Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Güçer.
A 17-month-old girl with type I classical citrullinaemia (CTLN1) presenting with early cirrhosis and unusual ultrastructural features of the liver is reported. The patient is homozygous for a splicing mutation in intron 15 of the argininosuccinate synthase gene.
In this study, the effect of mine work wastes on elemental composition (N, P, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn) of some alpine and subalpine plant species and in soils were investigated in the surroundings of the Etibank Wolfram Mine Work in Uludag mountain. Soils and plant parts belonging to Thymus praecox Opiz., Acinos alpinus (L.) Moench, Plantago holosteum Scop and Festuca punctoria Sm species collected from three directions around Wolfram Mine Work were used for our investigations. All samples were analysed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS) for Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu. The significant differences among sample sites were in terms of pH, % CaCO3, % C, % N and % P contents of soil. The changes of Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu contents in soil were determined to be due to mining activity. Of the four species examined, an important change was determined in concentrations of Mg, Mn, Fe and Zn although P. holosteum and F. punctoria were different in above- and below-ground parts, showing that plant element content is specific to species.
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to measure the circulating levels of androgens in the third trimester of pregnancy and six weeks after delivery and to discuss androgen contribution in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. METHODS: Twenty-two preeclamptic and 20 normotensive women completed this prospective study. Blood samples were drawn in the third trimester (28-32 gestational weeks) and six weeks after delivery. Serum total testosterone (T), free testosterone (fT) dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), androstenodione (A), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and estradiol (E2) levels were measured. The statistical analyses of the data were performed by using Wilcoxon Rank test within the groups, Student unpaired t test and Chi-square test between the groups with the SPSS program. RESULTS: T and fT levels were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) in preeclamptic women in the third trimester compared to the values of normotensive controls. However, there were significant decreases (p<0.05) in T and fT levels six weeks after delivery, reaching values not significantly different from normotensive subjects (p>0.05). Furthermore, SHBG, DHEAS, A and E2 levels were not significantly different (p>0.05) between the groups in the third trimester or six weeks after delivery. CONCLUSION: We conclude that higher blood androgen levels measured in preeclamptic patients may be implicated in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence rate of APC resistance (APC-R) with severe preeclampsia in Turkish women. Thirty-two consecutive women having severe preeclampsia were included in the study. Thirty-two healthy pregnant women served as the control group. APC-R assays were performed in the third trimester of pregnancy, and 3 and 9 months after delivery. APC-R was demonstrated in the third trimester, 3 months and 9 months after delivery in 27 (84.4%), 23 (71.9%) and 5 (15.6%) of 32 preeclamptic patients, respectively. APC-R rates were significantly higher in preeclamptic group than in normal pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy (p < 0.05). Decreased mean APC activity and also increased APC-R rate was still persisting in preeclamptic group for 3 months after delivery. Nine months after delivery, the mean APC activity and also APC-R rates approached to the normal pregnant women; however, there was a significant difference between both groups (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that acquired APC-R may be a contributory factor in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.
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Group A streptococcus (GAS) causes invasive, non-invasive and non-suppurative diseases. Pneumonia is one of the invasive infections caused by GAS. Although GAS is a significant and serious cause of childhood pneumonia, it is often overlooked clinically. Similarly, the recent literature is surprisingly scant on reports of GAS pneumonia and concentrates mainly on varicella-associated invasive GAS diseases. In this case report, we present a previously healthy 7-year-old child with community-acquired pneumonia that progressed rapidly and resulted in sepsis, respiratory failure and death. In both blood and pleural fluid cultures, Streptococcus pyogenes were isolated. On autopsy, macroscopic examination revealed that the lung tissue appeared to have lost its normal architecture. Necrosis was present and the lung had a spongy appearance with some solid areas. The light microscopy revealed massive oedema, haemorrhages, intense inflammatory cell infiltration and necrosis. This case report highlights the need for consideration of invasive GAS infection in the event of severe, rapidly progressing pneumonia in children.
In this clinicopathological conference, an 11-year old boy who presented with recurrent pyogenic infections, hypertension, malar rash, various skin lesions and nephritic syndrome since five years of age is discussed. He was hospitalized for clinical investigation with skin and renal biopsies at 10 years of age. Using clinicopathological data obtained from his last admission, a clinical diagnosis was reached, and the disorders of the complement system causing patients to show these signs or symptoms are emphasized. At the end of the discussion, a clinicopathological correlation is given for making the diagnosis.
Apoptosis, a programmed form of cell death, is an important mechanism that maintains cellular homeostasis. The cellular content of tissues is regulated by a balance between cell proliferation and cell loss. Apoptosis is important not only in physiological conditions but in pathological processes as well. Apoptosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of certain renal diseases. In human models, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and IgA nephropathy have been the main interests. These studies have mainly shown that apoptosis is important in the control of mesangial cell population. We have attempted to define the role of apoptosis in a cohort of childhood lupus nephritis. We have analyzed apoptosis by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (Tdt)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) method in eight SLE pediatric patients, two of whom had hereditary deficiencies of complement components. Although the sample size was small because of the rarity of hereditary complement deficiencies, we have shown that apoptotic activity was the greatest among these pediatric patients. It has been previously suggested that in lupus, autoimmunity develops as a result of inadequate clearance of apoptotic blebs containing nuclear elements; complement deficiencies are the most important hereditary factors predisposing to the inadequate clearance of apoptotic particles. This is the first time this hypothesis has been evaluated in the tissue samples of hereditary complement deficiency-related proliferative lupus nephritis. On the other hand, apoptosis was not different from the other mesangial proliferative glomerulopathies in the lupus nephritis samples. Further studies are needed to confirm our preliminary findings. Apoptosis has been implicated in other renal diseases as well, such as autosomal polycystic kidney disease, and in experimental models. A short review of the relevant literature is presented highlighting the role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis and prognosis of certain renal diseases.
The clinicopathological analysis of 250 pediatric cases that had been tissue-diagnosed with renal amyloidosis revealed three patients associated with Henoch-Schönlein syndrome (HSS). The renal biopsies revealed AA-type amyloidosis in all three cases. Case 2 displayed focal and segmental proliferative glomerulonephritis in the same renal biopsy. No evidence of well-known diseases and/or conditions for the development of AA-type amyloidosis except for familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) existed in these particular cases. On the other hand, the frequency of the association between FMF and HSS has been reported extensively in the literature; thus, common etiological factors can be considered. The mechanism involved in amyloid deposition in these cases may be related to HSS-associated chronic antigenemia and/or FMF through a mechanism that is, to date, unknown. Further studies are needed to clarify this causal relationship.