Background: Increasing use of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in cancer patients, has led to more common detection of ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Aims: The objective of this study was to assess ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in incidental and known GIT malignancy. Methods: A total of 6500 patients followed-up in a single and tertiary center between January 2010 and September 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Of 2850 patients assessed with ¹⁸FDG-PET/CT, known GIT malignancy and ¹⁸F-FDG uptake cases during follow-up were included in the study. Results: Of 658 patients with ¹⁸F-FDG uptake, 150 patients who underwent endoscopy were included in the study. Seventy-seven of these patients had known GIT malignancy and 73 had incidental ¹⁸F-FDG uptake. Among these 73 patients; 7 (9.6%) had malignancy, 20 (27,2%) adenoma and 24 (32.9%) inflammation that were confirmed. Endoscopy was normal in 22 (30.2%) patients. One hundred forty-three (95.3%) patients had focal and 7 (4.7%) had diffuse uptake. While no malignancy was detected in patients with diffuse uptake, 58.7% (84/143) of the patients with focal uptake presented malignancy. Mean the standardized uptake value (SUV) max values were found as 15.0 ± 10.6 (range, 3.8–56.5) in malignant disease, 10.2 ± 4.3 (range, 2.4-19.7) in adenoma, 7.3 ± 3.6 (range, 3.6–18.7) in inflammation, and 9.8 ± 4.2 (range, 3.8–19.9) in normal endoscopy groups (p < 0.001, rho = 0.378). Conclusion: Although this study demonstrated high probability of malignant disease with increased ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the GIT, it would be a more appropriate approach to confirm all patients with ¹⁸F-FDG uptake through endoscopy as SUVmax values vary in a wide range.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical results of insulin degludec/aspart (IDEgAsp) therapy and its effect on the fear of hypoglycemia. Methods: A prospective observational study has been conducted through surveys of 36 patients using insulin because of type 2 diabetes mellitus who initiated treatment with IDegAsp switching from other insulins. Patients, 18–75 years old, were recruited to the study, consecutively. Participants’ age, gender, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), daily insulin dose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c), hypoglycemia rate, hypoglycemia fear survey (HFS) were recorded at the beginning of the study. By the end of 12th month, data was re-measured and compared with each other. Results: HbA_1c was declined by mean of −1.59% (95% CI −1.06 to −2.12, p<0.001). There was also a significant decrease in mean, daily insulin dose, weight and BMI values of patients via IDegAsp. While there was an increase in the amount of dipeptidyl peptidase 4-inhibitors (DPP4-i) and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2-inhibitors (SGLT2-i), there was a decrease in daily injection frequency. There was also a significant decrease in the median values of monthly hypoglycemia rate (from 2.0 to 1.0, p<0.001) and the entire HFS scores (HFS-T: from 1.09 to 0.73, p<0.001; HFS-B: from 0.83 to 0.60, p<0.001; HFS-W: from 1.33 to 0.88, p<0.001). There was a strong positive correlation between ΔHFS-B and daily injection frequency (Rho: 0.398; P: 0.016). Conclusions: IDegAsp co-formulation, combined with DPP4-i and/or SGLT2-i, can provide usefulness in terms of rates of hypoglycemia, reduced HbA_1c, less injection administration, and decreased the fear of hypoglycemia in diabetics.

We aimed to investigate the frequency of restless legs syndrome (RLS) and neuropathic pain (NeP) in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TAK), and their relationship with disease activity, and quality of life (QoL). In this prospective case-control study, we evaluated 30 patients with TAK and 28 healthy subjects. Demographic, clinical, and current treatment-related data were also recorded. RLS diagnosis was confirmed in both groups according to the International Restless Legs Study Group criteria. The Douleur neuropathic-4 questionnaire (DN4) confirmed the frequency of neuropathic pain, and the quality of life was confirmed by the Short Form 36 (SF-36) health survey questionnaire. Univariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for factors associated with NeP in patients with TAK. There was no statistically significant difference in the diagnosis of RLS between the TAK group and the control group (p = 0.195). The prevalence of NeP was significantly higher in TAK patients than in healthy controls (p = 0.011). The SF-36 subscale scores for physical functioning (p = 0.01) and general health (p = 0.002) were significantly lower in the TAK group than in the control group. Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI) scores were considerably higher in patients with NeP (p = 0.004). In univariate analyses, VDI decreased unbound iron-binding capacity, and SF36 mental component summary were predictors associated with NeP. This study revealed that the frequency of NeP was higher in patients with TAK than in the healthy population, and the patients with TAK were negatively affected in terms of NeP and QoL rather than RLS.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common comorbidity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and axial spondyloarthritis (Ax

Objective This study aims to investigate the frequency of restless leg syndrome (RLS) and neuropathic pain (NeP) and their effects on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). Methods The study included 30 patients with AAV and 30 healthy volunteers. Demographic and clinical parameters and laboratory data were recorded. International criteria were used for the diagnosis of RLS, the Douleur-Neuropathique-4 questionnaire for NeP, and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire to assess the QoL. AAV patients were subdivided according to NeP (with and without NeP) and RLS (with and without RLS) status. The recorded data were compared between patients and controls and between subgroups of patients. Results Although there was a proportional difference in RLS incidence between patients with AAV and healthy controls, this difference was not statistically significant (16.7% vs. 3.3%; p=0.195). Data regarding the comparison of demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings and Birmingham vasculitis activity score did not exhibit significant differences between the RLS and control groups, respectively. The prevalence of NeP was significantly higher in the AAV group than in the control group (26.7% vs. 0%, p=0.005). Furthermore, when QoL analysis was done in both groups, general health (p=0.001) and SF-36-MCS (p=0.021) scores were significantly lower in the AAV with NeP than without NeP. Conclusion This study showed that NeP was more common in the AAV group than in healthy controls. In addition, some sub-components of QoL were worse in those with NeP than in those without NeP. However, the AAV was negatively associated with NeP and QoL rather than RLS. Caution should be exercised with regard to NeP in AAV, especially in patients with permanent organ damage.