With its local and systemic effects, acupuncture is a safe procedure capable of use for analgesia. However, further randomized, placebo-controlled studies will permit a more detailed evaluation of its therapeutic efficacy

Aim:Early diagnosis is very important in some cancers such as breast, cervical and colorectal. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted cancer screening programmers in many countries. In this study, it is aimed to contribute to the literature on this subject by reviewing the status of local cancer screenings during the pandemic period.Methods: This retrospective study includes the 114.727 people in the risky group for cancer screening determined in Bolu, Turkey as two groups. During 2017-2019 years was determined as pre-pandemic group while the year of 2020 was the pandemic group. Data about patients’ results of smear / HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and mammography had analyzed and compared with chi-square test.Results:For all of the screening strategies, smear / HPV, FOBT and mammography, mean of screening cases, positive cases and biopsies had significantly decreased (p<0.05),but there was no statistically difference for mean of definitive diagnoses about all of these cancers even if it has been decreased between two groups.Conclusion: The results of our study show that cancer screening processes are significantly disrupted during the pandemic period. Therefore, it is important to develop new screening strategies for the uninterrupted execution of cancer screening programs, especially during pandemic periods. However, we believe in the necessity of supporting studies with larger patient groups

Aim: Exhaled breath condensate(EBC), one of the materials which is used to detect mutations in the early period, is collected by completely non-invasive a technique which has no risk for the patient. We aimed to investigate whether EBC samples are suitable for the detection of DNA or not in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and control patients. Methods:26 patients with NSCLC and 20 patients without lung cancer were included in the study.EBC procedure was performed by the help of Eco Screen-Jaeger device in 10-15 minutes during breathing at the tidal volume. DNA was isolated using tissue spin-column DNA isolation kit in the collected EBC.Results:DNA amount was twofold high in the NSCLC group than non-cancer patients in spite of short time (p>0.05). However, in cancer group DNA amount was found lower in patients with endobronchial lesions than without endobronchial lesions (p>0.05). Although, there was no relationship between DNA amount and all of EBC collection time, collected sample amount and expiration air volume in the cancer group, a positive relations was detected between DNA amount and EBC collection time in the non-cancer group.Conclusion:This may be explained by the pathological changes which occur at the cellular level in the lungs during cancer development process. However, it may also result from relative decrease which develops from redundancy of EBC volume in the non-cancer group. The source of DNA in EBC may be considered to be pathological changes resulting from the systemic inflammatory response, apart from the localized lesion in the lungs

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a simple, fast, and reliable UV visible methodology for the determination of atezolizumab in pharmaceutical products. Methods: The maximum wavelength of atezolizumab was determined using a UV/Vis spectrum and the calibration curve has been established. Validation studies were carried out to determine the reliability of the spectrophotometer method used in quantification of pharmaceutical products. Results: According to the experimental data, the developed method was linear in a range varying from 0.10 to 1.50 mg.mL-1 determined by 6 individuals calibrations points. The r2 value was 0.9995 indicating a 99.95% correlation in linearity and precision. The robustness showed good and similar values and the limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.005 mg.mL-1 and 0.018 mg.mL-1, respectively. Conclusion: The data corroborates the reliability as applicability of the developed UV/Vis spectroscopy method for quantitatively determining the amount of atezolizumab in pharmaceutical products

Aim: To investigate if combined S velocity (CSV) calculated from tricuspid annulus and pulmonary annulus with tissue Doppler imagingin individuals with acute inferior myocardial infarction were linked to proximal RCA lesions.Methods: The study comprised 48 patient who had been diagnosed with acute inferior myocardial infarction and had culprit lesions in the right coronary artery. The RCA occlusion in Group A was proximal to the right ventricular branch, while the RCA occlusion in Group B was distant to the RV branch. The combined S velocity was tested, as well as other echocardiographic parameters.Results: In terms of metrics indicating right ventricular function, there were substantial disparities between the groups. A favorable association was established in the univariate correlation analysis between CSV and tissue Doppler imaging derived tricuspid annulus systolic velocity(St), pulmonary annulus motion velocity evaluated by TDI (PAMVUT), RV tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion(TAPSE), and fractional area change (FAC). CSV was identified as an independent predictor of proximal RCA occlusion in a multivariate logistic regression test. In the ROC analysis, CSV<18.3 cm/s and PAMVUT<8.6 cm/s indicated proximal RCA occlusion with 83 percent sensitivity and 71 percent specificity (AUC=0.83, p<0.001), and 85 percent sensitivity and 71 percent specificity (AUC=0.81, p<0.001), respectively. Conclusion: CSV measurements were revealed to be an important predictor of proximal RCA occlusions in this investigation

