Search

OBJECTIVES: Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an endogenous hormone that acts as a ligand for several cellular receptors. An age-dependent decline in circulating levels of DHEA is linked to changes in various physiological functions. In gynecological clinical practice, DHEA is commonly prescribed to induce ovulation. Some clinical studies report a positive association between high serum concentrations of DHEA and an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. However, the in vitro physiological effects of DHEA on ovarian cancerous cells have not been explored thus far. In this study, we aimed to investigate the physiological effects of DHEA treatment (0-200 μM, 24-72 hours) on MDAH-2774 human ovarian cancer cell line and primary HuVeC human endothelial cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The physiological effects of DHEA treatment (0-200 μM, 24-72 hours) on MDAH-2774 human ovarian cancer cell line and primary HuVeC human endothelial cells were investigated with the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) test, acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, and scratch assay. RESULTS: DHEA treatment promoted proliferation of the MDAH-2774 cancer cell line in a dose-dependent manner (r=0.6906, p

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the effects of age, gender and season on vitamin D status in healthy urban population at reproductive age. Also, we investigated the distribution of population into different groups regarding 25(OH)D levels. Methods: Serum 25(OH)D levels of 21,317 participants: 5,364 men (25.1%) and 15,953 women (74.8%), aged between 18-45 years, applying to two medical centres for check-up located in the same city were retrospectively analyzed. Group I consisted of 14,720 participants (11,257 women and 3,463 men) in the first centre and Group II consisted of 6,597 participants (4,696 women and 1,901 men) in the second centre. Results: The mean 25(OH)D levels did not differ between women and men in both groups: 23.4 (SD = 14.4) and 23.1 (SD = 12.6) in Group I, and 22.6 (SD = 15.9) and 23.1 (SD = 14.3) in Group II, respectively, (p > 0.05). Similar trends exhibiting lower mean 25(OH)D levels at younger ages and higher levels at later ages were observed in both groups; a seasonal variation of 25(OH)D levels was observed in both genders with the highest levels in August and September and the lowest levels from February through April; percentages of women with 25(OH)D level of < 5 ng/ml were significantly higher than of men in Group I (1.4% vs. 0.2%, respectively, p < 0.001) and in Group II (4.1% vs. 1.1%, respectively, p < 0.001). Conclusion: There is a slight increase in serum 25(OH)D levels from 18 through 45 years of age in healthy population. The seasonal variation of 25(OH)D levels is prominent in both genders with men having slightly lower levels in some months of winter and higher levels in summer as compared to women. The prevalence of women having 25(OH)D levels less than 5 ng/ml is higher than that of men.

Background Doxorubicin (DOX), is a chemotherapeutic agent, which evokes oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in testicular tissue. It is known that the activation of the nuclear enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), leading to apoptosis induced by DOX. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether PARP pathway has a role in DOX-induced testicular damage and infertility utilizing pharmacological PARP-1 inhibitor, PJ34, and PARP-1 knockout mice model. Methods Firstly, we assessed the activation of PARP pathway after DOX-induction at various hours by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. Secondly, we evaluated the role of PARP pathway in DOX-induced testicular damage, sperm motility, and fertility with pharmacological inhibition of PARP by using PJ34. Finally, we aimed to correlate a functional relationship between PARP-1 and DOX using PARP-1 knockout mice in DOX-induced testicular damage. Doxorubicin levels in plasma and testis tissue were also assessed. Results In DOX-induced group; PARP-1, PAR and apoptotic pathway protein expressions, increased significantly. In DOX + PJ34 group; PAR, cytochrome c, and AIF levels decreased significantly. Testicular weights, sperm motility, and mean the number of pups per litter decreased in DOX-induced group after 28 days, however they were similar to the control group in DOX-PJ34 group. In PARP-1 KO group, seminiferous tubule morphology was impaired significantly after 28 days of DOX-administration. Conclusions Our study indicates that DOX-induced testicular damage may be related to over-activation of PARP-1. PJ34 application was effective in preventing severe testicular damage caused by DOX-injection and may be considered for fertility protection against DOX-induced testicular damage.

