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Introduction Diabetic nephropathy and diabetic retinopathy are serious microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus. Recent studies have demonstrated that neutrophil-gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) may be accompanied by these complications during and before the appearance of microalbuminuria. In this study, we set out to research the role of NGAL in patients with diabetic nephropathy and diabetic retinopathy.Material and methods Eighty-two patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in our study. Urinary microalbumine and NGAL levels were measured in urine samples over 24 hours. We also studied NGAL levels in serum. All patients went through an ophthalmologic examination. The results were evaluated based on the presence of microalbuminuria and retinopathy.Results There were no significant differences in serum and urine NGAL levels between normoalbuminuric (n = 66) and microalbuminuric (n = 16) patients. We also did not find any significant difference in patients with retinopathy (n = 16) or without retinopathy (n = 66). ConclusionThere are controversial findings about the role of NGAL in diabetic patients in medical literature. Standard values of urine and serum NGAL levels have yet to be determined. Our study suggests that NGAL is not a useful marker to differentiate microalbuminuric patients from normoalbuminuric subjects. We also did not find a relationship between NGAL levels and the presence of retinopathy. Additional studies with larger sample sizes will be required to confirm or refute these findings.

OBJECTIVES: Progressive renal disease is characterized by histological changes in the kidney and fibrosis is a common outcome. Renal biopsy is the only diagnostic tool to evaluate these histopathological changes. Pentraxin-2 (PTX-2) is an anti-inflammatory constitutive plasma protein associated with the innate immune system. Recently, as a biomarker, the circulating level of PTX-2 is shown to be decreased in chronic fibrotic diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between renal fibrosis severity and serum PTX-2 levels in patients undergoing renal biopsy. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 45 patients and 16 healthy individuals (HIs). The severity of renal fibrosis was evaluated according to the Banff and Sethi scoring systems by the same pathologist. PTX-2 was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared with the demographical, clinical, biochemical, and histopathological data of the patients and HIs. RESULTS: PTX-2 levels were lower in the biopsy group than in the HI group ( p =0.12). Patients with moderate renal fibrosis had significantly lower serum PTX-2 levels than those in patients with minimal and mild fibrosis ( p =0.017 and p =0.010, respectively). PTX-2 concentrations were correlated with serum albumin (r=0.30, p =0.016), and were negatively correlated with serum creatinine levels (rho=-0.42, p =0.01) and body mass index (r=-0.32, p =0.011). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that PTX-2 levels are significantly lower in patients with renal fibrosis than HIs, and declining further in patients with severe fibrosis.

It is not clear if Hashimoto's thyroiditis leads to Empty sella syndrome. In the present study, we aimed to investigate if Hashimoto's thyroiditis was associated with Empty sella syndrome, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis was a secondary cause od some cases of primary Empty sella syndrome. Material and Method: Eighty-one patients who were diagnosed with primary Empty sella syndrome were included in the study. All patients underwent thyroid ultrasonography and biochemical tests for thyroid-stimulating hormone, free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, anti thyroid peroxidase, anti thyroglobulin, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, 17 β estradiol, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1, adrenocorticotropic hormone and total testosterone for Hashimoto's thyroiditis and pituitary hormone deficiency. Results: Out of 81 patients, thyroid disease was diagnosed in 34 (42%) patients; 18 of them had Hashimoto's thyroiditis (22.2%) and 16 (19.8%) had central hypothyroidism. Among Hashimoto's thyroiditis patients, 11 (13.6%) had hypothyroidism and 7 (8.6%) were euthyroid. Discussion: In conclusion, it is possible that some cases of primary Empty sella syndrome are caused by Hashimoto's thyroiditis. It is recommended that the presence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis should be investigated in patients with primary Empty sella syndrome. Further studies investigating anti-pituitary antibody in patients with primary Empty sella syndrome, are needed to further declare this relationship.

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