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T Ergun

Publications and source records attributed to T Ergun.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Re-evaluation of skin-explant model in graft-versus-host disease prediction.

An in vitro skin explant model has been proposed for prediction of graft versus host disease and reported to be highly sensitive and specific for this purpose. In this study we have re-evaluated this model in both HLA full-matched BMT recipient-donor sibling pairs and also in HLA one haplotype-matched parent-children pairs. All assessments were made blindly by 3 independent observers. The predictive value of the test for the occurrence of clinical GvHD in 14 BMT patients was found to be less sensitive than reported previously (correlation coefficients were +0.019, +0.067 and -0.061 between clinical GvHD and in vitro primed allogeneic, primed mixed and unprimed allogeneic settings, indicating "poor" correlation). False positive and false negative results were high and there were also significant discrepancies between three blind observations in the grading of skin changes. Weighted kappa analysis revealed that there were "fair" correlations between the 3 observers (K = 0.25). These results indicated that the skin explant model is an unpredictable test system and there are great problems in standardization of the method.

Adult↗

[Proteus syndrome. Clinical and differential diagnostic markers].

A case with various skeletal abnormalities, soft tissue masses and skin lesions diagnosed as Proteus syndrome is reported. Proteus syndrome is included in the differential diagnosis of many disorders, because of the polymorphous nature of its clinical manifestations. It is a rare disorder and leads to functional disabilities as well as cosmetic and psychological problems. Early diagnosis and careful follow-up with appropriate surgical interventions is important in preventing long-term complications.

Adolescent↗

Neutrophil activation in Behçet's disease.

OBJECTIVE: Neutrophils are implicated in the pathogenesis of Behçet's disease (BD). Various functions of neutrophils are studied to clarify this role. METHODS: The oxidative burst and phagocytic functions of neutrophils and surface molecules associated with neutrophil activation (CD10, CD14 and CD16) were investigated in BD patients by flow cytometric methods. Patients with inflammatory arthropathies, sepsis and healthy controls were also studied. RESULTS: In the oxidative burst experiments, after fMLP and PMA stimulation, stimulation index was found to be significantly decreased in patients both with BD and sepsis compared to healthy controls and inflammatory arthropathies (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). The phagocytosis of labelled E. coli particles in patients with BD was not different from that of the healthy controls, while it was decreased in diseased controls (p < 0.001). The surface density of neutral endopeptidase (CD10) and the mean percentage of LPS receptor (CD14) was found to be significantly higher in both BD patients and diseased controls (p < 0.001). The mean percentage of CD16 expression was only low in patients with sepsis (p < 0.001), whereas CD16 intensity on cells was found to be lower in patients with BD as well as in sepsis (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the presence of in vivo pre-activated neutrophils in BD. A similar activation was also a feature of severe inflammatory disorders.

Adult↗

MEFV mutations are increased in Behçet's disease (BD) and are associated with vascular involvement.

OBJECTIVE: A high prevalence of Behçet's disease (BD) among familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients has been described recently and a weak association of BD and certain MEFV gene mutations, originally linked to FMF, has been reported in an ethnically mixed population from France. We further investigated the presence of MEFV mutations in BD patients from Turkey, a country with a high prevalence of both disorders. METHODS: The frequencies of three FMF-related MEFV mutations (M694V, M680I and V726A) were investigated in BD patients (n = 57) by molecular genetic studies using a polymerase chain reaction with the ARMS method. All patients fulfilled the International Study Group Criteria for the diagnosis of BD and patients with FMF-like symptoms or a chronic inflammatory disease were excluded. RESULTS: Fifteen BD patients were found to carry one single MEFV mutation (26%), compared to 9.1% in the control group (p = 0.003, OR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.6-7.6). Among 20 BD patients with vascular involvement, 11 (55%) had MEFV mutations compared to 4 patients (11%) in the non-vascular group (p = 0.001, OR: 10, 95% CI: 2.5-39.3). M694V was the dominant mutation in our study group (11 out of 15 patients with mutated alleles). Six out of 7 female patients with vascular involvement carried MEFV mutations in contrast to 5 out of 13 male patients (85.7% versus 38.4%, p = 0.07, OR: 0.1, 95% CI: 0.009-1.14). No association with other clinical manifestations was observed. CONCLUSION: MEFV mutations, originally linked to FMF, may act as a genetic susceptibility factor for other inflammatory disorders such as vascular BD.

Adult↗