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Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a multifactorial disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Major risk factors of CAD are hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, family history and obesity. Also polymorphisms in the angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) gene can associate with CAD. The relationship between ACE polymorphisms and other risk factors is not well understood in CAD, likely due to the complex interrelation of genetic and environmental risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of CAD risk factors and ACE polymorphisms in patients with CAD. We enrolled 203 consecutive patients and 140 healthy subjects in the study. The severity of CAD was evaluated according to the number of vessels with significant stenosis. ACE insertion (I)/deletion (D) genotype was determined by PCR. The frequency of the DD genotype was significantly higher in patients. D allele frequency was higher among CAD subjects when compared to the control group. The number of stenotic vessels were found to be statistically associated with a high frequency of DD polymorphism and D allele and a low frequency of I allele in patients, especially in male patients. The control group displayed II and ID genotypes more frequently than did the patients. The ACE I/D genotype was associated with hyperlipidemia and smoking history. We consider that the DD polymorphism and D allele may affect the severity of CAD, while I allele may have a protective effect. In conclusion, the ACE I/D genotype may interact with conventional risk criteria in determining the risk of CAD.

Background: Association studies in the Turkish population have investigated the single locus effects of different gene polymorphisms on coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is a complex polygenic disease that involves complex interactions among multiple genetic and environmental conditions., Design: We evaluated associations of five candidate genetic polymorphisms (methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase C677T, plasminogen activator inhibitor 4G/5G, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) 3-27 base pair repeat, insertion, or deletion of a 287 bp Alu repeat sequence polymorhism of angiotensin I converting enzyme, and paraoxonase Gln192Arg PON1 polymorphisms) with the presence and extent of early onset CAD., Methods: DNA was isolated and amplified from 90 consecutive patients with angiographically proven early onset CAD (ages 41 ± 5 for men, 49 ± 7 for women) and also from 90 control subjects with no significant coronary obstruction angiographically (ages 42 ± 5 for men, 48 ± 6 for women). Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis was performed to identify a model of CAD based on both genetic and conventional risk factors., Results: MDR analysis detected a significant model with four genes (prediction success ∼ 61%, p = 0.03). When the total number of the conventional risk factors is analysed with the candidate polymorphisms, a different model is identified that includes three of the four genes from the above model and achieves a similar prediction of CAD as the gene only model., Conclusion: These data indicate that gene-gene and gene-environmental risk interactions form significant models in predicting early onset CAD.

Background/aims: Fascioliasis is an important zoonotic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica. This zoonosis may cause serious morbidity and a considerable financial burden. Knowledge about Fasciola hepatica and interest in this parasite have increased in Turkey recently. However, there have been few studies on the real prevalence of this condition in the country. Therefore, we aimed to determine the prevalence of fascioliasis and the role of family history of the condition in the transmission of the parasite in the province of Mersin., Methods: Taking account of their populations, 729 people without a family history of fascioliasis and 155 people with a family history of fascioliasis from the city of Mersin and randomly selected three towns were included into the study to obtain a sample that well represented the population of the province of Mersin. A questionnaire composed of items about consumption of green leafy vegetables, stock-breeding and clinical symptoms of the disease was used to collect data. Excretory/ secretory (ES)-ELISA was used to detect IgG antibodies to Fasciola hepatica. People seropositive for Fasciola hepatica underwent abdominal ultrasonography, physical examination, biochemistry, and stool tests for the detection of Fasciola hepatica eggs., Results: A total of 0.79% of the participants were seropositive for Fasciola hepatica. One point ninety-three percent of the individuals with a family history of fascioliasis and 0.55% of the individuals without a family history of fascioliasis were seropositive for Fasciola hepatica. Out of 7 individuals found to be seropositive for Fasciola hepatica, 5 were female, 2 were male, and 4 had a family history of fascioliasis. Five and 4 patients, respectively, had a history of consuming green leafy vegetables and 4 had a history of stock-breeding. The clinical evaluation revealed that 4 patients had at least one sign of fascioliasis. Three patients had signs of fascioliasis on ultrasonography and 1 had Fasciola hepatica egg in stool examination. There was no significant difference in seropositivity for Fasciola hepatica between the individuals with and without a family history of fascioliasis (x2: 0.077, p>0.05)., Conclusions: The prevalence of fascioliasis was hypoendemic in the province of Mersin. There were no significant differences in the Fasciola hepatica prevalence between the groups with and without family history of fascioliasis. However, studies with larger sample sizes may reveal a difference.

