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Biomedical subjects

A Baki

Publications and source records attributed to A Baki.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

The effect of loratadine in exercise-induced asthma.

AIMS: To assess the effect of loratadine in exercise induced asthma. METHODS: Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study of 10 mg oral loratadine, once daily for three days in 11 children. At the end of the treatment period FEV(1) was measured, and patients were exercised on a treadmill. FEV(1) measurements were repeated at intervals after exercise. RESULTS: Loratadine significantly reduced the decrease in FEV(1) after exercise at two, five, 10, 15, and 30 minutes, compared with placebo (p < 0.05). However, the mean decrease in FEV(1) at five minutes was more than 15% of baseline in the loratadine group. CONCLUSIONS: Loratadine reduces, but does not prevent, exercise induced asthma in children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Morgagni hernia: an unexpected cause of respiratory complaints and a chest mass.

Morgagni hernia (MH) is the least common type of congenital diaphragmatic hernias. Although its course is often asymptomatic, it may be associated with various respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. We describe 7 children with MH during a 5-year period in three pediatric centers in Turkey. All children had acute or chronic respiratory symptoms; cough was the most frequent. The diagnosis was made by posterior-anterior (PA) and lateral chest X-rays. The PA chest X-rays showed a homogenous mass in 2 and a gas-filled cystic image in 3 children in the right cardiophrenic angle. A retrocardiac homogeneous density in one child, and bilateral consolidation in lower lung areas in another child were also seen. All lateral chest X-rays showed gas-filled bowel loops above the diaphragm. The diagnosis was confirmed by barium-contrast radiograph. Four patients had five additional anomalies, i.e., ventricular septal defect, right inguinal hernia, congenital hip dislocation, pectus carinatum, and obstruction of the uretero-pelvic junction. All of the hernias were repaired by an abdominal approach. There were no complications or recurrences during follow-up. In conclusion, MH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases of long-standing respiratory symptoms and/or when an unexplained radiological image, especially on the right cardiophrenic area, is present.

Barium Compounds↗
PubMed2000

The effect of indomethacin on hepatitis B virus replication in chronic healthy carriers.

BACKGROUND: A chronic HBsAg carrier state, a major cause of viral spread in a community, is one of the consequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Although successful immunization programs have been initiated to eliminate the virus, there is still a large number of people with HBV infection worldwide. This study was designed to investigate the effect of indomethacin treatment on HBV markers in humans, in comparison with a control group. METHODS: In total, 65 chronic 'healthy' HBV carriers were involved in the study. Patients were divided randomly into two groups. Group I (n = 42) received oral indomethacin 75 mg daily for 6 months. Group II (n = 23) acted as control. Patients in both groups were followed up for 6 months, during which laboratory tests, including viral parameters, were performed periodically. Liver biopsy was done in 17 patients (11/42 of the indomethacin group and 6/23 of the control group). RESULTS: All liver biopsies showed grade 0-2 and stage 0-1 HBV in both groups (P > 0.05). HBsAg positivity did not change in any patient in either group. Five patients who had positive HBeAg in group I became negative 4 months later, while patients in group II continued to be positive at 6 months (P < 0.001). Similarly, all patients receiving indomethacin exhibited a total anti-HBeAg immunoglobulin response at 6 months, while the control group remained the same during this period (P < 0.05). HBV DNA, as detected by polymerase chain reaction in 20/22 (91%), was negative in group I at the end of 6 months. No change was observed in group II (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Although no biochemical analyses were performed on prostaglandins in the present study, the results suggest that the prostaglandin pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of the immune response against HBV, and that the suppression of viral replication is achieved as indicated by the disappearance of HBeAg and HBV DNA in healthy chronic HBV carriers.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

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Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Cola drinks consumption and oesophagitis.

For oesophageal epithelial changes to develop from gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), the character of the refluxate must be acid enough to cause injury. Experimentally, copious perfusion of the oesophagus with weak acid is quite harmless. However, hydrochloric acid alone with a pH below 3.0 may cause oesophageal injury. Cola drinks are strongly acidic (pH 2.5). This study analyses the influence of and possible interaction between cola consumption and oesophagitis. Twenty rats were divided into two groups of 10. The animals received saline (pH 7.0) or cola (pH 2.6) per OS with 24 h free access to these solutions. After the experiment the oesophagus was dissected. The mucosa was macroscopically and histopathologically examined, and flow cytometric analysis was used to look for proliferative activity. The histopathological analysis showed that there is no difference between saline and cola. But the findings of cell cycle analysis showed that the effects of cola and saline in inducing oesophageal mucosal damage are different. In the cola group the values were G0/G1, 7.33 +/- 2.88; S, 29.88 +/- 2.88; G2/M, 0.10 +/- 0.01; PI (proliferative-regenerative index), 29.76 +/- 2.88. The rat cell population g0/g1 phases were found to be low (p < 0.01), and the cell population S and PI phases were found to be significantly elevated compared with the control group (p < 0.01). (G0/G1, 79.30 +/- 5.97; S, 16.06 +/- 8.27; G2/M, 4.66 +/- 4.03; PI, 20.03 +/- 6.01). These results were reflected in the proliferative index, which is used as a measure of the regeneration index. The data show that cola has proliferative and regenerative effects on the oesophageal mucosa, and it is possible that its regenerative effect is caused as a result of an irritant effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Evaluation of a rapid test for the detection of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and 2.

