1.A Comparison of Ultrasonography, Computerised Tomography, and Conventional MRI Findings for Splenic Nodules Associated with Type 1 Gaucher s Disease with Diffusion-Weighted MRI Findings
Eda Albayrak ; Fitnet Sonmezgoz ; Zafer Ozmen ; Fatma Aktas ; Aysegul Altunkas
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 2017;24(5):112-118
A 26-year-old female patient with Type 1 Gaucher’s disease (GD) was admitted to
our clinic with complaints of stomachache and signs of anemia. The patient underwent
ultrasonography (US), computerised tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
scan. Imaging studies revealed massive hepatosplenomegaly, choledocolithiasis, and six nodules
in the spleen with a mean size of 14 mm. The nodules appeared hyperechoic, hypoechoic, and
of mixed echogenicity on the US and hypodense on the CT. While the nodules were observed to
be iso-hypointense in T1-weighted (T1WI) images, they appeared to be hyperintense in the T2-
weighted (T2WI) images. There were no diffusion restrictions in these nodules that appeared on
the diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI). A nodule located at the lower pole
was observed to be hypointense in the T2WI images. The nodule located at the lower pole, which
appeared hypointense in T2WI series, had restricted diffusion upon DWI.
In this study, we aimed to present the properties of splenic GD nodules using US,
CT, and conventional MRI, together with DWI. This case report is the first to apply US, CT, and
conventional MRI, together with DWI, to the splenic nodules associated with Gaucher’s disease.
2.Effects of the Prenatal Administration of Tetanus Toxoid on the Sociability and Explorative Behaviors of Rat Offspring: A Preliminary Study
Eda SÜNNETÇI ; Ferit DURANKUŞ ; Yakup ALBAYRAK ; Mümin Alper ERDOĞAN ; Özüm ATASOY ; Oytun ERBAŞ
Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience 2021;19(1):84-92
Objective:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severely disabling psychiatric disease characterized by impairments in communication and social skills. Although efforts have been made to explore the etiology of ASD, its pathophysiology remains unclear. This issue is rendered more challenging by confounding data about the effects of vaccination on disease etiology. In this study, therefore, we investigated the neurodevelopmental effects of maternal tetanus toxoid administration on rat offspring. We hypothesized that the vaccine affects the sociability and preference for social novelty of rat offspring as well as the production of immunological and neurotrophic factors, including tumor necrosis factor-alfa (TNF-α), neuregulin-1 (NRG-1), neuron growth factor (NGF), and oxytocin.
Methods:
The study involved 12 female and 4 male adult Sprague−Dawley rats (238 ± 10 g), which were assigned to two groups. Group 1 (control group) was given 0.5 ml of normal saline (0.9% NaCl) on the 10th day of pregnancy, whereas Group 2 (experimental group) was administered 0.5 ml of tetanus vaccine (tetanus toxoid, 40 IU).
Results:
Maternal tetanus toxoid administration exerted beneficial effects on the sociability and explorative behaviors of the rats. The brain tissue levels of TNF-α, NGF, NRG-1, and oxytocin were higher in the experimental group than those among the controls. All these significant differences were found in both the male and female rats.
Conclusion
This study is the first to demonstrate the advantages of tetanus toxoid administration in relation to the sociability and explorative behaviors of rat offspring. The results showed that the vaccine also influences NRG-1, neuregulin, and oxytocin production.