Cemal Çevik

Hepatoprotective effects of Turkish folk remedies on experimental liver injury.

Seven plants which are used in Turkish folk medicine were studied for possible hepatoprotective effects. These plants are Carduus acanthoides and C. nutans (Asteraceae), Cichorium intybus (Asteraceae), Fumaria asepalae and F. vailantii (Fumariaceae), Gentiana olivieri (Gentianaceae) and Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae). Stems, bracts and receptaculum of Cynara scolymus were used as natural reference drugs. Effects of the ethanolic extracts were studied using the carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity model in rats. The extracts of F. vailantii and G. olivieri significantly prevented the elevation of plasma and hepatic malondialdehyde formation (evidence of lipid peroxidation) as well as enzyme levels (AST and ALT) in acute liver injury, which might be ascribed to their potent hepatoprotective activity. Liver sections were also studied histopathologically to confirm the biochemical results.

Influence of acupuncture on leptin, ghrelin, insulin and cholecystokinin in obese women: a randomised, sham-controlled preliminary trial

Background Obesity is an energy balance problem caused by overeating. Obesity treatment includes diet, exercise, behaviour treatment, pharmacotherapy and surgery; in addition, acupuncture is also an option. Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture on weight loss and whether a brief acupuncture treatment of 5 weeks can change circulating levels of leptin, ghrelin, insulin and cholecystokinin (CCK) in obese women. Methods 40 women with a body mass index (BMI)>30 kg/m2 were equally randomised to either an acupuncture group or a sham (non-penetrating) acupuncture group and received treatment at LI4, HT7, ST36, ST44 and SP6 bilaterally. Both groups had two sessions of 20 min/week for a total of 10 sessions. Serum insulin, leptin, plasma ghrelin and CCK levels were measured by ELISA. Results Acupuncture treatment decreased insulin and leptin levels and induced weight loss, together with a decrease in BMI compared with sham acupuncture. Furthermore, between-group analyses demonstrated increases in plasma ghrelin and CCK levels in subjects who received acupuncture treatment. Conclusion These findings suggest that acupuncture may help to regulate weight owing to its beneficial effects on hormones such as insulin, leptin, ghrelin and CCK in obese subjects even after a few weeks of treatment.

Impact of various modifiers on calcium oxalate crystallization

Objective:  This work focuses on the behavior of in vitro calcium oxalate crystallization. The effects of several compounds on the kinetics of calcium oxalate crystallization were examined.

The effect of high-dose inhaled budesonide on lipid profile in asthmatic patients.

1. We determined the effect of high doses of inhaled corticosteroid (budesonide, BUD, 1600 micrograms/day for 4 weeks) on fasting triglyceride, cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol concentration in 11 asthmatic patients. 2. No significant change of serum fasting triglyceride concentrations was found before and after BUD therapy (p > 0.05). However, serum fasting cholesterol concentration decreased slightly (p = 0.03) and HDL-cholesterol concentrations increased after BUD therapy for four weeks (p = 0.01). 3. These results suggest that high-dose BUD therapy does have minor effects on lipid metabolism after long periods of use in asthmatic patients.

Acupuncture for neuropathic pain due to bortezomib in a patient with multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterised by an increase in plasma cells, particularly in the bone marrow but also in other organs and systems, and with the abnormal production of immunoglobulin. Bortezomib, a current treatment option, inhibits angiogenesis by proteasome inhibition and is known to be effective in the treatment of MM. Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a common dose-related side effect of bortezomib in patients with MM. We describe a case of PN due to bortezomib treatment which responded dramatically to acupuncture treatment, enabling his bortezomib treatment to continue. The patient was a 74-year-old man with pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in his hands and feet after 22 days of bortezomib treatment given by the haematology clinic. His neuropathic pain score was 8/10. There were no autonomic symptoms. Electroneurophysiological testing confirmed sensorimotor PN. Acupuncture treatment was planned as his neuropathic pain continued. Acupuncture was administered bilaterally to ST36, SP6 and LI4 15 times (every other day in the first five sessions and then twice a week). The numbness, tingling and pain symptoms substantially decreased after the first two treatments. After the 15th session acupuncture treatment was continued once a month. At the end of the sixth month the neuropathic pain assessment score was 0/10. There was no side effect of acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture seems promising as a complementary medical treatment for neuropathic pain from bortezomib-induced PN. Clinical studies involving more cases and electrophysiological studies are necessary to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture.

Effective chronic low back pain and knee pain treatment with acupuncture in geriatric patients.

