The bite force and craniofacial morphology in patients with acromegaly: a pilot study

Objectives: Acromegaly is a metabolic disorder caused by increased growth hormone secretion. As a consequence of acromegaly some typical craniofacial morphology changes appear. This pilot study was conducted to compare the bite force and the characteristic size and shape of the craniofacial components of acromegalic patients with the healthy Turkish individuals. In additon, the correlations between bite force and craniofacial morphology of patients with acromegaly and control individuals were evaluated. Study Design: The maximum bite force of the participants was recorded with strain-gage transducer. Lateral xray scans were made under standard conditions, in centric occlusion. On cephalograms, the linear and angular measurements was performed. Results: Patients with acromegaly showed increased anterior and posterior total face height, ramus length, width of frontal sinuse, gonial angle and a negative difference between maxillary and mandibular protrusions. In addition, females with acromegaly showed larger lower anterior face height and sella turcica, decreased facial angle, increased mandibular plane angle. The cephalometric measurements, except one did not showed correlation with the bite force in acromegalic patients. In control group, significant correlations were observed between anterior total face height and anterior lower face height, mandibular plane angle and gonial angle. Conclusions: The greater changes were observed in the mandible. The maximum bite force of patients with acromegaly showed no difference from healthy individuals. The non-significant difference of bite force between healthy participants and acromegalic patients provide important information for dental treatment and prosthetic rehabilitation of acromegalic patients

Comparison of clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings of triple-negative breast cancer with non-triple-negative tumours

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has some distinctive features. The aim of the study was to compare clinical and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of TNBC with non-triple-negative breast cancer (nTNBC) in molecular subtypes such as ADC (apparent diffusion coefficient) values, T2-weighted (T2W) image intensity, shape, margin, lymph node involvement, grade, multifocality, multicentricity, bilaterality, and enhancement pattern differences between tumour subtypes. Material and methods: A total of 141 patients who underwent breast biopsy at our institution between January 2010 and June 2018 were included in this study. Patients were divided into molecular subtypes according to hormone receptor status, and Ki-67 index. Tumour grade, enhancement patterns, age, lymph node involvement, ADC values, breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) category, bilaterality, multifocality, multicentricity, margin, shape, and T2W image intensity were evaluated for these subtypes. Results: ADC values were higher in triple-negative tumours than in luminal A and luminal B tumours (p = 0.010 and p = 0.002, respectively). Circumscribed margin, type 2 enhancement curve, and rim enhancement were significantly higher in triple-negative tumours (p 0.05). Conclusions: ADC values, circumscribed margin, and rim enhancement can provide important information about the tumour's biological behaviour and the course of the disease

The second case of Horn Kolb Syndrome in the same woman in Turkey, diagnosed prenatally at 16 weeks of pregnancy

Background Acheiropodia is a rare form of skeletal dysplasias. It is characterized by the amputation of the upper and lower extremities and with aplasia of the hands and feet. Acheiropodia formerly was known as a disease affecting only people of Brazilian ancestry. The first case out of Brazil was reported from our clinic in 2012. In the present report, we summarize the second case of acheiropodia, which was diagnosed prenatally in the same patient. Case A 39 years old G7P2A4 pregnant woman admitted to our clinic for a regular obstetrics visit at 16th weeks gestation in May 2013. Her history was significant for early pregnancy oligohydramnios with fetal loss. In the post-abortion examination, the fetus was found to be affected with acheiropodia. Since she had a history of acheiropodia a detailed ultrasound examination was performed. The fetal head and body including the intra-cranial, thoracic and abdominal structures were normal; however, distal long bones of the upper and the lower extremities could not be demonstrated. Three days later she was admitted with vaginal bleeding. Post abortion macroscopic examination revealed the absence of distal parts of the both upper and lower extremities without any other demonstrable anomalies. Conclusion Acheiropodia is a rare disease which may be seen outside of South America. Evaluation of the continuity and normal appearance of the extremities should be integrated to the routine antenatal ultrasound examination

The effect of anesthetic agents used in oocyte collection on intracytoplasmic sperm injection results in patients treated for infertility due to male factor

Aim: Different anesthetic methods and agents are used for transvaginal oocyte retrieval procedures (TORP) in assisted reproductive techniques (ART). In our study, we evaluated prospectively the effect of propofol and thiopental sodium during TORP on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) results in the spouses of patients with male factor indication.Material and Methods: The study was approved by the ethics committee with Protocol No. 2019-21-07 on dated October 28, 2019. Sixty female patients who underwent TORP for intracytoplasmic sperm injection were included in the study. Anesthesia was randomized into two groups according to propofol (GP) or thiopental sodium (GT) used for induction and maintenance anesthesia. Patients' demographic data, effects of the anesthetic drug used on hemodynamics and nausea and vomiting, laboratory parameters including fertilization rate, cleavage rate, optimal embryo rate and implantation rate, and pregnancy outcomes were recorded.Results: Sixty patients, including the propofol group (n:30) and the thiopental sodium group (n:30), were evaluated. Mean age, body mass index and motile sperm count were similar in both groups. Mean arterial pressures and nausea and vomiting rates were lower in GP (p<0.05). Although intracytoplasmic sperm injection, pronucleus, MII oocyte values were statistically significantly higher in GP, B-HCG and clinical pregnancy outcomes were similar in both groups.Discussion: Our findings revealed that propofol and thiopental sodium, the anesthetic agents used in transvaginal oocyte collection procedure before ICSI treatment, had similar effects on clinical pregnancy. The results of our study are similar to many studies in the literature

