E-ISSN: 1308-5263
Turkish Journal of Hematology - Turk J Hematol: 23 (4)
Volume: 23  Issue: 4 - 2006
REVIEW
1. Recent advances in diagnosis, prognosis and biology of small B cell lymphomas
Gülşah Kaygusuz, Işınsu Kuzu
Pages 173 - 181
Abstract |Full Text PDF

RESEARCH ARTICLE
2. Effects of sub-acute exposure to magnetic field on blood hematological and biochemical parameters in female rats
Chater Sihem, Abdelmelek Hafedh, Sakly Mohsen, Pequinot Jean Marc, Ben Rhouma Khmais
Pages 182 - 187
The present work was undertaken in order to investigate the effects of magnetic field (MF) on hematopoiesis and fuel metabolites in female rats. At thermoneutrality (25°C), the exposition of rats 1 hour/day for 10 consecutive days to a MF of 128 mT (m Tesla) induced an increase in hematocrit and hemoglobin compared to controls. Exposure to MF also induced an increase in blood glucose levels but had no effect on triglyceride concentrations. Moreover, serum alanine aminotransferase activity remained unchanged in treated rats, while aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase activities increased by about 22% and 33%, respectively, following MF exposure. It was concluded that sub-acute exposure to MF induced elevations in hematocrit, hemoglobin, plasma fuel metabolites and tissue enzymes release within the blood. Key words: Magnetic field, hematology, glucose, triglycerides, plasma enzymes, rat.

3. Retrospective analysis of results of short-term low dose interferon-α-2b combined with PUVA in the treatment of early stage mycosis fungoides
Fahri Şahin, Işıl Kılınç Karaarslan, Nur Akad Soyer, Filiz Vural, Serkan Ocakcı, Günseli Öztürk, Kezban Pınar Özen, Güray Saydam
Pages 188 - 192
Early-stage mycosis fungoides (MF) can be treated with different regimens such as oral photo-chemotherapy (Psoralen and UVA-PUVA). There have been some studies showing the effectiveness of combination of interferon (IFN) with PUVA. In this study, we aimed to evaluate retrospectively the patients with early-stage MF treated with IFN + PUVA. Six patients with the diagnosis of early stage (Ia-IIa) MF between June 2003 and May 2005 were enrolled in this study. IFN combined with PUVA was started and followed by IFN maintenance in complete response (CR) patients. Patients achieving CR were followed up at monthly intervals until relapse. Interferon-α-2b was administered at a dose of 3 MU 3 times a week and PUVA was applied 3 times a week. There were 4 female and 2 male patients, aged 32-75 years (mean 54.3 years). Four patients were at stage Ia, one patient at Ib and one patient at stage IIa according to TNM staging. Four of 6 patients (66%) achieved CR and 2 of 6 (33%) achieved partial response (PR). No grade 3-4 side effects due to IFN were detected, and no progression was observed during the treatment. All patients have been under treatment as planned. Low dose of IFN-α-2b plus PUVA was found to be successful in achieving excellent clinical responses in patients with early-stage MF. This treatment modality was very well tolerated.

4. Results of treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome with etoposide, thioguanine, cytarabine (ETC) in elderly patients
Ahmet Öztürk, Alev Akyol Erikci, Özkan Sayan
Pages 193 - 196
Treatment in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) remains controversial, and results have been poor with most regimens. In order to study the efficacy of a new regimen in the treatment of these diseases in elderly patients assessed as not tolerating full-scale anthracycline-containing intensive chemotherapy, 14 patients over 60 years were enrolled in our study. The median age was 69 years, range 60-85 years. Eight patients had MDS (one transformed to AML) and six had AML. Anthracycline-lacking therapy (ETC) consisted of etoposide 120 mg/m² and thioguanine 100 mg/m² p.o. twice daily on days 1-5 and cytarabine (araC) 40 mg/m² s.c. on day 1. The preliminary results were as follows: 7 of the 14 patients (50%) achieved complete remission. The median survival was 10 months. Days spent at hospital were 28. Neutropenia was observed for 11 days and thrombocytopenia for 15 days. No severe infection was detected. Early death was observed in 2 (14%) of the patients. In conclusion, this novel treatment with a complete response of 50% appears to be a simple, safe, cost-effective form of therapy for elderly patients.

5. Prothrombin G20210A and A19911G mutations in Turkish pediatric stroke patients
Züleyha Yıldız, Gülhis Deda, Nejat Akar
Pages 197 - 199
Effects of PT A19911G polymorphism in Turkish pediatric stroke patients were investigated. The case-control study included 107 patients with cerebral infarct and 83 healthy unrelated controls. Distribution of PT A19911G and data on the combined effect of PT 19911G and PT 20210A alleles do not indicate that they constitute a risk in this group of patients.

6. Hepatitis B&C virus infection in cases of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Saudi Arabia
Syed Riaz Mehdi, Abdul Rahman Al Ajlan
Pages 200 - 204
We followed 565 male patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in two hospitals of Saudi Arabia. We investigated these cases for presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) by determining the HBsAg and anti-HCV. Anti-HCV positive cases were confirmed by PCR. The NHL cases were classified on the basis of working formulation. The results of HBV and HCV in cases of NHL were compared with the prevalence of these viruses in healthy male blood donors. We found 11.2% of cases of NHL were positive for HBV and 16.1% for HCV, compared to 3.4% HBV and 2.9% HCV among blood donors. The highest numbers of cases (48.4% of HBV and 56% of HCV) were seen in the intermediate and low grade of NHL, respectively. Follicular small cleaved was the predominant type in both types of infection. The variation in prevalence of HBV and HCV in NHL from that of the general population was statistically significant (p<0.001). We observed that the background prevalence of HBV definitely affects the rate of infection in NHL, while infection of HCV in cases of NHL is independent of its background prevalence.

CASE REPORT
7. Complete heart block in a neutropenic patient with invasive aspergillosis
Işık Kaygusuz, Zekaver Odabaşı, Cafer Adıgüzel, Figen Noyan, Elif Birtaş, Volkan Korten, Tülin Fıratlı Tuğlular, Mustafa Çetiner, Mahmut Bayık
Pages 205 - 208
A patient with leukemia who developed complete heart block after the diagnosis of pulmonary aspergillosis is reported. The patient had probable invasive pulmonary aspergillosis with a sudden tachypnea, dyspnea, fever, bilateral pulmonary infiltrates and acute respiratory insufficiency after chemotherapy. On the sixth day of antifungal therapy, she developed complete atrioventricular block. Complete heart block has not been reported during liposomal amphotericin B (LAMB) therapy. Local or hematogenous involvement of the myocardium with aspergillosis may be the most likely explanation of the complete heart block.

8. Simultaneous occurrence of multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia
Suresh Attili, K. C. Lakshmiah, M. Madhumati, Kamal S. Saini, G. Anupama, Monika Lamba Saini, T. P. Sahoo
Pages 209 - 211
Multiple myeloma and acute leukemia may sometimes occur in the same patient, usually in patients with myeloma who receive chemotherapy and subsequently develop acute leukemia. However, simultaneous occurrence of myeloma and acute leukemia on presentation is rare, with only a handful of such cases reported in the literature.

IMAGES IN HEMATOLOGY
9. Images in hematology
Naciye Demirel Yıldırım, Nilüfer Alpay, Reyhan Diz Küçükkaya, Öner Doğan
Pages 212 - 213
Abstract |Full Text PDF

LETTER TO EDITOR
10. Hemoglobinopathies in Turkey
Yurdanur Kılınç
Pages 214 - 216
Abstract |Full Text PDF