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Abstract Background Ovarian cancer (OvCa) most often derives from ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells. Several lines of evidence strongly suggest that increased exposure to progesterone (P4) protects women against developing OvCa. However, the underlying mechanisms of this protection are incompletely understood. Methods To determine downstream gene targets of P4, we established short term in vitro cultures of non-neoplastic OSE cells from six subjects, exposed the cells to P4 (10-6 M) for five days and performed transcriptional profiling with oligonucleotide microarrays containing over 22,000 transcripts. Results We identified concordant but modest gene expression changes in cholesterol/lipid homeostasis genes in three of six samples (responders), whereas the other three samples (non-responders) showed no expressional response to P4. The most up-regulated gene was TMEM97 which encodes a transmembrane protein of unknown function (MAC30). Analyses of outlier transcripts, whose expression levels changed most significantly upon P4 exposure, uncovered coordinate up-regulation of 14 cholesterol biosynthesis enzymes, insulin-induced gene 1, low density lipoprotein receptor, ABCG1, endothelial lipase, stearoyl- CoA and fatty acid desaturases, long-chain fatty-acyl elongase, and down-regulation of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein and ABCC6. Highly correlated tissue-specific expression patterns of TMEM97 and the cholesterol biosynthesis genes were confirmed by analysis of the GNF Atlas 2 universal gene expression database. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analyses revealed 2.4-fold suppression of the TMEM97 gene expression in short-term cultures of OvCa relative to the normal OSE cells. Conclusion These findings suggest that a co-regulated transcript network of cholesterol/lipid homeostasis genes and TMEM97 are downstream targets of P4 in normal OSE cells and that TMEM97 plays a role in cholesterol and lipid metabolism. The P4-induced alterations in cholesterol and lipid metabolism in OSE cells might play a role in conferring protection against OvCa.

Abstract Background Balancing selection operating for long evolutionary periods at a locus is characterized by the maintenance of distinct alleles because of a heterozygote or rare-allele advantage. The loci under balancing selection are distinguished by their unusually high polymorphism levels. In this report, we provide statistical and comparative genetic evidence suggesting that the SDHA gene is under long-term balancing selection. SDHA encodes the major catalytical subunit (flavoprotein, Fp) of the succinate dehydrogenase enzyme complex (SDH; mitochondrial complex II). The inhibition of Fp by homozygous SDHA mutations or by 3-nitropropionic acid poisoning causes central nervous system pathologies. In contrast, heterozygous mutations in SDHB, SDHC, and SDHD, the other SDH subunit genes, cause hereditary paraganglioma (PGL) tumors, which show constitutive activation of pathways induced by oxygen deprivation (hypoxia). Results We sequenced the four SDH subunit genes (10.8 kb) in 24 African American and 24 European American samples. We also sequenced the SDHA gene (2.8 kb) in 18 chimpanzees. Increased nucleotide diversity distinguished the human SDHA gene from its chimpanzee ortholog and from the PGL genes. Sequence analysis uncovered two common SDHA missense variants and refuted the previous suggestions that these variants originate from different genetic loci. Two highly dissimilar SDHA haplotype clusters were present in intermediate frequencies in both racial groups. The SDHA variation pattern showed statistically significant deviations from neutrality by the Tajima, Fu and Li, Hudson-Kreitman-Aguadé, and Depaulis haplotype number tests. Empirically, the elevated values of the nucleotide diversity (% π = 0.231) and the Tajima statistics (D = 1.954) in the SDHA gene were comparable with the most outstanding cases for balancing selection in the African American population. Conclusion The SDHA gene has a strong signature of balancing selection. The SDHA variants that have increased in frequency during human evolution might, by influencing the regulation of cellular oxygen homeostasis, confer protection against certain environmental toxins or pathogens that are prevalent in Africa.

