics, data about deferasirox treatment, and history of phlebotomy were obtained from the patients' files. The reduction in posttreatment ferritin levels was found statistically significant compared with pretreatment ferritin levels in both def+phlebotomy and def+nonphlebotomy groups (p = 0.025 and 0.017, respectively). The liver enzymes, especially ALT and bilirubins, were significantly reduced after the treatment (p < 0.05). The deferasirox treatment reduced pretreatment ferritin levels below the level of 1,000 ng/mL in a median period of 94 days, and these data were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). The median treatment duration time with deferasirox was 94 days (72-122). The most common adverse effects were nausea and vomiting, which occurred in three of the patients (13%). In conclusion, our data suggest that oral deferasirox treatment may be used as a safe and effective alternative method for reducing iron overload in alloHSCT recipients, whether combined with or without phlebotomy