Ateş, İrem; Laloglu, Esra; Küçün, Neslihan; Ozmen, Sevilay; Yıldırım, Serkan; Pür, Basri; Köse, Duygu; Civelek, Maide Sena; Kahramanlar, Agah; Işık, Bahar

Background Peripheral nerve injuries are particularly important in terms of their frequency and complications. The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of pregabalin and methylprednisolone administered at different doses and in combination in an axonotmesis model and to establish whether pregabalin can represent an alternative to methylprednisolone. Methods Fifty-six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to control, sham (axonotmesis only), axonotmesis + pregabalin 30 mg/kg (low dose), axonotmesis + pregabalin 60 mg/kg (high dose), axsonotmezis + 1 mg/kg methylprednisolone, axonotmesis + pregabalin 30 mg/kg + 1 mg/kg methylprednisolone (low-dose combination), and axonotmesis + pregabalin 60 mg/kg + 1 mg/kg methylprednisolone (high-dose combination) groups. Following axonotmesis, the treatment groups received oral treatment once daily for one week. Sciatic functional index, electromyography, biochemical (NGF, TGF-β, CNTF, MBP), immunohistochemical, histomorphological and immunofluorescence analyses were performed to assess the neuroprotective effects of the treatments. Results Immunohistochemical, electrophysiological, and biochemical analyses demonstrated that the separate or combined use of pregabalin and methylprednisolone may have positive effects on nerve regeneration. Conclusion Low-dose pregabalin and methylprednisolone alone exhibited similar effects on peripheral nerve regeneration and functional healing. Pregabalin may represent an alternative to steroids due to its fewer side effects. Although direct pain behavior assessment was not performed in this study, the effect of pregabalin on neuropathic pain may be additionally beneficial in combined use. These results demonstrate that pregabalin offers comparable neuroregenerative effects to methylprednisolone, with combination therapy proving superior. This positions pregabalin as a promising steroid-sparing agent for peripheral nerve injury, warranting further clinical investigation.

Bakirci, Eftal Murat; Demirtas, Levent; Degirmenci, Husnu; Topcu, Selim; Demirelli, Selami; Hamur, Hikmet; Buyuklu, Mutlu; Akbas, Emin Murat; Ozcicek, Adalet; Ozcicek, Fatih

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to evaluate the total atrial conduction time and its relationship to subclinical atherosclerosis, inflammation and echocardiographic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A total of 132 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean age 54.5¡9.6 years; 57.6% male) and 80 age-and gender-matched controls were evaluated. The total atrial conduction time was measured by tissue-Doppler imaging and the carotid intima-media thickness was measured by B-mode ultrasonography. RESULTS: The total atrial conduction time was significantly longer in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus than in the control group (131.7¡23.6 vs. 113.1¡21.3, p,0.001). The patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus had significantly increased carotid intima-media thicknesses, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios and high-sensitivity Creactive protein levels than those of the controls. The total atrial conduction time was positively correlated with the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, carotid intima-media thickness and left atrial volume index and negatively correlated with the early diastolic velocity (Em), Em/late diastolic velocity (Am) ratio and global peak left atrial longitudinal strain. A multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, carotid intima-media thickness and global peak left atrial longitudinal strain were independent predictors of the total atrial conduction time. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that subclinical atherosclerosis and inflammation may represent a mechanism related to prolonged total atrial conduction time and that prolonged total atrial conduction time and impaired left atrial myocardial deformation may be represent early subclinical cardiac involvement in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.