Objectives: The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of dopamine receptor D2 / ankyrin repeat and protein kinase domain containing 1 (DRD2/ANKK1) TaqIA allelic polymorphism in the HPVinduced cervical carcinogenesis. Methods: 1. Effect on the risk of cervical precancer: After an 8year followup, out of 214 women with persisting highrisk HPV infection, 102 developed highgrade cervical dysplasia or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade III, while 112 did not. The subjects were genotyped for the DRD2/ANKK1 TaqIA polymorphism by PCRRFLP, and the allelic distributions were compared between groups with and without highgrade dysplasia. 2. Prognostic value: Two hundred and thirty nine women with cervical precancer/cancer were followed for 5 years. Complete remission was achieved at 182 women. To assess the prognostic value of the TaqIA polymorphism, genotype frequencies were compared between patients reaching and not reaching complete remission. Results: The frequency of A1/A1+A1/A2 genotypes was higher among women who developed highgrade cervical dysplasia (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.053.33; p=0.034) than in the other group. Occurrence of the A1 allele was more frequent among women who did not reach complete remission (OR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.073.74; p=0.030) than in women with complete remission. Conclusions: This is the first report on the possible involvement of DRD2/ANKK1 TaqIA polymorphism in cervical carcinogenesis. The A1 allele seems to increase the risk of cervical precancer, and it may also be associated with a worse prognosis in women with HPVinduced cervical cancer. The results need further validation in largescale molecular epidemiological studies., József Cseh, Zsuzsa Orsós, Emese Pázsit, Erika Marek, András Huszár, István Ember, István Kiss, and Literatura
Aldosterone blocker Spironolactone has antiinflammatory, antiproliferative and antioxidative effects, that is why pathogenetically it is expedient to use it in complex therapy of rheumatoid arthritis. Material and methods: 46 patients with RA took 2550 mg/day of Spironolactone during 12 months as an addition to standard therapy, the comparison group consisted of 47 patients that got only standard therapy, all the patients were fully examined prior and post the treatment. Results: complex RA therapy leads to improved VAS, HAQ, the antioxidative potential index F; decreased blood concentrations of TNFα, ICAM1, FGF and VEGF in contrast to standard therapy. Complex therapy made reduced the DAS 28 more > 0.6. Conclusions: applying of Spironolactone in complex therapy of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to more pronounced improvement in indices of articular syndrome and patients life quality, reduce of antiinflammatory, antiproliferative and angiogenic cytokines, and more effectively reduces the activity of the disease comparing to standard therapy., Elena Komarova, Borys Rebrov, and Literatura
Background: Few data are available on the specific care giving-related problems of stroke patient’s caregivers and factors that influence the burden of these caregivers. Aim: To study the influences of the active rehabilitation process on anxiety, depression, care burden and perceived social support level of stroke patients caregivers. Design: A prospective clinical trial. Setting: Patients and caregivers entering a rehabilitation program at a university hospital in Turkey. Populations: Ninety patients with a first episode of stroke and 90 caregivers responsible for their care were recruited for our study. Methods: Patients and caregivers were assessed before and after the active rehabilitation process. The functional disability level of the patients was assessed by Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS) and the Beck Depression Scale (BDS) were used for anxiety and depression assessment, the Zarit Care Burden Scale (ZCBS) for care burden assessment and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MDSPSS) for perceived social support assessment. Results: A statistically significant rise is observed in the special person sub-assessment of MDSPSS in both female and male caregivers. Also, a significant decrease in care burden, anxiety and depression levels of caregivers was noted after the rehabilitation program (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Caregivers accept the rehabilitation period as important social support in addition to the support provided by family and friends. Also, our positive results were associated with an improvement in the patients’ functional level and an increase in the acquisition of knowledge and skill required of caregivers in order to provide care during rehabilitation. Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: The rehabilitation team should be aware of the fact that the perceived care burden may be greater due to the lack of knowledge concerning available resources and due to the inability to cope with stress effectively. and A. Y. Karahan, S. Kucuksen, H. Yilmaz, A. Salli, T. Gungor, M. Sahin
