Purpose. This study aimed to investigate the autoimmune basis of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) by determining the anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) and extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) levels of patients diagnosed with IGM. Material and Methods. Twenty-six IGM patients were evaluated. Serum samples were analyzed for autoantibodies by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) using a substrate kit that induced fluorescein-conjugated goat antibodies to human immunoglobulin G (IgG). IIF patterns were read at serum dilutions of 1 : 40 and 1 : 100 for ANA positivity. Using the immunoblot technique, the sera of patients were assayed at dilutions of 1 : 40 and 1 : 100 for human autoantibodies of the IgG class to 15 lines of highly purified ENAs. Results. In the IIF studies for ANA, positivity was identified for four different patterns in the 1 : 40 diluted preparations, for three different patients in the 1 : 100 diluted preparations and only one pattern was identified at the 1 : 320 dilution. In the ENA studies, positivity was identified for four different pattern in the 1 : 40 dilution, and only one pattern was identified at the 1 : 100 dilution. Conclusion. This study was not able to support the eventual existence of an autoimmune basis for IGM.

We found that the MPV value may serve as a marker of the absence of acute-phase disease, and the NLR level as a marker of the presence of such disease, in patients with RA. More detailed analysis of disease activity is required to further explain the associations of the markers described above with disease activity.

Tumor-associated immune system cells secrete protease and cytokines that can inhibit the immune response. In particular, T-cell effector functions could be inhibited, potentially causing an increase in parasitic infestations. Demodex species are common inhabitants of normal hair follicles. Humans are the specific host for two species Demodex folliculorum and D. brevis. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and infestation of D. folliculorum and D. brevis in patients with cancer. In the present study, 101 patients with cancer were selected from among patients who were diagnosed and treated for cancer. The cancer patients were divided into four groups according to cancer type. Slides were examined for parasites using light microscopy at magnifications of ×40 and ×100. Infestation was defined as having at least five living parasites/cm 2 of skin. The ages of the patients with cancer ranged between 38 and 82 years, with a mean of 65.5±10.1 years. It was determined that 77 of the 101 (76.2%) cancer patients were positive for Demodex species. Infestation was positive in 18 (47.4%) of the 38 cases in the breast cancer group, 7 (29.2%) of the 24 cases in the lung cancer group, 5 (18.5%) of the 27 cases in the gastrointestinal system cancer group, and 2 (16.7%) of the 12 cases in the urogenital system cancer group. Results showed that the rate of Demodex species infestation was higher in patients with breast cancer. Thus, cancer -and particularly breast cancer -is a risk factor for Demodex species infestation.

Acinetobacter baumannii is the most important agent of nosocomial infections within the Acinetobacter genus. This gram-negative coccobacillus is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics used in antimicrobial therapy, and capable of developing resistance including carbapenems. The objective of this study was to develop a multiplex real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) kit for OXA subgroups in A.baumannii, and to investigate the distribution of OXA subgroups in A.baumannii strains isolated from geographically different regions of Turkey. A total of 834 A.baumannii clinical isolates collected from different state and university medical centers in 13 provinces (Afyonkarahisar, Ankara, Bolu, Elazig, Erzurum, Isparta, Istanbul, Kahramanmaras, Konya, Sakarya, Van) between 2008-2011, were included in the study. The isolates were identified by conventional methods and automated systems [Vitek2 (bioMerieux, ABD) and Phoenix (BD Diagnostic, MD)]. The susceptibility profiles of the isolates were studied with automated systems and standard disc diffusion method. All samples were subjected to qPCR to detect blaOXA-51-like, blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-58-like genes. A conventional PCR method was also used to detect blaOXA-24-like gene. The resistance rates observed during the study period were as follows: 96.8% for amoxicillin-clavulanate, 86.8% for ciprofloxacin, 74.7% for gentamicin, 71.7% for amikacin, 73.5% for cefaperozone-sulbactam, 72.1% for imipenem and 73% for meropenem. Six hundred and two (72.2 %) isolates were resistant to both imipenem and meropenem. Colistin was found to be the most effective antibiotic against A.baumannii isolates with 100% susceptibility rate. All isolates were positive for blaOXA-51-like, however blaOXA-24-like gene could not be demonstrated in any isolate. Total positivity rates of blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-58-like genes were found as 53.7% and 12.5%, respectively, while these rates were 74.4% and 17.3% in carbapenem-resistant isolates, respectively. Twenty-five isolates were positive for both blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-58-like genes. All of the carbapenem-resistant isolates have OXA type genes with the exception of blaOXA-24-like gene. The positivity rates for blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-58-like genes varied for each center. In addition, there was a decrease in the frequency of blaOXA-58-like gene, however both blaOXA-23-like gene and carbapenem resistance rates increased during the study period. In conclusion, high rates of resistance to carbapenems were also remarkable but A.baumannii strains keep on sensitivity to colistin. Both blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-58-like genes were shown to be widespread in carbapenem-resistant A.baumannii clinical isolates. However, blaOXA-23-like gene positive strains were increased throughout the study. Currently, multiplex qPCR is the best way for rapid diagnosis of resistant bacteria for prevention of hospital-acquired infections. The multiplex qPCR kit developed in this study could be useful for rapid diagnosis and identify the frequencies of blaOXA-23-lik...

We conclude that Fetuin-A may be one of the steps that can be active in disease progression in axial SpA patients.

Whatever the cause, whether infectious or non-infectious etiology, acute gastroenteritis is the second leading cause of death in children younger than five years of age after lower respiratory tract infections worldwide and is responsible up to 11% of the deaths in this age group (2-4).

In this study, randomized patient sera were used to simultaneously evaluate an automated C-reactive protein (CRP) assay and a commercial semi-automated microCRP assay with respect to correlation, linearity, and accuracy. Patient specimens were analyzed; two independent assay runs were performed on i-CHROMA (Boditech Med Inc., Korea) and IMMAGE 800 (Beckman Coulter Inc., USA) analyzers to estimate the between- and within-run precision. All systems were calibrated, and quality-control materials were analyzed according to the manufacturer's instructions. The results using the control materials were within the respective manufacturers' specified limits. The comparison studies were designed using the CLSI EP9-2A guidelines. The mean serum CRP concentrations were 123.2 ± 123.5 mg/L (95 % confidence of interval (CI) 97.9-148.3) using the CRP assay and 130.1 ± 109.3 mg/L (95 % CI 107.9-152.4) using the microCRP assay. The variance values were σ = 15,252.6 and 11,935.8 for the CRP and microCRP assays, respectively. The concordance correlation coefficient value was calculated as 0.8314 (95 % CI 0.7594-0.8833). There was a significant correlation between the CRP and microCRP assays: r = 0.8392 and 95 % CI 0.7675-0.8902 (p < 0.0001). The CRP and microCRP detection methods were well correlated. The i-CHROMA has many advantages over the IMMAGE 800 with respect to space required, analysis time, and system setup/application costs in a laboratory. It may be an attractive instrument for small and intermediate medical centers.

Tuberculous arthritis of the elbow joint is rare. A 57-year-old male patient presented with swelling, pain, and redness of the elbow. The symptoms first appeared one month ago; he was given antibiotic treatment after the diagnosis of septic arthritis at another center. The patient who did not improve with treatment was diagnosed with tuberculous arthritis according to the culture and was started on antituberculosis treatment. Tuberculous arthritis usually presents with chronic arthritis. However, it can also present in patients with septic arthritis.