Abstract Background A mannosyltransferase gene (ALG9, DIBD1) at chromosome band 11q23 was previously identified to be disrupted by a balanced chromosomal translocation t(9;11)(p24;q23) co-segregating with bipolar affective disorder in a small family. Inborn ALG9 deficiency (congenital disorders of glycosylation type IL) is associated with progressive microcephaly, seizures, developmental delay, and hepatomegaly. It is unknown whether common variations of ALG9 predispose to bipolar affective disorder. Methods We tested five polymorphic markers spanning ALG9 (three intragenic and one upstream microsatellite repeats and one common missense variation, V289I (rs10502151) for their association with bipolar I disorder in two pedigree series. The NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) pedigrees had a total of 166 families showing transmissions to 250 affected offspring, whereas The PITT (The University of Pittsburgh) pedigrees had a total of 129 families showing transmissions to 135 cases. We used transmission disequilibrium test for the association analyses. Results We identified three common and distinct haplotypes spanning the ALG9 gene. We found no statistically-significant evidence of transmission disequilibrium of marker alleles or multi-marker haplotypes to the affected offspring with bipolar I disorder. Conclusion These results suggest that common variations in ALG9 do not play a major role in predisposition to bipolar affective disorder.

Chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) is an inflammatory bone disease, usually diagnosed in childhood. It is characterized by the presence of multifocal or unifocal osteolytic lesions that can cause bone pain and soft tissue swelling. CNO is known to have soft tissue involvement. However, soft tissue involvement large enough to give the appearance of a mass is rare. This article discusses a case of CNO with a mass-like appearance that involved soft tissue and spontaneously regressed, as well as presents CNO cases with soft tissue involvement and conducts a literature review on this subject. Our investigation revealed that edema and synovitis were the most frequently observed soft tissue involvements in association with CNO. Moreover, we also encountered myositis, a mass-like appearance, neuritis, and polyserositis within the surrounding muscles. Although, it is well known that bone inflammation tends to regress spontaneously in CNO patients which reflects the autoinflammatory nature of the disease, there is no such patient whose soft tissue involvement which has mass like appearance improved spontaneously. Therefore, we aimed to emphasize the clinical progress which can be easily underdiagnosed of CNO patients by the clinicians by presenting unique features of our patient and our detailed literature review., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: All authors have read the manuscript and agreed with its content and stated that there is no conflict of interest. Ethical approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from patients and their legal guardians for publication. Declaration of non-publication: The authors declare that this manuscript has not been presented, published or submitted elsewhere, in whole or in part, in any language., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Foreign bodies in the breast are rarely encountered and may infrequently lead to complications such as persistent breast pain, abscess, and/or granuloma formation, pneumothorax, or cardiac tamponade. We aimed to present a case with a foreign body in her right breast, which was diagnostically missed in previous screenings. A 44-year-old asymptomatic woman, who was included in the national breast cancer screening program, was found to have a 2 cm-sized metallic foreign body in the upper-outer quadrant of her right breast via mammographic imaging. Retrospective clinical evaluations revealed that the foreign body had been present in her breast for at least five years. She was successfully treated via wire-assisted surgery. Although they may remain asymptomatic for long periods, foreign bodies detected in the breast are suggested to be surgically removed due to the possibility of considerable subsequent local or thoracic complications., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Istanbul Medeniyet University Göztepe Prof. Dr. Süleyman Yalçın Şehir Hastanesi, Clinical Researches Ethics Committee issued approval 2023/0767. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Baysal et al.