Gunumuzde ortalama yasam suresinin, Orta Cag’da yasayanlarin iki katindan fazla olmasinin ana nedeni bilimsel calismalarin insanliga yaptigi katkidir. Bu calismalar sayesinde bizden once yasayanlardan daha uzun bir hayat surmekteyiz. Bilimin gelisimi ve insan yararina kullanimi, yapilan calismalarin yaziya dokulmesi, baskalari tarafindan okunmasi, anlasilmasi, tartisilmasi ve uygulanmasiyla baslamistir. Gunluk pratigimizde kullandigimiz tani yontemleri, uygulamalar ve ilaclar, yillarca suren calismalarin sonuclarina gore sekillenmistir. Bunun devamliligini saglamak icin, saglik alaninda calisanlar sorgulamaci ve arastirmaci olmalidir.Yillardir kullanilan yontemler de dahil tum uygulamalara sorgulayan gozle bakmak, daha iyisi icin arastirma yapmak mesleki gelisime buyuk katki saglayacaktir. Sasirtici olarak, uzun zamandir klinik pratikte var olan bazi yaklasimlar bile cok az sayida dogru duzenlenmis calismaya dayalidir.

Objective The absence of any sperm in the ejaculate is called azoospermia and it is detected in 1% of males and 10-15% of those with infertility complaints. Azoospermia may be due to obstructive (OA) and non-obstructive (NOA) causes. Today, healthy pregnancies can be achieved in azoospermic patients by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) performed using sperm retrieved from microscopic testicular sperm extraction (m-TESE). In this study, we examined the sperm retrieval rates with m-TESE in azoospermic patients, the results of ICSI in OA and NOA patients with sperm and the underlying testicular pathologies in patients without sperm. Material and methods Patients who underwent m-TESE at IVF unit of our hospital between January 2005 and April 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 342 azoospermic patients (117 OA and 225 NOA cases) with regular follow-up were included in the study. In these cases, sperm retrieval and clinical pregnancy rates after ICSI were compared. Results In the m-TESE procedure, motile sperm was found in all of the OA patients and in 52.4% (118/225) of the NOA patients. Clinical pregnancy rate in the OA group was 29.9% (35/117) and live birth rate was 25.6% (30/117). In the NOA group, the clinical pregnancy rate was 27.1% (32/118) and the live birth rate was 23.7% (27/118). Histopathologic evaluation was made in 107 cases in the NOA group with no testicular sperm, revealing that 59 cases with germ-cell aplasia (sertoli-cell only syndrome), 42 cases with maturation arrest, and 6 cases with hypospermatogenesis. Postoperative hematoma developed in 3 of m-TESE cases and subsided with conservative treatment. Conclusion If motile sperm is retrieved with m-TESE application in azoospermic patients, pregnancy resulting in one live birth in about 4 couples who undergo ICSI application can be achieved. In the presence of motile sperm, live birth rates are similar between OA and NOA case with very low complication rates.

Usta, Akın (Balikesir Author), The effects of metformin on a testicular torsion injury in adolescent rat testis after I/R were evaluated in the present study. Forty adolescent rats were divided into five groups with eight rats per group: a control group; a sham-operated group; an ischaemia group, where torsion was applied for 4 hr and testis was examined immediately after detorsion; an I/R group, where torsion was applied for 4 hr and the testis was examined 4 hr after detorsion; and an I/R + M group, where the metformin (300 mg/kg) administration was added to the identical procedures used for the I/R group. Spermatogenesis, basal membrane integrity and cleaved caspase-3 expression were assessed. The I/R + M group had a significantly higher Johnsen score than the I/R group (7.9 +/- 0.1 vs. 7.5 +/- 0.2; p F-value = 14.2). Failure of basal membrane integrity was highest in the ischaemia group (45 +/- 5) compared to the other groups (control group, 20 +/- 5; sham-operated group, 16.6 +/- 2.8), but not different between the I/R + M (31.6 +/- 12.5) and the I/R groups (25 +/- 3.5). Cleaved caspase-3 expression was highest in the ischaemia group (73.5 +/- 0.7), and significantly lower in the I/R + M group (33.4 +/- 0.9) than the I/R group (58.5 +/- 0.2; p F-value = 7.6). Metformin decreases testicular damage by exerting protection against the harmful effects of I/R on spermatogenesis and alleviating apoptosis in adolescent rat testis.

