Hypersensitivity to aeroallergens in patients with recurrent vulvovaginitis of undetermined etiology

AIM: Recent findings show that the vaginal mucosa can develop an allergic response to environmental allergens and there is a strong association between atopy and some recurrent vulvovaginal infections. In this study, we investigated prospectively the rate of atopy in patients with recurrent vulvovaginitis of undetermined etiology (RVV). MATERIAL AND METHODS: After being investigated by a gynecologist, 35 patients with RVV who were considered as undetermined etiology formed the study group. The control group consisted of 150 healthy females. Study and control groups were investigated for atopy by means of skin prick test for common aeroallergens. Associated allergic disease and familial atopy history of the subjects were recorded. RESULTS: The rate of atopy (11/35; 31.4% vs 9/150; 6%) was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the study group than in the controls. Familial history of atopy was significantly more frequent in the study group than in the controls (10/35; 28.6% vs 8/150; 5.3%, P < 0.05). RVV in atopics is more associated with seasonal rhinitis than in nonatopics (5/11; 45.4% vs 2/24; 8.3%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We concluded that a significant number of RVV is associated with atopy. Although the exact mechanism(s) of this relationship remains to be investigated atopy might be a causative and/or contributing factor in the pathogenesis of RVV.     

Alexithymia and anger in patients with fibromyalgia

Our objective was to delineate the relevance of the personality construct alexithymia and anger-in in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. Fifty subjects with fibromyalgia syndrome were compared to 20 subjects with rheumatoid arthritis and 42 healthy controls on the measures of anxiety, depression, anger, alexithymia, pain intensity and disability. There was a significant difference on the measures of anxiety and anger between FMS and RA groups, and also between FMS patients and healthy controls. There was a significant difference between FMS patients and healthy controls on the measures of depression, difficulty in identifying feelings subscale of TAS (TAS-dif), and total alexithymia scores. When the severity of pain was controlled for, there was a significant difference on the measures of anger and alexithymia between the FMS and the RA groups. Fibromyalgia patients were more alexithymic than rheumatoid arthritis patients even when the level of depression was controlled for. Anger towards oneself, which is anger-in, was higher in patients with fibromyalgia patients than in the rheumatoid arthritis sample. A stepwise regression model showed that the anger-out scores and the anxiety scores predicted the level of pain severity, and this explained 32% of the variance in the fibromyalgia syndrome group. Although anger-in is consistently higher in fibromyalgia patients, it is the behavioral expression of anger, together with anxiety, that predicts the severity of the pain. The difficulty of identifying feelings, rather than other dimensions of alexithymia, seems to be associated with fibromyalgia.Abbreviations CLBP Chronic low back pain - FMS Fibromyalgia syndrome - RA Rheumatoid arthritis - VAS Visual analog scale     

A novel PSEN2 p.Ser175Phe variant in a family with Alzheimer’s disease

Neurological Sciences - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be either sporadic or familial, and familial forms of AD accounts for only 5% of the cases. So far, autosomal dominantly inherited...     

What might cervical vestibular–evoked myogenic potential abnormalities mean in essential tremor?

Aim/background

Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders. However, its pathogenesis is unclear. Human vestibular reflexes are essential not only for gait and posture but also for goal-directed voluntary movements. In this study, cervical vestibular–evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs), the electrophysiological equivalent of the vestibulo-collic reflex was studied in ET patients to understand the interaction between the tremor network and the vestibular neural pathways.

Methods

cVEMPs were recorded in 40 ET patients and 40 age and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). The latencies of peaks p13 and n23 and peak-to-peak amplitude of p13-n23 were measured.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference between the p13 latencies of the HC and ET groups (p 0.79 and p 0.23 for the right and left sides respectively). n23 latency was shortened bilaterally in the ET group (p 0.009 and p 0.02 for the right and left sides respectively). p13-n23 amplitudes of the ET patients were bilaterally reduced when compared with the HC (p <0.001 and p 0.001 for the right and left sides respectively).

Conclusion

Information provided by vestibular afferents is crucial in the control of voluntary movements in humans. Despite this silent but significant effect, the role of the vestibular system in movement disorders is often overlooked. In this study, it was found that cVEMP responses reflecting the activity of the vestibulo-collic pathway were affected in ET which can be either caused by dysfunctional structures or pathways responsible from ET or an additional disorder of vestibular information processing in these patients.

