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Background/aim: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare, chronic inflammatory disease of the breast. Erythema nodosum (EN) is a rare extramammary manifestation of IGM. The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical and demographic characteristics of 11 IGM and EN patients and to evaluate the efficacy of methylprednisolone treatment. Materials and methods:In our series, ten patients had EN bilaterally, whereas one patient had a lesion of the right pretibial area. The mean age of the patients was 35.5 years (range: 29-45 years). IGM and EN were diagnosed by the necessary serological, microbiological, radiological, and histopathological examination. After diagnosis, methylprednisolone was started in the first week at 0.8 mg/kg daily for treatment. The weekly dose was tapered to 0.1 mg/kg daily over 8 weeks. Results:We started with the treatment of methylprednisolone, and in all our cases the initial response was excellent. In 2 weeks the IGM symptoms had markedly declined, while signs of EN disappeared completely. Patients were followed for an average of 60 months after treatment. None of the 11 patients had recurrence. Conclusion:We herein report a rare series considering IGM cases complicated by EN. Few such cases have been reported in the literature. We advocate for an initial trial of methylprednisolone treatment, which proved to be very successful in our patients.

IntroductionPrimary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is quite a rare malignancy, constituting 1%-5% of all thyroid malignancies, and 2% of all extranodal lymphomas (1). It is seen more frequently in females with chronic Hashimoto's thyroiditis, with 3-4fold higher incidence than in male patients. PTL incidence peaks in the mid-sixties; hence, half of PTL patients are between the age of 60 and 79 years (2,3).The most frequent complaint is a large palpable swelling in the neck that resembles anaplastic thyroid cancers. Diagnosis must be performed rapidly due to differences in treatment. A large neck mass triggered by PTL also causes symptoms such as dysphagia, dyspnea, and hoarseness due to mass effect, which is typically associated with the disease. In addition to these symptoms, some patients may show B symptoms such as fever, night sweats, and weight loss of 10% and higher in the last 6 months.Histopathologically, PTLs appear in the form of B-cell and T-cell type non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (4). B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is the most Background/aim: Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a very rare thyroid malignancy. It should be diagnosed and treated immediately and accurately. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic methods and treatment results for patients with PTL. Materials and methods: We retrospectively evaluated the records of 11 patients with PTL from 2009 to 2015, diagnosed at our institute. Age, sex, stage, histopathologic type, presence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, diagnostic methods, treatment types, and recurrence were examined.Results: Six patients were female, 5 were male, and the median age of the patients was 61 years (range: 15-76 years). All patients had a large palpable mass in the neck. Fine needle aspirate (FNA) biopsy was performed in all patients; however, it was useful only in the diagnosis of 7 patients. Excisional and surgical biopsy was performed in 4 patients. All patients had non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma, including 9 cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and 2 patients had mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Recurrence was observed in one patient. Median survival was 34 months. Conclusions:The preferred option for the diagnosis of PTL should be FNA biopsy, and the treatment should be decided on according to whether the disease is limited to the thyroid gland or not, its histological type, and its stage.

PURPOSE: Adiponectin is a protein stemming from adipose tissue and having strong anti-infl ammatory properties. We aimed to assess the damage diminishing effects of recombinant adiponectin (rAD) through NF-kB in the experimental acute pancreatitis (AP) model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Acute pancreatitis was created by applying 50 μg/kg dose of intraperitoneal cerulean. The rats were randomised and divided into 3 groups as control, AP and rAD groups. Moreover, the rats in each group were divided into two subgroups as 24th and 48th hour subgroups. rAD was injected in the study group intraperitoneally. Tissue and blood samples were taken after 24 and 48 hours. Histopathological assessment and NF-kB activity were investigated in pancreatic tissue. RESULTS: Serum TNF-a, IL-1b and IL-6 levels were found to be statistically signifi cant in the AP group compared to the rAD group in the 24th and 48th hour (p < 0.05). Similarly, NF-kB activity was also found to be signifi cant in the AP group both in the 24th and 48th hour (p < 0.05). There were signifi cant differences in the AP and the rAD groups histopathologically in terms of edema, infl ammation, vacuolisation and necrosis (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: rAD has signifi cantly reduced NF-kB activity, cytokine levels and tissue damage (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 51).

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the levels of neopterin among patients with benign and malignant breast disease and the relation with the stage of the malignant process. In this study, neopterin concentrations and enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were determined in malign (n=30) and benign breast tumor patients (n=30) by high performance liquid chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods, respectively. Results were compared with a healthy control group (n=20). The correlations between neopterin, CAT and SOD were also evaluated in controls and patients. Urinary neopterin level of the control group was (mean value ± S.D.) 128.6 ± 64.6 μmol/mol creatinine. Neopterin concentrations in patients with breast malignancy were 153.6 ± 71.2 μmol/mol creatinine and 107.8 ± 32.1 μmol/mol creatinine in benign disorders patients. The mean neopterin level in the benign group was found to be statistically different from the malign tumor group (p = 0.039). SOD and CAT activities in controls were found as 3.57 ± 0.84 U/mg protein and 2.19 ± 0.20 U/mg protein, respectively. In patients with malignancy, the SOD activity was 3.84 ± 0.73 U/mg protein while CAT activity was 1.03 ± 0.13 U/mg protein. Patients with benign breast disorders, SOD activity was 4.09 ± 1.00 U/mg protein and CAT activity was 1.02 ± 0.18 U/mg protein. Whereas SOD activity did not differ between the groups of patients and controls, the mean catalase level in the control group was higher than in the benign and malign tumor groups (both p <0.001). Urinary neopterin concentration seems to be an important and useful biomarker in diagnosis of breast tumors in clinical practice.