Hema-Strip HIV-1/2 is a one-step rapid test for the detection of anti-HIV-1/2 antibodies in whole blood. The test requires no expensive equipment and the results are available within 10-15 min. Using 72 known HIV-1 positive samples and 780 high-risk prisoners, the sensitivity and specificity of Hema-Strip HIV-1/2 was found to be comparable to microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA). The data also indicated that Hema-Strip HIV-1/2 is an effective alternate testing system to conventional ELISA where the use of ELISA is not suitable and the result of the HIV testing is needed urgently.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1998

The inhibiting effect of cola on gastric mucosal cell cycle proliferation in humans.

BACKGROUND: Acidic beverages may be involved in regulating the cell proliferation of the gastric mucosa. We therefore analyzed the interaction of Coca-Cola consumption and gastric mucosal proliferation by means of flow cytometry. METHODS: Sixteen healthy students agreed to participate in this study. All volunteers underwent an oesophagogastroduodenoscopy after a 12-h overnight fast. Endoscopic changes in the gastric mucosa were determined quantitatively. One day later, after a 12-h overnight fast, all volunteers received standard Coca-Cola (200 ml, pH 2.6, 4 degrees C). One hour later all volunteers again underwent oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, to measure gastric mucosal damage. During both the first and the second endoscopy at least four biopsy specimens were taken from the antrum for flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS: The endoscopic analysis showed that there was no difference before and after Coca-Cola consumption. However, the flow cytometric analysis showed that Coca-Cola inhibited the proliferation index and the S phase. Before Coca-Cola consumption G0/G1: 60 (57-62), G2/M: 0.6 (0.2-1), S: 40 (37-42), and PI: 0.40 (0.38-0.43) and after Coca-Cola consumption G0/G1: 70 (60-73), G2/M: 1.9 (1.2-2.5), S: 28 (26-32), and PI: 0.30 (0.27-0.34) the cell population G0/G1 and G2/M phases were significantly increased (P < 0.0001, 0.0003), and the cell population S and PI phases were significantly low compared with the pre-consumption data (P < 0.0002, 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The cell cycle analysis reflects that Coca-Cola inhibits a crucial event in the cell cycle occurring at the G1/S border.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Portal and splanchnic haemodynamics in patients with advanced post-hepatitic cirrhosis and in healthy adults. Assessment with duplex Doppler ultrasound.

PURPOSE: To assess portal and splanchnic haemodynamics, and splanchnic vascular resistance in patients with advanced post-hepatitic cirrhosis and in healthy volunteers, by means of duplex Doppler ultrasound (US). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The duplex Doppler US examination was performed in 16 patients with cirrhosis and in 24 healthy volunteers. We investigated vessel diameters, mean flow velocities, and mean blood flows in the portal vein, the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), and the splenic artery (SA), and measured the resistive index values of SMA and SA. RESULTS: The mean portal venous blood flow in patients with cirrhosis (829 +/- 264 ml/min) was not statistically different from those in the volunteers (734 +/- 194 ml/min). The ratio of the SMA and SA blood flows (621 ml/min) to the portal venous blood flow (734 ml/min) was 0.85 in the control subjects. The mean portal venous blood flow (1261 ml/min) and the portal venous velocity (14.6 cm/s) were higher in the patients with recanalized para-umbilical veins than in the volunteers and in the patients without recanalized para-umbilical veins. The SMA and SA blood flows were significantly increased in patients with cirrhosis compared with volunteers. Splanchnic inflow (the sum of the SMA and SA blood flows) was higher than the portal blood flow in patients with cirrhosis except in the subjects with recanalized para-umbilical veins. SMA and SA resistive index values were significantly higher in these patients than in the volunteers. CONCLUSION: Splanchnic blood flow and splanchnic vascular impedance increased significantly in patients with advanced post-hepatitic cirrhosis. Splanchnic inflow must not exceed portal venous blood flow in patients with recanalized para-umbilical veins. Portal vein velocity and portal venous blood flow measurements alone are not useful parameters for discriminating patients with cirrhosis from healthy subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Acute bronchodilatory effect of salmeterol on methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in childhood asthma.

