The objective of the present report was to analyze the opinions, attitudes, and practices of Baskent University students with regard to the impact of religion on organ donation and transplantation. We sent a web-based, 5-point Likert scale questionnaire (1: strongly disagree; 5: strongly agree) to capture the opinions and attitudes toward organ donation and transplantation after participants attended or did not a panel discussion on these topics. We sent 361 E-mails and received 69 responses, of which 46 students attended the panel discussion. Most of the participants who attended were part of the faculty of medicine. Participants who did not attend were composed of students from other faculties at Baskent University. Religion played less of a role with regard to opinions on organ donation in those who did not attend. Of the attendees, 54.3% strongly agreed to become organ donors, 50% believed in the important role of religion in organ donation, and 54.3% believed that media sources play important roles in shaping public opinion on organ donation. The majority felt comfortable discussing organ donation with family and friends. Although religion has an undeniable effect on the decision-making process, our survey showed that more than half of the participants were willing to become organ donors. Education, through the joint efforts of medical and religious scholars, as well as the media, should contribute to raising awareness on organ donation, thus contributing to increased access to transplantation worldwide.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by dopaminergic neuronal loss and abnormal α-synuclein aggregation. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising biomarkers and potential modulators of PD-related molecular pathways. In this study, we investigated the expression levels of four candidate miRNAs—miR-15a-5p, miR-16-5p, miR-139-5p, and miR-34a-3p—in patients with PD compared with healthy controls. A total of 47 PD patients and 45 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. Plasma miRNA levels were quantified using standardized RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and qPCR protocols. We observed marked upregulation of miR-15a-5p and robust downregulation of both miR-139-5p and miR-34a-3p in PD patients, whereas miR-16-5p showed no significant difference between groups. Target gene prediction and functional enrichment analysis identified 432 unique genes, with enrichment in biological processes related to protein ubiquitination and catabolic pathways, and signaling cascades such as mTOR, PI3K-Akt, MAPK, and Hippo pathways, all of which are implicated in neurodegeneration. Elevated miR-15a-5p may contribute to pro-apoptotic mechanisms, while reduced miR-139-5p and miR-34a-3p expression may reflect impaired mitochondrial function, diminished neuroprotection, or compensatory regulatory responses. Together, these dysregulated circulating miRNAs provide novel insight into PD pathophysiology and highlight their potential as accessible, non-invasive biomarkers. Further longitudinal studies in larger and more diverse cohorts are warranted to validate their diagnostic and prognostic value and to explore their utility as therapeutic targets.

Methylation is a key epigenetic modification of DNA and regarding its impact on epilepsy, it is argued that "DNA methylation may play an important role in seizure susceptibility and maintenance of the disorder". DNA methylation status of KCC2 (SCL12A5) and NKCC1 (SCL12A2) associated with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy was investigated in our study. Thirty-eight patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) who were diagnosed by video EEG monitoring and 32 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Twenty-three patients in TLE group were men and the remaining 15 were women. Among them, 27 had unilateral temporal focus (9 with right; 18 with left) and 11 patients had bilateral TLE. We analyzed promoter region methylation status of the KCC2 (SCL12A5) and NKCC1 (SCL12A2) genes in the case and control groups. Gene regions of interest were amplified through PCR and sequencing was accomplished with pyro-sequencing. We found a significant relationship between TLE and methylation on the NKCC1. However, there was no association between TLE and methylation on the KCC2 gene. Also, we found no association between right or left and unilateral or bilateral foci of TLE. There was no relationship between TLE and methylation on the NKCC1and KCC2 genes in terms of mesial temporal sclerosis in cranial MRI, head trauma or febrile convulsions. The methylation of NKCC1 can be a mecha-nism of refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. There are limited findings about DNA methylation in TLE. Therefore, further studies with large sample sizes are necessary.

Ünal Y, et al. Psychiatry Investig. 2017 Sep;14(5):546-549. https://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2017.14.5.546

Transient loss of consciousness (LOC) has an important place in emergency applications. Therefore, it is very important to define the etiology of LOC. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed our outpatient electroencephalography (EEG) records to evaluate whether the clinician ordering the test had a fulfilling result. EEG recordings between 01.07.2017 to 01.07.2018 in our outpatient clinic were reviewed. 1015 of EEGs were ordered by general neurologists (70.05%), 355 by epilepsy specialists (24.5%) and 79 by other departments (5.5%). The Department of Psychiatry was leading among other departments by one third. 281 out of 1449 EEGs were abnormal (19.4%). Only three patients had a seizure during EEG recording. Preliminary diagnosis for EEG record request were epilepsy in 829 patients (57.2%), syncope in 257 patients (17.8%), headache in 12 (0.8%), vertigo in 12 (0.8%), cognitive dysfunction in 71 (4.9%), sleep disorder in 16 (1.1%), intracranial mass lesion in 18 (1.0%), cerebrovascular diseases in 54 (3.7%), altered mental status in 26 (73.3%) and encephalitis in 15 patients (1.0%). Normal EEG recording results were 76.5% in the recordings with preliminary diagnosis of epilepsy. Abnormalities found in patients with preliminary diagnosis of epilepsy patients were sharp/spike in 45.1%, focal/generalied slowing in 41.5% and background slowing in 11.8%. Overall abnormality percentage was similar in EEGs requested by either general neurologists (76.0%) or epilepsy specialists (76.9%) but not by other departments (82.1%). As a result; EEG should not be interpreted as a screening test, patients’ details and clinical features during loss of consciousness episode have a priceless importance and preliminary diagnosis should be re- and reevaluated before EEG recording request.