The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) polymorphism in otitis media with effusion (OME).

OBJECTIVES: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is the most common disease after viral infections of upper respiratory tract (URTI) in children. Studies indicate the important role of nitric oxide (NO) in the etiology of hearing loss. However, there is no study that focuses on the role of nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) polymorphisms in the cases with OME. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the eNOS polymorphisms in the pediatric patients with OME. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-nine patients who are diagnosed with otitis media with effusion and 85 healthy subjects who are compatible in terms of age and gender were included in the study. All patients in the study were subjected to complete ear, nose, throat (ENT) and audiological examinations. DNA analysis was performed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique from the blood samples. The PCR product was cut by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with BanII enzyme and checked by agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: As a result of genetic analysis, there is no significant difference between patients and the controls in terms of eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism (G/G, G/T, T/T). When these groups were compared in terms of allele distributions, a significant relationship was found between the patients and the controls (P=0.037). CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, G allele was identified as predisposing to the development of OME and this is the first report indicates the correlation between the eNOS G894T polymorphism and OME in Turkey.

Evaluation of the effects of androgen receptor gene trinucleotide repeats and prostate-specific antigen gene polymorphisms on prostate cancer.

The number of trinucleotide repeats [CAG (coding for polyglutamine), GGC (coding for polyglycine)] in the first exon of the androgen receptor (AR) gene and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) gene androgen response element I A/G polymorphism are both related to prostate cancer prognosis. We investigated whether these genomic changes occur in the AR and PSA genes, which are usually found in individuals with prostate cancer, of Turkish patients and to find out their distribution in the population. We used PCR and PCR-RFLP assays for AR and PSA genes, respectively, to detect molecular changes in 44 prostate cancer patients. Our findings indicate that individuals with prostate cancer tend to have around 18 CAG trinucleotide repeats. We observed significant differences between 22 controls, 33 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) patients and 44 adenocarcinoma patients for long CAG repeats. However, we did not find any significant differences in GGC repeats between controls, BPH and adenocarcinoma patients (P = 0.408). We also did not observe significant differences in the PSA A/G polymorphism frequency between controls, BPH and adenocarcinoma patients (P = 0.483). In conclusion, CAG and GGC repeats in the AR and PSA gene polymorphisms may be associated with prostate cancer risk and BPH in the Turkish population.

The role of diffusion-weighted MR imaging and ADC values in the diagnosis of gastric tumors.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) in the diagnosis of gastric tumors by means of measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of these lesions, and making a comparison with the endoscopic biopsy results. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Seventy patients having gastric tumor constituted the case group. For the control group 30 healthy individuals were included. Abdominal MRI examinations were performed with a 1,5 Tesla unit. DWI examinations were obtained by single shot spin echoplanar imaging. The ADC was measured based on the tissue of the gastric tumoral entities and normal gastric mucosa in the control group. RESULTS: Mean ADC values were 0,84 +/- 0,17 x 10(-3) mm2/s and 1,79 +/- 0,08 x 10 mm2/s in gastric tumor group and in control group, respectively, being statistically significant (p<0.05).There was no significance among ADC values of adenocarcinoma subgroups. The comparison of the ADC values in the adenocarcinoma and lymphoma cases were also found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: DWI is beneficial in the diagnosis of malignant gastric lesions by the aid of ADC measurements. Although ADC quantification seems to be invaluable in the evaluation of histopathologic subgroups of adenocarcinoma, it can help in the diagnosis of gastric lymphoma.

CT and MR findings in a neuroforaminal extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma mimicking benign nerve sheath tumor.

INTRODUCTION: We report the CT and MR findings in a 30-year-old man with extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma (EES) involving the left neural foramen at L5-S1 level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patient was evaluated with preoperative lumbosacral CT and MR imaging and postoperative lumbosacral MR imaging. RESULTS: The lesion was hyperdense on CT, isointense on T1- and T2-weighted MR images, and enhanced homogeneously after intravenous gadolinium injection. With these CT and MR findings, surgery was performed with a presumptive diagnosis of nerve sheath tumor, but the histopathological examination revealed EES. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy were planned postoperatively. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates that even in benign looking lesions in a neuroforamen one can never exclude malignancy, and this is even more true in a population of young adults.

Polymorphisms of HPC2/ELAC2 and SRD5A2 (5α-Reductase Type II) Genes in Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is the proliferation of malignant cells in the prostate gland. The HPC2/ELAC2 gene on chromosome 17p11.2 and SRD5A2 gene on chromosome 2p22-23 are predisposing genetic factors. We examined the relationship between Ser217Leu and Ala541Thr polymorphisms of the former gene, and Ala49Thr and Val89Leu polymorphisms of the latter gene to prostate cancer in Turkish men, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and appropriate restriction enzymes. The HPC2/ELAC2 gene Ser217-Leu and SRD5A2 gene Ala49Thr polymorphisms were associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in Turkish men [for the HPC2/ELAC2 gene Ser217Leu polymorphism: odds ratio (OR) 2.7; confidence interval 95% (CI 95%) 1.6-4.8; p 0.000<0.05, and for the SRD5A2 gene Ala49Thr polymorphism: OR 2.4; CI 95% 1.2-4.9; p 0.004<0.05].

Aryepiglottic fold and subcutaneous metastases from breast carcinoma.

We report the CT findings in a 77-year-old woman with left-sided aryepiglottic fold metastasis from breast cancer diagnosed 7 years previously. The lesion obliterated the left piriform sinus, had a lobulated contour and showed mild and heterogeneous enhancement on a post-contrast CT examination. Biopsy of the lesion revealed metastasis from poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, compatible with metastasis of the breast carcinoma. Before detection of the laryngeal lesion, a second primary tumor in the right ovary was diagnosed. After right oopherectomy, histopathology revealed clear cell adenocarcinoma. The patient also had multiple subcutaneous metastases and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathies. Chemotherapy was applied to the patient.