Usta, Akın (Balikesir Author), Introduction: Poor semen quality is the main cause of male factor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sperm source on the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer cycles (ICSI-ET) in normoresponder women.Methods: A total of 884 normoresponder women, underwent first ICSI cycles were evaluated. Fertilization, cleavage, embryo morphology, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage and live birth rates were compared. Ejaculated semen samples were collected by masturbation. Sperm retrieval from the testis was performed percutaneously by microdissection testicular sperm extraction (m-TESE) under local anesthesia.Results: Patients were divided four group according to source of sperm and sperm parameters. Testicular spermatozoa obtained from men with azoospermia (group 1, n=43), severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (sOAT), (group 2, n=93), oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) (group 3, n=209) and normal semen analysis (group 4, n=539). The most reduced fertilization rate was observed with testicular spermatozoa and the fertilization rate increased as semen quality increased from Group 2 to 4. Our results indicated that semen quality can affect the fertilization process. We observed that the cleavage and high-quality embryo rates were highest in group I (88.4% and 93%, respectively) compared to other groups. Clinical outcomes of ICSI did not show statistically significant differences in the rates of clinical pregnancy, miscarriage and live birth rate.Conclusion: Neither sperm parameters nor the source of spermatozoa affects live birth rate in normoresponder women when motile/morphologically normal spermatozoa is present.

Usta, Akın (Balikesir Author), "Objectives: To compare the live birth rates and moderate/severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rates of 2 different approaches using gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist triggering in high responder women. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed to evaluate intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and embryo transfer (ET) outcomes in high responder women who underwent ovulation induction with a GnRH antagonist protocol between April 2011 and March 2015. In group 1 (n=74), GnRH agonist was used for ovulation triggering with the concomitant use of 1500 IU of urinary human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) immediately after oocyte retrieval followed by fresh ET and standard luteal support. In group 2 (n=48), GnRH agonist was used for triggering after freezing all embryos and subsequent frozen/thawed embryo transfer (FET); this approach is considered the ""freeze-all"" approach. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups. The clinical pregnancy rates for group 1 was 45.9% and group 2 was 43.8% (p=0.812, chi-squared test) and live birth rates for group 1 was 40.5% and for group 2 41.7% (p=0.902, chi-squared test) were comparable between groups. In group 1, late-onset OHSS was observed (one severe case and one moderate case) in 2 patients (2.7%). In group 2, none of the patients experienced moderate/severe OHSS. Conclusion: The live birth rate with GnRH agonist triggering and concomitant use of 1500 IU of hCG immediately after oocyte retrieval was similar to that obtained with the freeze-all approach and FET in a subsequent cycle. The administration of a low dose of hCG in GnRH agonist trigger cycles caused moderate/severe OHSS in 2.7% of the patients."

Usta, Akın (Balikesir Author), Osteogenesis imperfecta is a clinically heterogenous disease caused by defective collagen syntesis associated with a mutation in the COL1A1 or COL1A2 genes. In this report, we present a case of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type IV, seen in a female fetus with incurved femurs at 18 weeks of gestation. Molecular analysis of the newborn revealed a novel mutation at position c.560 (c.560 G > T) of the exon 12 in the COL1A2 gene; which lead to the glycine modification with valine (p.Gly187Val) at codon 187. The pregnancy follow-up was uneventful. After delivery, the newborn underwent biphosponat therapy and no fracture was detected until 1 year old.

Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death among all gynecologic malignancies and a result of complex interaction of multiple oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. The aim of this study was to evaluate expression of HER-2/neu (c-erbB2), survivin and cycline D1 biomarkers in serous ovarian neoplasms and their correlations with clinicopathological variables in serous ovarian cancers. We analyzed pathological specimens of 62 patients with benign (n = 25), borderline (n = 14) and malignant (n = 23) serous ovarian neoplasms. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens. Significantly more immunoreactivity with HER-2/neu was detected in malignant tumors (100 %) compared to borderline (78.6 %) and benign tumors (48 %) (P < 0.01). Survivin expression was significantly higher in malignant tumors (91.3 %) than those found in borderline (71.4 %) and benign tumors (24 %) (P < 0.001). Similarly, higher cyclin D1 expression was observed in malignant tumors (95.6 %) compared to borderline (85.7 %) and benign tumors (48 %) (P < 0.001). Expression of all biomarkers analyzed significantly and gradually increased from benign to borderline and borderline to malignant serous tumors. In terms of clinicopathological variables, only tumor grade was associated with the expression of all biomarkers others exhibited different correlations in serous ovarian cancers. The expressions of HER-2/neu (c-erbB2), survivin and cycline D1 are positively correlated with the malignant potential of serous ovarian neoplasms.