Alleviating Effect of Alpha-Pinene on Testicular Torsion and Detorsion Injury in Rats

Objective:It was aimed to evaluate whether alpha-pinene (AP) had a beneficial effect in the testicular ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) model for the first time.Materials and Methods:Testicular malondialdehyde, total oxidant status, and total antioxidant status levels were determined using spectrophotometric methods. The superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), myeloperoxidase (MPO), 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78), activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) levels were determined using the commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Hematoxylin-eosin staining method was used in the histopathological evaluation.Results:In the IRI group, testicular MDA, MPO, GRP78, ATF6, and CHOP levels were significantly increased, while GSH and GPx levels were decreased compared with the control group (p<0.01). AP application restored these levels significantly (p<0.05). Johnsen scores were also significantly lower in the IRI group compared the control group (p<0.001), and AP treatment increased these scores significantly (p<0.001).Conclusion:These results suggest that AP can protect the testicular tissue against IRI by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation, and endoplasmic reticulum stress with its antioxidant properties, thus providing a molecular basis for a novel medical treatment of testicular IRI. Future studies are needed on other mechanisms of the protective effect of AP on the pathogenesis of testicular torsion

Hipertansiyonlu hastalarda sol ventrikülün eş zamanlı kasılmasını etkileyen faktörler: Arteriyel katılık ve merkezi kan basıncı etkili mi?

Amaç: Sol ventrikül (SV) eş zamanlı kasılma bozukluğu hipertansiyonlu hastalarda sık rastlanılan bir bulgu olup SV hipertrofisi ile ilişkilidir. Arteriyel katılık (AK) ve merkezi (aortik) kan basıncı, SV hipertrofisi gibi hipertansiyon kaynaklı hedef organ hasarında önemli rol oynar. Bu çalışmada, AK, merkezi sistolik ve diyastolik kan basınçları (KB) ve SV senkronizasyon bozukluğu arasındaki ilişki incelendi. Çalışma planı: Yeni hipertansiyon tanısı konmuş 35 hasta ve 40 kontrol çalışmaya alındı. Tüm çalışma popülasyonuna ‘doku senkronizasyon görüntülemesini’ (DSG) de içeren kapsamlı ekokardiyografik inceleme yapıldı. SV’nin pik sistolik doku hız zamanı (Zs) 12 segment modeli ile ölçüldü ve iki eş zamanlı kasılma bozukluğu indeksi hesaplandı. Nabız dalga hızı (NDH) ve artış indeksini (AIx@75) içeren AK parametreleri ile merkezil sistolik ve diyastolik KB aplanasyon tonometresi ile değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Kan basınçları dışında her iki grubun temel klinik ve ekokardiyografik parametreleri benzerdi. Eş zamanlı kasılma bozukluğu indeksleri hipertansiyonlu hastalarda kontrol grubuna göre uzamıştı: 12 segmentin Zs’nın standart sapması (48.7±18.8 ve 25.8±13.1, p<0.001); herhangi iki segmentin maksimum Zs farkı (143.9±52.2 ve 83.8±39.4, p<0.001), NDH (11.9±2.5 ve 9.5±1.4, p<0.001), AIx@75 (27.4±8.3 ve 18.3±9, p=0.009), merkezi sistolik (147.6±20.8 ve 105.4±11, p<0.001) ve diyastolik (99.8±14.4 ve 72.8±9.5, p<0.001) basınçlar hipertansiyonlu hastalarda kontrol grubundan daha yüksekti. Çok değişkenli analizde, merkezi sistolik KB (?=0.496, p=0.03), SV kitle indeksi (?=0.232, p=0.027) ve beden kütle indeksi (?=0.308, p=0.002) eş zamanlı kasılma bozukluğu ile bağımsız ilişkili bulundu. Sonuç: Merkezi sistolik KB, yeni tanı konmuş hipertansiyonlu hastalarda SV’nin eş zamanlı kasılma bozukluğunun bağımsız öngördürücüsüdür. Ancak AIx@75, SV eş zamanlı kasılması üzerinde doğrudan etkiye sahip değildir.Objectives: Left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony is a common finding in patients with hypertension and is associated with LV hypertrophy. Arterial stiffness (AS) and central (aortic) blood pressures play a significant role in end-organ damage such as LV hypertrophy caused by hypertension. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between AS, central blood pressures (BP) and LV dyssynchrony. Study design: Thirty-five newly diagnosed hypertensive patients and 40 controls were enrolled in the study. The entire study population underwent a comprehensive echocardiographic study including tissue synchrony imaging. The 12 segmental model was used to measure the time to regional peak systolic tissue velocity (Ts) in the LV and two dyssynchrony indices were computed. Parameters of AS including pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx@75), and central systolic and diastolic BP were evaluated by applanation tonometry. Results: The baseline clinical and echocardiographic parameters of both groups were similar except for their BPs. Dyssynchrony indices were prolonged in patients with hypertension as compared to the controls. The standart deviation of Ts of 12 LV segments in patients with hypertension and the controls were 48.7±18.8 vs. 25.8±13.1, respectively (p<0.001), and the maximal difference in Ts between any 2 of 12 LV segments was 143.9±52.2 for hypertension patients vs. 83.8±39.4 for controls (p<0.001). PWV (11.9±2.5 vs. 9.5±1.4, p<0.001), AIx@75 (27.4±8.3 vs. 18.3±9, p=0.009), and central systolic (147.6±20.8 vs. 105.4±11, p<0.001) and diastolic (99.8±14.4 vs. 72.8±9.5, p<0.001) pressures were higher in patients with hypertension than in the controls, respectively. In multivariable analysis, central systolic BP (?=0.496, p=0.03), LV mass index (?=0.232, p=0.027), and body mass index (?=0.308, p=0.002) were found to be independently related to dyssynchrony. Conclusion: Central systolic BP is an independent predictor of LV dyssynchrony, but AIx@75 did not have an independent effect on LV synchronicity in patients with newly-diagnosed hypertension

Prognostic Significance of Hematological Parameters in Patients with Early-Stage Malignant Melanoma

The prognosis of melanoma is extremely poor. There are no biomarker that indicate the prognosis. The indirect markers of the antitumoral response such as the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), derived NLR (dNLR), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) etc. have recently begun to be emphasized. Increased NLR, PLR and dNLR as a consequence of chronic inflammation have been found to be associated with poor prognosis in many cancers. The aim of this study is explore the role of this parameters in patients with early-stage melanoma. We retrospectively evaluated 120 patients admitted to our clinic with stage I-Ill melanoma with ANC, ALC, absolute platelet count(APC), as well as NLR, dNLR, and PLR values at the time of diagnosis, relaps and metastasis and evaluate their impact on prognosis. Patients with active infection, receiving steroids, with a chronic inflammatory disease that may alter the hematological parameters, and those with another malignancy other than melanoma were excluded. The median follow-up was 52 months. OS and DFS were significantly worse in patients with an NLR above 2.84. Also, in patients with a dNLR value above 1.96 (p= 0.007). The were no relationship between PLR value, OS and DFS, and between gender and OS. OS was significantly lower in patients over 65 years of age (p< 0.001). These results suggested that haematological parameters can be used to estimate the prognosis of melanoma. These results suggested that haematological parameters can be used to estimate the prognosis of melanoma