BACKGROUND The most common disease of the older age group in Turkey is degenerative articular disease and pain associated with the disease. Analgesics and physical therapy are preferred treatment for geriatric chronic pain but suffering from multiple medical and nutritional problems in old ages can limit treatment options with analgesics due to an increased risk of adverse effects and drug interactions. OBJECTIVES We aim to show the effect of acupuncture on back-pain and knee-pain treatment of elderly people. METHODS The study includes 34 patients, 24 female and 8 male. The mean age was 69.0417 ± 8.95 years for females and 73.12 ± 8.95.24 years for males. Every two days for a total of 10 sessions acupuncture treatment to Yintang, Ht 7 (Shenmen), LI 4 (Hegu), Ki 3 (Taixi) and Ki 6 were found to significantly reduce pain scores of patients. RESULTS Mean back pain scores (8.8696 ± 1.546) and mean knee pain scores (9.1304 ± 1.4239) of patients were reduced significantly to 2.1739 ± 1.466 and 1.455 ± 0.7; p< 0.001 respectively after the acupuncture treatment. CONCLUSION These are important results as they give rationale to use acupuncture treatment widely in chronic low back pain and knee pain in the geriatric group of patients to reduce the side effects of polypharmacy in elderly.

The impact of acupuncture treatment on nitric oxide (NO) in migraine patients.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to efforts to understand the pathophysiology of migraine and create an alternative perspective for prophylaxis and treatment of migraine attacks. Acupuncture treatment was applied to the 22 volunteer migraine patients. The acupuncture treatment consists of 5 sessions with 2 sessions per week. Blood samples have been collected before performing acupuncture, after the 1st session and after the 5th session of the acupuncture. And for the control group blood samples were collected only once. In our study the mean serum NO levels in healthy people were (3.58 ± 0.53) while patients with migraine group were (5.55 ± 0.70) respectively. Serum NO levels were 55% higher in migraine group compared to the control group. The NO concentration also decreased after 5th session (30%) (p < 0.05). After the 1st sessions NO level decreased 4.86% in the migraine group. After the 5th session NO level decreased 30.63% in the migraine group. After the 5th session NO level decreased 27.08% compared to 1st session in the migraine group. After the 1st session of acupuncture treatment, level of NO in migraine group were 4.86% and it is reduced but statistically not significant. After the 5th acupuncture treatment serum NO levels were reduced to (3.85 ± 0.62) 30.63% in migraine group and were statistically lower (p < 0.05). After the 5th session NO level decreased 27.08% compared to 1st session in the migraine group. In this study, acupuncture treatment is appeared to be effective by lowering the levels of serum NO and acupuncture has cumulative effects. Although there are earlier studies showing the effect of NO in migraine, this has been the 1st study in this field, which shows the effect of acupuncture on NO in migraine patients.

Treatment of nocturia symptoms with acupuncture.

Nocturia is a common symptom in the elderly. It causes sleeping disorders and is also associated with a higher risk of falling and increased mortality. The majority of nocturia patients prescribed desmopressin although it may cause significant hyponatremia which is a serious life threatening side effect. There is a need to use safer alternative treatment strategies specialy for older nocturia patients. We aim to examine the effect of acupuncture treatment on nocturia patients as a safe alternative treatment option. 35 nocturia patients have been joined to our study aged between 28 to 72. Among those patients in the study, 23 were female while 12 were male. Acupuncture treatment were applied in every 2 days totaling 10 sessions and each treatment session has lasted for 20 minutes. Nocturia frequency of the patients were recorded 1 to 6 before acupuncture treatment sessions. We have observed that nocturia symptoms recovered completely in 60% of the patients at the end of 10 sessions of the treatment while nocturia frequency were reduced to one per night in 37% of the patients. On the other hand nocturia sypmtoms in 2.8% of the patients were not changed at all. As a result 97% of the patients have responded to acupuncture treatment positively which applied bilaterally to Yintang point, Ki 3, Liv 3, Sp 9, L.I. 4, Ht 7, Sp 6, Lu 9, Sp 3, P 6 points. According to our results we conclude that acupuncture treatment should be widely used in nocturia patients of older ages as well as relatively younger adults.

The relation of optical density of seminal plasma with serum FSH and LH levels in azoospermic patients.

The aim was to investigate the relation between optical density of seminal plasma, serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in azoospermic patients and to establish criteria depending on optical density measurements in order to estimate serum FSH and LH levels. Optical density of seminal plasma and serum FSH and LH levels were measured in 45 azoospermic patients. The semen samples with an optical density (OD) of more than 0.5 showed normal levels of FSH and LH, while those with less than 0.5 were observed to have high levels of FSH and LH. The optical density of seminal plasma can be used in the prediction of serum FSH and LH levels in azoospermic patients.