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of isotonic and hypotonic intravenous fluids in maintenance fluid therapy for term infants., Methods: This was a multi-centre, prospective, observational study conducted in 21 participating centres from December 30, 2020, to June 30, 2023. The study included term newborns requiring parenteral fluid therapy for maintenance (NCT04781361). The fluid treatment was divided into two groups based on the concentration of sodium in the parenteral fluid, designated as hypotonic (NaCl <130 mmol/L) and isotonic (NaCl = 130-154 mmol/L). The primary outcomes were the change in mean plasma sodium (pNa) levels per hour (∆pNa mmol/L/h), the incidence of hyponatremia (pNa <135 mmol/L) and hypernatremia (pNa >145 mmol/L), and the occurrence of clinically significant changes in sodium levels (∆pNa >0.5 mmol/L/h)., Results: A total of 420 patients from 21 centers were included. The ∆pNa was negative in the hypotonic fluid group and positive in the isotonic fluid group, with a significant difference between the groups [respectively -0.07 ± 0.03 (95% CI: -0.13 to -0.02); 0.04 ± 0.03 (95%CI: -0.02 to 0.09), p  = 0.04]. There was no difference between the groups in terms of the development of hypernatremia or a clinically meaningful pNa increase. The hypotonic fluid group had a higher incidence of hyponatremia and a clinically meaningful sodium decrease compared to the isotonic fluid group [7.9% vs. 1.2% (OR:6.5, p:0.03)] and [12.2% vs.4.2% (OR:2.9, p  = 0.03)]., Conclusion: Contrary to current understanding, this large-scale study is the first to demonstrate that the use of hypotonic fluids in maintenance fluid therapy for newborns poses a risk of hyponatremia development, whereas isotonic fluid therapy appears safe., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ozkan, Duman, Tuzun, Narter, Akyildiz, Altuncu, Satar, Ozdemir, Kurt, Tugcu, Konak, Uygun, Yilmaz Semerci, Dikmen, Baysal, Zeybek, Kostekci, Sahin, Tutal, Anik, Buyuktiryaki, Karagol, Tunç, Colak, Cetin, Orman, Olukman, Deveci, Sarici, Cakir and Keskinoglu.)

Background: It is known that a possible decrease in disc height (DH) and foraminal size after open lumbar microdiscectomy (OLM) may cause pain in the long term. However, there is still insufficient information about the short- or long-term pathoanatomical and morphological effects of microdiscectomy. For example, the exact temporal course of the change in DH is not well known., Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine morphological changes in DH and foramen dimensions after OLM., Methods: In patients who underwent OLM for single-level lumbar disc herniation, MRI scans were obtained before surgery, and at an average of two years after surgery. In addition to DH measurements, foraminal area (FA), foraminal height (FH), superior foraminal width (SFW), and inferior foraminal width (IFW), were measured bilaterally., Results: A postoperative increase in DH was observed at all vertebral levels, with an average of 5.5%. The mean right FHs were 15.3 mm and 15.7 mm before and after surgery, respectively (p= 0.062), while the left FHs were 14.8 mm and 15.8 mm before and after surgery (p= 0.271). The mean right SFW was 5.4 mm before surgery and 5.7 mm after surgery, while the mean right IFW ranged from 3.6 mm to 3.9 mm. The mean left SFW was 4.8 mm before surgery and 5.2 mm after surgery, while the mean left IFW ranged from 3.5 mm to 3.9 mm. Before surgery, the FAs were, on average, 77.1 mm2 and 75.6 mm2 on the right and left sides, respectively. At the 2-year follow-up, the mean FAs were 84.0 mm2 and 80.2 mm2 on the right and left sides, respectively., Conclusions: Contrary to prevalent belief, in patients who underwent single-level unilateral OLM, we observed that there may be an increase rather than a decrease in DH or foramen size at the 2-year follow-up. Our findings need to be confirmed by studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups.

Estradiol (E2), a follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), AMH, and inhibin B levels, along with AFC and MOV, are used to determine ovarian reserve in pre-menopausal women. Studies have shown that AMH levels are more sensitive than those of E2, FSH, and inhibin B and that AFC and MOV can be used to evaluate ovarian reserve. AMH, AFC, and MOV measurements were performed before and after adjuvant SC in 3-month periods for one year. Patients were classified as experiencing chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) if they did not have menstrual cycles for a period of six months or longer following the conclusion of their chemotherapy treatment. We aimed to evaluate the factors affecting chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea in breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and the performance of baseline measurements of AMH, AFC, and MOV to predict chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea. The effects of different chemotherapy regimens on the AMH level, AFC, and MOV in CIA patients were investigated. Seventy-one patients were eligible for this study, and the median age was 38 years (range: 23-45). The median follow-up was 37 months (range: 20-51), and CIA developed in 62% of the patients. The AMH level and AFC were significantly decreased one year after SC ( p < 0.0001), whereas MOV was not ( p = 0.507). AMH levels before chemotherapy (median: 1.520 vs. 0.755, p = 0.001) and at the end of the first year (median: 0.073 vs. 0.010, p = 0.030) and pre-treatment AFC (median: 12 vs. 4.50, p = 0.026) were lower in patients with CIA compared to those without CIA. The AMH levels before SC were the most valuable and earliest factor for predicting CIA development. In addition, there was no difference between the chemotherapy regimens (including or not including taxane) in terms of CIA development.