A review of the literature highlights the need for research, particularly on the acute bronchodilatory effect of salmeterol on bronchoconstriction in the pediatric age group. The present study attempted to evaluate the acute bronchodilatory effect of salmeterol on methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in childhood asthma and to compare it with the effect of salbutamol. Forty-four asymptomatic children with mild-to-moderate asthma (23 boys and 21 girls; aged 7-17 years) were studied. At the beginning, the baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) was measured, and the methacholine challenge was performed by doubling the dose to determine PC20 (provocative concentration of inhaled methacholine required to reduce FEV1 by 20%). At the same time, the transcutaneous arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was also measured. Each subject inhaled a single dose of 25 micrograms salmeterol (n: 23, group I) or 100 micrograms salbutamol (n: 21, group II) following the SaO2 measurement. The same measurements (FEV1, SaO2) were repeated 5 and 20 min after the inhalation. After inhalation of salmeterol or salbutamol, the differences between the values of FEV1 and SaO2 after 5 and 20 min were insignificant in both group I and group II (P > 0.05), although there was a significant improvement in both FEV1 and SaO2 after 5 and 20 min (P < 0.005). From these findings it was concluded that salmeterol can be considered as effective as salbutamol on methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Short-term effects of budesonide, nedocromil sodium and salmeterol on bronchial hyperresponsiveness in childhood asthma.

BACKGROUND: The effects of budesonide, nedocromil sodium and salmeterol on bronchial hyperresponsiveness were determined over a period of 3 weeks. METHODS: Forty-three asymptomatic children (22 male, 21 female, aged 7-17 years) with mild-to-moderate asthma were evaluated. The study was placebo-controlled and double-blind. At the beginning the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) was measured and a methacholine challenge was performed to determine PC20 (provocative concentration of inhaled methacholine required to reduce FEV1 by 20%). The patients in group I (n = 12), group II (n = 10), group III (n = 11), and group IV (n = 10) inhaled 200 micrograms of budesonide, 2 mg of nedocromil sodium, 25 micrograms of salmeterol and a placebo, respectively, twice a day over the period of 3 weeks. Then the methacholine PC20 values of all patients were measured again and the results were compared statistically with their previous values. RESULTS: The statistical data revealed that the methacholine doses in PC20 before and after treatment were different in group I (P < 0.01). However, these differences were not statistically significant in the other groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The short term usage of budesonide decreases bronchial hyperresponsiveness, but nedocromil sodium and salmeterol in the given dises do not affect bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Empyema in children.

Empyemas develop following bacterial pneumonias, thoracic trauma and surgery which are still among the common diseases, causing illness and death throughout the developing world. With the advent of potent antibiotics the mortality of empyema has been drastically reduced. In this study 52 patients (29 boys and 23 girls) with thoracic empyema were evaluated retrospectively. In this series the causes of empyema were postpneumonic in 50 patients, esophageal anastomotic leak in one patient, and thoracic trauma in one patient. The diagnosis was suspected clinically and by the finding of a pleural effusion on chest roentgenogram. Definitive diagnosis was confirmed by pleural aspiration which pus was obtained. Responsible organisms included; Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza, pseudomonas, and Klebsiella. The most common is Staphylococcus aureus. The patients were treated in various ways; 14 patients were treated with antibiotics and thoracentesis, 38 patients were treated with a closed tube thoracostomy. Eight of 38 patients had the chest tube converted to an open empyema tubes for long term management. Fourteen of 38 patients developed abcess formation. Nine of 14 patients were treated with computed tomography guided catheter placement, five patients encountered thoracotomy and decortication. In this article, appropriate treatment and result of long-term follow-up of empyema were evaluated.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1996

The calpain cascade. Mu-calpain activates m-calpain.

m-Calpain, which usually requires near-millimolar Ca2+ for activation, undergoes autolysis at 25 microM Ca2+ in the presence of mu-calpain. m-Calpain in itself exhibits no sign of autolysis around this Ca2+ concentration. Half-maximal rate of the reaction occurs at 30 microM Ca2+, showing that it is mu-calpain that catalyzes the limited proteolysis of m-calpain in an intermolecular reaction ("heterolysis"). This heterolytic step is accompanied by the activation of m-calpain: mu- and m-calpain preincubated together at 25 microM Ca2+ show significantly higher activity than the sum of activities of mu- and m-calpains preincubated separately. m-Calpain is sensitized to Ca2+ by mu-calpain-mediated activation: the half-maximal value of 160 microM for activation is lowered to 64 microM, which is similar to the shift found in m-calpain autoactivation. We suggest that these in vitro observations are relevant in vivo and the calpain cascade may play an important role in coordinating the functioning of calpains in living cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Autolysis parallels activation of mu-calpain.