     

Effect of photobiomodulation therapies on the root resorption associated with orthodontic forces: a pilot study using micro computed tomography

Clinical Oral Investigations - The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of photobiomodulation therapies on root resorption compared with the placebo group. Thirty patients who were...     

Rate of allergic fungal etiology of chronic rhinosinusitis in Turkish population

The aim of this study is to investigate intranasal fungal incidence in Turkish patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). One hundred patients with CRS and 40 healthy subjects as a control group were included in the prospective study. Nasal lavage samples were investigated for the presence of fungus, using new culture techniques and histopathologic examination. Epidermal and intradermal hypersensitivity tests were used to find out fungal atopy. Levels of serum eosinophils, total IgE and presence of fungus-specific IgE were investigated in the blood samples. Quantitative parameters were analyzed using Pearson χ² test. Allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS) was diagnosed in 13(13%) patients. There was no fungal growth in the control group. Eosinophilic mucin was detected in 94% of patients. Clinical and laboratory parameters of CRS were not significantly different in patient groups with or without intranasal fungi. As a result, fungal incidence was not as high as expected in Turkish patients with CRS. Furthermore, no significant correlation could be found between presence of intranasal fungus and type-1 hypersensitivity in patients with CRS.     

Antioxidant properties of propofol and erythropoietin after closed head injury in rats

Reactive oxygen species play a role during brain injury due to closed head trauma. Enzymatic or nonenzymatic antioxidants may protect brain tissue against oxidative damage. The present study was performed to assess the changes of endogenous indices of oxidative stress in serum from rats subjected to head trauma and whether treatment with propofol and/or erythropoietin (EPO) modifies the levels of endogenous indices of oxidative stress. For these purposes, female Wistar Albino rats were divided into five groups: non-traumatic sham group, trauma performed control, trauma with propofol (i.p.), trauma with EPO (i.p.) and trauma with propofol and EPO performed study groups. At the end of the experimental procedure, blood was taken by cardiac puncture to determine superoxide dismutase (SOD) and xanthine oxidase (XO) activities as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels in serum. Serum MDA level of control traumatic brain injury (TBI) group was significantly higher than sham operation group (p<0.012). Serum MDA levels in propofol, EPO and propofol+EPO groups were found to be decreased in comparison with control group (p<0.039, p<0.030 and p<0.018, respectively). Serum NO level was found to be increased in TBI group, but difference was not statistically significant when compared to sham-operated group (p=0.092). Propofol, EPO and propofol+EPO administration efficiently reduced serum NO levels to reach sham-operated group (p<0.002, p<0.001 and p<0.015, respectively). These results suggested that acute administration of both propofol and EPO altered the indices of oxidative stress similarly against brain injury due to trauma.     

Intrahepatic arterioportal fistula and its treatment with detachable balloon and transcatheter embolization with coils and microspheres

BACKGROUND: Although intrahepatic arterioportal fistula (APF) due to acquired or congenital causes are infrequent, they are listed among the causes of portal hypertension. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to present the results of intrahepatic APF treatment with embolotherapy in six cases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Transarterial detachable balloon and coil embolization was used on six consecutive cases with traumatic intrahepatic APF from 1989 to 2003. Six-month follow-up angiography was obtained in every case. RESULTS: Successful disconnection of hepatic arterial and portal system was achieved in five cases. At least symptomatic improvement was achieved in one. CONCLUSION: Transcatheter embolization may be the first line of treatment for intrahepatic APF.     

Variations of supraorbital traits

More than one notch and/or foramen may be found in the supraorbital region due to branching of the supraorbital nerves and vessels. A total of 360 adult Anatolian-Ottoman skulls (212 male, 148 female) were examined for some characteristics of the notches and/or foramina in the supraorbital region. The distribution of the supraorbital traits: 335 (93%) in medial, 24 (6.7%) in both medial and lateral, only 1 (0.3%) in lateral position. Of 360 skulls, 197 (54.7%) had one notch on either side, 32 (8.9%) had one foramen on one side and one notch on the other side, 24 (6.7%) had one foramen and notch on one side and one notch on the other side, 19 (5.3%) had one foramen on either side and 88 (24.4%) had other combinations. The distances of the notches from the midline, and between of the foramina from the midline and the supraorbital margin were measured. Knowledge of the anatomy of the supraorbital region is important for the plastic and maxillofacial surgery.