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Biomedical subjects

Atilla H Elhan

Publications and source records attributed to Atilla H Elhan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

ADL assessment of nondisabled Turkish children with the WeeFIM instrument.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the WeeFIM instrument's reliability and internal construct validity for the Turkish child population. DESIGN: License was taken from UDSmr to use the WeeFIM instrument. For the reliability and validity studies of the Turkish translation of the WeeFIM instrument, 573 Turkish nondisabled children were included in the study. The reliability of the instrument was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and test-retest reliability. Internal construct validity was assessed by both using Rasch unidimensional measurement model and testing for differential item functioning for age and gender. RESULTS: Cronbach alpha value was 0.99 for motor WeeFIM rating and 0.99 for cognitive WeeFIM rating. ICC was 0.81 for motor WeeFIM rating and 0.92 for cognitive WeeFIM rating. The internal construct validity of the Turkish translation of the WeeFIM instrument was confirmed by excellent fit to the Rasch measurement model. Two subscales were found from the principal component analysis of standardized residual correlation for items. Among the items, bowel management, bladder management, eating, and comprehension showed considerable levels of misfit. CONCLUSIONS: The Turkish translation of the WeeFIM instrument is valid, reliable, and practical for the Turkish child population. Further studies are required to determine the cross-cultural validity of the instrument.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2006

Assessing normative cut points through differential item functioning analysis: an example from the adaptation of the Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State (MEAMS) for use as a cognitive screening test in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State (MEAMS) was developed as a screening test to detect cognitive impairment in the elderly. It includes 12 subtests, each having a 'pass score'. A series of tasks were undertaken to adapt the measure for use in the adult population in Turkey and to determine the validity of existing cut points for passing subtests, given the wide range of educational level in the Turkish population. This study focuses on identifying and validating the scoring system of the MEAMS for Turkish adult population. METHODS: After the translation procedure, 350 normal subjects and 158 acquired brain injury patients were assessed by the Turkish version of MEAMS. Initially, appropriate pass scores for the normal population were determined through ANOVA post-hoc tests according to age, gender and education. Rasch analysis was then used to test the internal construct validity of the scale and the validity of the cut points for pass scores on the pooled data by using Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis within the framework of the Rasch model. RESULTS: Data with the initially modified pass scores were analyzed. DIF was found for certain subtests by age and education, but not for gender. Following this, pass scores were further adjusted and data re-fitted to the model. All subtests were found to fit the Rasch model (mean item fit 0.184, SD 0.319; person fit -0.224, SD 0.557) and DIF was then found to be absent. Thus the final pass scores for all subtests were determined. CONCLUSION: The MEAMS offers a valid assessment of cognitive state for the adult Turkish population, and the revised cut points accommodate for age and education. Further studies are required to ascertain the validity in different diagnostic groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Preoperative nutritional risk assessment in predicting postoperative outcome in patients undergoing major surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Although a variety of nutritional indices have been found to be valuable in predicting patient outcome when used alone, there is no consensus on the best method for assessing the nutritional status of hospitalized patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status of a cohort of patients who underwent major elective surgery using the Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), Maastricht Index (MI), Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) to determine the best possible nutrition screening system in surgical practice. METHODS: The study population consisted of 460 patients who underwent major elective surgery between December 1999 and March 2002. Each patient had a complete set of the three nutritional assessment techniques (NRI, MI, SGA); in addition, the MNA was performed in patients older than 59 years of age. One of the coauthors who was unaware of the nutritional assessments assessed the patients for postoperative morbidity and mortality. Complications were classified as major or minor and as infectious or noninfectious. To assess the predictive value of the assessment techniques, likelihood ratios were calculated for the various strata of each method. The odds ratio and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also calculated to describe and compare the diagnostic value of each of the four nutrition indices. RESULTS: Twenty patients died during the study period. No complications occurred in 329 of the 460 patients; 42 patients suffered from two or more complications. The frequency of malnutrition was found to be 58.3%, 63.5%, and 67.4% as assessed by the SGA, NRI, and MI, respectively. Morbidity rates, especially severe infectious and noninfectious complications, were significantly higher in malnourished patients in all nutritional indices. The likelihood ratio was well correlated with the risk categories of every nutritional index. The area under the ROC curves revealed that each scoring system proved to be significantly powerful in predicting the morbidity (infectious and noninfectious severe morbidity) and mortality. However, no differences were detected among the nutritional indices in 460 patients. The odds ratio for morbidity between the well nourished and malnourished patients was 3.09 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.96-4.88], 3.47 (95% CI, 2.12-5.68), 2.30 (95% CI, 1.43-3.71), and 2.81 (95% CI, 0.79-9.95) for the SGA, NRI, MI, and MNA, respectively. All indices except the MNA were significantly predictive for morbidity. The odds ratios were not statistically different among the indices. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed that all nutritional assessment techniques can be safely applied to the clinical setting with no significant difference in predictive value. We therefore strongly recommend the use of any of these techniques to improve the outcome of surgical care. Meanwhile, further investigations are needed, and much effort must be given to find the best method for assessing nutritional status.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed2006

