Aim:A wide variety of research is currently being conducted on how artificial intelligence can assist clinical decision-making and improve clinician judgments. The goal of this research was to develop a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) approach that can aid healthcare professionals in identifying lumbosacral pathologies. Material and Methods:The study included 633 abnormal and 442 normal lateral lumbosacral radiographs, and the You Only Look Once algorithm was used to automate the cropping task. This study used pre-trained VGG-16, ResNet-101, and MobileNetV2 models for transfer learning. Feature extraction was performed from the intermediate layer of VGG-16, resulting in 512 features. Then, a variance threshold was applied, resulting in 221 selected features with a variance threshold of 0.01. Then, support vector classifier, logistic regression, random forest classifier, and k-nearest neighbours machine learning models were trained using both sets of 512 extracted features and 221 selected features separately. Results:The results from the ensemble learning model with the stacking classifier using features selected using a threshold value 0.01 from features extracted were: accuracy 93.0% (best); sensitivity, 91.8%; specificity, 94.1%; precision, 92.9%; F1 score, 92.3% (best); area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.97 (one of the best); and Cohen's kappa, 0.86 (best). Conclusion:The ensemble learning model with a stacking classifier using features selected by using a threshold value of 0.01 from features extracted by processing the intermediate layer of VGG-16 performs better than the transfer learning models using pre-trained networks, such as VGG-16, ResNet-50, and MobileNetV2, and the learning methods that do not apply feature selection in distinguishing lumbar vertebral pathologies.

Background/Aims: Obesity is a growing global health challenge associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Intragastric balloon therapy has emerged as a minimally invasive alternative for weight management in patients unsuitable for bariatric surgery or as a bridging intervention. This study evaluates the efficacy, safety, and metabolic impacts of intragastric balloon therapy in a prospective cohort. Materials and Methods: A total of 65 patients underwent endoscopic intragastric balloon therapy between October 2023 and January 2025. Comprehensive baseline evaluations included body weight, body mass index, and computed tomography analysis of visceral and subcutaneous fat tissue thickness. Patients were followed up at 2 and 6 months post procedure. Statistical analysis was performed to assess weight loss, metabolic changes, and safety outcomes. Results: Of the initial cohort, 62 patients (mean age: 37.89 years; 75.4% female) completed the study. The median body weight decreased significantly from 104.5 kg pre procedure to 88 kg at 6 months (P < .001). Body mass index values similarly declined, with a mean reduction from 37.59 to 32.79 kg/m2 (P < .001). Significant decreases in subcutaneous and visceral fat tissue thickness were observed (P < .001 and P = .032, respectively). Only 1 patient (1.5%) required early balloon removal due to nausea, with no other major complications reported. Conclusion: Intragastric balloon therapy is an effective and safe intervention for short term weight loss, with significant reductions in adipose tissue. Further research is needed to evaluate its long-term efficacy and metabolic benefits. Cite this article as: Yüksel M, Kenarlı K, Sarıaltın F, et al. Six-month outcomes of endoscopic intragastric balloon therapy: A prospective single-center study. Turk J Gastroenterol. 2025;36(11):770-775.

Diyabetes mellitus, Dünya’da ve ülkemizde sıklığı giderek artmaktadır. Diyabette kan şekeri regülasyonu gelişebilecek komplikasyonları önlemede en önemli hedeftir. Diyabet birçok organı etkilediği gibi gastrointestinal sistemide etkileyerek çeşitli semptomlara neden olmaktadır. Bu nedenle komplikasyonların tanınması ve zamanında gerekli tedavinin verilmesi önem arz etmektedir. Tiroid ve pankreasın endokrin hastalıkları gastrointestinal semptomlara neden olabilmektedir. Şüpheli semptomu olan hastalarda bütüncül yaklaşım doğru tanı ve tedavinin belirlenmesi için gereklidir. Bu yazıda sık görülen endokrin hastalıklar ve gastrointestinal sistem bulgularını değerlendirdik.

Background/Aims: The clinical course in COVID-19 patients can vary from asymptomatic cases to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), respiratory failure and multiorgan dysfunction. Clinical progression is thought to be mainly due to the release of proinflammatory cytokines. The most common symptoms are fever, cough, malaise, and shortness of breath. Montelukast, which is used in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis and asthma, has brought its use in COVID-19 infection due to its anti-inflammatory and cytokine secretion-reducing effect. There are many studies in the literature that montelukast treatment has a positive effect on the prognosis and mortality of COVID-19. However, there are not enough studies evaluating the efficacy of montelukast treatment in elderly patients. The aim of our study is to evaluate the clinical and laboratory efficacy of montelukast treatment in patients aged 60 and over in COVID-19 disease, and to indicate the differences from the studies in the literature. Methods: Our research was planned as a retrospective, single-center, observational study. The medical records of 75 COVID-19 patients aged 60 and over who were hospitalized in the internal medicine clinic of Ankara Bilkent City Hospital between September 2021 and December 2022 were included. Diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed with a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test from nasopharyngeal swab. Results: Clinical findings and results were compared between the patients who received montelukast and the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of cough, dyspnea, gastroenteritis and oxygen theraphy requirement. There is no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the need for intensive care unit admission and mortality. The length of hospital stay was compared in both groups, it was 10.88±7.24 days in the control group and 10.51±5.44 days in the montelukast group, and there was no statistically significant difference between the groups. The laboratory parameters of the patients in both groups were compared. The neutrophil count and leukocyte count measured before hospitalization were found to be significantly lower in the patient group receiving montelukast (p=0.022, p=0.016). No significant difference was found in other laboratory parameters. Conclusions: Although montelukast treatment has positive effects on prognosis in COVID-19 disease in the literature, a similar effect was not observed in the population aged 60 and over in our study. We did not find the positive effect of short-term montelukast treatment on the prognosis of patients aged 60 years and older who were hospitalized due to COVID-19. We thought that this was due to the low efficacy of montelukast in the elderly population. Our study is one of the first to examine montelukast therapy in the geriatric population with COVID-19.