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Biomedical subjects

K Balci

Publications and source records attributed to K Balci.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Brachial plexus injury during open heart surgery--controlled prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative brachial plexus injury is often reported because the brachial plexus is stretched by sternotomy and the use of sternal retractors during open heart surgery. In many studies, brachial plexus injuries have been demonstrated by postoperative electrophysiological studies in susceptible patients. In this study, we estimated the incidence, severity, and type of brachial plexus injuries by routine preoperative and postoperative electrophysiological studies of patients undergoing open heart surgery. METHODS: Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery (Group 1), heart valve surgery (Group 2), or peripheral vascular surgery (Group 3) were included in the investigation. Electrophysiological studies of both upper extremities were performed five days before and three weeks after the operation. RESULTS: Peripheral nerve problems were found preoperatively in 23 of the 112 patients (21 %). These problems persisted, but similar findings were obtained postoperatively from the left upper extremities of six of the 42 CABG (14 %) and two of the 24 heart valve (8 %) patients who had had normal preoperative evaluations. The patients with injured nerves were older and had undergone longer operation times. There were no differences between the patients with injured nerves and the others with respect to mammary artery harvesting or other operative variables. CONCLUSIONS: There are no reports in the literature of routine preoperative and postoperative electrophysiological studies in large patient groups to evaluate brachial plexus injury during open heart surgery. It is known that heart surgery sometimes causes partial brachial plexus injury, especially in the lower trunk. However, these peripheral nerve problems are usually not considered clinically important and are not investigated. Patients undergoing open heart surgery must be closely followed up for peripheral nerve injury during the postoperative period.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

A case of acquired stuttering resulting from left parietal infarction.

OBJECTIVE: Acquired stuttering is uncommon, and is reported anecdotally after head injury and cerebrovascular diseases. Although this entity is described to occur in lesions of dominant hemisphere, it is rarely shown to occur in non-dominant hemispheric and subcortical lesions, too. Therefore we described a case with this rare syndrome and we discussed the possible mechanisms, lesion locations and medical treatment of stuttering according to previous reports. CASE REPORT: A 61-year-old right-handed man with sudden onset of right hemiparesia and stuttering without aphasia is reported. There was a circumscribed cortical infarction in the left parietal cortex on computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a recent infarct. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images evidenced perfusion abnormalities in the same region. He never stuttered before and has no family history of stuttering. He has been maintained on antiaggregant and paroxetine treatment. CONCLUSION: A rare presentation of stroke associated with stuttering is reported and the treatment of stuttering with paroxetine is discussed.

Cerebral Infarction↗
PubMed2001

The histopathological effects of thiodan on the liver and gut of mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis.

Thiodan (33.7% endosulfan), a polychlorinated cyclodiene insecticide, was evaluated for its histopathological effects on mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, by light microscopy. Fish were exposed to doses of 0.00 (control), 1.00, 2.50, and 5.00 microg/L on days 7, 14, 21, and 30. No histopathological effects were apparent at control group. The histopathological alterations were characterized as oedema, degeneration, accumulation of lymphocytes in the lamina propria, disintegration of villuses, pycnotic state of nuclei, and necrosis in gut; degeneration, hypertrophy, sinusoids enlargement, hemorrhage, pycnosis position of nuclei, vacuolization of cell cytoplasm, infiltration of mononuclear lymphocyte, and congestion in liver. These alterations were time- and dose-dependent.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The distribution of extracellular matrix proteins and CD44S expression in human astrocytomas.

Aims of the study were: 1. to establish the prevalence of CD44 protein expression in human astrocytomas; 2. to compare the distribution of the extracellular matrix in these tumors; 3. to investigate the relation between CD 44, the extracellular matrix proteins and the histological grade of the tumor. CD44, Type IV Collagen (Col IV), Laminin (LN), Fibronectin (FN), and Tenascin (TN) expression were detected by immunohistochemistry in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue samples of 52 astrocytic tumors: 35 glioblastomas (GB), 7 Anaplastic astrocytomas (AA) and 10 astrocytomas (A). The localization of Col IV was observed in the basement membrane of the vessel walls in most of the astrocytomas (88.4%) with a similar pattern obtained with LN staining. 7 of 10 A (70%), 2 of 7 AA (28%) and 9 of 35 GB (25.7%) showed LN positivity. There was a negative correlation between LN expression and tumor grade (p=0.03). FN was either localized in the basement membrane or showed thick multi-layered immunoreactivity of the vessel walls. FN expression was seen in 6 A (60%), 4 AA (57%) and all of 35 GB (100%). The FN distribution was not uniform and its staining intensity showed decrease in GB. 3A (30%), 3 AA (42%), 27 GB (77.1%) showed TN expression in the vessel walls and in some tumor cells of 19 GBs. TN expression was positively correlated with the degree of vascular endothelial proliferation in GB (p<0.05). The expression of CD44s wasseen as plasma membrane positivity of glioma cells in 5 of 10A (50%), 3 of 7AA (42.3%) and 29 of 35 GB (82.8%). The intensity of immunoreaction was quite strong especially near the vessels. There was a good correlation between TN and CD44s expression in human astrocytic tumors (p=0.005). No relationship was observed between GFAP, ECM proteins and CD44s expression. Both CD44s and TN expression showed increase with malignancy in astrocytomas. These findings indicated that the histological malignancy of the astrocytomas was correlated with expression of TN and CD44s. It was suggested that in astrocytomas there was a biological relationship only between CD44 and TN, but none with the other ECM proteins. TN may play a role in angiogenesis in human astrocytic tumors.

Astrocytoma↗
PubMed2000

Oral myiasis caused by hypoderma bovis larvae in a child: a case report.

Myiasis is the invasion of living tissue of humans and other mammals by the eggs or larvae of flies of the order of Diptera. It occurs mainly in the tropic, and is associated with inadequate public and personal hygiene. Oral myiasis in humans appears to be rare. This article records a case of oral myiasis caused by larvae of Hypoderma bovis. Two different pathologic soft tissue sockets were observed in the vestibular sulcus at the level of the both deciduous laterals along the deep upper lip tissues.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1989

A practical test and its value in rheumatoid arthritis.

A practical test distinguishing some pathological conditions from the healthy state is described and a preliminary study on the value of this test for determining the disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is presented. In this disease, the test was found positive in 97% of the cases, while rheumatoid factor (RF) was present in 57%, C reactive protein (CRP) in 83%, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in 93% cases. When the activity of the disease disappeared, the test became negative. This test may be useful in RA for determining the active phase and evaluating treatment.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1980

Pleural calcification, pleural mesotheliomas, and bronchial cancers caused by tremolite dust.

Around the town of Cermik in south-east Turkey there are many deposits of asbestiform minerals, some of which are used to make whitewash or stucco. A sample of 7000 of the population revealed 461 (6.5%) with pleural thickening and calcification, of whom 103 (1.47% of the total) had evidence of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Forty-one patients with respiratory cancer were admitted to the Diyarbakir Chest Hospital from around Cermik and from a comparable area of equal population (but without asbestos deposits) in 1977-8. Of these 23 were mesotheliomas, 22 coming from around Cermik. In addition, 11 of the 18 primary bronchial cancers came from around Cermik. A similar excess of mesothelioma and bronchial cancer had been admitted from the Cermik area in previous years. The whitewash or stucco material has been shown to contain fibrous tremolite and non-fibrous antigorite/lizardite, chlorite, and talc. A lung biopsy of a patient from Cermik contained large numbers of tremolite fibres, both free and forming asbestos bodies. There were only occasional chrysotile fibres.

Adult↗