Still's disease is an inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology. First-line therapy is based on corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) but the frequency of relapses and corticosteroid-induced adverse events are limiting factors. The efficacy of intravenous tocilizumab (TCZ) has been shown at a dose of 8 mg/kg but the corticosteroid-sparing effect of intravenous low-dose TCZ followed by subcutaneous (SC) injection in the course of the disease has been poorly investigated. We report the case of a 28-year old Caucasian woman presenting a relapse of Still's disease eleven months after diagnosis under treatment with 6 mg of methylprednisolone. TCZ at a dose of 4 mg/kg every 2 weeks was combined with 32 mg of methylprednisolone, followed by 162 mg SC every 3 weeks. Evolution was rapidly favourable with a decrease in corticosteroid doses. We reviewed previously published cases. and X. Vandemergel, F. Vandergheynst
The present article describes two unrelated cases of progressive myoclonic epilepsy (PME) of the Lafora's disease and Unverricht-Lundborg types who were treated with topiramate (TPM) as add-on therapy for their myoclonus. After the initiation of topiramate therapy both cases responded with marked decrease in myoclonic seizure frequency and improvement of quality of life. Topiramate appears to be a useful alternative agent in cases of PME and could be consider for adjunctive therapy. and CF. Demir, HH. Ozdemir, B. Müngen
BACKGROUND: A few reports demonstrate the occurrence of egg allergy in adolescent and adult patients suffering from atopic dermatitis and the association of this allergy to other food and aeroallergens. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate the occurrence of egg allergy in patients suffering from atopic dermatitis at the age 14 years and older and to evaluate the relationship between egg allergy or egg sensitisation and the sensitisation to dust, mites, feather, and animal dander. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Complete dermatological and allergological examination was performed. These parameters were examined: food allergy and food sensitisation to egg white and yolk, to mites, animal dander (mixture), feather and dust. The statistical evaluation of the relations among egg allergy, egg sensitisation and sensitisation to mites, animal dander (mixture), feather and dust was performed. Two hundred and eighty eight patients were included in the study (90 men, 198 women, with the average age 25.2). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Egg allergy was recorded in 5% and egg sensitisation in 20% of patients; sensitisation to dust is recorded more often in patients with positive results in sIgE for egg white and/or yolk. and J. Čelakovská, K. Ettlerová, K. Ettler, J. Bukač
Před anesteziologickým výkonem je ve většině zdravotnických zařízení běžnou praxí provádět základní laboratorní vyšetření. Někdy pak (například z důvodu neprovázanosti jednotlivých informačních systémů jednotlivých zdravotnických zařízení) dochází k situaci, že jsou laboratorní vyšetření zbytečně opakována, čímž dochází ke zbytečné zátěži pacienta i k plýtvání finančních prostředků. I při velmi konzervativním odhadu jsme došli k závěru, že při důsledném sdílení dat mezi jednotlivými zdravotnickými zařízeními (například formou rozšíření systému IZIP) by bylo možné v českém zdravotnictví ušetřit nejméně 2,2 miliónu Kč ročně. I když se na první pohled může zdát tato částka jako zanedbatelná, je takovéto zjištění jasným signálem, ve kterém segmentu zdravotnictví je možné pomocí metod eHealth (zavádění výpočetní techniky do zdravotnictví) ušetřit. Při podobném sdílení například obrazových dat by byly získané úspory ještě podstatně vyšší., A routine laboratory check-up before anesthesia is a common procedure in most hospitals in the Czech Republic. However, sometimes the examination is unnecessarily repeated due to an inaccessibility of original results. Even by taking a very conservative approach we have found possible savings of 2.2 million Czech crowns annualy by a rigorous date sharing among health care providers in the Czech Republic. Although this amount might seem insignificant, it shows a strong potentional for additional savings provided by eHeath methods when sharing X-rays, etc., Jan Bruthans, Gleb Kolomeets, Marek Svítek, and Lit.: 8