Vitamin D has been of increased interest in the role of maintaining immune system balance. Alopecia Areata (AA) is a T-cell mediated autoimmune disease which causes anagen-stage hair follicles. Low concentration of vitamin D may be a risk factor for AA. We aimed to determine vitamin D concentrations in patients with AA. 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)-D) concentrations and 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ) were determined from sera collected from patients with AA (n=42) and healthy controls (n=42). 25(OH)-D and 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 concentrations were measured by ELISA method. The concentrations of both 25(OH)-D and 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 were found to be significantly lower in patients with AA than control group (p<0.001 for each analysis). The results show that there is a significant difference between AA patients and normal subjects in terms of serum vitamin D concentrations. Therefore, it is suggested that vitamin D deficiency may have a role in the setting of AA.

These results indicate that the TQ produces a protective mechanism against VCM-induced nephrotoxicity and suggest a role of oxidative stress in pathogenesis.

Diazinon is one of the most widely used organophosphate insecticides (OPIs) in agriculture and public health programs. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by OPIs may be involved in the toxicity of various pesticides. The aim of this study was to investigate how diazinon affects lipid peroxidation (LPO) and the antioxidant defense system in vivo and the possible ameliorating role of vitamins E and C. For this purpose, experiments were done to study the effects of DI on LPO and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) in adult rat heart. Experimental groups were: (1) control group, (2) diazinon treated (DI) group, (3) DI+vitamins E and C-treated (DI+Vit) group. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activities of SOD and CAT increased significantly in the DI group compared with the control group. The activity of SOD and the levels of MDA decreased significantly in the DI+Vit group compared with the DI group. The differences between the DI+Vit and control groups according to the MDA levels and the activities of both SOD and CAT were statistically significant. These results suggest that treating rats with a single dose of diazinon increases LPO and some antioxidant enzyme activities in the rat myocardium and, in addition, that single-dose treatment with a combination of vitamins E and C after the administration of diazinon can reduce LPO caused by diazinon, though this treatment was not sufficiently effective to reduce the values to those in control group.

INTRODUCTION    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most important lung disease leading to disability and even death. Recent studies have shown that the platelet indices are associated with several cardiovascular diseases; however, there is little data on COPD. OBJECTIVES    We aimed to explore the relationship between platelet indices, together with the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), white blood cell count to mean platelet volume ratio (WMR), and red cell distribution width (RDW) and the severity of COPD. PATIENTS AND METHODS    This retrospective study was based on data collected from a total of 153 COPD patients admitted to our outpatient clinic between March 2014 and March 2015. All of the participants underwent pulmonary function tests; FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC were measured. The study population was divided into four according to the severity of COPD as group A (mild), group B (mild to moderate), group C (moderate to severe), and group D (severe).  RESULTS    A significant increase was found in platelet distribution width (PDW), MPV, plateletcrit, PLR, and RDW while WMR decreased as the COPD severity increases. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that PDW and RDW were independently associated with the presence of severe COPD. ROC curve analysis showed that a PDW>14.85 was associated with severe COPD with 85% sensitivity and 86% specificity while RDW>14.45 was associated with severe COPD with 90% sensitivity and 87% specificity. CONCLUSIONS    The PDW and the RDW are independently associated with disease severity, which may indicate hypoxemia, underlying inflammation, and oxidative stress in COPD.

Background:Diazinon (0,0-Diethyl 0-(1-6-methyl-2-isoprophyl 4 pyrimidinyl) phosphorothioate) (DI) is a very effective organophosphate pesticide, used widely in agriculture. Consequently, data on poisoning cases secondary to DI exposure are important. The DI may affect a variety of tissues, including liver. Silibinin is a pharmacologically active constitute of Silybum marianum, with documented antioxidant activity.Objectives:The aim of our study was to evaluate both histopathologically and biochemically whether silibinin is protective in DI induced liver damage.Materials and Methods:Thirty two Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups, as follows: 1) control group - oral corn oil was given; 2) DI group - rats were administered orally 335 mg/kg in the corn oil solution; 3) Silibinin group - 100 mg/kg/day silibinin was given alone orally, every 24 hours for 7 days; 4) Silibinin + DI group - DI plus silibinin was given. All rats were sacrificed at the end of experiment. Superoxide dismutases (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), nitric oxide (NO) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were investigated in serum and liver tissue. In addition, serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzyme activities were evaluated. The liver tissue was evaluated histopathologically with Hematoxilin & Eosin dye.Results:Biochemically, ALT, AST, NO, MPO in serum and NO, MPO in liver tissue were found to be significantly higher in DI group, compared to control group (P < 0.001). In Group Silibinin + DI, serum AST, ALT, NO, MPO levels were significantly lower (P < 0.01), and both serum and tissue SOD activities were significantly higher, compared to DI group (P < 0.001). Diazinon induced histopathological changes in liver tissue were: severe sinusoidal dilatation, moderate disruption of the radial alignment of hepatocytes around the central vein, severe vacuolization in the hepatocyte cytoplasm, inflammation around central vein and portal region. In rats receiving both DI and silibinin, the DI induced changes accounted for less sinusoidal dilatation, vacuolization in the hepatocyte cytoplasm and the inflammation around central vein and portal region (P < 0.05).Conclusions:The DI was found to induce liver damage by oxidative stress mechanisms. Silibinin reduced the oxidative stress by inducing antioxidant mechanisms, thereby showing protective effect against DI induced liver damage. Further studies with silibinin should be performed regarding DI toxicity.