Objectives: To evaluate dry eye symptoms and clinical tear film alterations in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Materials and methods: Thirty-five non-diabetic CRF patients undergoing hemodialysis, and 31 healthy individuals were enrolled. An ocular surface disease index questionnaire (OSDI) was administered, and after a complete ocular examination, Schirmer and tear break-up time (TBUT) tests were performed. Results: OSDI scores were significantly higher (p50.01) and TBUT tests were significantly lower (p ¼ 0.01) in CRF patients than in the control group. Schirmer test results were also lower in the CRF patients group, but lacked statistical significance (p ¼ 0.20). Conclusion: Patients with CRF should be advised to obtain an ophthalmic examination, especially for dry eye.

Smoking results in increased osmolarity of the tear film, which can damage the ocular surface and tear function.

It is speculated that thyroid hormones may be involved in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis. A literature scan, however, demonstrated conflicting results from studies investigating the relationship between hypothyroidism and NAFLD. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate NAFLD, from the histopathologic perspective, in hypothyroidism-induced rats. Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups: the experimental group consumed water containing methimazole 0.025% (MMI, Sigma, USA) for 12 weeks and the control group consumed tap water. At the end of week 12, serum glucose, ALT, AST, triglyceride, HDL, LDL, TSH, fT4, fT3, visfatin, and insulin assays were performed. Sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and “Oil Red-O” for histopathologic examination of the livers. In our study, we detected mild hepatosteatosis in all hypothyroidism-induced rats. There was statistically significant difference with respect to obesity between the two groups (p < 0.001). The mean fasting blood glucose was 126.25 ± 23.4 mg/dL in hypothyroidism-induced group and 102.63 ± 15.51 mg/dL in the control group, with a statistically significant difference between the groups (p = 0.032). The two groups did not differ statistically significantly with respect to visfatin levels (p > 0.05). In conclusion, we found that hypothyroidism-induced rats had mild hepatosteatosis as opposed to the control group histopathologically. Our study indicates that hypothyroidism can cause NAFLD.

High MPV values may be an important risk factor for the development of PDR and DME in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

AIM: To investigate the effects of systemic application of Theranekron on peripheral nerve healing after compression type peripheral nerve injury. MATERIAL and METHODS: Twenty-one female Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=7): Control (C), injury (I), and Theranekron (T). The right sciatic nerves of rats in the I and T groups were compressed via an aneurysm clip for 5 minutes and 0.3 ml Theranekron D6 was applied via subcutaneous administration once a week in the T group for a total period of four weeks. Nerve conduction velocity and proximal and distal latency of the rats were measured at the end of day 30. The right sciatic nerves of the rats were then removed and myelin damage grading, axon counting, fibrosis assessment, caspase-3, and NF-kB immunochemical staining were performed. The data were analysed statistically and a p value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. RESULTS: Axonal degeneration, vacuolization and myelin destruction were found to be markedly greater in group T. Fibrosis and caspase-3 immunoreactivity were less intense in group T. There was a statistically significant difference in the electrophysiological results of groups I and T. However, there were no statistically significant differences in axon number and NF-kB immunochemical evaluation of groups I and T. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study show that Theranekron decreases axonal and myelin damage after sciatic nerve injury and that this neuroprotective effect of Theranekron can be attributed to its anti-inflammatory effect on pro-inflammatory cytokine levels.