In a series of 166 leukemic children from Turkey, 56 had acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML). Seventeen boys and 3 girls presented with chloroma-like deposits (granulocytic or myeloid sarcomas) in the eye and orbit, all showing AMML on initial study of blood and marrow. The ocular lesions responded rapidly to antileukemic therapy. Laboratory studies of AMML cases revealed no cytogenetic or immune defects, and Epstein-Barr virus titers were normal. A group-specific (GS-3) antigen (type-C virus?) was identified in one patient by radioimmunoassay of orbital tumor extracts. It is not clear what factors contribute toward the myelomonocytic differentiation of leukemia and its localization in the eye and orbit, but spportunities for further study are enhanced by reports of a predisposition to ocular chloroma among leukemic children in Africa, Egypt, and Japan.

The serum zinc concentration in 101 pregnant women and 40 control subjects were determined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The zinc levels were significantly low in 30 poorly nourished pregnant women compared to controls (P less than 0.01), whereas there was no statistical difference between the normal mean zinc values and that of well-nourished pregnant women (P greater than 0.05). This study revealed that nutrition is an important factor during pregnancy among Turkish women. In view of severe teratogenic effects of maternal zinc depletion in experimental animals as well as epidemiological evidence that maternal zinc deficiency could be a cause of severe congenital malformations of the central nervous system in humans, more extensive studies are definitely needed in Turkey.

Oral iron and zinc tolerance tests were performed in 12 patients between 8 and 21 years of age, with iron deficiency anemia and geophagia. Decreased iron and zinc absorption were detected respectively in patients against the elevated absorption curves in control subjects. Iron and zinc malabsorption may be an additional feature of the syndrome characterized by geophagia, iron deficiency anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, hypogonadism and dwarfism observed in Turkey and Iran.

Thirty-three patients presenting with orbito-ocular granulocytic sarcoma (OOGS) and acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML) were diagnosed in Turkish children from 1963 to 1983. OOGS, characterized by exophthalmos, chemosis and orbital masses, was observed in 33 (27.2%) of 121 AML patients compared with 41 children of AMML without ophthalmic tumors during the same period. Eye tumor and bone marrow aspirates were also studied under light and electron microscopies. The comparison of the hematological parameters did not indicate any statistical difference between the groups. Despite similar chemotherapy regimens administered to all patients, the mean survival time was 8.7 months in the OOGS group, which is significantly shorter compared to those without OOGS (28.6 months) (p < 0.01). These cases may be classified as a ‘high risk’ subgroup of childhood AMML.

The present study has been carried out to estimate the gene frequency of thalassemia and abnormal hemoglobins in a random Turkish population. A total of 1,000 Haemoglobin A₂ blood samples have been studied. Fifteen of 900 adults had elevated Hb A₂ concentrations. 0.60% of the population studied had an electrophoretically demonstrable hemoglobin abnormality: 3 Hb AS, 1 Hb AE, 1 Hb AD and one Hb A’₂ (‘split’ A₂). Signs of α-thalassemia were found in one case. This study indicates that the incidence of β -thalassemia trait in Turkish population as 1.66%