Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to apply histopathological and immunohistochemical methods to compare the protective efficacy of melatonin and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) application in rats with experimental brain ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury induced through occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), and to evaluate the protective effect of their combined use. Materials and Methods: Forty-one young adult male Wistar albino rats were divided into five groups—control (n = 8), I/R group (n = 8), melatonin (n = 8), NAC (n = 8), and melatonin + NAC (n = 9). Results: All scores differed between the groups, apart from vascular congestion (p < 0.05). At two-way comparisons, all histological scores were significantly higher in the I/R group than in the control group (p < 0.05). No change occurred in the vascular congestion scores with the administration of melatonin, although decreases were determined in all other scores. These decreases were statistically significant for cellular eosinophilic pyknotic degeneration, vacuolization, and edema (p < 0.05). All histopathological scores in the group administered NAC together with melatonin were significantly lower than in the I/R group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The combined use of NAC and melatonin, the neuroprotective efficacy of which on histopathological parameters is shown in this study, now needs to be supported by further research.

Aim: This research was intended to evaluate the clinical and laboratory findings of children presenting to our pediatric neurology clinic with symptoms potentially linked to vitamin D deficiency and with low vitamin D levels and the distribution of those findings by sex, age groups, and vitamin D levels. Methods: This retrospective study involved patients presenting to our clinic with symptoms potentially associated with vitamin D deficiency and low serum concentrations of 25 OH vitamin D (25 OH D) (<75 nmol/L, 30 µg/mL). Patients’ movement disorders and central nervous system-related symptoms at the time of presentation and serum 25 OH D, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and magnesium (Mg) levels were recorded and evaluated in terms of age, sex, and vitamin D levels. Results: Eight hundred twenty-two cases of vitamin D deficiency were included in the study, 50.2% (n = 413) boys and 49.8% (n = 409) girls. Although cases of vitamin D deficiency were present across all the age groups between 1 and 18, they were most common in the 5–14 age range (n = 372, 45.3%). Movement disorders were observed in 14.6% (n = 120) of our cases, and neurological findings associated with the central nervous system were observed in 52.6% (n = 432). The most common accompanying movement in our cases was difficulty remaining in balance (n = 42, 35%), while the most frequent accompanying central nervous system finding was vertigo (n = 99, 22.92%). Other movement disorders encountered included limb shaking (n = 32, 26.7%), abnormal posture (n = 20, 16.67%), easy falling (n = 16, 13.33%), body rigidity (n = 15, 12.5%), and hand clenching (n = 5, 4.17%). Other frequently encountered neurological findings were headache (n = 88, 20.37%), epileptic seizures (n = 83, 19.21%), fainting (n = 58, 13.43%), developmental delay (n = 41, 9.49%), febrile seizures (n = 33, 7.64%), and numbness in the fingers (n = 20, 4.63%). Other neurological findings were sleep disorders (n = 10, 2.31%), nightmares (n = 8, 1.85%), pain in the extremities (n = 7, 1.62%), and sweating and frailty (n = 4, 0.93% for both). Ca, P, and Mg levels were lower in cases with vitamin D levels < 12 µg/mL. The prevalences of both movement disorders and central nervous system findings varied according to age groups, sex, and vitamin D levels. Conclusions: Our study results show that vitamin D deficiency can present with different neurological findings and that these may vary according to age group, sex, and vitamin D levels. Clinicians must take particular care in pediatric cases with neurological findings in terms of the early diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency.

