In this study, our aim was to investigate the pathogenesis and diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM), a complex disorder with poorly understood causes. We focused on examining the role of oxidative stress and associated lipid and protein alterations in FM patients. To achieve this, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of serum samples obtained from 60 FM patients and 40 healthy individuals. In our analysis, we employed various biochemical assays and spectroscopic techniques including Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, we applied advanced statistical methods such as chemometrics and machine learning algorithms to analyze the collected data. The obtained results showed higher levels of oxidative stress, around 113% on the visual analogue scale score and around 5800% higher when C = O vibrations from lipids visible in FTIR spectra were analyzed. Also, lower levels of total antioxidants and oxidants in FM patients were observed compared with the healthy group. Moreover, FTIR spectra of serum collected from FM patients showed significantly higher absorbance of bands corresponding to polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids, while differences were not found in the Raman spectra. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the obtained spectroscopic data showed that it is possible to distinguish patients suffering from FM and healthy control groups with 100% accuracy using FTIR spectroscopy. PLS analysis showed significance in the differentiation of lipid vibrations among groups. In summary, FTIR coupled with chemometrics has the potential for fibromyalgia diagnosis.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common reason for dementia and is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in the aging population. A crucial component of AD is the brain's sensitivity to oxidative stress. We aimed to determine the oxidative load of patients with AD who had just been diagnosed and had not yet begun medical treatment.Methods: To assess oxidative load before drug administration, we compared the levels of serum total antioxidant (TAS), oxidant status (TOS), paraoxonase (PON1), arylesterase (ARES), total thiol (THIOL) levels in patients just diagnosed with AD (n = 41) and control (n = 45) with the totally 86 individuals. AD and control groups oxidative stress index (OSI) ratio was calculated too.Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the AD and control groups for mean TAS, TOS, and OSI levels with a 95% confidence level (pTAS = 0.001, pTOS = 0.005, pOSI = 0.001). There was not a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of mean PON1, ARES, and THIOL values. Significantly negative and positive correlations were found for the interested parameters in both groups.Conclusion: The increase in antioxidative capacity in patients with AD may be related to ARES supported by TAS, and THIOL levels suggest, that those protein oxidation mechanisms are effective in the progress of AD disease before medication.Copyright (c) 2022, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine.

Objective: Antibiotics are considered to be one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. The widespread and inappropriate use of antibiotics leads to resistance to microorganisms, increased cost, and at the same time an increase in the incidence of secondary side effects. We aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about the use of antibiotics of the parents living in the Aegean part of Turkey.Methods: The study was conducted with parents of 252 children who applied to the Kutahya Family Health Center between May and October 2017. The data were collected by face-to-face interview using a questionnaire survey prepared by the investigator. Descriptive and categorical statistics were used for the study. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi-square test. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of parents was 32.83 ± 7.61 years and most of them were in a low education and income group. There was negative correlation between education level and use of correct antibiotics (p<0.01). This sentence given by you is like a interpretation and should be in a conclusion or discussion. Additionally, the correct level of knowledge of parents living in the urban area, male gender, and unemployed was determined to be lower. Conclusions: Rational antibiotic use is an important health issue in our country. We anticipate regional differences in evaluations of antibiotic use and we believe that, in order to increase the efficiency of antibiotic use, it is necessary to increase the level of education in the region and to reprogram health education to the public. Family Doctors should be sensitive to the use of antibiotics and inform the patient during the interview process. We believe that guidance and strategy can be developed for the national-international correct use of antibiotics using these regional data that we have obtained.

Aim: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by decreased airflow (hypopnea) or complete interruption (apnea) and is characterized by airway narrowing, decreased oxyhemoglobin saturation, hypercapnia, and hyperventilation associated therewith. It is known that genetic factors play role in the pathogenesis of OSAS. Multi-drug resistant-1 (MDR-1) gene products have a role in the pathogenesis of several diseases related to oxidative stress. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of MDR-1 gene C/T polymorphism in patients with OSAS. Material and Method: This study was performed on 43 OSAS and 23 healthy individuals. Blood samples from each individual were collected in tubes with ethylenediaminetetraacetic add (EDTA). DNA was extracted from the blood samples. The MDR-1 gene polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme digestion techniques. Results: The frequencies of MDR-1 genotypes were found 27.9% for CC, 41.9% for CT and 30.2% for TT in the OSAS group and 17.4% for CC, 65.2% for CT and 17.4% for TT in the control group. The distribution of MDR-1 gene C alleles was found to be 48.8% in COPD group and 50.0% in the control group; T alleles were found to be 51.2% in OSAS group and 50.0% in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference observed between the groups for genotype and allele frequency of MDR-1 gene (p>0.05). Discussion: We believe these results can be useful for large-scale population genetic research considering the frequency of the MDR-1 gene variation in OSAS patients in the Turkish population.

