Biomedical subjects

Nurdan Köktürk

Publications and source records attributed to Nurdan Köktürk.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Survivin expression in pre-invasive lesions and non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein, which is overexpressed in many carcinomas, including lung carcinoma. The aim of this immunohistochemical study was to investigate the role of survivin in the early steps of lung carcinogenesis and non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC), and its relationship with expression of p53 protein, a tumor suppressor gene involved in cell cycle control. In the normal bronchial epithelium, low-grade atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) and non-neoplastic lung parenchyma adjacent to tumor, survivin was found completely negative. Expression of survivin was detected in the areas of squamous metaplasia and dysplasia as well as high-grade AAH lesions adjacent to tumor. Survivin was expressed in 50 (64%) and p53 in 41 (53%) NSCLC. Survivin expression was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (p=0.02). There was no correlation between survivin and p53 expression. The patients with expression of survivin had significantly worse prognosis (Log-rank test, p=0.003). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed TNM stage (p<0.001) and survivin expression (p=0.003) as independent prognostic indicators. In conclusion, survivin expression might be an early step in lung carcinogenesis. Survivin expression might also be used as a prognostic indicator predicting the worse outcome in NSCLC, and might be a novel target for the treatment of patients with preinvasive lesions of lung and NSCLC.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Multiple system atrophy presenting with acute respiratory failure due to diaphragmatic dysfunction.

Sleep related respiratory dysfunction and vocal cord paralysis are considered to be the major factors responsible for respiratory failure in multiple system atrophy (MSA). We report a patient initially presenting with alveolar hypoventilation culminating in respiratory failure, ultimately diagnosed as MSA. No central sleep apnea or marked paralysis of the vocal cords was noted. The most likely cause for the respiratory failure was thought to be the weakness of respiratory musculature. This case emphasizes the need that MSA should be added to the differential diagnosis of unexplained hypercapnic respiratory failure.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

[Comparison of three clinical prediction rules among patients with suspected pulmonary embolism].

Certain clinical findings raise the suspicion of pulmonary embolism (PE) and may be useful in selecting patients for further diagnostic testing. Three prediction rules for PE have been described recently: Wells' rule (WR), Geneva rule (GR) and Miniati' rule (MR). The aim of present study is to compare the predictive accuracy of the three methods on the basis of our patients' results. Eighty-five patients admitted to our department with suspicion of PE were included into the study. Sixty-three patients were discharged with the diagnosis of PE, whereas in 22 patients, the initial PE diagnosis was ruled out. The three methods for assessing the clinical probability of PE classified similar proportions of patients into the low, intermediate and high clinical probability categories. The frequencies of PE in each method (WR, GR and MR) were 5%, 64% and 14% in the low category, 90%, 80% and 75% in the intermediate category and 100%, 100% and 94% in the high category (p = 0.001, 0.064, 0.001) respectively. When we compared the performances of WR and GR, including all possible total score values, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.99 for the WR (p= 0.001) and 0.74 for the GR (p= 0.001). When we used only the three probability categories (low, intermediate, high), AUC was 0.96 for the WR (p= 0.001), 0.64 for the GR (p= 0.04), and 0.7 for the MR (p= 0.005). In conclusion, the present study indicates that clinical assessment is a fundamental step in the diagnostic work-up of PE. The Wells' method performs better than other two methods.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

[Respiratory findings and pulmonary function tests among the welders working for the sugar plant factory].

Industrialization and developments in technology run together with health problems in workers. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the exposure of welding fume on respiratory system. This study was carried out in 32 welders in the "Sugar Factory" in Ankara. As controls, 39 workers who were not exposed to weld fume were included in the study. A questionnaire about respiratory symptoms and exposure history, and pulmonary function tests were obtained and compared between the groups. The incidence of coughing, sputum and dyspnea was found to be statistically greater in the group of welders (65.6%, 84.4%, 68.8%) compared with the control group (33.3%, 41%, 30.8%) (p< 0.05, p< 0.001, p< 0.01). Coughing alone was present in 72.7% of smoking welders whilst sputum production was present in 90.9%. These rates were found to be lower in ex-smoker welders or the welders who had never smoked. Chronic bronchitis was observed in 21.9% of the welders whereas no cases with chronic bronchitis were found in control group. The difference was statistically significant (p< 0.01). The results of pulmonary function tests were not statistically different in welders and control group. These results indicate that the exposure of weld fumes itself may cause respiratory symptoms particularly related with chronic bronchitis therefore a great caution must be taken when dealing with welding.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

The cellular inflammation of bronchial biopsies in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

This study was designed to describe the cellular inflammation, thickness of basement membrane (BMT) and epithelial desquamation (ED) in bronchial biopsies from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with asthma and healthy individuals. Thirteen subjects with COPD, 12 asthmatic subjects, and 10 healthy individuals enrolled in the study. Bronchial biopsies obtained by fiberoptic bronchoscopy were stained with hematoxylin and eosin to perform cell counts and descriptive analysis. Neutrophils were found in higher numbers in epithelium and lamina propria in subjects with COPD compared with asthma and control groups (p< 0.001, p< 0.05) whereas eosinophils were observed higher in epithelium and lamina propria in asthmatic subjects (p< 0.001, p< 0.001). There were no significant differences in numbers of neutrophils and eosinophils in submucosa in the three groups (p> 0.05). There were no significant correlations between the inflammatory cell counts and FEV1 or smoking history in either group (p> 0.05). In subjects with COPD only 6 (46.2%) of the subjects showed BMT whilst 2 (15.4%) of the subjects showed ED. In asthma group, 11 (91.7%) of the subjects presented increased BMT and ED. In healthy individuals 1 (10%) of the subjects had increased BMT and no one had ED. As a result, we may conclude that the predominant cells of bronchial mucosa in COPD are the neutrophils whereas they are eosinophils in asthma. Thickening of basement membrane and epithelial desquamation are the major features of asthmatics. However in COPD, these features would be focally present and variable.

Adult↗