Can the Mean Platelet Volume Be a Risk Factor for Vasculogenic Erectile Dysfunction?

PURPOSE: The mean platelet volume (MPV) is a marker of the platelet activity and is reported to increase in vascular diseases. We aimed to investigate the association between MPV and vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED). MATERIALS AND METHODS: MPV and platelet (PLT) levels were measured in 50 cases of ED and 40 healthy controls. The diagnosis of vasculogenic ED was based on a detailed sexual history, physical examination, laboratory assessment, and color Doppler ultrasonography. The results are given as mean+/-standard deviation of the mean. RESULTS: The mean ages of the patient and the control groups were 53.70+/-12.39 years (range 24~77 years) and 53.85+/-9.5 years (range 30~73 years), respectively (p=0.947). The MPV and PLT values were significantly higher in the patients with ED than those of the controls (7.49+/-1.4), (6.85+/-1.2), (262.97+/-68), (252.89+/-82) respectively, p0.05), and there was no correlation between MPV and either age of patients (p=0.905) or duration of ED (p=0.583). CONCLUSIONS: The platelet count and MPV was detected to be increased in patients with vasculogenic ED. This finding suggests a role for platelets in the pathogenesis of vascular complications and that the MPV would be useful in monitoring disease progression.

Interaction between seed size and NaCl on germination and early seedling growth of some Turkish cultivars of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Chickpea is an important food legume crop of Turkey and is largely grown for human consumption on low moisture or salt-affected soils. The objective of the study was to find the effects of NaCl stress at electrical conductivities of 4.5, 8.6, 12.7 and 16.3 dS/m and seed sizes (7, 8 and 9 mm) on germination and early seedling growth of three popular chickpea cultivars (AKN-97, Gokce and Uzunlu-99). Mean frequency of germination, germination time, germination index, root length, shoot length and seedling fresh weight showed seed size-dependent responses of cultivars to salt stress. In general, small seeds germinated and grew more rapidly compared to medium and large seeds of the same cultivars against all levels of salt stress, with the best results in cultivar Uzunlu-99. No effect of NaCl treatments was observed on frequency of germination; however, a drastic decrease in early seedling growth was recorded at increased NaCl concentrations. Regression analysis results showed a significantly positive relationship (P<0.01) between seed size and mean germination time, whereas a significantly negative relationship was recorded between seed size and germination index, root length, shoot length. Moreover, linear regression values apparently confirmed that increased seed size in each cultivar affected decreased germination index, root and shoot lengths with enhanced mean germination time. Thus, it was concluded that the use of small seeds could considerably reduce the production costs of chickpea in salt-affected soils.