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is known as a chronic infl ammatory lung disease which has also systemic features.Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) plays a role for asthma pathogenesis.Controversially, IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) blocks asthma development.That is why IGF-I and IGFBP3 are targeted for future therapeutic treatments of asthma.We aimed to investigate serum level of IGF-I and IGFBP3 in patients with asthma.This study was performed in 27 asthma and 23 healthy individuals.Serum levels of IGF-I and IGFBP3 were measured by human ELISA assay kits.Serum levels of IGF-I and IGFBP3 were signifi canlty higher in the asthma group than the control group.Signifi cant negative correlation was found between IGF-I and asthma control test (ACT) puan, O 2 saturation, Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second/ Forced Vital Capacity (FEV1/FVC), Forced Expiratory Flow 25 second/75 second (FEF2575) (%).Signifi cant positive correlation was found between IGFBP3 and IGF-I, systolic blood pressure.Signifi cant negative correlation was found between IGF-I and FEV1 (ml).RESULTS: Our results indicate that the serum levels of IGF-I and IGFBP3 are signifi canlty elevated in the asthma group.We assume that current treatment strategies are not really good enough for asthma.We suppose further strategies which are seeking to balance IGF-I and IGFBP3 should be developed for more effective and curative treatment of asthma (Tab.2, Fig. 2, Ref. 22).

Amac: Organ transplantasyonu organ yetmezligi gelisen bircok son donem hastaligin tedavisi icin standart tedavi yontemi haline gelmistir. Organ transplantasyonunun artmasi ise ancak bireyler tarafindan bagislanan organ sayisinin artmasi ile mumkundur. Tip fakultesi ogrencilerinin organ bagisi ve nakli konusundaki bilgi duzeyleri, tutum ve davranislari organ bagisi oranlarinin artmasini olumlu yonde etkilemek icin toplumsal acidan onem tasimaktadir. Biz bu calismamizda tip fakultesi ogrencilerinin organ bagisi ve transplantasyona bakis acilarini, bu konudaki bilgi duzeylerini, tutum ve davranis bicimlerini arastirmayi amacladik. Materyal ve Metot: Dumlupinar Universitesi Tip Fakultesi 1.,2.,3. ve 4. sinif ogrencilerine (n = 110) yas, egitim duzeyleri, organ bagisi ve transplantasyon konusundaki bilgi duzeyleri, tutum ve davranis bicimlerini sorgulayan 27 soruluk bir anket uygulandi ve sonuclar SPSS-16.0 istatistik programi ile analiz edildi. Bulgular: Siniflar arasinda ‘Organ bagisini destekliyor musunuz?’ ve ‘Organ bagisinda bulundunuz mu?’ sorulari acisindan istatistiksel olarak anlamli bir fark saptanmistir (p=0.017 ve p=0.010). Organ bagisi konusundaki bilgi duzeyi acisindan her sinif icinde istatistiksel anlamlilik tespit edilmistir (p=0.000). Her sinif duzeyinde ‘Organ bagisini daha etkili bir sekilde tesvik etmek ve toplumun organ transplantasyonu konusundaki farkindaligini arttirmak icin ne tur girisimlerde bulunulmalidir?’ sorusu acisindan yaygin egilimin medya tanitimlari yonunde oldugu gozlenmistir. Diger yandan ‘Turkiye’de transplantasyon sayisinin artisina ve organ bagisinin yayginlasmasina yol acabilecek uygulamalar nedir?’ sorusu acisindan yaygin egilimin egitim kurumlari ve medya araciligiyla kamusal bilgilendirme yonunde oldugu tespit edilmistir. Sonuc: Tip fakultesi ogrencilerinin organ bagisi ve transplantasyon konusundaki bilgi duzeylerinin, tip fakultesi egitim duzeyine paralel bir sekilde arttigini ve bu konudaki tutum ve davranislarinin olumlu yonde degistigini gozlemlemis bulunmaktayiz.

