The prevalences of hemoglobin S (HbS) and β-thalassemia (β-thal) are high in Mersin, Turkey. In this study, the results of a five-year premarital screening program in Mersin province are reported. A total of 79,000 persons including 31,498 couples were screened in this program. Hematological analyses and electrophoresis were done to identify carriers. The results were given confidentially and at-risk couples were counselled on reproductive options and prenatal diagnosis. The carrier rates of hemoglobins (Hb) (HbS, HbD, HbE) and of β-thal were 1.21%, 0.17%, 0.04% and 2.04%, respectively. One hundred and thirty-four couples were at-risk, of whom 67.2% had health insurance. Twenty-seven couples did not become pregnant, six were divorced and 11 could not be reached. Of the 135 pregnancies, 80 had prenatal diagnosis. Five stillbirths occurred, and 18 homozygous babies were born to couples that did not seek prenatal diagnosis. Two families with prenatal diagnosis had affected babies: one was a late referral and the other due to religious reasons. For a successful screening program, emphasis must be on extensive and intensive informative programs for the public as a whole. Prenatal diagnosis should be offered free of charge as a basic public service. For a healthy population, knowledge and a shared responsibility between the public and the government are necessary.

This study was carried out to examine the effects of acute and chronic stress on hematological parameters in combination with β-adrenergic receptor blockade in rats. In the present study, acute stress is a form of short-term stress induced by a single footshock session, and chronic stress is a form of long-term stress induced by multiple and repetitive footshock sessions. Male Wistar rats were treated with propranolol (5 mg/kg s.c.) and were subjected to an acute stress [intermittent session of footshock: 0.5 mA, during 60s (5s shock, 5s pause) at one and three days after the moment of propranolol administration] and to a chronic stress [intermittent session of footshock: 0.5 mA, during 60s (5s shock, 5s pause) over three consecutive days from the moment of propranolol administration]. Control group rats were subjected to the same conditions without the propranolol administration and were treated with saline solution. Four days after the drug administration, we assessed the number of total erythrocytes, the erythrocyte indexes (mean cell volume, MCV; mean cell hemoglobin, MCH; mean cell hemoglobin concentration, MCHC) and the number of thrombocytes. The results indicate that hematological parameters differed under acute and chronic stress conditions in combination with adrenergic receptor blockade. β-adrenergic receptor blockade with propranolol enhances the total number of erythrocytes under acute stress influences and the total number of thrombocytes under chronic stress influences. Acute and chronic stress in combinaton with β-adrenergic blockade has no significant effect on erythrocyte indexes. Propranolol administration in low doses during different forms of stress could prevent erythrocyte disorders after stress exposure and symptoms in post-traumatic stress disorders. Propranolol markedly suppressed the tachycardia induced by footshock stress after chronic administration. On the whole, the obtained data indicate the important role of β-adrenoreceptor mechanisms in the regulation of erythrocyte dynamics.

BACKGROUND: The clinical course of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is frequently complicated by thromboembolic events and may involve the arterial and venous systems. Although not uniformly documented, several studies document substantial alterations in markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis in patients with IBD. METHODS: 45 patients with IBD (31 UC,14 CD) were included in the study. Age and sex matched 16 volunteers were used as a control group. TAFI antigen was determined using an ELISA kit VisuLiseTM for quantitative measurement. RESULTS: Inflammatory parameters such as white blood cell, platelet levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein were found to be significantly higher in active disease group compared to inactive patients. Coagulation parameters of prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and d-dimer levels showed no significant difference between active and inactive IBD. Fibrinogen levels were significantly higher in clinically active IBD patients. Plasma TAFI levels demonstrated no significant difference between active and control, inactive and control as well as active and inactive groups. We observed no significant changes in levels of β-TG and PF-4 between active and inactive disease group. CONCLUSIONS: We studied plasma TAFI levels in IBD. In conclusion, plasma TAFI levels does not appear to represent to be a marker of activation in IBD in contrast to literature. So further studies covering more patients with different clinic and disease activity status might improve the perspective on this issue.

This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of FV1691 G-A, FV4070 A-G, PT20210 G-A, EPCR 23 gene bp insertion and ACE gene 300 bp deletion among healthy Egyptians. One hundred and eighty eight healthy Egyptians were included to the study. Previously reported molecular techniques were used for the determination of mutations. Thirthy one individuals had FV1691 G-A (16.5%) mutation with an allele frequency of 0.09. R2 and R3 haplotypes were found in 21 (11.2%) and 4 (2.1%) individuals, respectively. Only one healthy individual had EPCR gene 23 bp insertion (0.53%) and two individuals (1.06%) had PT20210 G-A mutation, respectively. The ACE gene -300 bp del in homozygous state was present in 92 (48.9%) individuals. The frequency of D allele was 0.718. Our preliminary data revealed that FV1691 G-A mutation is very frequent among Egyptians and it will be meaningfull to study the mutation also in the thrombotic events in Egypt.

One of the major complications following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. In our institution, three methods have been applied routinely for the diagnosis of CMV antigenemia (CMV-Ag): 1. Direct immunofluorescence microscopic (IFM) examination; 2. Flow cytometric (FC) analysis; and 3. Serological investigation. We were able to detect CMV-Ag by FC in 18 out of 75 transplanted cases. In 14 of these, positivity was confirmed by IFM as well. CMV-Ag was detected as positive by FC in samples from peripheral blood (14 cases) and/or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid (4 cases). Eighteen patients had been transplanted [peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT)/bone marrow transplantation (BMT): 16/2]. CMV-Ag was detected in 34% of PBSCTs and 7% of BMTs (p<0.008). Antigenemia was observed at a median of 4.5 months. In most of the patients, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was accompained by CMV-Ag. The ratio of acute GVHD/chronic GVHD was 6/10. Out of 18 CMV-Ag positive patients, 16 also had signs of infection. They were all positive by IFM as well. The two methods of CMV-Ag detection were correlated (r=0.619, p<0.0001). An important finding is the higher frequency of CMV-Ag and GVHD in patients who had received PBSCT.

May-Hegglin anomaly is a hereditary thrombocytopenia associated with giant platelets and large basophilic, cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (resembling Döhle bodies) in the granulocytes. Patients may experience easy bruising, recurrent epistaxis, gingival bleeding, menorrhagia and sometimes excessive bleeding associated with surgical procedures. Failure to appropriately diagnose May-Hegglin anomaly could result in inappropriate treatment. In states of chronic thrombocytopenia associated with large platelets, including chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, May-Hegglin anomaly should be considered in the differential diagnosis. In this case report, we present a five-year-old girl previously followed as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura without bleeding symptoms and a 14-year-old boy who were diagnosed with May-Hegglin anomaly.

t(1;3)(p36;p21) is a recurrent reciprocal translocation found in a subset of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)/acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) characterized by trilineage dysplasia, especially dysmegakaryopoiesis and poor prognosis. In the literature, some authors have suggested that this recurrent translocation is closely associated with prior chemotherapy including alkylating agents in various hematologic malignancies. We identified a recurring translocation, t(1;3)(p36;p21), in our patient with MDS/AML(M2), although she had not been given any kind of treatment previously.