Relation of C-2 monitoring with serum lipid profile in stable renal transplant patients.

C-2 monitoring has been proposed as a more effective strategy than C-0 to predict the risk of acute rejection in the early stages posttransplantation. However, cyclosporine (CsA) is associated with posttransplant dyslipidemia. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the correlations of C-0 and C-2 levels with atherogenic risk factors in the first 6 months versus after 6 months posttransplantation. We evaluated the data from 127 stable renal transplant recipients (89 males, 38 females) of mean age 38.10 +/- 12.79 years who received Neoral-based immunosuppression to investigate the relation of C-2 levels to serum lipid profile compared with C-0 values in the early and late posttransplantation periods. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to define a C-2 cutoff level that identified subjects with hypercholesterolemia, defined as a total cholesterol (TC) >200 mg/dL. There were significant positive correlations between both C-0 and C-2 levels and TC as well as the ratio of total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (TC/HDL) in the late period. When the C-2 levels in the late posttransplantation period were stratified, serum TC concentrations showed statistically significant differences between the groups. Whole blood C-2 levels above 850 ng/mL were associated with increased serum TC concentrations; the C-2 cutoff level leading to hypercholesterolemia was 888 ng/mL. Maintenance immunosuppressive therapy under the proposed whole blood C-2 level of 888 ng/mL seemed to preserve graft function while preventing atherogenic risks for cardiovascular diseases in the late posttransplantation period.

Public opinion regarding oocyte donation in Turkey: first data from a secular population among the Islamic world.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to reveal the general attitudes of Turkish people toward various aspects of oocyte donation. METHODS: This descriptive study was carried out in two separate districts of a large Turkish city. Four hundred participants were chosen by cluster sampling methods. The questionnaires were performed by 4th year medical students face to face with the participants. RESULTS: The participants consisted of 232 women (58%) and 168 men (42%); 65% were married, 5% were divorced; 64% had children, 15 (4%) had infertility problems, 263 (66%) were graduates of high school or university; 269 (67%) considered themselves religious. Only less than one-third of the respondents actually knew what oocyte donation meant. Approval of oocyte donation was high in our study sample. Only 61 (15%) respondents showed complete objection to oocyte donation and more men were in favour than women. Less than half of the participants thought that their religion would prevent oocyte donation if they needed it. More than half of the participants would prefer the use of oocyte donation treatment rather than adoption of a child. CONCLUSION: This is the first report on the attitudes towards oocyte donation from a country having a secular constitution and whose population is mainly Muslim. The most important conclusion to be drawn from the present study is the fact that most of the participants did not have any objection to oocyte donation treatments.

Anxiety, depression and stressful life events among medical students: a prospective study in Antalya, Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess psychological changes in medical students in Antalya, Turkey during their undergraduate education. The first-year follow-up outcomes are presented in this article. DESIGN: All first-year undergraduate students were given a detailed, self-report questionnaire and another in the second year. They were asked to complete the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). SETTING: The Faculties of Medicine, Economics and Physical Education (PE) of the Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey. PARTICIPANTS: All first-year undergraduate students in the Faculties of Medicine, Economics and PE who were registered in 1996. RESULTS: The findings showed that psychological test scores on the GHQ, the STAI and the BDI rose significantly in medical students between the first and second years. Using the GHQ, with different cut-off scores, the percentage of students scoring above the thresholds was higher in medical students in year 2, compared with economics and PE students. In addition, the scores for some stressful life events of medical students showed a significant rise from year 1 to year 2. Multiple regression analyses indicated that some stressful life events related to social activities were associated with the psychological test scores for medical students. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that there is a decrease in the psychological health of first-year medical students. Some inadequacies in the social activities of the students might play a role in this type of disturbance.