AIMS:We aimed to observe the effects of apelin supplementation on the plasma levels of nesfatin-1 in DOCA-salt hypertensive and normal rats.METHODS:For this purpose, 28 young Wistar albino male rats were divided into four groups; Control (C), Control + Apelin (C+A), Hypertension (HT) and Hypertension + Apelin (HT+A). Hypertension was induced by injection of DOCA-salt (25 mg/kg, s.c.) twice weekly, 4 weeks, whereas intraperitoneal apelin was administered (200 µg.kg-1) for 17 days. Plasma nesfatin-1 and apelin levels were measured with ELISA. Systolic blood pressure was monitored using a tail cuff system. The relationships between plasma nesfatin levels and blood pressure were assessed.RESULTS:Plasma nesfatin-1 levels was found lower in control animals compared to C+A, HT and HT+A groups (p = 0.002, p = 0.026 and p = 0.011, respectively). Systolic blood pressures were similar in the C and C+A groups, but systolic blood pressures of the HT and HT+A groups was found significantly higher than the C and C+A groups.CONCLUSIONS:In conclusion, apelin administration induced an increment of nesfatin-1 in normal rats and plasma levels of nesfatin-1 increase in DOCA-salt hypertension rats. But apelin addition in hypertension did not cause an extra increase in nesfatin-1 levels. This is the first report to investigate the effect of apelin administration on plasma nesfatin levels of normal and hypertensive rats (Fig. 2, Ref. 44).

Objective: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) targets several tissues and maintains fluid homeostasis. It is also known that RAS plays a role in inflammatory processes. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and its product angiotensin II (AngII), which are the components of RAS, regulate the known effects of RAS. The other components of RAS, ACE2 and its product Ang 1-7, regulate the counter-effects of RAS. That is why the activation or inhibition of RAS can offer new therapeutic strategies for treating several diseases. We aimed to investigate the serum level of RAS components such as angiotensinogen (AGT), ACE, AngII, ACE2, and Ang 1-7 in asthma and control groups.Materials and Methods: This study was performed on 27 asthma and 23 healthy individuals. The serum levels of AGT, ACE, AngII, ACE2, and Ang 1-7 were measured by human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.Results: There were no statistically significant differences for the serum levels of AGT and ACE between the groups. The serum levels of AngII, ACE2, and Ang 1-7 were significanlty higher in the asthma group than those in the control group.Conclusion: Our results indicate that two tails of RAS, i.e., the ACE and ACE2 pathways, are activated in asthma compared to are activated more in the asthma group than in the control group. We suppose that the activation of ACE2 tail of RAS occurs because of the homeostatic balance requirements of this system. We believe that the activation of ACE2 pathway, in addition to the inhibition of the ACE pathway, can provide clinical benefits in treating asthma.

Nesfatin-1 is a peptide secreted by peripheral tissues, central and peripheral nervous system. It is involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis related with food regulation and water intake. Nesfatin-1 can pass through the blood-brain barrier in both directions. It suppresses feeding independently from the leptin pathway and increases insulin secretion from pancreatic beta islet cells. That is why nesfatin-1 has drawn attention as a new therapeutic agent, especially for the treatment of obesity and diabetes mellitus. Its effects on nutrition have been studied in more detail in literature. On the other hand, its effects on other physiological parameters and mechanisms of action still need to be clarified. Synthesizing the research on nesfatin-1 can help us better understand this field. Hippokratia 2015, 19 (1): 4-10.

Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by progressive airflow obstruction and chronic airway inflammation that occurs as a result of the inflammatory processes against harmful irritants and chemicals. Today it is known that inflammation in COPD is not only limited to lung but it also has systemic properties. Nesfatin is described as an adipokine and involved in inflammatory responses in many chronic inflammatory diseases besides regulation of energy metabolism. Ghrelin is a hormone secreted by gastric oxyntic glands. It induces food intake, adiposity, and balances energy homeostasis. Recently nesfatin and ghrelin were described as anti-inflammatory agents. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate serum levels of nesfatin and ghrelin in COPD patients to have clues about their role in the pathogenesis of COPD. Methods: This study was performed on 27 COPD patients and 16 healthy controls. Blood samples were collected in tubes without EDTA. Serum levels of ghrelin and nesfatin were measured by human ELISA assay kits. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS 16.0 package program. Differences were considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: Serum level of ghrelin was detected as 120.21 ± 1.61 pg/ml in the COPD and 108.07 ± 5.67 pg/ml in the control group. Serum level of nesfatin was detected as 28.88 ± 1.13 pg/ml in the COPD and 25.18 ± 1.59 pg/ml in the control group. Serum levels of ghrelin and nesfatin were significantly higher in COPD group compared to the control group (respectively; p = 0.018, p = 0.05). Conclusion: Ghrelin and nesfatin may play role as anti-inflammatory agents in the inflammatory processes of COPD.