Objective: To assess the usability of lavender oil as an adjuvant in the medical treatment of pain due to renal stones. Methods: One hundred patients age 19–64 years diagnosed with renal colic were included in the study. Group 1 (n=50) received standard medical therapy (diclofenac sodium, 75 mg intramuscularly); group 2 (n=50) received aromatherapy (lavender oil) in addition to the standard medical treatment. In both groups, the severity of the pain was graded between 0 (no pain) and 10 (severe pain) by using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: The VAS values at the beginning and at 10 and 30 minutes in group 1 were 7.70±1.61, 5.02±2.20, and 2.89±1.96, respectively; in group 2, the values were 7.83±2.02, 4.42±2.46, and 2.20±1.74, respectively. The VAS values for the male patients in group 1 at the beginning and at 10 and 30 minutes were 7.61±1.47, 4.80±2.00, and 2.67±1.74; in the female patients, the values were 7.81±1.80, 5.40±2.41, and 3.72±1.94. For the male patients in group 2, the VAS values at the beginning and at 10 and 30 minutes were 8.25±2.01, 4.93±2.72, and 2.96±1.90, respectively; for the female patients, the values were 7.52±1.94, 4.15±1.95, and 1.21±0.91, respectively. Results are presented as mean±SD. Although there was no significant difference between the VAS values at the beginning and at 10 minutes in both groups, the VAS values at 30 minutes in the group receiving aromatherapy plus conventional treatment were statistically significantly low. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the use of aromatherapy, which is a nonpharmacologic treatment method, as an adjuvant to conventional treatment methods will help decrease pain, particularly in female patients.

Türk Otorinolarengoloji Arşivi

Objective: To explore the effects of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on the histopathological and biochemical changes that inhaled formaldehyde (FA) induces on the testicular tissue of rats. Methods: Thirty three adult male rats were separated into five groups as follows: C, the control group; 4FA group which received FA for 4 weeks; 13FA group which was given FA for 13 weeks; 4FA+NSO group which was administered FA plus NSO for 4 weeks; 13FA+NSO group which was treated with FA plus NSO for 13 weeks. FA was administered through inhalation for 8 h 5 days a week at a dose of 5 ppm in a special glass cage, and NSO was administered orally 1 mL/kg once daily. Rats were decapitated at the end of the experiment and testicular tissue specimens were harvested for histopathologic and biochemical assessment. Results: Compared to the C group, reduction was observed in the number of intact tubules and in the mean germinative epithelium thickness of the FA groups. Significant increase was observed in the number of intact tubules with the long-term (13 weeks) administration of NSO together with FA. Reduced glutathione peroxidase activity was found and oxidative stress index values were measured higher in the 4FA and 13FA groups versus the C group (P<0.05). Moreover, total antioxidant status levels decreased only in the 4FA group (P<0.05) while only the 13FA group significantly increased malondialdehyde levels and reduced catalase activities in comparison with the C group. In the 13FA+NSO group, malondialdehyde levels decreased however glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities increased compared to the 13FA group. Differences measured in total antioxidant status levels were found to be statistically significant only between the 4FA and the 4FA+NSO groups. Conclusions: NSO as an antioxidant should be used for a longer term to achieve protective efficacy both histopathologically and biochemically in the testicular tissue.

Objective: Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is a clinical condition caused by acute ischemic damage to the anterior part of the optic nerve. In this study, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of NAION patients and healthy control subjects (HC) were analyzed and compared using an automatic segmentation method. Materials and Methods: The study included 14 patients diagnosed with NAION and 14 HC. VolBrain method, which provides brain parcellation with Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM), was used for volumetric analysis of brain MR images. In the statistical analysis of the findings, the Mann-Whitney U test was employed. Results: We found that cerebrum, gray and white matter, frontal lobe and middle frontal gyri, occipital lobe, calcarine cortex, lingual gyrus, superior and middle occipital gyri volumes were significantly lower in NAION patients compared to the HC (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the volume analysis of the cerebellum and its parts (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our study reveals that NAION induces volumetric changes in visual and non-visual regions of the cerebral cortex, but not in the volume of the cerebellum.