Background. Radiotherapy (RT) for abdominal and pelvic malignancies often causes severe small bowel toxicity. Citrulline concentrations are known to decrease with intestinal failure. We thus evaluated the feasibility of plasma citrulline levels in predicting radiation-induced intestinal toxicity. Material and methods. Fifty-three patients (36 prostate cancer, 17 endometrial cancer) who received 45 Gy pelvic RT using conventional fractionation were prospectively evaluated. Patients with prostate cancer received an additional 25-30.6 Gy conformal boost. Plasma citrulline levels were assessed on day 0, mid-(week 3) and post-RT (week 8), and four months post-RT. Dose-volume histogram, citrulline concentration changes, and weekly intestinal toxicity scores were analyzed. Results. Mean age was 63 years (range: 43-81 years) and mean baseline citrulline concentration was 38.0 Ϯ 10.1 μ mol/l. Citrulline concentrations were signifi cantly reduced at week 3 (27.4 Ϯ 5.9 μ mol/l; p Ͻ 0.0001), treatment end (29.9 Ϯ 8.8 μ mol/l; p Ͻ 0.0001), and four months post-treatment (34.3 Ϯ 12.1; p ϭ 0.01). The following factor pairs were signifi cantly positively correlated: Citrulline concentration/mean bowel dose during, end of treatment, and four months post-RT; dose-volume parameters/citrulline change groups; cumulative mean radiation dose/intestinal toxicity at end and four months post-RT; citrulline changes/intestinal toxicity during and end of RT. Citrulline concentration changes signifi cantly differed during treatment according to RTOG intestinal toxicity grades (p Ͻ 0.0001). Although the citrulline changes differed signifi cantly within RTOG intestinal toxicity grades (p ϭ 0.003), the difference between Grade 0 and Grade 1 did not differ signifi cantly at the end of the treatment. At four months after RT, no signifi cant differences were apparent. Conclusion. Citrulline-based assessment scores are objective and should be considered in measuring radiation-induced intestinal toxicity.

Insulin resistance, which provides a convenient milieu for platelet activation, has been closely associated with atherosclerotic disorders. Although it often accompanies hyperprolactinemia, findings conflict concerning its clinical impact in macroprolactinemia. In order to investigate the relationship between hyperprolactinemia and platelet activation evidenced by ADP-stimulated P-selectin expression on flow cytometry, we studied hyperprolactinemic, macroprolactinemic, and normoprolactinemic subjects. Thirty-four hyperprolactinemic and 44 age- and body mass index-matched euprolactinemic premenopausal women were included. They were matched regarding insulin sensitivity status, waist circumference, blood pressures, and plasma lipids. In order to detect macroprolactinemia among hyperprolactinemic cases, prolactin was measured before and after polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation in patients' sera. P-selectin expression was significantly higher in the hyperprolactinemic group (P =0.001), and 41.2% of them exhibited macroprolactinemia. Expression of P-selectin was comparable between the macroprolactin-negative (monomeric hyperprolactinemia; n = 20) and -positive (n = 14) subgroups (P = 0.90). Both subgroups showed greater expression compared with normoprolactinemic controls (P = 0.014 and 0.005, respectively). Platelet activation accompanies the atherosclerotic disorders closely associated with insulin resistance. Among groups matched with regard to insulin-sensitivity markers, both monomeric hyperprolactinemia and macroprolactinemia appeared to promote platelet activation.

A AB BS ST TR RA AC CT T O Ob bj je ec ct ti iv ve e: : High tissue levels of free oxygen radicals (FORs) have been reported in corrosive esophagitis (CE). The present study aimed to determine whether prediction of injury and late complications in CE is possible based on blood levels of FORs, Interleukin (IL)-6, Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-10. M Ma at te er ri ia al l a an nd d M Me et th ho od ds s: : Forty-two male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into 2 main groups (A and B), each consisting of 3 subgroups (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, and B3) of equal number. To induce experimental CE 17.5% NaOH was used in subgroups A2 and B2, and 37.5% NaOH in subgroups A3 and B3. The sham groups (A1 and B1) received 0.9% NaCl. Blood levels of lipid hydroperoxide (LPO) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured in group A. Blood levels of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α were measured in group B. Esophageal samples for histopathological evaluation were obtained following scarification after 3 weeks. R Re es su ul lt ts s: : There were significant differences between the sham subgroups and CE subgroups, regarding histopathological scores (p< 0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups in blood levels of LPO, GPX, TNF-α or IL-10 (p> 0.05). There were significant differences between severe CE subgroups and the sham subgroups, based on IL-6 values (p= 0,007). C Co on nc cl lu us si io on n: : In contrast to previous reports, which demonstrated increased tissue levels of FORs, blood levels of FORs were not high in this study. Nonetheless, in the light of the observed differences in IL-6 levels between the subgroups, we suggest that injury and late complications of CE may be predicted following additional experimental and clinical research using biochemical methods.K Ke ey y W Wo or rd ds s: : Caustics; esophagitis; complications; cytokines Ö ÖZ ZE ET T A Am ma aç ç: : Koroziv özofajitte, yaralanmanın ve geç komplikasyonların öngörülmesinde çeşitli yöntem-ler bildirilmiştir. Yapılan çalışmalar, akut dönemde, dokudaki serbest oksijen radikalleri (SOR) düzeyleri-nin artmış olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Çeşitli travmalarda interlökin (IL)-6, tümör nekroz faktörü (TNF)-α ve IL-10 gibi proenflamatuar sitokin (PES) ve anti-enflamatuar sitokin (AES) düzeylerinde değişiklikler olduğu bilinmektedir. Bu bilgiler ışığında koroziv özofajit modelinde SOR, PES ve AES'lerin kan düzeyleri-nin, doku hasarının ve striktür gelişiminin öngörülmesinde etkili olup olamayacağının araştırılması amaçlanmıştır. G Ge er re eç ç v ve e Y Yö ön nt te em ml le er r: : Çalışmada 42 erkek Wistar Albino sıçan kullanıldı. Sıçanlar, A ve B grupları şeklinde iki ana gruba ayrıldıktan sonra, bu iki ana grup da her birinde eşit sayıda sıçan olacak şekilde üçer alt gruba ayrıldı (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 ve B3). A2 (n= 7) ve B2 (n= 7) gruplarında %17,5'luk sodyum hidroksit (NaOH), A3 (n= 7) ve B3 (n= 7) gruplarında ise %37,5'luk NaOH kullanılarak özofajit oluşturuldu. Kontrol gruplarını oluşturan A1 (n= 7) ve B1 (n= 7) gruplarında izotonik kullanıldı. A g...

No abstract

In the original publication, the legends for Figures 1 and 2a-c were transposed, as was the information in the ''Stimulated'' and ''Nonstimulated'' columns in Table 2. The figures with their appropriate legends, as well as the corrected Table 2, are reprinted here.