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Biomedical subjects

Z Demirçay

Publications and source records attributed to Z Demirçay.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Phagocytosis and oxidative burst by neutrophils in patients with recurrent furunculosis.

Neutrophil phagocytosis of fluorescently labelled Staphylococcus aureus and oxidative burst by the neutrophils were assessed by flow cytometry in 22 patients with recurrent furunculosis and in 17 controls. Phagocytosis and oxidative burst were not found to be significantly different between the patients and controls. Low serum iron concentrations were demonstrated in six patients (27%). In these patients with hypoferraemia, oxidative burst was significantly lower than in the patients without hypoferraemia and in the controls. These data suggest that hypoferraemia may be an important predisposing factor in a subgroup of patients with recurrent furunculosis in impairing oxidative killing by neutrophils.

Adult↗

Behçet's disease in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia: possible role of interferon-alpha treatment in the occurrence of Behçet's symptoms.

Two patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) who developed characteristic features of Behçet's disease (BD) during alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) treatment and another patient who had a diagnosis of BD preceding CML are presented. In the first two patients, features of BD appeared 6 months after the initiation of IFN-alpha treatment: they included recurrent oral aphthae, genital ulceration, arthritis, folliculitis, and a positive skin pathergy test. The third patient, however, had a diagnosis of Behçet's disease 4 years before diagnosis of Philadelphia-positive CML. We prospectively examined the skin pathergy reaction in a group of patients with CML, multiple myeloma, and hairy cell leukemia both before and after IFN-alpha treatment and found two additional patients with CML who developed a positive skin pathergy test following IFN-alpha treatment.

Adult↗

Chemotherapy-induced acral erythema in leukemic patients: a report of 15 cases.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced acral erythema is a distinct localized cutaneous response to certain systemic chemotherapeutic agents. METHODS: Between January 1990 and December 1994, from a total of 76 leukemic patients who have received combination chemotherapy consisting of cytosine arabinoside and anthracycline antibiotics, 15 patients developed chemotherapy-induced acral erythema. Fourteen of the patients had acute myelocytic leukemia, and one of them had chronic myelogenous leukemia in blast phase. Clinical features of these 15 patients have been analysed. Biopsy specimens obtained from eight of the patients were also evaluated for histopathologic alterations. RESULTS: The overall incidence of this reaction was found to be 19.7% in our group of patients receiving this chemotherapy protocol. The onset of reaction varied from the fourth to the seventeenth days of the chemotherapy and resolved within 2 weeks in most of the patients. Lesions appeared as well-defined erythema and edema involving the palmar surfaces in all of the patients. In nine of the patients the reaction recurred with subsequent chemotherapies. Scattered necrotic keratinocytes, vacuolar alterations of the basal layer, and mild to moderate perivascular lymphocytic infiltration in the dermis were the histopathologic findings observed in the biopsy specimens. CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy-induced acral erythema is a frequent reaction in patients who are receiving high-dose chemotherapy. For patients in whom this self-limited condition develops, reassurance is the mainstay of therapy. Awareness of this reaction is also important to be able to differentiate it from acute graft versus host disease in patients who receive bone marrow transplants.

Adolescent↗

Comparison of the efficacy of spironolactone versus flutamide in the treatment of hirsutism.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of two antiandrogens, spironolactone and flutamide, in the treatment of hirsutism. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: Twenty women with idiopathic hirsutism were randomized to receive either flutamide or spironolactone. DESIGN: Twenty hirsute women were recruited from patients presenting to the hirsutism clinic in Marmara University, Istanbul. Each patient underwent a complete medical and gynecological examination as well as endocrine profile, hematologic, hepatic, and renal function analyses. Hirsutism scores were determined according to the Ferriman-Gallwey scoring system. These tests were then repeated at 3, 6, and 9 months of therapy. Ten patients received 250 mg of flutamide two times per day, and 10 patients received 100 mg of spironolactone for 9 months. RESULTS: Ferriman-Gallwey scores were decreased significantly in both groups at the end of 9 months. The percent of change in hirsutism scores in flutamide and spironolactone group were as follows: 26.4% and 20.9% at 3 months; 39.5% and 32.9% at 6 months; and 46.4% and 39.6% at 9 months, respectively. There was a trend toward a better response with flutamide that did not achieve significance. None of the hormonal parameters changed significantly during this period of time. Irregular bleeding was observed in five patients (50%) of the spironolactone group, whereas none of the patients in the flutamide group experienced menstrual irregularity. Conversely, dry skin and increased appetite were experienced by two patients (20%) in the flutamide group but not in the spironolactone group. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that both spironolactone and flutamide were similarly effective in treatment of hirsutism, and the pure antiandrogen flutamide is a safe and effective alternative in treatment.

Adolescent↗