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Purpose: The aim of this study was at evaluating the effects of long-term cannabis use on the corneal endothelial cells with the specular microscopy., Methods: The study enrolled 28 eyes of 28 patients diagnosed with cannabinoid use disorder. The cannabinoid group was selected among patients who had been using the substance for three days or more per week over the past one year. Thirty-two eyes of 32 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals enrolled as control group in the study. Corneal endothelial cell density (CD), coefficient of variation (CV) and hexagonal cell ratio (HEX) values were analyzed by specular microscopy., Results: The mean CD was 2900 ± 211 cells/mm 2 in the cannabinoid group and 3097 ± 214 cells/mm 2 in the control group (p < 0.01). There was a significant decrease in cannabinoid group. The mean CV was 29 ± 7 and 27 ± 4 in the cannabinoid and control groups, respectively (p > 0.05). No significant difference was present between the cannabinoid and the control groups in terms of mean CV value. The mean HEX was 52 ± 5% in the cannabinoid group and 53 ± 10% in the control group (p > 0.05). There was not a significant difference between the cannabinoid and the control groups in terms of mean HEX value., Conclusion: A significant decrease in CD was found in cannabinoid users compared the control group.

Purpose: To determine the role of Molsidomine in preventing radiation-induced retinopathy after head and neck region irradiation of rats with a single radiation dose of 15 Gy., Materials and Methods: Male Wistar albino rats were randomly grouped into five as follows: (1) control group rats, which were applied through an intraperitoneal (i.p.) vehicle without radiotherapy (RT); (2) RT group rats received a single dose of 15 Gy irradiation and after daily 0.1 ml vehicle i.p. for 5 consecutive days; (3) molsidomine (MOL) group rats were treated for 5 consecutive days by i.p. with 4 mg/kg/day MOL; (4) irradiation plus MOL group (RT+MOL) rats received irradiation and after 10 days single daily i.p. dose of MOL for 5 consecutive days; and (5) MOL+RT group rats were treated for 5 consecutive days by i.p. with MOL before RT. At the end of the work the rats were sacrificed under high-dose anesthesia on the 16 th day and then eye tissues were taken for histopathological, immunohistochemical (caspase-3), and biochemical analyses (superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione peroxidase [GSH], and malondialdehyde [MDA])., Results: RT significantly decreased both the content of GSH and the activity of SOD, and significantly increased the production of MDA level in the rat eyes. MOL treatment significantly increased the SOD and GSH levels and significantly decreased the MDA production (p < 0.0001). In addition, RT significantly increased the number of ganglion cells (GCs; p = 0.001), whereas especially pretreatment with MOL improved (p = 0.013). RT led to significant retinopathy formation, and MOL therapy protected the retina from radiation-induced retinopathy (p < 0.0001)., Conclusions: We suggest that MOL is a powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger that prevents the rat eyes from radiation-induced retinopathy and oxidative stress.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) on conjunctival flora., Materials and Methods: Included in this study were 42 patients, all of whom were treated with CXL for progressive keratoconus (KC). Conjunctival swab samples were collected under operating-room conditions immediately before and immediately after the procedure. Samples were quickly immersed in Amies Transport Medium (ATM), transferred to the microbiology laboratory, diluted, and inoculated into three areas each of blood agar, chocolate agar, eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar, and Saboraud-Dextrose agar plates. Inoculated plates were incubated at 35°C for 24-48 h. Preliminary species identification of isolated bacterial colonies was based on catalase and oxidase tests, Gram staining, and colony morphology. Definitive identification of isolates was made with Vitek-II fully automated identification kits., Results: Cultures were positive in 24 (57.1%) preoperative and 10 (23.8%) postoperative samples (p ˂ 0.05). Microorganisms isolated from preoperative conjunctival samples included coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) spp. in 23 (54.8%) samples, S. aureus in three (7.1%), Moraxella spp. in two (4.8%), Streptococcus spp. in three (7.1%), Corynebacterium spp, in one (2.4%), Micrococcus spp. in one (2.4%), and Candida spp. in one (2.4%). Microorganisms isolated from postoperative conjunctival samples included CNS spp. in nine (21.4%) samples, S. aureus in one (2.4%), Corynebacterium spp. in two (4.8%), and Acinetobacter spp. in one (2.4%)., Conclusions: CXL appears to have a significant impact on conjunctiva flora.