The kinetics of autolysis and activation of mu-calpain were measured with microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) as a very sensitive substrate. The initial rate of MAP2 hydrolysis was found to be a linear function of the autolysed 76 kDa form of mu-calpain large subunit at both 10 and 300 microM Ca2+, and both straight lines intersected the origin. This finding supports the view that native mu-calpain is an inactive proenzyme and that activation is accompanied by autolysis. The first-order rate constant of autolysis, K1(aut), was determined at different Ca2+ concentrations: the half-maximal value was at pCa2+ = 3.7 (197 microM Ca2+), whereas the maximal value was 1.52 s-1, at 30 degrees C. The Ca(2+)-induced activation process was then monitored by using our novel, continuous fluorimetric assay with labelled MAP2 as substrate. The first-order rate constant of activation, k1(act), was derived as the reciprocal of the lag phase ('transit time') at the initial part of the progress curve: half-maximum was at pCa2+ = 3.8 (158 microM Ca2+) and the maximum value was 2.15 s-1. The good agreement between the kinetic parameters of mu-calpain autolysis and activation is remarkable. We claim that this is the first kinetically correct determination of the rate constant of autolysis of mu-calpain. Pre-activated mu-calpain has a Ca2+ requirement that is almost three orders of magnitude smaller [half-maximal activation at pCa2+ = 6.22 (0.6 microM Ca2+)]. We cannot exclude the possibility that the activation process involves other mechanistic steps, e.g. the rapid dissociation of the mu-calpain heterodimer, but we state that in our conditions in vitro autolysis and activation run in close parallel.

Autolysis↗
PubMed1996

Mutual protection of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase II against mu-calpain.

Phosphorylation by adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKA), but not by Ca(++)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II), was shown earlier to protect microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) from cleavage by m-calpain (Johnson and Foley: J Neurosci Res 34: 642-647, 1993). We reinvestigated this phenomenon with the physiologically more relevant mu-calpain and found a qualitatively similar but quantitatively different picture. We further demonstrate that 1) protection is biphasically dependent on the degree of phosphorylation; 2) Ca(++)-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (PKC) has about the same effect as PKA; 3) the effects of kinases A and C are not additive; and 4) stripping of native MAP2 from its phosphate content (17.8 +/- 2.3 mol/mol) enhances calpainolysis 3.6-fold. A reciprocal effect between kinase A and MAP2 was found: the RII, but not the RI, regulatory subunit of kinase A, which was shown to bind specifically to MAP2, is protected by MAP2 from mu-calpain attack. It is suggested that the specific anchoring of kinase A-II on MAP2 may serve not only kinase targeting in the dendrites, but also protection from calpainolytic degradation.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

An ultrasensitive, continuous fluorometric assay for calpain activity.

A rapid, continuous assay for calcium-activated neutral protease activity is described. This assay is based on monitoring the elevation in fluorescence intensity that occurs upon calpainolytic digestion of dichlorotriazinylamino-fluorescein-labeled microtubule-associated protein 2. Tedious separation of peptide products from the protein substrate in this rapid assay is unnecessary, which thus offers two remarkable advantages over conventional caseinolytic assay procedures: (i) it raises sensitivity of detection by about three orders of magnitude, allowing the quantitative determination of calpain in the high picogram range in 10 min; and (ii) it permits a continuous detection of activity, which may prove invaluable in enzyme-mechanism studies that require pre-steady-state measurements. Other features and advantages of the assay, along with its limitations, are discussed in detail.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Diagnostic value of the nasal provocation test with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in childhood asthma.

We aimed to determine whether the nasal provocation test (NPT) with allergen could be used as a diagnostic test in asthmatic children with or without allergic rhinitis, and whether it had any effects on pulmonary function tests and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) values. Therefore, 25 asthmatic outpatients sensitive to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp), aged 6-17 years, 12 having allergic rhinitis, and 10 nonatopic children as a control group were challenged intranasally with solution containing Dp extract by administration of a total dose of 800-1000 AU to both nasal cavities. Before the test and 10 min and 20 min after the administration of the allergen intranasally, the nasal expiratory peak flow (NEPF), pulmonary function tests, and SaO2 were measured. In the NPT, a decrease of 20% or more in NEPF and occurrence of nasal symptoms were considered to be positive. NPT was positive in all the asthmatic patients with or without allergic rhinitis, while all the children in the control group had a negative test. Compared to values prior to the test, values of FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 s) and SaO2 showed no statistically significant decrease, and no clinically significant asthmatic reaction was observed in any of the groups. Our study suggests that in asthmatic children with or without allergic rhinitis, the NPT with allergen is a simple, safe, and useful diagnostic test.

Adolescent↗