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Umit Aksoy

Publications and source records attributed to Umit Aksoy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Cryptosporidium parvum diarrhea in an infant with short bowel syndrome.

Cryptosporidium parvum is an underdiagnosed cause of diarrhea in children. The case of a 1-year-old girl with short bowel syndrome presenting with severe dehydrating diarrhea with a protozoon named C parvum is reported. Although the resection of the small bowel in this patient seemed to cause this severe infection with C parvum, more cases are needed to include the resection of the small bowel as a risk factor for Cryptosporidium infection and/or for a more severe form of diarrhea. Awareness of this infection among clinicians will help to diagnose this infection since special acid fast staining is made on special request.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

[Case report: taeniasis, is it a cause of psychiatric and neural symptoms?].

The most frequent symptom of taeniasis is the discharge of proglottids (93.7%). Gravid proglottids which do not have uterine pores are damaged when they exit the anus by their movement. Because of this damage most of the eggs contaminate the perianal tract. The cellophane tape technique that is used for getting perineum material is also a convenient technique for diagnosis of taeniasis. A 36 year-old woman was admitted to our parasitology clinic complaining of a watering mouth for one year, of abdominal pain, and of loss of appetite for 6 months, and who had discharged proglottids from time to time. She had been eating raw meat since her childhood and had had treatment for taeniasis fifteen years ago. She has also been under treatment for obsessive and compulsive neurosis and depression for two years and complained of constipation that was the side effect of the drug clomipramine HCL. She was given treatment with niclosamide and purgative treatment. The result of the treatment was incomplete because the patient refused to use the purgative. She was called for follow up controls two weeks and six months after treatment and after six months did not have any evidence of infection in her stools. When she was asked, the patient said that she did not need to use the drugs for the treatment of obsessive and compulsive neurosis and depression any more since her symptoms had decreased. According to various authorities, taeniasis is thought to be the cause of psychiatric symptoms due to its neural and psychological effects. These claims have been confirmed in our case because of her psychiatric symptoms decreased after the taeniasis treatment. Thus, the view that there is a relationship between intestinal parasites and psychiatric disease has been strengthened.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Intracranial epidermoid cysts: diffusion-weighted, FLAIR and conventional MR findings.

PURPOSE: To compare diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging (DW) with spin-echo (SE), and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences in the evaluation of epidermoid cysts (ECs), and to evaluate T2 shine-through effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients were imaged prospectively in two different 1.5 T magnetic resonance (MR) units with standard head coils with SE, FLAIR and DW echo planar imaging sequences. The qualitative and quantitative assessments were performed by two radiologists in consensus. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were obtained from all ECs. Exponential DW images are obtained in 11 cases to eliminate T2 shine-through effects. The results are analyzed with variance analysis (ANOVA) and Bonferroni t method. RESULTS: FLAIR sequence was superior to T1- and T2-weighted sequences in showing ECs. In 13 cases, the borders of the lesions could be delineated from the surrounding structures with only DW imaging where ECs were markedly hyperintense. The ADC values of ECs are significantly lower than CSF (P < 0.001), and significantly higher than deep white matter (P < 0.01). On exponential DW images, ECs had similar intensity with brain parenchyma showing that the real cause of the hyperintensity of the lesions on trace images is the enhanced T2 effect of the tissue. CONCLUSION: FLAIR sequence is superior to the conventional MR sequences in demonstrating the ECs and DW imaging is superior to other MR sequences in delineating the borders of the ECs. Exponential DW images had shown that the hyperintensity in the trace images are caused by increased T2 effect of the lesion rather than the decrease in ADC values.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Prevalence of Demodex in health personnel working in the autopsy room.

The health personnel working in the autopsy rooms and laboratories are considered among the professional groups carrying a high risk of contamination with infection. In this study, we have investigated the prevalence of Demodex, which provides a convenient environment for bacteria and acts as a vector for certain microorganisms, in the health personnel working in autopsy rooms. The study, which was cross-sectional, was conducted on 58 health personnel working in autopsy rooms. A questionnaire was administered to the individuals. Specimens were obtained from 4 different regions of the face using the standard skin-surface biopsy technique. The data obtained were then evaluated statistically. This study group consisted of 76% males and 24% females. The prevalence of Demodex was 26%. Demodex was found to occur more frequently in women. The most frequent occurrence of Demodex was seen among people with darker complexion and in cheek localizations. We believe that Demodex, which has a role in the pathogenesis of dermatologic diseases, provides a convenient environment for bacteria, and acts as a vector for some pathogenic microorganisms, poses a risk as far as individuals working in the autopsy room are concerned.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

[Evaluation of IHA, ELISA and Western Blot tests in diagnosis of pulmonary cystic hidatidosis].

