Protective role of zinc in liver damage in experimental diabetes demonstrated via different biochemical parameters

Diabetes mellitus is a serious worldwide metabolic disease, which is accompanied by hyperglycaemia and affects all organs and body system. Zinc (Zn) is a basic cofactor for many enzymes, which also plays an important role in stabilising the structure of insulin. Liver is the most important target organ after pancreas in diabetic complications. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective role of Zn in liver damage in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetes mellitus. There are four experimental groups of female Swiss albino rats: group I: control; group II: control + ZnSO₄; group III: STZ‐induced diabetic animals and group IV: STZ‐diabetic + ZnSO₄. To induce diabetes, STZ was injected intraperitoneally (65 mg/kg). ZnSO₄ (100 mg/kg) was given daily to groups II and IV by gavage for 60 days. At the end of the experiment, rats were killed under anaesthesia and liver tissues were collected. In the diabetic group, hexose, hexosamine, fucose, sialic acid levels, arginase, adenosine deaminase, tissue factor activities and protein carbonyl levels increased, whereas catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione‐S‐transferase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and Na⁺/K⁺‐ATPase activities decreased. The administration of Zn to the diabetic group reversed all the negative effects/activities. According to these results, we can suggest that Zn has a protective role against STZ‐induced diabetic liver damage.     

In vitro inhibition of cytosolic carbonic anhydrases I and II by some new dihydroxycoumarin compounds

A new series of 6, 7-dihydroxy-3-(methylphenyl) chromenones, including three new derivatives, i.e. 6,7-dihydroxy-3-(2-methylphenyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (OPC); 6,7-dihydroxy-3-(3-methylphenyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (MPC); 6,7-dihydroxy-3-(4-methylphenyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (PPC) and one previously described, namely 6,7-dihydroxy-3-phenyl-2H-chromen-2-one (DPC), were synthesized. These compounds were investigated as inhibitors of human carbonic anhydrase I (hCA-I) and human carbonic anhydrase II (hCA-II) which had been purified from human erythrocytes on an affinity gel comprised of L-tyrosine-sulfonamide-Sepharose 4B.     

Monitoring of genotoxic damage in smokeless tobacco ((Maraş powder) consumers using micronucleated exfoliated oral cells

Mara? powder is a kind of smokeless tobacco used in the south-eastern region of Turkey. The present study was carried out to assess possible DNA damage in exfoliated oral cells of Mara? powder users by analysing the frequencies of micronuclei (MN), which is a simple and reliable biomarker for genotoxic damage and to screen for the detection of site-specific differences in the frequencies of MN. The mean (±SD) MN frequency in the inner lip mucosa site was 1.27(±0.55) % for Mara? powder users and 0.88(±0.47) % for non-smoking control subjects (p < 0.05) and 0.82(±0.40) % for the buccal site of Mara? powder users (p < 0.01). There was no significant site-specific difference between the inner lip site and the buccal mucosa site 0.73(±0.43) % in the MN frequency of non-smoking control subjects (p > 0.05). There was no significant effect of daily consumption of Mara? powder, and duration of usage on MN frequencies. The present study suggests that the oral use of smokeless tobacco represents a genotoxic hazard and also that use of MN from a single site may be misleading as a marker of genotoxic exposure. Habitual use of Mara? powder should be taken into account and could be considered unsafe.     

Oxidant/antioxidant parameters and their relationship with medical treatment in multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a neoplastic disorder characterized by monoclonal multiplying of plasma cells. Although radiation, environmental factors, viruses and other factors have been suggested as potential causes of the disease, the aetiopathogenesis of MM is still obscure. This clinical study was designed to investigate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the aetiopathogenesis of the disease and the possible relationships between treatment and ROS production. For this purpose, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) activities as well as plasma nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured in 14 MM patients newly diagnosed at stage III. The relationship between the above-mentioned parameters and vincristine-adriamycin-dexamethasone (VAD) therapy were also investigated in the same patients. All the enzyme activities and the parameters of oxidative stress were found to be significantly reduced after VAD therapy. These findings suggest that ROS may be involved in the aetiopathogenesis of MM. Further investigations with a larger cohort of MM patients are needed to provide definitive data about the role of ROS in MM and the alternative therapeutic approaches to MM.     