Objective: Mammary Paget's disease (MPD) is a rare presentation type of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological and imaging features affecting the invasive component, loco-regional recurrence, prognosis, and survival of MPD., Methods: Patients who had undergone surgery due to MPD in a 10-year period were included. Parameters including mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, tumor stage, molecular subtype, axillary involvement, presence of invasive carcinoma, loco-regional recurrence, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were recorded and statistically analyzed. P<0.05 was determined as statistically significant., Results: The study group consisted of 49 women with a mean age of 67.05±14.43 (range: 23-90) years. There was a significant association between the presence of invasive carcinoma and a mass lesion in the MRI (p=0.002). The frequency of sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis was significantly higher in patients with multicentric tumors (p=0.029; p<0.05). Locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis were significantly more frequent in patients with axillary involvement (p=0.0336; p<0.05). The mean DFS was 115.02±7.28 months, while the mean OS was 119.29±6.57 months., Conclusion: The presence of a mass lesion on MRI was determined to be significant in recognizing invasive carcinoma in MPD. The rate of SLN metastasis was higher in patients with multicentric tumors than in patients with unifocal tumors. Axillary involvement was associated with impaired DFS., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors., (© Copyright 2023 by Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Health.)

The effects of maternal diet on the neuroimmune responses of the offspring remain to be elucidated. We investigated the impact of maternal ketogenic diet (KD) on the NLRP3 inflammasome response in the offspring's brain. C57BL/6 female mice were randomly allocated into standard diet (SD) and ketogenic diet (KD) groups for 30 days. After mating, the presence of sperm in the vaginal smear was considered day 0 of pregnancy, and female mice continued their respective diets during pregnancy and the lactation period. Following birth, pups were further allocated into two groups and given either LPS or intraperitoneal saline on postnatal (PN) days 4, 5 and 6; they were sacrificed on PN11 or PN21. Neuronal densities were significantly lower globally in the KD group when compared to the SD group at PN11. Neuronal density in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and dentate gyrus (DG) regions were also significantly lower in the KD group when compared to the SD group at PN21. Following administration of LPS, the decrease in the neuronal count was more prominent in the SD group when compared to the KD group in the PFC and DG regions at PN11 and PN21. NLRP3 and IL-1β were higher in the KD group than in the SD group at PN21 in the PFC, CA1 and DG regions, and were significantly lower in the DG region of the KD group especially when compared to the SD group following LPS. Results of our study reveal that maternal KD negatively affects the offspring's brain in the mouse model. The effects of KD exhibited regional variations. On the other hand, in the presence of KD exposure, NLRP3 expression after LPS injection was lower in the DG and CA1 areas but not in the PFC when compared to SD group. Further experimental and clinical studies are warranted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of antenatal KD exposure and regional discrepancies on the developing brain.

