Omer Faruk Turan

Protective Effect of Amifostine Against Toxicity of Paclitaxel and Carboplatin in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

AbstractAim: In this study we determined the protective role of amifostine against the side effects of the combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods: Chemo-naive patients with NSCLC were eligible. Thirty-eight patients were randomized to receive paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 and carboplatin AUC=6 with amifostine 910 mg/m2 (group B) or chemotherapy alone (group A). The occurrences of hematologic, neurologic, cardiologic toxicities, and ototoxicity were evaluated. Results: All patients completed the six scheduled cycles of therapy. A total of 114 cycles of chemotherapy was given in both groups. Neutropenia grade 3–4 was observed in 11 cycles (9.6%) in group A and 19 cycles (16.6%) in group B (p=0.16). Paresthesia grade 1 or 2 was observed in 18 of 19 patients of group A and in 8 of 19 patients of group B, following the sixth cycle of chemotherapy (p=0.018). Two patients of group B and nine patients of group A suffered from sensory motor impairment grade 2 (p=0.029). There was no clinical evidence in any patient for deterioration in cardiac function. Asymptomatic and transient sinus bradycardia or ventricular premature beats developed in four patients. None of the patients reported vertigo, tinnitus, or hearing loss. Conclusion: The addition of the amifostine to the combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin may prevent or reduce the incidence of neurotoxicity in the treatment of NSCLC. Amifostine does not appear to have a preventive role in neutropenia.

Shape analysis of the corpus callosum and cerebellum in female MS patients with different clinical phenotypes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the shape differences in the corpus callosum (CC) and cerebellum of female relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients compared with healthy controls. This study was conducted using the magnetic resonance imaging scans of 15 control subjects, 26 RRMS, and 14 SPMS patients. The data obtained from the landmark coordinates were analyzed with statistical shape analysis. The landmarks that were chosen to determine the shape differences of the CC and cerebellum have been identified and used in previous studies. In addition to these landmarks, constructed landmarks were determined and used to assess regional shape differences better. The shapes of the CC and cerebellum showed statistically significant differences from the controls when compared with both the RRMS and SPMS patients. It was found that the deformation observed from controls to SPMS was greater than the deformation from controls to RRMS, both for the CC and cerebellum. In conclusion, this study revealed CC and cerebellar shape change in RRMS and SPMS, and showed that deformations both in CC and cerebellum advances with the disease progression. Anat Rec, 2012.

Prevalence of and risk factors for cognitive impairment in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: Multi-center, controlled trial

BACKGROUND Cognitive impairment (CI) is a common problem in multiple sclerosis (MS), may occur either in early or late phase of the disease, and impairs quality of life. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine the prevalence of CI and related risk factors in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients in Turkey. METHODS The present cross-sectional, multi-center, and nationally representative study included RRMS patients. Sociodemographic characteristics, cognitive functions and additional outcomes were compared between patients with and without CI. RESULTS The analyses included 487 RRMS patients. According to the BRB-N battery results, CI prevalence was 53.7%. There was a negative significant correlation of BRB-N subtests with age, disease duration, and EDSS and MSNQ-patient rated scores. On the logistic regression analysis, increased age, living in village/rural area, high income level, and high EDSS score were significant increasing risk factors in the development of CI. CONCLUSIONS This is the first national cognitive data obtained from MS in Turkey, which is a country between Europe and Asia and thus has characteristics of both continents. The similarity of the results of the present study obtained from Turkey to the Western-based data indicates that CI is universal in MS and the main factors affecting CI have not changed.