Entameoba histolytica, 1 of the 2 Entamoeba species with similar morphology that infect humans, causes invasive intestinal and extraintestinal diseases, whereas Entamoeba dispar is found commensally and is noninvasive. Because of their morphologic similarity, E. histolytica and E. dispar cannot be differentiated microscopically. The antigens of E. histolytica and E. dispar, however, may be detected by the ELISA method. Previous studies have found that the detection of antigens in the stool is as sensitive and specific as cultures and isoenzyme analyses. Stool samples from 272 patients with diarrhea in the province of Mersin, Turkey, were examined for the presence of Entamoeba species microscopically and for Entamoeba (E. histolytica/E. dispar) antigens using the ELISA method. An E. histolytica-specific ELISA test was used to examine 29 E. histolytica/E. disparpositive samples. Twenty-four (8.82%) of the samples tested positive for E. histolytica/E. dispar by trichrome staining, and 29 (10.6%) of the samples tested positive for E. histolytica/E. dispar by the Entamoeba screening test. Entamoeba histolytica was positive in 21 (7.72%) and E. dispar positive in 8 (2.94%) samples. The detection of true E. histolytica infection is possible with the use of E. histolytica-specific antigen ELISA tests. Thus, real cases of amoebiasis can be detected and treated, and overtreatment of the patients with E. dispar, which is the nonpathogenic species, will be prevented.

There is increasing evidence to suggest that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species play a role in the pathogenesis of renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study was designed to determine the possible protective effects of trapidil treatment against oxidative and nitrosative tissue injury of kidney induced by I/R. A renal I/R injury was induced by a left renal pedicle occlusion by ischemia for 45 minutes, followed by 1 hour of reperfusion with contralateral nephrectomy in I/R and I/R + trapidil groups. Trapidil (8 mg/kg intravenously) was administrated immediately before reperfusion phase. At the end of the reperfusion period, rats were killed. Then, renal tissue samples were taken for biochemical analysis and histopathological evaluation, and blood samples were obtained to determinate serum urea, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels. Ischemia-reperfusion injury caused significant increases in myeloperoxidase activity and malondialdehyde and 3-nitrotyrosine levels in renal tissue and elevated serum urea, AST, and TNF-alpha levels. In addition, severe deterioration of renal morphology was seen in the I/R group. Trapidil treatment significantly reduced in biochemical parameters, as well as serum urea, AST, and TNF-alpha levels. Furthermore, renal tissue injury was markedly attenuated with trapidil treatment. These data suggest that reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species play a causal role in I/R-induced renal tissue, and trapidil has a renoprotective effect against oxidative and nitrosative kidney damage.

The frequency, antibiotic susceptibility, and genotypic discrimination of Aeromonas strains isolated from municipally treated drinking tap water distribution systems were investigated in this study. We have analyzed 148 tap water samples collected from 8 different locations by bacterial cultivation and arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR). Gram negative, hemolytic, oxidase (+) and catalase (+) bacterial colonies were applied to the study. Identification of bacterial colonies was done by conventional biochemical method and API ID 20E panel (BioMerieux-France). Molecular epidemiological discrimination of the isolates was done by AP-PCR. Aeromonas spp. was detected in 6 of 148 (4%) tap water samples from 8 different locations. Five isolates were identified as Aeromonas hydrophila and one isolate was identified as Vibrio fluvialis by conventional biochemical method. These data were also confirmed by API 20E panel. One of 6 isolates was resistant to gentamicin, 2 of 6 isolates were resistant to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, 4 of 6 isolates were resistant to ampicillin and ampicillin-sulbactam and all of 6 isolates were resistant to cephalothin. All isolates were found to be susceptible to amikacin, aztreonam, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin. All 6 strains of Aeromonas were discriminated by AP-PCR and were determined that all isolates were from different genotypic sources. Although the frequency of the isolates was under the standard limits, the results indicate that hemolytic A. hydrophila are present in municipally treated tap water samples in Mersin City. While all strains were genotypically distinct, all of them were resistant to first generation beta lactam antibiotics tested in this study.

Animal models of thermal injury indicate reactive oxygen species and inflammatory cytokines as causative agents in tissue injury on various organs distant from the original wound. Trapidil has various properties, such as inhibition of platelet aggregation and lipid peroxidation as well as reduction of the inflammatory response to injury. This study was designed to determine the possible protective effect of trapidil treatment against oxidative organ damage in lung, intestine and kidney induced by cutaneous thermal injury. Thirty Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups. Sham group (n=6) was exposed to 21 degrees C water while burn-3 h group (n=6) and burn+trap-3h group (n=6), burn-24 h (n=6) and burn+trap-24 h groups were exposed to boiling water for 12s to produce a full thickness burn in 35-40% of total body surface area. In both burn+trap-3 h and burn-trap-24 h group, 8 mg/kg trapidil was given intravenously immediately after thermal injury. Three and 24 h later, tissue samples were taken for biochemical analysis from lung, intestine and kidney and blood samples were obtained to determinate serum TNF-alpha levels. Cutaneous thermal injury caused a significant increase in myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) and 3-nitrotyrozine (3-NT) levels in all tissues and elevated serum TNF-alpha levels at post-burn 3 and 24 h. Trapidil treatment significantly reduced in biochemical parameters, as well as serum TNF-alpha levels. These data suggest that trapidil has a protective effect against oxidative organ damage in burn injury.