Background/Aim: Increased oxidative stress plays a crucial role in pathogenesis of various diseases. The present study aims to investigate glutathione reductase (GR) and malondialdehyde (MDA) enzymes as markers of oxidative stress mechanisms in lumbar disc degeneration disease (LDDD). Patients and Methods: The study group consisted of 39 patients diagnosed with LDD and 37 healthy individuals in the control group. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to determine serum GR and MDA levels in the two study groups. Results: Serum GR levels were significantly lower (p=0.008), while MDA levels were significantly higher in the patient group compared to the controls (p=0.025). Conclusion: Oxidative stress mechanisms play a crucial role in disc degeneration and GR deficiency could be an eligible risk factor for LDDD.

Background/Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the role of an aggrecan (ACAN) gene variant and proteoglycan levels in the risk of lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD). Materials and Methods: A total of 108 patients with LDDD and 103 healthy controls were enrolled. Molecular assessment of the ACAN gene (c.6423T>C) variant was determined by real time-polymerase chain reaction. Proteoglycan levels in serum were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The frequency of all alleles and genotypes in all study groups were distributed according to the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. In addition, no association between the ACAN gene (c.6423T>C) variant and presence of risk factors for LDDD was detected. However, proteoglycan levels were significantly lower in patients with LDDD compared to the control group (p<0.00001). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that proteoglycan has emerged as a potential novel biomarker which might be used for prediction of LDDD risk.

Background/Aim: In this study, we determined the expression of selected circulating microRNAs (miRNA) and their potential roles as biomarkers in patients with atherosclerosis and a control group. Materials and Methods: In order to obtain insight into miRNA expression levels in atherosclerosis, we analyzed miRNA expression levels by realtime polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in case (n=89) and healthy control (n=93) groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic capability of miRNAs. Results: miRNA221 and miRNA221 expression levels were significantly lower in patients than controls (p=0.011 and p=0.004, respectively). Receiver operator curve analysis demonstrated that expression levels of miRNA221 [area under curve (AUC)=0.623, p=0.0086) and miRNA222 (AUC=0.654, p=0.0006) were significantly different between groups. There were positive correlations between miRNA122a and triglyceride (p=0.046) and very-low-density lipoprotein (p=0.029) levels. Conclusion: miRNA221 and miRNA222 could be convenient biomarkers for diagnosis of atherosclerosis.

Association between fok1 polymorphism of vitamin D receptor gene with uterine leiomyoma in Turkish populations

Objective. In the present study, we examined the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on the hippocampal neurochemistry in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Methods. Twelve patients with OCD and same number of healthy controls were included into the study. Neurochemical variables of the hippocampus were measured before and after the CBT treatment in the patient group. Results. At baseline, the patients with OCD had significantly lower ratio of N-acetyl-l-aspartate/choline (NAA/CHO) compared with that of healthy control subjects. When comparing pre-treatment results of the patient group with those of post-treatment ones using paired t-test, we found that NAA/CHO ratio increased from 2.47 ± 0.64 to 3.66 ± 0.88, with a statisical significance. Conclusions. The findings may implicate that CBT increases the level of NAA which is a marker of neuronal integrity.