Background: Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is not a well known disorder among nonpediatricians. The aim of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the clinical outcomes of twenty-two CRMO patients presenting to two referral centres., Methods: This retrospective study included twenty-two children (12 males, 10 females; mean age 13 years; range 7-17 years). The diagnosis was based on clinical, radiological, and pathological findings. Data were retrieved from hospital charts., Results: The mean delay in diagnosis was 26 months (range, 0-96 months). The mean follow-up after diagnosis was 27.4 months (range, 6-47 months). Symptoms included pain, limping, local swelling, morning stiffness, and fever. 18 patients had multifocal and 4 patients had unifocal disease. Bone lesions were detected with whole-body or local MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). The mean number of bone lesions was 2.5 (range, 1-8). Ten cases underwent biopsy to exclude malignancy and infection. Prior to diagnosis, cast immobilization or curettage was erroneously performed in four patients. One patient suffered from vertebral compression fracture. There is no growth disturbance or deformity in any patient., Conclusion: This study demonstrated that early recognition of the disease can be improved by using Bristol criteria which should be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team rather than one single specialist. In this way, the reliability of these criteria is improved and the treatment could be given earlier with decreased delay in diagnosis. This multidisciplinary approach is also important for decision for biopsy, timely aggressive medical treatment, and follow-up of the disease to minimise possible complications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The author (s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2021 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma has a dismal prognosis. Anti-GD2-mediated chemo-immunotherapy has a notable anti-tumor activity in patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of the combination of immunotherapy with dinutuximab beta (DB) and chemotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma., Methods: All patients received the Turkish Pediatric Oncology Group NB 2009 national protocol for HR-NB treatment at the time of diagnosis. Salvage treatments were administered after progression or relapse. The patients who could not achieve remission in primary or metastatic sites were included in the study. The most common chemotherapy scheme was irinotecan and temozolomide. DB was administered intravenously for 10 days through continuous infusion with 10 mg/m 2 per day. The patients received 2 to 14 successive cycles with duration of 28 days each. Disease assessment was performed after cycles 2, 4, and 6 and every 2 to 3 cycles thereafter., Results: Between January 2020 and March 2022, nineteen patients received a total of 125 cycles of DB and chemotherapy. Objective responses were achieved in 12/19 (63%) patients, including complete remission in 6/19 and partial response in 6/19. Stable disease was observed in two patients. The remaining five patients developed bone/bone marrow and soft tissue progression after 2-4 cycles of treatment. The most common Grade ≥3 toxicities were leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, hypertransaminasemia, fever, rash/itching and capillary leak syndrome, respectively., Conclusion: Our study results suggest that DB-based chemo-immunotherapy seems to be suitable with encouraging response rates in patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Olgun, Cecen, Ince, Kizmazoglu, Baysal, Onal, Ozdogan, Guleryuz, Cetingoz, Demiral, Olguner, Celik, Kamer, Ozer, Altun and Aktas.)

Introduction: The present study aims to determine the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) in predicting a pathological response of molecular subtypes of breast cancer to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC)., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with breast cancer who were operated after NAC between January 2018 and May 2020. Radiological responses were evaluated as per the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and changes in contrast enhancement patterns on MRI and the classification of PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (PERCIST) on PET-CT. The presence of a pathological response was evaluated based on the Sataloff classification. The agreement between the radiological response determined through imaging modalities before and after the NAC and the postoperative pathological complete response (pCR) was evaluated and compared statistically. Among the patients diagnosed with breast cancer between the ages of 18 and 80 y, those with N (+) at the time of diagnosis, those with T2 and advanced tumors, and those who were planned for breast conserving surgery were included in our study. Male patients, patients with distant metastases at the time of diagnosis, and patients with other system malignancies were excluded., Results: The study included 88 patients who had undergone surgery for breast cancer after NAC between January 2018 and May 2020. The study was conducted retrospectively in a single center. The tumor diameters and standard uptake values significantly decreased after NAC (P < 0.001). Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) positivity were negatively associated with pCR (P = 0.03 and P = 0.03, respectively), whereas there was a significant positive association between HER-2 positivity and pCR (P = 0.004). There was a moderate agreement between the RECIST criteria used with MRI and pCR (k: 0.46). Moreover, a good agreement between PET-CT-PERCIST and pCR was detected (k: 0.61). In predicting pCR after NAC, MRI showed a selectivity of 80.7%, a sensitivity of 65.2%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 75%, and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 72.4%. The corresponding rates for PET-CT were 75.7%, 100%, 57.9%, and 100%., Conclusions: When evaluating pCR after NAC, MRI was found to be more sensitive in patients with ER-positive cancer cell nuclei with weak to medium staining intensity and a loss of E-cadherin expression, whereas PET-CT was found to be more sensitive in patients with HER-2 overexpression, Luminal B, or Ki-67 proliferation >14% (P = 0.01)., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To predict breast cancer molecular subtypes with neural networks based on magnetic resonance imaging apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) radiomics and to detect the relation of lesion size with the stability of radiomics features., Methods: This retrospective study included 221 consecutive patients (224 lesions) with breast cancer imaged between January 2015 and January 2020. Three sample size configurations were identified based on tumor size (experiment 1: all cases, experiment 2: >1 cm 3 , and experiment 3: >2 cm 3 ). The tumors were segmented by three observers based on diffusion-weighted imaging-registered ADC maps, and the volumetric agreement of these segmentations was evaluated using the Dice coefficient. Stability of radiomics features (n=851) was evaluated with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC, >0.75) and coefficient of variation (CoV, <0.15). Feature selection was made with variance inflation factor (VIF, <10) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression. Outcomes were identified as molecular subtypes (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched, triple-negative). Neural network performance was presented as an area under the curve and accuracies., Results: Of the 851 radiomics features, 611 had ICC >0.75, and 37 remained stable in the first experiment, 49 in the second, and 59 in the third based on CoV and VIF analysis. High accuracy was demonstrated by the Luminal B, HER2-enriched, and triple-negative models in the first experiment (>80%), all models in the second experiment, and HER2-enriched and triple-negative models in the third experiment., Conclusions: A positive stability is indicated by an increased lesion size related to radiomics features. Neural networks may predict moleculer subtypes of breast cancers over 1 cm 3 with high accuracy., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (©Copyright 2022 by the Istanbul Medeniyet University / Medeniyet Medical Journal published by Galenos Publishing House.)

Objective: This study aims to develop neural networks to detect hormone secretion profiles in the pituitary adenomas based on T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics., Methods: This retrospective model-development study included a cohort of patients with pituitary adenomas (n=130) from January 2015 to January 2020 in one tertiary center. The mean age was 46.49±13.69 years, and 76/130 (58.46%) were women. Three observers segmented lesions on coronal T2 weighted MRI, and an interrater agreement was evaluated using the Dice coefficient. Predictors were determined as radiomics features (n=851). Feature selection was based on intraclass correlation coefficient, coefficient variance, variance inflation factor, and LASSO regression analysis. Outcomes were identified as 7 hormone secretion profiles [non-functioning pituitary adenoma, growth hormone-secreting adenomas, prolactinomas, adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting adenomas, pluri-hormonal secreting adenomas (PHA), follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone-secreting adenomas, and thyroid-stimulating hormone adenomas]. A multivariable diagnostic prediction model was developed with artificial neural networks (ANN) for 7 outcomes. ANN performance was presented as an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and accepted as successful if the AUC was >0.85 and p-value was <0.01., Results: The performance of the ANN distinguishing prolactinomas from other adenomas was validated (AUC=0.95, p<0.001, sensitivity: 91%, and specificity: 98%). The model distinguishing PHA had the lowest AUC (AUC=0.74 and p<0.001). The AUC values for the other five ANN were >0.85 and p values were <0.001., Conclusions: This study was successful in training neural networks that could differentiate the hormone secretion profile of pituitary adenomas., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (© Copyright Istanbul Medeniyet University Faculty of Medicine.)