New short route to unsaturated fluoroketonucleosides: case of 5-fluoro-1-(6-O-acetyl-3,4-di-deoxy-3-fluoro-beta-D-glycero-hex-3-eno-pyranos-2-ulosyl) uracil

The proposed short synthesis involves two key steps: Oxidation of the isopropylidene derivative of the 3-fluoronucleoside possessing a free hydroxyl group in 2-position and acetylation of deprotected 3-fluoro-2-ketonucleoside which, after a beta-elimination reaction, gives the desired unsaturated ketonucleoside 5.     

Assessment of DNA damage in glue sniffers by use of the alkaline comet assay

Toluene is used widely, not only in industry, but also in households where toluene exposure and abuse can occur. To estimate the genotoxic risk of toluene exposure, DNA damage was determined in peripheral lymphocytes of 20 glue sniffers and 20 age-matched controls by use of the alkaline comet assay. Urinary hippuric acid and o-cresol excretion rates, which are used as a marker for toluene exposure, were also measured in sniffers and compared with historical control values. The increase in genetic damage in sniffers was statistically significant as compared to control subjects (P<0.0001). The mean values of the hippuric acid and o-cresol excretion rate for glue sniffers was 73- and 1582-fold higher, respectively, than in controls and confirms the putative exposure. Education of the general public and efforts to keep adolescents away from volatile solvent-based products, which may lead to a desire of sniffing in the future, would be advisable.     

Antimicrobial activity of catechol and pyrogallol as allelochemicals

Catechol and pyrogallol are allelochemicals which belong to phenolic compounds synthesized in plants. Their antimicrobial activities were investigated on three bacteria (Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas pyocyanea, Corynebacterium xerosis) and two fungi (Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium italicum) phytopathogenic species as test organisms using the disc diffusion method. Both catechol and pyrogallol were found to have antibacterial effects on all the bacteria used in the study at 5 and 10 mM concentrations. Catechol has also been found to have an antifungal effect on the fungi used in the study, whereas no antifungal effects of pyrogallol were observed. The most sensitive species among the bacteria was P. putida which was inhibited by the allelochemicals even at 1 mM concentration.     

Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of consanguineous marriages in Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of consanguineous marriages in Turkey using data derived from the 2003 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS-2003). Demographic surveys conducted in the last 40 years consistently show that Turkey is a country with a high level of consanguinity. In the latest demographic survey (TDHS-2003), a nationally representative sample of 8075 ever-married women, consanguineous marriages accounted for 22% of the total, which is equivalent to a mean coefficient of inbreeding (alpha) of 0.011. There are changing secular profiles in the rates of consanguinity in general and of the specific sub-types of cousin marriages in particular in Turkey. The prevalence of first cousin marriages among all consanguineous marriages presents a steady decline from one marriage cohort to the next. The changes observed over time may be attributable to several factors such as the increase in educational level of women, the nuclearization of the family system, the mobility from rural to urban settings, a better socioeconomic status of families, an increase in women's labour force participation in formal sectors, lower fertility rates resulting in a smaller number of cousins available for marriage, and an increased awareness of the effects of consanguineous unions on child health in cases where there is an inherited recessive disease in the family. Any attempts to discourage consanguinity at the population level appear to be inappropriate and undesirable, especially when the consanguineous union remains an integral part of the cultural and social life of Turkey. Nevertheless the WHO-recommended approach to minimizing the negative effects of consanguinity on child health should be followed, i.e. the identification of families with a high risk of a genetic disease and the provision of prospective genetic counselling.     

Morphometric alteration of femoral condyles due to knee osteoarthritis

Aim of this study was to estimate how knee osteoarthritis (OA) affects the shape of femoral condyles by comparing the radiuses of condylar curves between healthy and OA knees. Seventeen female and five male patients with established diagnosis of knee OA were included in the study. Radiuses of medial and lateral condylar curves were calculated from the side view knee X-ray by original mathematical equation and compared to referent values of healthy knees, after adjusting to body height. The average radiuses of condylar curves were between 52.6 +/- 6.2 and 17.6 +/- 3.5 mm medially, and between 43.3 +/- 8.4 and 15.4 +/- 3.7 mm laterally for 0 degrees and 90 degrees femoral flexion contact points, respectively The OA knees had longer curve radiuses medially and laterally at 0 degrees, 10 degrees, and 20 degrees femoral flexion contact points in comparison to the healthy sample (P < 0.001; t-test). Our results suggest that the shape of the femoral condyles in OA knees is changed. It should be aware not only in researching of OA etiology, but also in designing of knee endoprostheses, in a manner to achieve better individual sizing.