Circulation levels of acute phase proteins pentraxin 3 and serum amyloid A in atherosclerosis have correlations with periodontal inflamed surface area

Objectives: One of the plausible mechanisms in the relationship between periodontitis and coronary artery disease (CAD) is the systemic inflammatory burden comprised of circulating cytokines/mediators related to periodontitis. This study aims to test the hypothesis that periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) is correlated with higher circulating levels of acute phase reactants (APR) and pro-inflammatory cytokines/mediators and lower anti-inflammatory cytokines/mediators in CAD patients. Material and Methods: Patients aged from 30 to 75 years who underwent coronary angiography with CAD suspicion were included. Clinical periodontal parameters (probing depth - PD, clinical attachment loss, and bleeding on probing - BOP) were previously recorded and participants were divided into four groups after coronary angiography: Group 1: CAD (+) with periodontitis (n=20); Group 2: CAD (+) without periodontitis (n=20); Group 3: CAD (-) with periodontitis (n=21); Group 4: CAD (-) without periodontitis (n = 16). Serum interleukin (IL) −1, −6, −10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, serum amyloid A (SAA), pentraxin (PTX) 3, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were measured with ELISA. Results: Groups 1 and 3 showed periodontal parameter values higher than Groups 2 and 4 (p&lt;0.0125). None of the investigated serum parameters were statistically significantly different between the study groups (p&gt;0.0125). In CAD (-) groups (Groups 3 and 4), PISA has shown positive correlations with PTX3 and SAA (p&lt;0.05). Age was found to predict CAD significantly according to the results of the multivariate regression analysis (Odds Ratio: 1.17; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.08-1.27; p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: Although age was found to predict CAD significantly, the positive correlations between PISA and APR in CAD (-) groups deserve further attention, which might depend on the higher PISA values of periodontitis patients. In further studies conducted in a larger population, the stratification of age groups would provide us more accurate results

Severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in spontaneous pregnancy treated successfully with cabergoline

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a relatively common complication in infertile patients treated with exogenous gonadotropins. Ovarian hyperstimulation in spontaneous pregnancies is a rare but possible. The pathogenesis of spontaneous OHSS is not well known. Risk factors for OHSS are young age, polycystic ovaries, low body mass index, high gonadotropin dose, increased estradiol and human chorionic gonadotropin levels, multiple pregnancy, OHSS history, molar pregnancy and hypothyroidism. In this report we present a case of severe spontaneous OHSS with a brief summary of the literature. She was hospitalized and treated in the clinic with the diagnosis of severe OHSS accompanying spontaneous pregnancy

Prognostic impact of BCL2, BCL6 and MYC status in de novo diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a regional study of 43 patients

Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma with marked biologic heterogeneity. We aimed to evaluate the status of MYC, BCL2, BCL6 in patients with DLBCL.Methods: Herein, we have investigated the prognostic relevance of MYC, BCL2 and BCL6 from 43 de novo DLBCL patients.Results: In this study, protein overexpression of BCL2 and BCL6 was encountered in 46.5% (n=20) and 27.9% (n=12) of the tumors, respectively.  Rearrangements in MYC, BCL6, and BCL2 were detected in 9.3% (n=4), 25.6% (n=11), and 4.7% (n=2) of the cases, respectively. Any statistically significant difference could not be found between Bcl-2, Bcl-6 expression, C-MYC rearrangement and the survival.Conclusions: We concluded that C-MYC and BCL2 may contribute to aggressive transformation, so more mechanism-based therapy should be explored. A larger study is warranted to better understand the immunophenotypic and molecular features of DLBCL and their respective impact on patient survival

Prenatal diagnosis of fetal acrania using two and three dimensional ultrasound

Malformations of the central nervous system are one of the most common congenital anomalies of the fetus. In this report we aimed to summarize a case of fetal acrania diagnosed in the first trimester and the use of two and three-dimensional ultrasound in early diagnosis of the disease

A novel technique for the non-surgical management of inadvertent bowel catheterization during percutaneous abscess drainage: a technical note

Percutaneous abscess drainage-related inadvertent bowel catheterization is an undesired complication that requires treatment. In two cases without signs of peritonitis that we examined, it was possible to achieve successful abscess drainage, and to treat abscess-related inadvertent bowel catheterization by using a novel technique without surgery

Assessment of the Level of Knowledge about Migraines and Medication Among Pharmacy Technicians

Objective: A limited number of studies focus on pharmacy technicians (PT) and their knowledge level regarding migraines. The present study aimed to determine their level of awareness and knowledge regarding migraines and migraine treatment. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine in Kayseri, Türkiye. It was conducted from February 2019 to May 2019 and completed with the participation of 324 PTs (75.8% response rate). Forms containing questions about the diagnosis of migraines, the characteristics, and the treatments were administered to the PTs in person and then evaluated by a neurologist. Results: The ratio of PTs who knew of a drug therapy that reduced migraine attacks was 10.2%. Most PTs (85.2%) had no training in migraine treatment and obtained knowledge from their work experience. Ninety-one participants (28.1%) recommended medication to patients who visited the pharmacy due to headaches. When asked about the drug they recommend for migraines, 29.6% suggested ergotamine, 26.9% suggested analgesics, and 15.7% suggested triptans. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that PTs working in pharmacies that support primary care services might not have sufficient awareness and knowledge about migraine treatments, and appropriate training should be provided on this subject