Assestment of minimal residual disease (MRD) in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is of utmost importance both for risk classification and tailoring of the therapy. The data of pediatric ALL patients that received treatment with Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) protocols were retrospectively collected from 5 university hospitals in Turkey. Of the 1388 patients enrolled in the study 390 were treated according to MRD-based protocols. MRD assestment was with real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 283 patients and with multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC)-MRD in 107 patients. MRD monitoring had upstaged a total of 8 patients (2%) from intermediate risk group to high-risk group. Univariate analysis revealed age 10 years or above, prednisone poor response, PCR-MRD ≥10-3 on day 33 and on day 78 as poor prognostic factors affecting event-free survival (EFS). Detection of >10% blasts on day 15 with MFC (MFC-high-risk group) was not shown to affect EFS and/or overall survival (log-rank P=0.339). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed PCR-MRD ≥10-3 on day 78 as the only poor prognostic factor affecting EFS (odds ratio: 8.03; 95% confidence interval: 2.5-25; P=0.000). It is very important to establish the infrastructure and ensure necessary standardization for both MRD methods for optimal management of children with ALL., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Durability of immune response by the COVID-19 natural infection and the necessity of vaccines in recovered patients are important inquiries for the healthcare provider., Research Design and Methods: Here, we investigated the characteristics and the rate of cases with reinfection that have been admitted to our tertiary hospital., Results: A total of 119985 patients were applied between March 2020 and May 2021. Of these patients, 32607 (27%, 32,607/119985) tested positive. A total of 27 (0.08%, 27/32607) patients were found to be reinfected beyond 90 days. Only one of these reinfected patients (0.003, 1/32607) had novel COVID-19 pneumonia and was hospitalized for the second time. Other 26 reinfected patients were followed up as outpatients., Conclusions: COVID-19 reinfection is extremely rare. However, the reinfection may be severe in patients with immune deficiency. Healthcare providers may prioritize uninfected and immune-compromised patients for vaccination.

Objectives: This study aims to determine the reliability of the radiological tests used in the diagnosis of basilar invagination (BI)., Methods: Patients diagnosed with type B basilar invagination, who had both magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) imaging between January 2014 and November 2019 were included in this retrospective reliability study. In this study, distance from odontoid apex to Chamberlain's line (OA-CL) was accepted as a reference method for the diagnosis. Forty-two BI cases and 79 controls were included. Three radiologists with different levels of experience individually evaluated OA-CL, Boogard's angle (BoA), clivo-axial angle (CXA), clivo-dens angle (CDA), and clivo-palate angle (CPA) on midsagittal CT and MR images. Statistical analysis was made with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), t-test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve., Results: The ICC for CT and MR were; 0.977-0.973 (OA-CL), 0.912-0.882 (BoA), 0.845-0.846 (CXA), 0.862-0.864 (CDA), and 0.762-0.747 (CPA) respectively (P < 0.001). The areas under the ROC curve were 0.977 (BoA), 0.832 (CXA), 0.852 (CDA), and 0.719 (CPA) (P < 0.001). The cut-off measures were ≥137.84° (BoA), ≤149.25° (CXA), ≤129.58° (CDA), and ≤61.83° (CPA). The diagnostic accuracies were 0.954 (BoA), 0.664 (CXA), 0.704 (CDA), 0.438 (CPA) (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: OA-CL and BoA express excellent inter-rater agreement than CXA, CDA, and CPA, which are limited due to morphological variations and head spatial position. BoA is the second most reliable diagnostic test. CXA, CDA, should only be used for complementary information. CPA was found inadequate for the diagnosis of BI.., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the study was to compare the performance of various computed tomography (CT) reporting tools, including zonal CT visual score (ZCVS), the number of involved lobes, and Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) categorization in predicting adverse outcomes among patients hospitalized due to the lower respiratory symptoms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A total of 405 patients admitted with severe respiratory symptoms who underwent a chest CT were enrolled. The primary adverse outcome was intensive care unit (ICU) admission of patients. Predictive performances of reporting tools were compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC ROC). Among the 405 patients, 39 (9.63%) required ICU support during their hospital stay. At least two or more observers reported a typical and indeterminate COVID-19 pneumonia CT pattern according to RSNA categorization in 70% (285/405) of patients. Among these, 63% (179/285) had a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The median number of lobes involved according to CT was higher in patients who required ICU support (median interquartile range [IQR], 5[3; 5] vs. 3[0; 5]). The median ZCVS score was higher among the patients that subsequently required ICU support (median [IQR], 4[0; 12] vs. 13[5.75; 24]). The bootstrap comparisons of AUC ROC showed significant differences between reporting tools, and the ZCVS was found to be superior (AUC ROC, 71-75%). The ZCVS score at the first admission showed a linear and significant association with adverse outcomes among patients with the lower respiratory tract symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.