Adiponectin levels and arteriosclerotic risk factors in pediatric renal transplant recipients.

ADPN, a recently discovered adipocytokine, has attracted great attention because of its anti-atherogenic properties. It was suggested as a protective factor for the cardiovascular system because of its close correlation with several risk factors. Our aim was to investigate serum ADPN levels in pediatric RTR and to document possible relationships between ADPN and arteriosclerotic risk factors. Twenty-one RTR, aged 16.3 +/- 4.0 yr, and 23 healthy age and sex-matched control subjects were enrolled in this study. Serum lipid/lipoprotein fractions, homocysteine and ADPN levels as well as intima-media thickness of the cIMT were determined in both groups. Significantly higher serum ADPN (p < 0.001) and homocysteine (p < 0.05) levels as well as higher cIMT (p < 0.001) were found in RTR compared with the control subjects, whereas apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein (a) levels were not significantly different. HDL cholesterol was positively correlated with log ADPN (r = 0.585, p < 0.01). There were inverse correlations between log time post-transplantation and log ADPN as well as HDL cholesterol (r = -0.438, p < 0.05 and r = -0.578, p < 0.05, respectively). There were no correlation between log ADPN, log homocysteine, log apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein (a), creatinine clearance and cumulative steroid dose. Despite reasonable lipid profiles and remarkably elevated ADPN levels, our pediatric RTR with stable graft function displayed a risk for arteriosclerosis because of increased cIMT and mild hyperhomocysteinemia. Regarding the close positive correlation between ADPN and HDL cholesterol, it could be speculated that ADPN is a novel negative surrogate marker of arteriosclerosis. To our knowledge, this is the only report investigating levels and diverse correlates of ADPN in a pediatric RTR group. Further studies in larger groups of recipients are needed to clarify the interaction between arteriosclerotic risk factors and ADPN.

Adiponectin↗
PubMed2005

Is telomere length one of the determinants of reproductive life span?

The mechanism of final cessation of the reproductive life span has not been solved yet. It is generally assumed that the most important factor is ovarian follicular reserve. In ovaries at intrauterine period, a major factor that determines the number of the primordial follicle is the mitotic ability as well as the number of primordial germ cells, which migrate to gonadal ridge. The telomere length is one factor that determines the number of mitosis of the cell. The differences between the telomere lengths of same aged healthy women reflect the difference of the telomeres of the primordial germ cells at the intrauterine period. Women with long telomeres supposedly have had their primordial germ cells at the beginning of life with long telomeres. So, these cells should have had more mitotic division and more follicle numbers in the ovaries than the short ones. The aim of this study was to analyse the relation of the reproductive life span and telomere length. The telomere lengths of 37 women volunteers aged 50 years were measured by fiber FISH technique. A positive correlation was found between reproductive life span and the telomere length.

DNA↗
PubMed2005

Chronic peritoneal dialysis in Turkish children: a multicenter study.

Chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) has been utilized in the treatment of children since 1989 in Turkey. The aims of this study were to summarize our experience with CPD in children and to establish a pediatric registry data system in Turkey. Standard questionnaires were sent to all pediatric CPD centers. 514 patients treated between 1989 and 2002 in 12 pediatric centers were enrolled in the study. Reflux nephropathy was the most common (18.1%) cause of renal failure. Mean age at dialysis initiation was 10.1+/-4.6 years. Mean duration of dialysis was 24.1+/-20.5 months. Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) was the first CPD modality for 476 (92.6%) patients, 142 of whom switched to automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) during follow-up. Currently, 47.3% of the patients are still on CPD, 15.4% were transplanted, 13.2% switched to hemodialysis, 16.7% died. The patient and technique survivals were 90% and 95% at one year and 70% and 69% at five years, respectively. The survival was significantly shorter in the youngest age group (0-24 months) compared to those in older age groups (p=0.000). We herein report the first results of the TUPEPD study providing information on demographic data and survival of pediatric CPD patients. As opposed to clear recommendations in favor of APD, there is a clear preponderance of CAPD in our pediatric CPD population. That vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is still the leading cause of renal failure is a distressing finding. Remarkably lower survival rates and transplantation ratios are as striking and distressing as the high incidence of VUR among the causes of ESRD. We conclude that we must make a great effort to achieve better results and to change these undesirable events.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

High serum adiponectin levels during steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome relapse.

Adiponectin (ADPN), exclusively expressed and secreted from adipocytes, is a recently discovered protein hormone with anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties in contrast to other well-known adipocytokines. It has independent negative associations with obesity and hyperinsulinemia/insulin resistance. Apart from chronic renal failure, nephrotic syndrome was suggested as the only renal disease condition associated with raised plasma ADPN levels in adults. We aimed to evaluate the effect of nephrotic state on serum adiponectin (ADPN) levels in pediatric patients with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) by comparing the levels in relapse and remission as well as in control subjects and documenting possible relationships between ADPN and proteinuria as well as serum protein/lipid parameters. 34 patients with SRNS and 22 healthy age, sex and BMI-matched control subjects were enrolled into the study. 15 of the 34 SRNS patients had active diseases, and these were known as the SRNS-relapse group (ten relapsed and five newly-diagnosed patients), while the remaining 19 were in complete remission (the SRNS-remission group). Serum ADPN levels, blood chemistry (protein/albumin, triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (Cho) and lipoprotein levels) and 24-hour proteinuria were studied. ADPN levels were determined by ELISA. As expectedly, there were significant alterations in serum protein-lipid parameters and 24-hour proteinuria levels in SRNS patients consistent with their disease activity. SRNS-relapse patients had substantially higher ADPN levels (36.77+/-15.06 (5.61-59.41, median 39.84) microg/ml), compared to those in SRNS-remission and control groups (14.17+/-6.02 (3.28-29.40, median 12.80) microg/ml and 11.84+/-7.53 (2.81-31.46, median 10.85) microg/ml, respectively, p=0.001). There were strong positive correlations between serum ADPN levels and Cho (r=0.637, p=0.000), TG (r=0.516, p=0.002), low density lipoprotein (r=0.614, p=0.000) levels and 24-hour proteinuria (r=0.828, p=0.000) levels, whereas protein (r=-0.695, p=0.000) and albumin (r=0.732, p=0.000) levels were inversely correlated with ADPN levels. Regression analysis showed a significant correlation between ADPN and proteinuria (p=0.000). In conclusion, remarkably increased serum ADPN levels were detected in SRNS-relapse compared to those in SRNS-remission. This phenomenon might be the reflection of a compensatory response to nephrotic state characterized by massive proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia and hyperlipidemia.

Adiponectin↗
PubMed2005

Prevention of surgical site infection after open prosthetic inguinal hernia repair: efficacy of parenteral versus oral prophylaxis with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid in a randomized clinical trial.