Pulmonary cystic hidatidosis caused by the larval stages of Echinococcus granulosus is a common parasitic disease in Turkey and throughout the world. In this study IHA, ELISA and Western Blot (WB) tests were performed with a panel of 59 sera from 31 surgically confirmed pulmonary cystic hidatidosis patients, 18 patients with pulmonary disease other than cystic hidatidosis and 10 healthy individual. The overall sensitivity of the IHA, ELISA and WB tests used for the serodiagnosis of pulmonary cystic hidatidosis were found as 96.7%, 87.1%, 100% and the specificities were 82.2%, 89.2% and %85.7, respectively. Using the WB test 8-12 kDa, 24 kDa and 124 kDa bands were detected as valuable for surgically confirmed patients' sera. One or more of these bands were also detected in sera of four patients with other pulmonary diseases false-positively. In conclusion conventional serologic test like IHA and ELISA is valuable in diagnosis of pulmonary cystic hidatidosis, also evaluation of some specific bands in WB would contribute to the diagnosis.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

The effect of electromagnetic waves on the growth of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of electromagnetic radiation of a digital Global System for Mobile Communication mobile telephone (900 MHz) on Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) and Entamoeba dispar (E. dispar) (cysts or trophozoites, or both) in a 24-hour period. METHODS: This study was carried out from April 2004 to May 2004 at the Department of Parasitology, Medical Faculty of Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey. The cultivated isolate tubes, which were exposed to electromagnetic field at 37 degrees C, were evaluated as study group, whereas the tubes without exposure were assessed as control group. Finally, only living parasites in all tubes were counted using a hemacytometer. The effect of the temperature was evaluated for both control and study groups. RESULTS: The influence of electromagnetic field and temperature was assessed separately for the study group. The parasite number of E. histolytica decreased after exposure at 37 degrees C and room temperature (p=0.009) compared to the decrease in the control group (p=0.009). The parasite number of E. dispar also decreased after exposure at 37 degrees C and room temperature (p=0.009). In comparison to control tubes, this was a significant decrease (p=0.008). In the case of exposure of E. histolytica the results did not reveal any significant difference between temperature degrees to magnetic field (p=0.459) and E. dispar (p=0.172). CONCLUSION: Our findings show that exposure to electromagnetic field for a certain period of time may cause damage that can lead to death in single-cell organisms.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

[An imported case of mixed malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium ovale.].

Malaria caused by Plasmodium species is an important parasitic infection in Turkey as in the rest of the world. Malaria cases originating in our country are caused by P. vivax; those caused by other Plasmodium spp. are imported cases. In this article, after work-related travel to Cameroon, a patient who acquired specific clinical signs and symptoms of malaria has been evaluated. The major clinical findings of the patient were fever, chills and shaking. After examination of thin and thick blood smears prepared from the peripheral blood of the patient, a 20% rate of Plasmodium parasitemia was obtained and the case was considered to be a mixed P. falciparum and P. ovale infection. In addition, P. falciparum infection was confirmed using the Optimal Malaria Rapid Test and the presence of another Plasmodium species besides P. falciparum was confirmed. Primaquine was added to quinine and doxycycline therapy for P. ovale hypnozoites. No Plasmodium was found in control blood smears after clinical improvement. In this case, it has been emphasized that in differential diagnosis of fever seen after travel to malaria endemic areas, malaria must be considered and prophylaxis must be carried out before travel.

English Abstract↗
PubMed2004

Effect of human milk and colostrum on Entamoeba histolytica.

AIM: Many defense factors of the mother's colostrum or milk protect infants from intestinal, respiratory and systemic infections. In the present study, we investigated the effect of colostrum and mature human milk on E. histolytica parasites in vitro. METHODS: Samples of human milk were collected from 5 healthy lactating mothers. The medium with human milk at concentrations of 2%, 5% and 10% was obtained. RESULTS: The lethal effect of E. histolytica on the medium supplemented with different concentrations of both colostrum and mature human milk was significant during the first 30 min. We also detected that the results of colostrum and mature human milk were similar. No statistically significant differences were found between same concentrations of colostrum and mature human milk at the same times. CONCLUSION: Colostrum and mature human milk have significant lethal effect on E. histolytica and protect against its infection in breast fed children.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of Cd(+2), Cu(+2), Ba(+2) and Co(+2) ions on Entamoeba histolytica cysts.