A method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of five macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, abamectin, doramectin, moxidectin, and eprinomectin) in edible tissues (meat, liver, kidney, and fat) of cattle using a modified QuEChERS extraction procedure. Residue levels were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Recovery rates for all drugs across all edible tissues ranged from 73.91 to 96.15%. The limits of detection and quantification for macrocyclic lactones in cattle edible tissue samples ranged from 0.85 to 1.25 µg/kg and 2.55 to 3.80 µg/kg, respectively. Application of the method to real samples revealed the presence of macrocyclic lactone residues in 18 of 168 samples evaluated. One cattle meat sample (40 µg/kg, ivermectin) exceeded the maximum residue limit, while all other positive samples were below their respective maximum residue limits. This developed and validated method offers an alternative for the simultaneous analysis of multiple macrocyclic lactone residues in cattle edible tissues intended for human consumption, thanks to fewer processing steps, lower solvent volume, and fewer chemicals. Unlike other methods in the literature, this technique uses a very small sample amount (1 g) and solvent volume (3 ml). While these findings indicate that the developed method can be applied to detect macrocyclic lactone residues in edible tissues of cattle, potential matrix effects should be carefully evaluated, especially in matrices with high lipid content, such as adipose tissue (fat), given the target compounds high lipophilicity.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate potential neuroinflammatory processes in pediatric migraine using hematological inflammatory indices and to examine their associations with age and gender. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 90 children diagnosed with migraine and healthy control group, conducted between August 1, 2019, and August 1, 2025. Complete blood count parameters were analyzed for all participants. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and other hematological inflammatory markers were calculated. Comparisons were made between the migraine and control groups. Additionally, the migraine group was subdivided according to age, gender, and treatment status, and subgroup analyses were performed. Results: Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio values were significantly higher in the migraine group than in the control group. In gender-based comparisons, a statistically significant difference was observed only in red blood cell (RBC) counts, whereas no gender-related differences were detected in other inflammatory parameters. Within the migraine group, lymphocyte counts decreased in the older age subgroup, while platelet counts and NLR values showed a significant increase. Among patients receiving flunarizine treatment, no significant differences were observed in inflammatory markers, except for mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Conclusion: Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio may serve as a marker of increased inflammatory burden in pediatric patients with migraine. The age-related increase in inflammatory indices may reflect neuroinflammatory processes involved in migraine pathophysiology. These findings highlight the importance of considering age in the clinical evaluation of pediatric migraine patients.

Amaç: Antiepileptik ilaçlar çocukluk çağında erişkinlere göre farmakokinetik ve farmakodinamik süreçlerinde farklılıklar gösterebilir; bu nedenle ilaçların etki ve yan etki profilleri değişebilmektedir. Çalışmamızda epilepsi tanısı konulan çocukların ebeveynlerinin antiepileptik ilaçlara karşı bilgi, tutum ve davranışları ile çocuklarda antiepileptik ilaç kullanımına bağlı sık gözlenen olası yan etkileri değerlendirmeyi amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmamız, ebeveynlere anket uygulanarak yapıldı. Ağustos 2019-Mart 2020 tarihleri arasında Çocuk Nöroloji Polikliniği’nde epilepsi tanısı konulmuş 110 hasta ebeveyni çalışmaya dahil edildi. Bulgular: Katılımcıların çoğunluğunu anneler (n=68, %61.8) oluşturmaktaydı. Katılımcıların yaş ortalamaları 38.4±7.78 yaştı. %70 olgu monoterapi, %30 olgu politerapi kullanmaktaydı. Monoterapiden en sık kullanılan ilaçlar; levetirasetam (%22.7), valproik asit (%21.8) ve karbamazepin (%13.6)’dı. %34.5 olguda antiepileptik ilaçlara karşı yan etki gözlenmedi. En sık görülen yan etkiler; sinirlilik (%35.5), kilo alma (%18.2), yorgunluk (%14.5) ve davranış problemleri (%11.8)’di. Politerapi uygulanan hastalarda yan etki görülme oranı (%72.7), monoterapi uygulanan hastalara göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olmasa da daha yüksek bulundu (%62.3). Sonuç: Çalışmamızın çocuklarda antiepileptik ilaç tedavisi sırasında karşılaşılabilecek yan etki profilinin aydınlatılmasına ve ebeveynlere verilecek eğitimlere katkıda bulunacağını düşünmekteyiz.