The aim of this prospective study was to compare the efficacy of oral versus parenteral prophylactic amoxicillin-clavulanic acid for preventing surgical site infection after open prosthetic mesh repair of inguinal hernia. A total of 480 inguinal-hernia patients were randomly assigned to two groups. Group I (n = 240) received 1.313 g oral amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 2 hours before operation, and group II (n = 240) received 1.2 g of the same drug combination intravenously approximately 30 minutes before surgery. Patients were examined four times during 1 year of follow-up (at 7-10 days, 4-6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months postoperation), and data related to surgical site infections were collected. Seventy-two patients were excluded due to confounding factors during and after the operation. There were no statistically significant differences between group I (final n = 208) and group II (final n = 200) with respect to age, sex distribution, body mass index, American Anesthesiology Association grade, frequencies of different hernia types, duration of surgery, and the experience levels of the principal surgeon in the operations. One of the 208 (0.5%) patients in group I and 3 of the 200 (1.5%) patients in group II developed superficial surgical site infections (p > 0.05). None of the infections required mesh removal. There were no deep surgical site infections in either group, and there was one case of hernia recurrence in each group. For patients undergoing open prosthetic repair of inguinal hernia, oral amoxicillin-clavulanic acid is safe, significantly less costly, and equally effective in preventing surgical site infection as the same dose given parenterally.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2005

TNF-alpha -308G/A and IL-6 -174 G/C polymorphisms in the Turkish pediatric stroke patients.

INTRODUCTION: Introduction: Stroke is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in the pediatric age group. There is increasing evidence on the role of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the occurrence and outcome of stroke. These proinflammatory cytokines carry functional polymorphisms (IL-6 -174 G/C and TNF-alpha -308 G/A) in their promoter regions, affecting their transcription rate and plasma cytokine levels. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of these polymorphisms with the occurrence of stroke in the Turkish pediatric stroke patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty six arterial stroke patients (aged between 0 and 14) and 83 healthy unrelated adult controls without personal or family history of stroke were investigated by PCR and restriction endonuclease analysis for IL-6 -174 G/C and TNF-alpha -308 G/A polymorphisms. RESULTS: The allele distribution, allele frequencies, and combined distribution of genotypes for both polymorphisms did not differ significantly between control and patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: The two polymorphisms did not associate with the occurrence of stroke in our study group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Psychometric properties of the Mini-Mental State Examination in patients with acquired brain injury in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in patients with acquired brain injury in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 207 patients with acquired brain injury were assessed. Reliability was tested by internal consistency and the person separation index; internal construct validity by Rasch analysis; external construct validity by correlation with cognitive disability; and cross-cultural validity by differential item functioning analysis compared with Italian MMSE data. RESULTS: Reliability was adequate with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.75 and person separation index of 0.76. After collapsing some categories, and adjustment for differential item functioning, internal construct validity was supported by fit of the data to Rasch model. Differential item functioning for culture was found in 2 items and after adjustment, data could be pooled between Turkey and Italy. External construct validity was supported by expected associations. CONCLUSION: The Turkish version of the Mini-Mental State Examination can be used as a cognitive screening tool in acquired brain injury. Cross-cultural validity between Italy and Turkey is supported, given appropriate adjustment for differential item functioning. However, shortfalls in reliability at the individual level, as well as the presence of differential item functioning suggest that a better instrument should be developed to screen for cognitive deficits following acquired brain injury.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Preliminary study to evaluate the validity of the mini-mental state examination in a normal population in Turkey.

Although the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is widely used in clinical practice, normative scores for a healthy population have not been documented in Turkey. The aim in this study was to validate the MMSE in a healthy population and to provide normal scores. Internal construct validity of the Turkish version of MMSE among a preliminary sample of 406 normal people was assessed by Rasch unidimensional measurement model. Scores of the normal sample varied according to age and education but not according to sex. The data derived from this sample showed poor fit to the Rasch model (mean item fit, -2.082, SD 3.022). Only four of 11 items met model expectations. There was also differential item functioning by education and age for most items. Thus the internal construct validity of the Turkish MMSE in a normative sample could not be demonstrated by Rasch analysis. The scale failed modern psychometric criteria for scalability. We would therefore suggest other large normative MMSE data sets to be tested in terms of internal construct validity. If these findings are replicated, the validity of MMSE norms and their consequent use in clinical practice should be reconsidered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Characteristics of sildenafil erections in healthy young men.

