Objective: This study investigates the diagnostic potential of fractional anisotropy (FA), derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), for distinguishing low-grade (grade 1-2) from high-grade (grade 3-4) gliomas by evaluating the tumor core, tumor margin, and peritumoral region. Patients and Methods: Sixty patients with histopathologically confirmed gliomas (grade 1-2, n=30; grade 3-4, n=30) underwent preoperative 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) including DTI. FA was measured in the tumor core (solid component), tumor margin, peritumoral region, and contralateral normal-appearing white matter (NAWM). NAWM-normalized FA ratios were also evaluated. Groups were compared using independent-samples t tests, and diagnostic performance was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis including AUC, optimal cut-off, sensitivity, and specificity. Results: Fractional anisotropy in tumor-related regions was lower than contralateral NAWM in both groups. Grade 3-4 gliomas showed significantly lower raw FA in the tumor core, tumor margin, and peritumoral region, whereas NAWM FA did not differ between groups. NAWM-normalized FA ratios were also significantly reduced in grade 3-4 gliomas (all p < 0.05). Tumor core raw FA showed the highest discrimination (AUC = 0.842, 95% CI: 0.734-0.932, cut-off = 0.150, sensitivity = 0.80, specificity = 0.73). Conclusion: Raw and NAWM-normalized FA metrics, particularly in the tumor core and peritumoral region, differentiated grade 1-2 from grade 3-4 gliomas and may serve as supportive noninvasive markers for preoperative grading.
Objective: Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of age-related dementia. This disease is a progressive, degenerative central nervous system disease. Neuron loss is more pronounced in hippocampal pyramidal cells. Although various agents are known for its treatment, a stronger or definitive treatment has not yet been found. Alzheimer's disease is seen in more than half of diabetes mellitus patients. The main similarities between these two diseases are insulin resistance and inflammatory pathways. Therefore, Alzheimer's disease is also called type 3 diabetes. The antidiabetic effect of Ocimum gratissimum (O. gratissimum) extract, commonly known as basil extract are well documented worldwide. However, its behavioral and neuroprotective effects in Alzheimer's disease have not been sufficiently studied yet. Our aim is to demonstrate the anti-apoptotic effect of O. gratissimum on hippocampal pyramidal cells in an experimental rat model of Alzheimer's disease induced by streptozotocin (STZ) and in paralel, to test learning-related behaviors in rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty-three 4-month-old male Wistar rats were used and randomly divided into five groups: control, sham, STZ, O. gratissimum, and O. gratissimum+STZ. The eight-arm radial maze test was taught to all animals that were kept under suitable conditions. Finally, STZ and O. Gratissimum extract were given to rats together intraperitoneally. Blood glucose and the weight of all rats were measured regularly. After the eight-arm radial maze test was performed on the rats in all groups, the rats were decapitated, their brains were sectioned by histological methods, and all apoptotic cells in the hippocampus were counted with TUNEL method. All groups were compared by statistical analysis (ANOVA). Results: In rats whose learning was impaired with STZ, learning behavior improved in a statistically significant way with O. gratissimum extract (p <0.05). In parallel, O. gratissimum significantly reduced neuron loss in CA1, CA2, and CA3 areas of hippocampus when compared to STZ (p <0.05). Behavioral tests show that STZ and O. gratissimum have effects on apoptosis in the brain, especially in the hippocampus. There are also studies in parallel with our study showing that O. gratissimum reduces neuronal atrophy in the CA3 region. In our study, it was observed that the number of apoptotic cells was higher in the STZ group, and there was a corrective effect in the O. gratissimum added group. Conclusion: As a result, O. gratissimum extract showed a neuroprotective effect against the loss of hippocampal neurons caused by STZ, similar to that observed in Alzheimer's disease, and maintained learning behavior accordingly. This study may be an important resource for future molecular and clinical studies on the use of O. gratissimum extract in Alzheimer's disease.
Objective: Lung cancer represents the second most prevalent form of malignancy on a global scale and is associated with the highest mortality rate of all cancers. The objective of this study is to investigate the gene expression profiles of various cell death pathways in healthy lung cells and lung cancer cells. Furthermore, the study seeks to establish how epigenetically associated genes regulate these pathways. Materials and Methods: The MRC-5 and A549 cell lines were cultivated under the optimal conditions for their growth. The isolation of RNA, the subsequent synthesis of cDNA, and the analysis of quantitative real-time PCR were performed in order to measure the expression levels of EZH2, DNMT1, caspase-3, and GPX4 genes in the cells. Results: The findings of this study indicate an upregulation of the epigenetic regulators DNMT1 and EZH2, as well as the ferroptosis inhibitor GPX4, in A549 lung cancer cells. Concurrently, a decrease in caspase-3 gene expression was observed. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the expression levels of the epigenetic regulators DNMT1 and EZH2 are elevated in lung cancer cells, which is associated with reduced apoptotic signaling, as indicated by decreased caspase-3 expression, and suppression of ferroptosis through increased GPX4 expression.
Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of texture analysis in differentiating benign and malignant liver lesions, as well asdistinguishing primary malignant liver tumors from metastases using pre-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences.Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 101 liver lesions from 100 patients who underwent upper abdominal MRIfollowed by biopsy or surgical resection. Texture analysis was performed on pre-contrast T1-weighted (T1W), T2-weighted (T2W),and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) sequences using first-order (histogram-based) and second-order (gray level co-occurrencematrix (GLCM)-based) statistical parameters. Group comparisons were conducted using Mann-Whitney U test, with a significancethreshold of p < 0.05. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to demonstrate the success of texture analysisparameters in distinguishing lesion subtypes.Results: Among 101 lesions, 90 were malignant and 11 were benign. Pre-contrast T1W, first-order parameters—mean, 50th, 90th,and 99th percentiles were significantly lower in malignant lesions compared to benign lesions. Primary malignant tumors andhepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibited higher first-order values than metastatic lesions. Certain second-order parameters frompre-contrast T1W images also showed statistical significance, while ADC and T2W sequences revealed fewer differences.Conclusions: Texture analysis of pre-contrast MRI provides quantitative and objective evaluation of liver lesions, aiding differentiationbetween benign and malignant lesions and between primary and metastatic tumors. Pre-contrast T1W sequences were the mostinformative, highlighting the potential utility of texture analysis for patients unable to receive contrast agents.
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy marked by the aberrant proliferation of plasma cells, resulting inhypercalcemia, renal dysfunction, anemia, and bone lesions. This case study describes a 74-year-old female patient with acute kidneyinjury, diabetes mellitus, and an L3-L4 bone fracture, who exhibited elevated creatinine levels (7.01 mg/dL) and was later diagnosedwith stage III MM. Diagnostic evaluations included serum free light chain ratio (FLCR = 209), serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP),serum immunotyping and serum immunofixation electrophoresis (IT and SIFE; LC1-Kappa, HC-IgD-LC2-Kappa, and LC3-Kappa),multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC), and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The patient completed six cycles of VCd(bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone) therapy, attaining a very good partial response (VGPR) and has subsequently beenundergoing maintenance therapy with ixazomib for a period of two years.This report highlights the difficulties in diagnosing and managing a rare subtype of MM and emphasizes the importance of FLC,SPEP, IT, SIFE, and MFC in evaluating prognosis and treatment efficacy. Although the patient presented with several poor prognosticfeatures of MM, the observed response indicates a possible treatment efficacy. Additional research is required to investigate prognosticmarkers and enhance treatment strategies for uncommon MM subtypes.
