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Objective: St. John's wort (SJW) oil (Hypericum perforatum) has been used for its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Several studies have shown the efficacy of SJW on wound healing. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of SJW using a combination of biochemical, histopathological and laser Doppler evaluations. Materials and Methods: Sixteen young Wistar albino rats were used as case and control groups (having 8 in each group). After anesthesia protocol, 6 mm punch biopsy was taken from six separate sites on the rats' dorsal skin. Three wounds were stitched (closed wounds); three wounds were left as they were (open wounds). SJW oil was administered topically to case group once a day for 14 days. Controls did not receive any treatment. Results: There was no statistical difference in blood perfusion between the groups. No statistical difference was present between the groups in GPx (glutathione peroxidase)values. Rat MDA (malonyldialdehyde) values were higher in the case group compared to the control group. SJW oil was found to be beneficial and effective within some histological parameters. Conclusion: SJW may be an effective salve within some parameters. Nevertheless, this judgment is uncertain due to the low sample size. We encourage further studies on this promising natural medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Psoriasis is a chronic disease and requires follow-up settings to manage. The aim of the study is to evaluate the clinical characteristics, disease course, the factors associated with the psoriasis area severity score index (PASI), comorbidities, and treatment of psoriasis in our follow-up psoriasis outpatient clinic. Methods: Clinical data from patients who were followed in the University of Health Sciences Turkey, Haseki Training and Research Hospital psoriasis outpatient clinic between January 2015 and March 2021 were examined. The relationships between age, age of the disease onset, gender, joint involvement, and nail involvement were analyzed. Results: In total, 618 patients were included in our study (320 males and 298 females). The median age of the patients was 42 (1- 87) years. Family history was present in 25.9% of the patients. The most common clinical type was plaque psoriasis (80.2%). The median value of the PASI was 8.1. The disease course of the patients was progressive (46.4%), remission and exacerbations (37%), and regressive (16.7%). Nail involvement and joint involvement were observed in 58.1% and 24.2% of the patients, respectively. A significant correlation was found between PASI and joint involvement (p=0.009). Onycholysis (a type of nail involvement) was a positive predictive indicator for joint involvement (p=0.004). Comorbidity was present in 34.5% of the patients. Obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia were the most common comorbidities. While 19.9% of the patients received only topical treatment, 80.1% underwent systemic treatment. Conclusions: The socio-demographic and enriched clinical data of psoriasis highlight the features that should be considered, especially in follow-up outpatient clinics. Patients showing an early onset of the disease should be investigated for severe involvement, such as the presence of onycholysis in the nail or evidence of joint involvement. The follow-up and treatment of patients with psoriasis are important in terms of comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageing of kidneys is a clinical health issue of the society. Age-related renal insufficiency has important implications due to impaired redox homeostasis. We examined protein, DNA and lipid oxidation biomarkers as well as protein-bound sialic acid (SA) in the kidney tissues of D-galactose induced ageing rats, naturally aged rats and their corresponding young control group. Intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose (60 mg/kg/day) for 6 weeks to young male Sprague-Dawley rats (20-week-old) was used to establish mimetic ageing model. In this study, we investigated the levels of protein carbonyl groups (PCO), various thiol fractions such as total thiol groups (T-SH), protein (P-SH) and non-protein thiol groups (NP-SH), lipid oxidation parameters such as lipid hydroperoxides (LHP) and malondialdehyde (MDA), SA and 8-hydroxy-2'deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) parameters for comparison of naturally aged, induced aged and young rats. In D-galactose induced aged group, PCO, LHP, MDA, and 8-OHdG concentrations were significantly higher than young control group, whereas T-SH, P-SH levels were significantly lower than the young rats. In addition, NP-SH and SA concentrations were similar between the mimetic ageing and young control groups. In naturally ageing rats, PCO and MDA levels were significantly higher, whereas T-SH, P-SH, NP-SH concentrations were low compared to young controls. On the other hand, SA and 8-OHdG levels were not different between the naturally ageing group and the young control group. Our results demonstrated that the rats in the mimetic ageing group, have significant similarities with the naturally aged rats in terms of impaired redox homeostasis and can be used as a reliable animal model for renal ageing.