Mehmet Cengiz Ustuner

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.

The effects of levetiracetam on urinary 15f-2t-isoprostane levels in epileptic patients

PURPOSE We aimed to investigate the effects of levetiracetam on oxidative stress which is one of the new antiepileptic drugs in epileptic patients. METHODS The study consisted of 21 patients with cryptogenic partial epilepsy. We determined the urinary 15F-2t-isoprostane levels of the 30 patients which is a marker of oxidative stress. Morning urine samples were collected from the patients before beginning LEV and after 3 months treatment. Of these patients 9 were excluded from the study that had seizure history in the last 1 month. Urinary levels of 15-F2t-isoprostane determined by ELISA initially and after 3 months treatment for each patient. RESULTS Mean age of the 21 patients was 29.6, of these 11 were females and 10 males. Mean urinary 15F-2t-isoprostane level of the patients was 876 ± 447 ng/mg Cr before the treatment of LEV. After 3 months treatment the mean 15F-2t-isoprostane level of the patients was 1560 ± 630. The patients had significantly higher levels of urinary 15F-2t-isoprostane when compared with initial levels (p = 0.025). CONCLUSION Our results showed the increase of urinary 15F-2t-isoprostane levels in epileptic patients whom were treated with LEV which may indicate that LEV induces the oxidative stress in epileptic patients.

Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type-1 Gene 4G/5G Polymorphism Is Associated with Hypertensive Patients in the Turkish Population

This study has been performed on hypertensive patients in the Turkish population to determine the frequency of 4G/5G polymorphism genotypes of plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 gene and with the aim of examining the role of this polymorphism in hypertension development. Genomic DNA obtained from 284 persons (176 patients with hypertension and 108 healthy controls) was used in the study. DNA was multiplied by polymerase chain reaction using 4G and 5G allele-specific primers. Polymerase chain reaction products were assessed by being exposed to 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. Results were evaluated with the chi-square test. The 4G allele frequency was 31.25% and the 5G allele frequency was 68.75% in patients, whereas it was 49/51% in a control group. 5G5G genotype was found statistically high (p < 0.001) in patients relative to controls. This study showed that the plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 gene 4G/5G polymorphism and the 5G5G genotype appear to be associated with an elevated risk of developing hypertension in a representative sample of Turkish population.

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.