Aim:To compare the efficacy and bleeding risk of clopidogrel versus ticagrelor in patients presenting with the acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Method: This was a single-center retrospective comparison of in-hospital and 1-year major advance cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with ACS and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR <60 mL/min) who were treated with clopidogrel or ticagrelor in addition to aspirin. Clinicodemographic features, medication use, and laboratory values were recorded. eGFR was calculated by means of the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD)equation. The Killip classification was used to quantify the severity of heart failure. The primary outcome measures were in-hospital and 1-year MACEs and major and minor bleeding. MACE definition included recurrent myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death. Results: In total, 235 patients (40.9% female, mean age 67.8 ± 12.4 years) were included. Of all patients, 56% presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), whereas 44% had a non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Sixty-eight patients were treated with ticagrelor, while 167 patients were administered clopidogrel. The groups were comparable in terms of in-hospital mortality, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), and re-infarction rates. There was no statistical difference between the mortality, CVA and re-infarction rates between the groups at 12-month. In-hospital minor bleedings were more common among ticagrelor users. In-hospital major bleeding frequencies were similar in both groups. There was no statistical difference in terms of major or minor bleeding rates at 12 months. Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed comparable efficacy and bleeding risk in ACS patients who were treated clopidogrel or ticagrelor

Aim: To investigate the incidence of Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) and related lesions in patients who applied to the gastroenterology outpatient clinic of our institution and its relationship with the family population.Methods:The data of 701 patients who underwent elective esophagogastroduodenoscopy and were suitable for H. pyloriresearch were analyzed. The patients were classified according to gender and age groups (under 40 years of age and above) and evaluated for H. pylori, gastric atrophy and intestinal metaplasia by histopathological method. In addition, the relationship between H. pyloriand gastric atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, family population, total income of the family, and gender were investigated.Results:Intestinal metaplasia was found in 3.1% of women and 6.6% of men (p=0.03). H. pyloripositivity was found as 65% in the group under 40 and 54% in the group over 40 years old (p= 0.003). Atrophy was detected as 2% in the group under 40 years of age and13.1% in the group over 40 years old (p<0.001). There was no difference between the H. pyloripositive group and the H. pylorinegative group in terms family populations (p>0.05). Conclusion:Our current findings from our study do not suggest that the prevalence of H. pylori is related to the number of family members, but we think that intestinal metaplasia is more common in males than females, and the eradication of H. pylori in this population should be detailed.

The high rates of insomnia and depression suggested that the progression of the pandemic also brought about chronic health problems. Therefore, it is important to conduct extensive preventive health programs for the population.

Aim:To compare serum fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) levels in healthy individuals, patients with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT);combined prediabetic patients (IFG+IGT), and patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In addition, the relationship between serum FGF-21 levels and demographic characteristics, glucose metabolism and laboratory parameters predicting cardiovascular disease risk factors were investigated.Method: Age, gender, waist and hip circumference measurements, and body mass index (BMI) values were reported for all study groups. Fasting serum insulin, c-peptide levels, insulin/c-peptide ratio, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance(HOMA-IR)value, serum lipids, serum cortisol, and plasma fibrinogen levels were all evaluated.Result: There were no statistically significant variations in the gender distribution of male and female groups (p= 0.340). For age, BMI, waist and hip circumference, no statistically significant differences were observed between groups 2, 3, and 4. When the groups were compared for FGF-21 levels, moderate differences were found between Groups 1 and 2 (p= 0.04), highly significant differences between Groups 1 and 3 (p<0.0001), and no significant differences were found between Groups 2, 3, and 4 (p>0.05).Conclusions: Serum FGF-21 levels were significantly increased in prediabetic patients and T2DM. Furthermore, FGF-21 levels were linked to a rise in cardiovascular risk factors. It may shed light onthe etiopathogenesis of glucometabolic diseases