AIM: To determine the effect of sildenafil citrate on the nocturnal penile erections (i.e. time to onset, the duration of erection, and the interval between first and second erections) of healthy young men. METHODS: Twenty-two potent men, 23-29 years old, were recruited for the study. All subjects completed three sessions over consecutive nights using the RigiScan monitoring device (Dacomed, Minneapolis, USA). After a first night of adaptation, night 2 records were their baseline values, and on night 3 they received 100 mg of sildenafil citrate. Statistical comparisons were done between the second and third night data. RESULTS: The mean time to onset of the first erection with sildenafil citrate was (34+/-18) min, whereas it was (74+/-24) min (P 0.0001) without sildenafil citrate. The number of erections observed during the first 5 h after sildenafil citrate medication was 3.6+/-0.5 in contrast to 2.4+/-0.5 with no medication (P=0.001). The interval between first and second erections was shorter with sildenafil citrate: (52+/-26) min vs. (85+/-34) min (P = 0.01). The duration of the last erection was statistically significantly longer with the sildenafil citrate: (64 +/-33) min vs. (42 +/-28) min (P 0.001). CONCLUSION: Healthy young men achieved erection within 34 min after sildenafil citrate administration, which is shorter than the 1 h interval proposed by the manufacturer. The interval between the first and second erections was shorter and the duration of the last nocturnal erection was longer.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2004

Bone marrow microvessel density (MVD) in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML): therapy induced changes and effects on survival.

Based on the strong evidence in favor of an increase in microvessel density (MVD) in hematological malignancies, we evaluated VEGF immunoreactivity and MVD measurement in bone marrow biopsies of 36 AML patients at diagnosis and following therapy. MVD assessment was based on CD31, CD34 expressing vessels. The values were calculated for only one marker if the other vascular marker was positive on blasts, otherwise both markers were used. VEGF immunoreactivity was also scored. Comparison of MVD values of 36 AML patients with 18 non-malignant controls showed a significantly higher MVD in AML (CD31: P = 0.004, CD34: P < 0.001), which is independent of other variables such as cellularity or blast percentage. Following induction chemotherapy, the responders showed a significant decrease in blast counts (P < 0.001), cellularity (P = 0.001) and MVD (P = 0.050) quantification with CD31. Higher baseline MVD (CD34) values were associated with shorter overall survival (P = 0.0027). These results are encouraging for inclusion of MVD enumeration in bone marrow examinations of AML patients at diagnosis as an additional prognostic factor.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2004

Ultrasound biomicroscopy of the levator aponeurosis in congenital and aponeurotic blepharoptosis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate and measure the thickness of the levator aponeurosis by ultrasound biomicroscopy in congenital dysmyogenic and aponeurotic blepharoptosis. METHODS: Forty-four upper eyelids of 22 patients who had unilateral blepharoptosis were evaluated by ultrasound biomicroscopy. The patients ranged in age from 13 to 69 years (mean, 35.4 +/- 20.2 years). Fourteen patients were male and 8 patients were female. Seven patients had congenital dysmyogenic blepharoptosis and 15 patients had aponeurotic blepharoptosis. Imaging was performed with a 50-MHz transducer. The thickness of the levator aponeurosis was measured centrally at the upper border of the tarsus. RESULTS: The levator aponeurosis was imaged in all eyelids except for one eyelid with aponeurotic blepharoptosis. The mean thickness of the levator aponeurosis was 0.39 +/- 0.10 mm in the ptotic eyelid and 0.42 +/- 0.09 mm in the control eyelid of the patients with congenital dysmyogenic blepharoptosis (p = 0.043). The mean thickness of the levator aponeurosis was 0.26 +/- 0.05 mm in the ptotic eyelid and 0.36 +/- 0.04 mm in the control eyelid of the patients with aponeurotic blepharoptosis (p = 0.001). The thickness of the levator aponeurosis was correlated with the palpebral fissure height (p = 0.013, r = 0.644) in aponeurotic blepharoptosis. The thickness of the levator aponeurosis was correlated with the levator function (p = 0.033, r = 0.795) in congenital dysmyogenic blepharoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: The thickness of the levator aponeurosis can be measured with ultrasound biomicroscopy. The most common pathology in aponeurotic blepharoptosis is thinned-out aponeurosis. The levator aponeurosis of the ptotic eyelid is thinner than the normal eyelid in congenital ptosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Perianal infections: reader agreement and diagnostic performance of fat-suppressed contrast-enhanced MRI.

