Gul Guven

The clinical evaluation of the oral status in Alzheimer-type dementia patients.

BACKGROUND To evaluate the oral health status in patients with Alzheimer dementia (AD), and the association of the disease severity with the oral findings. METHODS The study was conducted on the study group (31 AD patients) and the control group (47 healthy volunteers) from the Neurology Department of the Institute. Cognitive status was evaluated with the MMSE scoring system. Oral parameters, such as decaying, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) index and teeth present (PT) were evaluated in the patients. Oral hygiene status, denture status and mucosal lesions, including denture-induced stomatitis were also investigated. RESULTS The study was conducted on the study group (31 AD patients) and the control group (47 healthy volunteers). Tooth brushing and denture cleaning were irregular in 22 of 31 (70%) patients with AD. The ratio of the subjects who forgot to remove their denture during the night was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (p < 0.001). In this study, decreased cognitive functions in AD patients have been demonstrated to result in a deterioration of denture care and increased denture-related mucosal lesions. CONCLUSIONS These findings were considered due to decreased denture care including the non-removal of the denture in the night in the patients with decreased cognitive functions.

SEM examination of the dorsal lingual papillae of pregnant rats.

To our knowledge there are no histomorphological studies examining the lingual papillae in pregnancy. Therefore, this present study was planned. The purpose of this study was to clarify different physiological results and to investigate whether there are any changes on the dorsal surface of the rat tongue during pregnancy. On days 7 and 14 of pregnancy, superficial epithelial configurations of the lingual papillae (circumvallate, fungiform, filiform) in pregnant rats were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that there were some differences in topographic configurations of these papillae in pregnant rats compared with controls. The obtained changes by SEM may reflect something which occurs in the lingual papillae during pregnancy in rat. There may be a correlation between the alterations of some hormone levels in pregnancy and some morphological changes of the lingual papillae.

The protective effects of vitamin E on urinary bladder apoptosis and oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether vitamin E has protective effects or not on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats in diabetic urinary bladder dysfunction, with interrelationships between oxidative stress and apoptosis. METHODS Thirty-two Wistar albino male rats were divided into 4 groups. Group A (n = 8), control; group B (n = 8), diabetic control; group C (n = 8), control + vitamin E; and group D (n = 8), diabetic + vitamin E. Vitamin E was injected 40 mg/kg every other day intraperitoneally for 2 weeks. In the diabetic groups, diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg of streptozotocin. Apoptosis studies were performed using apoptosis detection kit and the TUNEL (TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling) technique. The levels of glucose, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase were detected in hemolysate. RESULTS It was observed that apoptosis number in urothelial cells of the bladder in diabetic rats increased significantly compared with control and decreased after vitamin E treatment. MDA levels of the diabetic group were significantly higher than those on the control and vitamin E groups. Diabetic + vitamin E group had significantly increased MDA levels compared with control group, although these values were lower than those in the diabetic group. All enzyme activities of the vitamin E group did not differ compared with the control group. In diabetic + vitamin E group, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were similar to controls. Catalase activity of the diabetic + vitamin E group decreased significantly compared with control, although it was higher than that in the diabetic group. CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed that vitamin E decreases apoptosis and may be protective for uroepithelial cells of diabetic bladder.

Protective Effects of the Nuclear Factor Kappa B Inhibitor Pyrrolidine Dithiocarbamate on Experimental Testicular Torsion and Detorsion Injury

Testicular torsion results with the damage of the testis and it is a surgical emergency. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) is a low-molecular-weight antioxidant and potent inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of PDTC to testicular torsion-detorsion (T/D) injury. Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were separated into four groups. A sham operation was performed in group I. In group II, torsion is performed 2 hours by 720 degree extravaginally testis. In group III, 4 h reperfusion of the testis was performed after 2 h of testicular torsion. In group IV, after performing the same surgical procedures as in group III, PDTC (100 mg/kg, intravenouss) was administered before 30 min of detorsion. The testes tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalase (CAT) level was evaluated. Histological evaluations were performed after hematoxylin and eosin staining. Testicular tissue MDA levels were the highest in the T/D groups compared with treatment group. Administration of PDTC prevented a further increase in MDA levels. Significant decrease occurred in CAT and SOD levels in treatment group compared with the control group. The rats in the treatment group had normal testicular architecture. The results suggest that PDTC can be a potential protective agent for preventing the biochemical and histological changes related to oxidative stress in testicular injury caused by testis torsion.

Evaluation of the Size and Area of the Corpus Callosum with the Osiris Method in Alzheimer’s Disease

Background/Objective: Significant corpus callosum (CC) atrophy has been demonstrated in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The aim of this study is to evaluate the size and the area of the CC with the Osiris method. The correlation between the CC measurements and Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) scores in AD patients was also investigated. Methods: The results of the topographic measurements included the cross-sectional area of entire CC, body, rostral portion of the genu and splenium from a midsagittal magnetic resonance imaging section. The results of the topographic measurements of CC on MRI with the Osiris method were compared between AD (n = 29) and control subjects (n = 27). Results: In AD patients the mean value of the splenium was 9.2 ± 1.5 mm, the width of the CC body was 3.9 ± 0.2 mm, the rostral portion of the genu was 7.9 ± 0.2 mm, and the total CC area was 47.2 ± 0.9 mm2. In the control group the mean values were 12.2 ± 2.1 mm, 5.9 ± 0.2 mm, 11.2 ± 0.2 mm and 56.1 ± 0.6 mm2, respectively. Significant reduction was detected in the splenium, the CC body and the rostral part of the genu and CC area in AD patients. The MMSE score was 18.9 ± 4.5 in the AD patients and 29.1 ± 0.9 in the control subjects. A significant positive correlation between the MMSE scores and each CC measurement was seen in the AD patients. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that callosal atrophy in AD may suggest the severity of the disease. The Osiris method for CC measurements may be used as an easy and reliable technique to assess the severity of the disease.

The protective effect of Hypericum origanifolium in experimental renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats

1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey. 2 Department of Urology, Treating and Research Hospital, Dumlupınar University Kütahya, Kütahya, Turkey. 3 Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey. 4 Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey. 5 Department of Pharmacognasy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu Universty, Eskişehir, Turkey. 6 Department of Medical Genetic, Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.

The relation of sulcus nervi radialis with the fracture line of humerus fracture and radial nerve injury

PurposeRadial nerve is closely in contact with the bone in sulcus nervi radialis (SNR). Location of SNR shows ethnic differences. Radial nerve is a big problem in humerus fractures and its surgery. In this study, we aimed to examine if humerus fractures of this region increases the probability of radial nerve injury.MethodsTotal length of humerus and the distance of SNR to proximal and distal anatomical points were measured on 57 human dry cadaver bones. The mean values of these data were calculated. The 58 cases of treated humerus fractures in our orthopedics department, whose radiological film techniques were available, were involved in the study and their measurements were made at the same anatomic reference points, retrospectively. Proximal and distal safe zones to total length ratios of both groups were determined. The ratios of the cases were compared with the confidence intervals of dry bones. Location of the fracture line according to SNR and the relationship between radial nerve injury and this location were evaluated.ResultsSulcus nervi radialis region was located at the middle of humerus. Of 24 cases which had radial nerve injury, only nine cases had fracture of SNR region. Of the 34 cases which had no radial nerve injury, 16 had fracture of SNR region.ConclusionsAs a result; radial nerve injury rate was 37.5% for the fractures of SNR region and it was higher compared to other studies. We concluded that the fractures of SNR region do not increase the risk of radial nerve injury.