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Methotrexate (MTX) has been in use for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, and cancer since 1948. Its toxic side effects on tissues and organs have been well documented but splenotoxicity has not been addressed. This study set out to investigate this issue by examining the effectiveness of anti-TNFα agents against MTX-induced toxicity in T lymphocytes and macrophages via the regulation of CD3, CD68, and CD200R. Twenty-four Sprague Dawley rats were allocated to three groups: control (received saline solution only), MTX (20   mg/kg of single-dose of MTX), and Ada + MTX (single dose of 10   mg/kg Adalimumab before MTX administration). The spleens were removed 5   days after MTX administration. The number of CD3+/mm3cells for the control, MTX and Ada + MTX groups were, respectively, 2.69   ±   0.86, 20.51   ±   2.7, ( p   =   0.000) and 11.07   ±   2.01 ( p   =   0.000). The number of CD68+ macrophages/mm3 in the control, MTX and Ada + MTX groups were, respectively, 8.62   ±   1.08, 38.19   ±   1.37 ( p   =   0.000), and 16.87   ±   12.57 ( p   =   0.000). The number of macrophages that were CD200R+/mm3 in the control, MTX, and Ada + MTX groups were 3.33   ±   1.66, 25.77   ±   2.37 ( p   =   0.000), and 8.68   ±   2.66 ( p   =   0.000), respectively. We also observed that Ada reduced the numerical densities of these cells following MTX administration ( p   <   0.05). Ada may, therefore, be a promising candidate for the prevention of the deleterious effects on T lymphocytes and macrophages of MTX-induced toxicity.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the changes on the Purkinje cells in the cerebella of male rat pups born to pregnant dams that were exposed to an electromagnetic field in the prenatal period., Methods: The first stage of the study involved 12 Sprague-Dawley rats, 6 male and 6 female, weighing between 180 and 250 g. The female rats in the experimental group were exposed to a 900-MHz electromagnetic field for 1 h at the same time every day, and no procedure was performed on the control group. Following pregnancy, six male pups from each group were divided into experimental and control groups without any procedure on the pups. After 2 months, they were sacrificed and their cerebella were removed. Histopathologically, following routine processing and fixation procedures, the cerebella were embedded in the tissue blocks. The sections taken from these blocks were stained with cresyl violet. The Purkinje cells in the cerebella were then counted on sections using the optical dissector method on an image analysis system., Results: The estimation of number of the Purkinje cells in the groups revealed more cells in rats in the control group than in the experimental group. Histopathologically, Purkinje cells exhibited a normal morphological structure in the control group, while the cells in the experimental group showed damage., Conclusions: It might be asserted that the exposure of mothers to an electromagnetic field in the prenatal period may affect the development of Purkinje cells in the pup cerebella.

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the factors and rates of secondary bacterial infections developed in patients after the diagnosis of COVID-19 and antimicrobial susceptibility to guide the empirical treatment and contribute to epidemiological data. Materials and Methods In our study, 1,055 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, hospitalized at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Rize, between the dates March 24, 2020 and December 31, 2020, were recruited. The diagnoses of all patients were confirmed by positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. In addition, the blood and respiratory tract cultures of the patients recruited in the study were analyzed retrospectively. Results Ninety-two (8.7%) patients were found to have microbiologically proven respiratory or circulatory tract infections via microbial culture results. Respiratory tract infections were detected as monomicrobial in 44 patients and as polymicrobial in 17 patients, among a total of 61 patients. In addition, 59 (64.1%) patients were male patients, and 33 (35.9%) were female patients. Among the microorganisms grown in blood cultures,  coagulase - negative staphylococci  with a percentage of 31% and  Acinetobacter baumannii  with a percentage of 27.5% were prominent. In respiratory tract cultures, A. baumannii constitutes the majority with a percentage of 33.3%, followed by  Staphylococcus aureus  and  Klebsiella pneumoniae  with a percentage of 9.5% each. The most resistant bacteria were  A. baumannii , resistant to all antibiotics other than colistin. Conclusion Secondary bacterial infection rates in patients with COVID-19 are lower than influenza pandemic. However, the frequency of empirical antibiotics use seems relatively high., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Bahceci et al.)