AIM: The effects of cobalt, copper, cadmium and barium ions on the cysts of Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica), an amebic dysentery agent, cultured in Robinson medium were investigated. METHODS: E. histolytica cysts and trophozoites isolated from a patient with amebiasis were cultivated in the medium, incubated at 37 degrees for a period of 4 days and 40 x 10(4)/ml amebic cysts were then transferred to a fresh medium. At the second stage, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mM of selected metal ions were added to the medium, and the effects of these ions on parasitic reproduction compared with the control group were observed. RESULTS: It was determined that the number of living parasites in all the groups containing metal ions decreased significantly starting from 30 minutes (P<0.01). CuCl2 showed the highest lethal effect on E. histolytica cysts, whereas the lowest lethal effect was observed with CoCl2. It was also seen that the number of living cells was decreased as the ion concentration and exposure time were increased, and that there were no living parasites in the medium at the end of 24 h (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: It may be stated that the effect of ever-increasing contamination of the environment with metal waste materials on parasites should be investigated further.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Incidence of toxoplasmosis in patients with cirrhosis.

AIM: It is known that toxoplasmosis rarely leads to various liver pathologies, most common of which is granulomatose hepatitis in patients having normal immune systems. Patients who have cirrhosis of the liver are subject to a variety of cellular as well as humoral immunity disorders. Therefore, it may be considered that toxoplasmosis can cause more frequent and more severe diseases in patients with cirrhosis and is capable of changing the course of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of toxoplasmosis in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Serum samples were taken from 108 patients with cirrhosis under observation in the Hepatology Polyclinic of the Gastroenterology Clinic, and a control group made up of 50 healthy blood donors. IFAT and ELISA methods were used to investigate the IgG and IgM antibodies, which had developed from these sera. RESULTS: Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibody positivity was found in 74 (68.5%) of the 108 cirrhotic patients and 24 (48%) of the 50 people in the control group. The difference between them was significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it was found that the toxoplasma sero-prevalence in the cirrhotic patients in this study was higher. Cirrhotic patients are likely to form a toxoplasma risk group. More detailed studies are needed on this subject.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

[Application of in-house enzyme immunoassay and indirect hemagglutination methods for the serologic diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis].

It is necessary to use methods that are not only fast and easily applicable, but also safe in the diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis (CE) and monitoring the treatment. In the present study, we investigated the presence of specific Echinococcus granulosus antibodies by in-house enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) and indirect hemagglutination (IHA) tests in the sera of 64 patients who were surgically confirmed to have CE, 10 patients with various lung and liver malignancies and 20 patients with Hymenolepis nana infections. Of the 64 CE patients, 52 (81.2%) were found to be positive with IHA and 49 (76.5%) were found to be positive with ELISA (in both of the tests, > or =1/64 titers were accepted as positive), while none of the other patient groups yielded positive results. As a result, the sensitivities of in-house IHA and ELISA methods were determined to be 81.2% and 76.5%, respectively, whereas the specificities were 100% for both of the tests. There was no statistically significant difference between the methods for the detection of E. granulosus antibodies (p>0.05). It can be concluded that, the agreement between the methods could make a considerable contribution in the diagnosis and postoperative follow-up of the CE patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Investigating demodex in forensic autopsy cases.

Demodex is an ectoparasite living in the skin as a nonpathogen or a pathogen. It is also known that demodex acts as a vector of pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, we have investigated the rate of occurrence and vitality of demodex in forensic autopsies that have a high risk of contamination by infected organisms. The study, which was cross-sectional, conducted on 100 autopsy cases: 77 of the bodies were male and 23 female. The average age was 41. The samples were taken from the forehead, nose, cheeks, eyelashes and the temporal areas using the standardized skin surface biopsy and hair epilation techniques that were modified for this study. The data obtained were assessed statistically. Demodex was determined in 10% of all the cases. The cases revealed that demodex increased in old age and was more frequently seen in people with fair complexion. It was most frequently found in the forehead and the cheek. The longest postmortem interval in the positive cases was 55 h. The relationship between the postmortem interval and the presence of demodex was not statistically significant. Considering the fact that demodex, which is transmitted from human to human through skin contact, acts as a vector of pathogenic organisms and can stay alive in dead bodies for a long time, we think that the personnel performing autopsies without taking the necessary precautions are under risk.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Prevalence of amebiasis in inflammatory bowel disease in Turkey.