We conducted this study to determine demographic details, and clinical presentations in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCMP) of Turkish origin. The study population consisted of 58 patients with PPCMP treated at 3 major hospitals in Turkey, retrospectively. In this study, demographic details and initial echocardiographic data were recorded and long-term clinical status was evaluated. The mean age for the patient cohort was 31.47 ± 6.31 years. Thirty-eight patients (73.1%) were multigravida and seven patients had multifetal pregnancy (13.7%). The mean follow-up left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction increased from 31 ± 7 to 38 ± 19. A minority of patients were defined as improvers according to our pre-specified criteria. The average survival period after diagnosis of PPCMP was 20.66 ± 14.44 months. Initial values for LV end-diastolic diameter and urea were higher in the deceased patients compared with the surviving patients, respectively. Twenty-eight (48%) patients with PPCMP showed improvement in the follow-up period. Of the 58 PPCMP patients, 9 (15%) died during a mean follow-up of 32 ± 22 months.

Aim: We aimed to investigate the effect of alcohol abuse on the conjunctival flora., Materials and Methods: The cases were evaluated as two groups. The study group consisted of 55 heavy-drinking males diagnosed with alcohol abuse, while the control group consisted of 55 males without a history of alcohol abuse. Samples were taken from the inferior fornix conjunctiva with sterile cotton-tipped swabs (Amies transport medium) for culture. The samples were inoculated into blood agar, chocolate agar, eosine methylene blue agar and Saboraud-Dextrose agar (Oxoid/UK) with the dilution method., Results: The microorganisms that grew in study group subjects were Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CNS) in 30 (54.5%), Staphylococcus aureus in 14 (25.5%), Moraxella spp. in 3 (5.5%), Streptococcus spp. in 3 (5.5), Bacillus spp. in 3 (5.5%), Corynebacterium spp. in 3 (5.5%), Candida spp. in 3 (5.5%), Haemophilus spp. in 2 (3.6%), Acinetobacter spp. in 2 (3.6%), Neisseria spp. in 1 (1.8%) and Micrococcus spp. in 1 (1.8%). The results for control group were CNS in 31 (56.4%), Bacillus spp. in 7 (12.7%), S. aureus in 5 (9.1%), and Corynebacterium spp. in 2 (3.6%). Moraxella spp., Streptococcus spp., Candida spp., Haemophilus spp., Acinetobacter spp., Neisseria spp. and Micrococcus spp. microorganisms grew in the conjunctival flora samples of the study group but not in the control group. S. aureus colonization was significantly higher in the study group than the control group (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: The S. aureus colonization rate was statistically significantly higher in the study group. Some microorganisms only grew in the conjunctival flora samples of the study group. These findings indicate that the conjunctival flora in persons with chronic alcoholism is different than the normal population.

Context: In the present study, cisplatin (CP) induced eye toxicity and the beneficial effect of hesperidin (HP) was investigated., Methods: Twenty-eight rats were equally divided into four groups; the first group was kept as control. In the second and third group, CP and HP were given at the doses of 7 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg/d, respectively. In the fourth group, CP and HP were given together at the same doses. Tissue samples were collected on day 14 of CP treatment., Results: The results demonstrated that CP caused a significant increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels and decrease of glutathione levels and antioxidant enzyme activity (catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) in eye tissues compared to other groups, HP prevented these effects of CP. Besides, CP led to histopathological damage in the retina and cornea. On the other hand, HP treatment prevented histopathological effects of CP., Conclusion: CP had severe dose-limiting toxic effects and HP treatment can be beneficial against the toxic ocular effects of CP. Thus, it appears that co-administration of HP with CP may be a useful approach to attenuate the negative effects of CP on the eye.

Background: Increased epicardial fat thickness (EFT) has been proposed as a new cardiometabolic risk factor. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has predictive and prognostic value in several cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to explore the association between EFT and NLR in patients with pre-eclampsia., Methods: Hundred and eight pregnant patients with a mean age of 30.6 ± 6.3 years were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of pre-eclampsia. All participants underwent transthoracic echocardiography imaging, and complete blood counts were measured by an automated hematology analyzer. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, correlation and logistic regression tests, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis., Result: The mean EFT value of the pre-eclampsia group was significantly higher than the control group (6.9 ± 0.6 versus 5.6 ± 0.6; p < 0.001), and the NLR value of the pre-eclampsia group was also significantly higher than the control group (7.3 ± 3.5 versus 3.1 ± 1.1; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that increased levels of NLR and echocardiographic EFT are independent predictors of pre-eclampsia. In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, a level of EFT ≥ 6.2 mm and NLR ≥ 4.1 predicted the presence of pre-eclampsia with 77.8% sensitivity, 79.6% specificity and 83.3% sensitivity, 81.5% specificity, respectively., Conclusion: Unlike many other inflammatory markers and bioassays, NLR and echocardiographic EFT are inexpensive and readily available biomarkers that may be useful for risk stratification in patients with pre-eclampsia.