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Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the influential factors of cognitive function in older adults. Methods: In this study, 377 older adults (mean age: 74.71 ± 6.15 years) were examined. The Hodkinson Abbreviated Mental Test (HAMT) was used to describe cognitive function of the individuals. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL-4) survey tool was used to measure the quality of life. Possible influential factors of cognitive function were also detected. The following independent variables were included in the logistic regression analysis: age, gender, education level, residency, smoking habit, musculoskeletal pain, medication use, number of unhealthy mental days, number of unhealthy physical days, and activity limitation days. Results: The results indicated that the elderly with cognitive impairment showed low scores in terms of the three parameters of the CDC HRQOL-4. The findings also indicate that the following variables were found to significantly affect cognitive function: (1) age, (2) residency (rest home), (3) smoking (yes or quit), and (4) number of unhealthy mental days. Conclusion: Older adults should be assessed in terms of factors related to cognition, such as age, residency, smoking, and mood in order to plan the most suitable geriatric care.

This study aimed to investigate alterations in hemorheology induced by L-carnosine, an anti- oxidant dipeptide, and to determine their relationship to oxidative stress in density-separated erythrocytes of aged and young rats. 28 male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups as aged (Aca), young (Yca) L-carnosine groups (250 mg/kg L-carnosine, i.p.) and aged (As), young (Ys) control groups (saline, i.p.). Density separation was further performed to these groups in order to separate erythrocytes according to their age. Blood samples were used for the determination of erythrocyte deformability, aggregation; and oxidative stress parameters. Erythrocyte deformability of Yca group measured at 0.53 Pa was lower than Aca group. Similarly, deformability of least-dense (young) erythrocytes of Yca group was decreased compared to least-dense erythrocytes of Aca groups. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of Aca group was higher and oxidative stress index (OSI) lower than As group. Although L-carnosine resulted in an enhancement in TAC of aged rats, this favorable effect was not observed in erythrocyte deformability and aggregation in the dose applied in this study.

Background. Gastrointestinal motility and serum thyroid hormone levels are closely related. Our aim was to analyze whether there is a disorder in esophagogastric motor functions as a result of hypothyroidism. Materials and Methods. The study group included 30 females (mean age ± SE 45.17 ± 2.07 years) with primary hypothyroidism and 10 healthy females (mean age ± SE 39.40 ± 3.95 years). All cases underwent esophagogastric endoscopy and scintigraphy. For esophageal scintigraphy, dynamic imaging of esophagus motility protocol, and for gastric emptying scintigraphy, anterior static gastric images were acquired. Results. The mean esophageal transit time (52.56 ± 4.07 sec for patients; 24.30 ± 5.88 sec for controls; P=.02) and gastric emptying time (49.06 ± 4.29 min for the hypothyroid group; 30.4 ± 4.74 min for the control group; P=.01) were markedly increased in cases of hypothyroidism. Conclusion. Hypothyroidism prominently reduces esophageal and gastric motor activity and can cause gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Objective: Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a disease characterized by recurrent complete (apnea) or partial (hypopnea) upper respiratory tract obstructions episodes during sleep and often a decrease in blood oxygen saturation. Night hypoxias and sympathetic activity increase of arousals in OSAS are thought to stimulate that endothelial dysfunction and hypercoagulability. Materials and Methods: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the relationship between the severity of the disease and the night hypoxia severity with hemogram parameters in patients diagnosed with OSAS who examined in our clinics. A total of 94 cases were included in the study, including 24 controls, 24 mild, 23 moderate, and 23 severe OSAS. Results: The mean and minimum oxygen saturation values in polisomnography with the number of neutrophils and neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratio were negatively correlated in the mild and severe OSAS groups. A negative correlation was observed between erythrocyte distribution width (EDW) and, mean oxygen saturation and minimum oxygen saturation in moderate and severe OSAS. When the mean and minimum oxygen saturation with regression analysis of EDW and N/L ratio were examined in each three groups; the 1 unit decrease in the minimum oxygen saturation increases the N/L ratio by 0.5-fold (p=0.02) in the mild OSAS, 0.5-fold (p=0.01) in the severe OSAS and it increases the EDW by ratio 0.5-fold (p=0.02) in the moderate OSAS. The 1 unit decrease in the mean oxygen saturation increases the N/L ratio by 0.4-fold (p=0.04) and the EDW by 0.8-fold (p=0.001) in the severe OSAS. Conclusion: As long as the OSAS severity increases, it is determined that the hematocrit values of patients increasing. However, as patients’ sleep desaturation increase, we can see that EDW, the number of neutrophils, and N/L ratio also increasing. This situation suggests that the local inflammation caused by both mechanical stress and ischemia-reperfusion cycles in the respiratory tract in OSAS is a consequence of spillage into the systemic circulation.