Ayse Gulsen Doğan

Background and objectives: Sjögren Syndrome (SS) is a chronic, systemic, and progressive autoimmune disease in which inflammatory processes play a role. Dry eyes or mouth are present in approximately 95–98% of patients with pSS. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between SII level and disease activity as well as dry eye involvement in patients with pSS. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional design was employed, and a total of 28 female patients who were aged 18–65 years and were diagnosed with pSS were involved. The Sjögren Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) was calculated in patients. The Schirmer test was applied to all patients. The relationship between SII level and disease activity as well as dry eye involvement in pSS patients was evaluated. Results: In our study, a strong positive correlation was found between the SII value and pSS disease activity, while a negative correlation was found between the Schirmer test, which shows dry eye findings, and eye drying time, and a positive correlation was found with the OSDI. Conclusions: this study reported a correlation between hematological parameters and the development of dry eye in pSS. NLR, PLR, and SII showed statistically significant changes in pSS patients.

We aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) and lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Fasting blood samples were obtained from 46 PD patients. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry of the lumbar vertebrae (L1–L4). Circulating serum NT-pro-BNP levels were measured using commercial kits compatible with the Roche Cobas e 601 immunoassay device. Forty-six patients were included in our study. Increased age, low body mass index (BMI), and high-serum NT-pro-BNP are significantly associated with decreased BMD. The results show a statistically positive correlation between lumbar T-score values and BMI (r = 0.456; P = .001), while lumbar T-score values and PTH (rho = -0.336; P = .022) and log-NT-pro-BNP. There is a statistically negative correlation between BNP (rho = -0.355; P = .015). The lumbar T-score value decreases by 0.800 units when log-NT-pro-BNP increases by 1 unit and increases by 0.323 units when BMI increases by 1 unit. The established model is statistically significant (F = 6.190; P < .001). Our study in PD patients showed that serum NT-pro-BNP level was negatively correlated and BMI was positively correlated with lumbar BMD.

Background This study aimed to analyze the current situation of health literacy (HL), neuropathic pain, and Neuropathic Pain Impact on Quality of Life (NePIQoL) questionnaire in patients with diabetic neuropathy (DN). Methodology This study was conducted among 60 patients with diabetic peripheral distal neuropathy on electroneuromyography (ENMG) and 47 patients without diabetic peripheral distal neuropathy on ENMG. The Turkish version of the European Health Literacy Scale (EHLS-TR) for HL levels, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions (DN4) for pain level, and NePIQoL for health-related quality of life were used in participants. Results A total of 107 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients were included in the study with a mean age of 57.12 ± 4.12 years. The EHLS-TR significantly decreased in the DN group compared to the control group (p = 0.004). There was a significant difference between the two groups in the EHLS-TR classification (p = 0.024). Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), VAS, and DN4 values were found to be significantly higher in the DN group compared to the control group (p = 0.001). While there was a negative correlation between EHLS-TR scores and DN4 and HbA1c in the DN group, a positive correlation was found between EHLS-TR and NePIQoL. Conclusions HL has an effect on HbA1c, neuropathic pain level, and quality of life in DN patients. By increasing the level of HL, glycemic control can be achieved in this patient population, while the level of neuropathic pain decreases and the quality of life increases.

- OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, lym-phocyte-monocyte, and monocyte high-density lipoprotein ratios in patients with fibromyalgia and determine their relationship with disease activity, pain, and depression levels. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was conducted with 40 healthy controls and 87 newly fibromyalgia (FM) diagnosed patients. Demographic characteristics, duration of pain, body mass index (BMI), and laboratory test re-sults were recorded. The hematological indi-ces and ratios were determined with a hemo-gram test. Disease activity was evaluated with a fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ). De-pression status was evaluated with the beck depression inventory (BDI). RESULTS: A total of 127 participants, 40 in the control group and 87 in the patient group, were included in the study. BMI values of the patient group were statistically higher than the control group (p=0.025). The white blood cell count of the patient group was statistically higher than the control group (p=0.007). Mono-cyte values were statistically higher in the pa-tient group (p<0.001). Monocyte to high -den-sity lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio (MHR) values in the patient group were statistically high-er than the control group (p<0.001). Lympho-cyte-monocyte-ratio (LMR) values of the con-trol group were statistically higher than the pa-tient group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that in fi-bromyalgia patients, monocyte level and MHR were higher than in healthy subjects. Also, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) level was found lower, and the total cholester-ol level was found higher in patients with FM. In-creased LMR and HDL-C values were found as responsible for decreasing the risk of develop-ing FM and increased glucose and total cholesterol values were responsible for increasing the risk of FM developing.