Celalettin Herek

Dr. Celalettin Herek

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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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17 April 2026 in Journal of Clinical Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SYSuleyman Yildirim
Suleyman Yildirim
FTFatıma Ceren Tunçel
Fatıma Ceren Tunçel
CHCelalettin Herek
Celalettin Herek
MSMemduh Sahin
Memduh Sahin
SPSacide Pehlivan
Sacide Pehlivan
Background/Objectives: Growing evidence suggests that disruption of circadian rhythms contributes to the pathogenesis of inflammation and inflammatory bowel disease; however, clinical data linking circadian gene variants to ulcerative colitis remain limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate associations between key circadian rhythm gene polymorphisms and clinical and treatment-related characteristics in ulcerative colitis. Methods: A total of 107 patients with ulcerative colitis and 80 healthy controls were included in this single-center cross-sectional study. The BMAL1 rs7950226, CLOCK rs1801260, and CRY1 rs2287161 polymorphisms were analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Genotype and allele frequency distributions were compared between patients and controls, and associations with clinical characteristics were evaluated within the ulcerative colitis cohort. Results: Genotype distributions of BMAL1 rs7950226 and CLOCK rs1801260 were similar between patients with ulcerative colitis and healthy controls; however, the G allele of BMAL1 was more frequent in patients (p = 0.028). Within the ulcerative colitis cohort, CLOCK rs1801260 genotypes were significantly associated with inflammatory and treatment-related characteristics, with the CC genotype linked to higher C-reactive protein levels (p = 0.021) and the TT genotype associated with increased azathioprine use (p = 0.006). Conclusions: These findings suggest a potential association between circadian rhythm gene variants and clinical features of ulcerative colitis, particularly in relation to inflammatory activity and treatment requirements, and provide preliminary clinical insight that warrants further investigation in larger and longitudinal studies.