AIM: To explore the prevalence of amebiasis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Turkey. METHODS: In this study, amoeba prevalence in 160 cases of IBD, 130 of ulcerative colitis and 30 of Crohn's disease were investigated in fresh faeces by means of wet mount+Lugol's iodine staining, modified formol ethyl acetate and trichrome staining methods and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of wet mount+Lugol's iodine staining, modified formol ethyl acetate and trichrome staining methods in the diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica)/ Entamoeba dispar (E. dispar). RESULTS: E. histolytica/E. dispar cysts and trophozoites were found in 14 (8.75 %) of a total of 160 cases, 13 (10.0 %) of the 130 patients with ulcerative colitis and 1 (3.3 %) of the 30 patients with Crohn's disease. As for the 105 patients in the control group who had not any gastrointestinal complaints, 2 (1.90 %) patients were found to have E. histolytica /E. dispar cysts in their faeces. Parasite prevalence in the patient group was determined to be significantly higher than that in the control group (Fischer's Exact Test, P<0.05). When the three methods of determining parasites were compared with one another, the most effective one was found to be trichrome staining method (Kruskal-Wallis Test, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Consequently, amoeba infections in IBD cases have a greater prevalence compared to the normal population. The trichrome staining method is more effective for the detection of E. histolytica /E. dispar than the wet mount+Lugol's iodine staining, modified formol ethyl acetate methods.

Amebiasis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prenatal color Doppler sonographic evaluation of nuchal encirclement by the umbilical cord.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess whether Doppler flow velocimetry of the fetal middle cerebral and umbilical arteries is affected by nuchal encirclement by the umbilical cord (nuchal cord) in the prenatal period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The position of the fetal umbilical cord was assessed on color Doppler sonography in pregnant women who were referred to our radiology department between September 14, 1998, and January 14, 2000. Pulsatility and resistance indices and the ratio of peak systolic blood flow velocity to diastolic velocity of the umbilical arteries and middle cerebral arteries of all fetuses were prospectively obtained with Doppler flow velocimetry. The fetuses were categorized into 2 groups: group 1 consisted of fetuses without sonographic evidence of nuchal cord and group 2 of fetuses with sonographic evidence of nuchal cord. The results were statistically analyzed with independent-groups t test. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: During the study period, 230 pregnant women underwent sonographic examination of the fetus, and 68 fetuses were delivered. The sonographic examinations were performed at 24-41 weeks' menstrual age. Of the 46 fetuses in group 1, 1 fetus had nuchal cord at delivery; of the 22 fetuses in group 2, 4 did not have nuchal cord at delivery. The sensitivity of color Doppler sonography in detecting nuchal cord was 95% (18 of 19 fetuses), the specificity was 92% (45 of 49), the negative predictive value was 98% (45 of 46), and the positive predictive value was 82% (18 of 22). No statistically significant differences in middle cerebral artery or umbilical artery Doppler flow velocimetry values were detected between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Color Doppler sonography is a sensitive and specific method of diagnosing nuchal cord, but fetal middle cerebral artery and umbilical artery Doppler flow velocimetry values are not affected by the presence of nuchal cord in the prenatal period.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Albendazole: single or combination therapy with permethrin against pediculosis capitis.

Pediculosis capitis is a worldwide problem and a growing concern because of resistance to pediculicides. In the present study, we investigated whether albendazole could be used in the treatment of pediculosis capitis in combination with 1% permethrin or alone. A total of 150 children were randomly divided to five groups of 30 each. Group 1 got albendazole in a single dose (400 mg), group 2 got albendazole at 400 mg for 3 days, group 3 was given 1% permethrin, group 4 took 1% permethrin and albendazole in a single dose (400 mg), and group 5 got 1% permethrin and albendazole in a dose of 400 mg for 3 days. Groups given albendazole were also given another 400 mg dose of albendazole after 1 week. The success rate of treatment at the 2-week follow-up for all groups was 61.5%, 66.6%, 80.0%, 84.6%, and 82.1%, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups. The results of this study suggest that albendazole is effective against pediculosis capitis and there is no synergistic effect between albendazole and 1% permethrin.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intestinal parasites in children with neoplasms.

Stool specimens taken from 50 children with malignancy and from 92 healthy children were investigated for intestinal parasites, using the modified formol ethyl acetate concentration method, and native-lugol, trichrome and Kinyoun acid-fast stain methods. Thirty-eight (76.0%) of the 50 patients had lymphoma or leukemia and were considered immunosuppressed. Several different parasites were found in 21 (42.0%) of the 50 patients with malignancy and in 16 (47.3%) of the 38 patients with immune deficiency compared to in only 16 (17.3%) of the 92 healthy children. The incidence of parasites in patients with malignancy or immunosuppression was significantly higher than in the healthy control group (p<0.01, p<0.01).

Adolescent↗