Ayhan O. Çavdar

Ocular granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma) with acute myelomonocytic leukemia in turkish children

In a series of 166 leukemic children from Turkey, 56 had acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML). Seventeen boys and 3 girls presented with chloroma‐like deposits (granulocytic or myeloid sarcomas) in the eye and orbit, all showing AMML on initial study of blood and marrow. The ocular lesions responded rapidly to antileukemic therapy. Laboratory studies of AMML cases revealed no cytogenetic or immune defects, and Epstein‐Barr virus titers were normal. A group‐specific (GS‐3) antigen (type‐C virus?) was identified in one patient by radioimmunoassay of orbital tumor extracts. It is not clear what factors contribute toward the myelomonocytic differentiation of leukemia and its localization in the eye and orbit, but opportunities for further study are enhanced by reports of a predisposition to ocular chloroma among leukemic children in Africa, Egypt, and Japan.

Decreased iron and zinc absorption in Turkish children with iron deficiency and geophagia.

Oral iron and zinc tolerance tests were performed in 12 patients between 8 and 21 years of age, with iron deficiency anemia and geophagia. Decreased iron and zinc absorption were detected respectively in patients against the elevated absorption curves in control subjects. Iron and zinc malabsorption may be an additional feature of the syndrome characterized by geophagia, iron deficiency anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, hypogonadism and dwarfism observed in Turkey and Iran.

The Incidence of β-Thalassemia and Abnormal Hemoglobins in Turkey

The present study has been carried out to estimate the gene frequency of thalassemia and abnormal hemoglobins in a random Turkish population. A total of 1,000 Haemoglobin A2 blood samples h

Selenium status of healthy Turkish children

Selenium concentrations, in blood plasma, red blood cells hair of 61 healthy children, ages 0–14 yr, were determined using hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Starting from late lactation period, selenium concentrations in all these matrices were found to be increasing with age. A good correlation was found between erythrocyte and plasma, hair and plasma, and hair and erythrocyte selenium concentrations. Although plasma, erythrocyte, and hair selenium concentrations of girls seemed to be higher than that of boys (only in erythrocytes), selenium concentrations of girls were found to be significantly (p<0.002) higher than that of boys, 71±9 ng/mL, vs 65±10 ng/mL, respectively. Selenium status of Turkish children is found to be lower than that found in the literature; marginal selenium deficiency could be important in the development of some selenium deficiency could be important in the development of some selenium deficiency related diseases. There is a need for extension of this study to healthy children from different regions in Turkey and to different disease states.

Effect of Zinc Supplementation in a Turkish Woman with Two Previous Anencephalic Infants

The authors report a case of nutritional zinc deficiency in a young (18-year-old) Turkish woman, who previously delivered 2 anencephalic stillborn infants. The patient was supplemented with 22.5 mg oral zinc sulfate (100 mg ZnSO4.7H2O) for 5 months after her second delivery prior to her third pregnancy. Her blood (plasma and red blood cell) and hair zinc levels returned to normal following zinc supplementation. Good response to Zn supplementation was another criterion of Zn deficiency in this particular case. After an uneventful gestational period, she delivered an apparently normal full-term male child who has grown normally during the first 12 months.

Changes of Trace Minerals (Serum Iron, Zinc, Copper and Magnesium) in Thalassemia

We have determined serum Zn, Fe, Cu and Mg in 42 patients aging from 3 months to 22 years with homozygous beta-thalassemia and thalassemia intermedia and in 36 control subjects of the same ages. Serum zinc was significantly decreased. Serum copper and iron were increased, but magnesium was found to be at normal levels.

Maternal Hair Zinc Concentration in Neural Tube Defects in Turkey

Hair zinc concentration was measured in samples taken from 57 mothers who delivered infants with neural tube defects (NTD) (mainly anencephaly). Control groups consisted of 30 healthy mothers with normal offspring and 37 nonpregnant women from middle-income backgrounds. Zinc concentration was also measured in the hair of eight infants with NTD (four being anencephalic). The mean maternal hair zinc concentration in the NTD group (128.2±38.9 μg/g) was lower than that of the control women (p<0.001), whereas the mean hair zinc level of malformed babies (250.4±85.2 μg/g) was significantly higher than that of normal infants (193.4±39.2 μg/g) (p<0.05). Maternal nutritional zinc deficiency was thought to be one of the factors responsible for NTD in Turkey.

Plasma zinc levels during pregnancy and its relationship to maternal and neonatal characteristics: a longitudinal study.

Forty consecutive healthy pregnant women aged 17–38 yr who attended the antenatal clinic of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ankara University in their first trimester participated in the study. The pregnant women were followed up longitudinally until the end of their pregnancy. Forty healthy age-matched nonpregnant women were used as a control group. Each pregnant woman was interviewed and a special questionnaire recording dietary history (3-d recall) and socioeconomic status (SES) was used. Birth weight, height, and head circumference of the newborn were measured and a complete physical examination was done for each neonate by the same observer. Blood samples were obtained at each trimester and zinc determinations were made using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results of plasma Zn measurements were available in 39 pregnant women. There were 23 women of low SES (mean plasma Zn level: 59.0 ± 6.9 µg/dL) and 16 of high SES (mean plasma Zn: 70.3 ± 5.2 µg/dL). The difference between the mean plasma Zn levels of these two groups was significant (p<0.001). The nutritional status in our study appeared to be an important factor responsible for low plasma Zn levels during pregnancy. However, we did not find any correlation between plasma Zn levels and anthropometric parameters of the newborn and pregnancy outcome. Further studies using larger sample sizes are needed to clarify the role of plasma Zn levels on maternal features and fetal outcomes in Turkey.

Fanconi’s Aplastic Anemia, Analysis of 18 Cases

A total of 18 patients within the age range of 5-13 years, 12 male and 6 female, are diagnosed as having Fanconis aplastic anemia on the basis of congenital abnormalities, pancytopenia, bone marrow hypoplasia, and chromosomal and hematologic analysis. The hereditary and familial basis of Fanconis aplastic anemia was apparent in this series. Common abnormalities were growth retardation, café au lait spots, hyperpigmentations, microcephaly, phalange deformities, mental retardation, and hypogenitalism; chromosome abnormalities were detected in the majority of our cases. Mast cells were observed in the bone marrow in most of the patients. 1 case developed acute myelomonocytic leukemia.

Zinc Levels of Plasma, Erythrocyte, Hair and Urine in Homozygote Beta-Thalassemia

The zinc levels of plasma, erythrocytes, hair and urine were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer technique in 20 homozygous β -thalassemic and 20 control children. Plas