We aimed to determine the diagnostic performance of the contrast-enhanced fat-suppression technique in the detectability of perianal infections and to compare this technique with different MR sequences used for this purpose. Thirty consecutive patients with clinically suspected anorectal infections were examined with fast spin-echo (FSE) T2-weighted, short-inversion-time inversion recovery (STIR), and fat-suppressed and non-fat-suppressed T1-weighted spoiled gradient-echo (SGE) (in-phase) dynamic contrast-enhanced sequences. The results of MRI were correlated with the findings of surgery, which was considered as the standard of reference. Receiver-operating-characteristic curves were reconstructed to describe and compare the diagnostic value of each MR technique. The values of kappa were used as a measure of observer reliability. Diagnostic performances of STIR, FSE T2-weighted and fat-suppressed and non-fat-suppressed, contrast-enhanced SGE T1-weighted techniques showed statistically insignificant differences in detection of perianal infections. There was almost perfect interobserver agreement regarding the presence of lesions on each MR technique. Fat-suppressed, contrast-enhanced SGE T1-weighted MRI showed adequate diagnostic performance in the detection of perianal infections. However, its significance is not different from the other MR sequences used for the present study.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Use of percent free prostate-specific antigen density to improve the specificity for detecting prostate cancer in patients with normal rectal examinations and intermediate prostate-specific antigen levels.

INTRODUCTION: As prostatic volume influences percent free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in patients with prostate cancer, we evaluated whether percent free PSA density, which relates the serum percent free PSA to the volume of the prostate determined by transrectal ultrasound, could increase the specificity of cancer detection in men with normal digital rectal examinations and intermediate PSA levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 105 consecutive men with normal digital rectal examinations and serum PSA levels of 4.1-10.0 ng/ml. All patients underwent at least sextant prostate biopsies to establish the diagnosis. For detection of total and free PSA we used an Immulite free and total PSA assay. We compared PSA density, percent free PSA and percent free PSA density for their utility in cancer detection. RESULTS: Overall, 20 of 105 patients (19%) had prostate cancer. The area under the curve (AUC) for percent free PSA density was 0.771, not significantly higher than the AUC of 0.75 for PSA density (p = 0.778), but significantly higher than the AUC of 0.604 for percent free PSA (p = 0.021). Of these three parameters, percent free PSA density yielded the highest specificity percentage (54.1%) at 95% sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Percent free PSA density is more specific than percent free PSA in distinguishing benign from malignant disease in men with a normal digital rectal examination and an intermediate PSA level. Further study is necessary to discover whether percent free PSA density is superior to percent free PSA or PSA density.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Genetic polymorphism of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and breast cancer susceptibility.

Within mitochondria, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) provides a major defence against oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). An alanine-9valine (Ala-9Val) polymorphism in the mitochondrial targeting sequence of MnSOD has been described and has recently been associated with risk of human breast cancer. Our present case-control study was performed to explore the association between MnSOD genetic polymorphism and individual susceptibility to breast cancer. Ala-9Val polymorphism in the signal sequence of the protein for MnSOD was determined using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay in a study population. There was no significant difference in risk for breast cancer development between patients positive and negative for the MnSOD Ala allele with adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.86 (95% confidence interval (CI(0.43 to 1.72). When MnSOD Ala was combined with either cytochrome P450 1B1 CYP1B1*1 and catechol O-methyltransferase COMT-L (V158M) genotypes, the risk for developing breast cancer was significantly increased in patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 24 kg m(-2) (OR: 1.42 (95%CI=1.04-1.93)).

Alleles↗