12 research outputs found
Thermography hand temperature distribution in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
Background and Purpose: Earliest written medical text from ancient
Egypt mentioned temperature as an indicator of a disease. Although already known, thermal imaging has not been routinely used in medicine. Inflammation of peripheral joints, close to skin surface, is the dominant type of presentation of rheumatoid arthritis and due to that, those joints are suitable for infrared thermal scanning. Considering the changes of the bones in the affected joints, as a control group, apart from healthy subjects, study was conducted on patients with osteoarthritis as well. Purpose of this paper was to investigate thermal images of the hands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and analyze temperature distribution.
Materials and Methods: Thermographic images of both hands of healthy subjects, patients with rheumatoid arthritis and patients with osteoarthritis were made. On thermal images obtained, temperature distribution of certain regionswas analyzed. Basic statistical analyses (minimum,maximum, standard deviation, mean, and variance) were performed.
Results: There is a statistically significant difference in finger andmetacarpophalangeal joint mean temperature values on ventral and dorsal sides for both healthy patients and patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Also, there is a statistically significant difference of mean temperature values between the aforementioned patient groups. Temperature distribution
curves of patients with osteoarthritis have been narrower than those
of subjects with rheumatoid arthritis and normal subjects. Temperature distribution curves of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have been shifted towards higher temperatures than those of subjects with osteoartritis and normal subjects.
Conclusion: From the results obtained it was concluded that heat distribution over the skin surface apart from depending on the affected joint and on the intensity of the disease and given drug therapy also differs between the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, making the use of thermography a possible method of differentiating normal subjects and rheumatoid arthritis subjects and osteoarthritis subjects from each other
RazliÄiti uÄinci samih hlapljivih anestetika ili u kombinaciji s gama-zraÄenjem od 1 i 2 Gy in vivo na DNA miÅ”je jetre: preliminarno istraživanje
As the number of radiotherapy and radiology diagnostic procedures increases from year to year, so does the use of general volatile anaesthesia (VA). Although considered safe, VA exposure can cause different adverse effects and, in combination with ionising radiation (IR), can also cause synergistic effects. However, little is known about DNA damage incurred by this combination at doses applied in a single radiotherapy treatment. To learn more about it, we assessed DNA damage and repair response in the liver tissue of Swiss albino male mice following exposure to isoflurane (I), sevoflurane (S), or halothane (H) alone or in combination with 1 or 2 Gy irradiation using the comet assay. Samples were taken immediately (0 h) and 2, 6, and 24 h after exposure. Compared to control, the highest DNA damage was found in mice receiving halothane alone or in combination with 1 or 2 Gy IR treatments. Sevoflurane and isoflurane displayed protective effects against 1 Gy IR, while with 2 Gy IR the first adverse effects appeared at 24 h post-exposure. Although VA effects depend on liver metabolism, the detection of unrepaired DNA damage 24 h after combined exposure with 2 Gy IR indicates that we need to look further into the combined effects of VA and IR on genome stability and include a longer time frame than 24 h for single exposure as well as repeated exposure as a more realistic scenario in radiotherapy treatment.Kako se broj radioterapijskih i radioloÅ”kih dijagnostiÄkih postupaka iz godine u godinu poveÄava, tako raste i primjena hlapljivih anestetika za opÄu anesteziju. Iako se smatralo sigurnim, izlaganje hlapljivim anesteticima može izazvati razliÄite Å”tetne uÄinke, a u kombinaciji s ionizirajuÄim zraÄenjem može izazvati i sinergijske uÄinke. MeÄutim, malo se zna o oÅ”teÄenju DNA koje uzrokuje ova kombinacija u dozama primijenjenima u jednom izlaganju u radioterapiji. Kako bismo saznali viÅ”e o tome, alkalnim komet-testom analizirali smo oÅ”teÄenje DNA i odgovor na popravak u jetrenom tkivu muÅ”kih Swiss albino miÅ”eva nakon izlaganja samo izofluranu, sevofluranu ili halotanu, odnosno u kombinaciji sa zraÄenjem od 1 ili 2 Gy. Uzorci su uzeti odmah (0 h) te 2, 6 i 24 sata nakon izlaganja. U usporedbi s kontrolom, najveÄa oÅ”teÄenja DNA utvrÄena su u miÅ”eva koji su primili halotan, sam ili u kombinaciji sa zraÄenjem od 1 ili 2 Gy. Sevofluran i izofluran pokazali su zaÅ”titne uÄinke nakon izlaganja zraÄenju od 1 Gy, a pri 2 Gy prve nuspojave pojavile su se 24 sata nakon izlaganja. Iako uÄinci hlapljivih anestetika ovise o metabolizmu jetre, otkrivanje nepopravljenog oÅ”teÄenja DNA 24 sata nakon kombinirane izloženosti sa zraÄenjem od 2 Gy upuÄuje na to da trebamo nastaviti istraživati kombinirane uÄinke hlapljivih anestetika i ionizirajuÄega zraÄenja na stabilnost genoma i obuhvatiti Å”ire razdoblje nakon jednokratne izloženosti (duže od 24 sata). TakoÄer treba obuhvatiti viÅ”ekratna izlaganja kao realistiÄniji scenarij u lijeÄenju radioterapijom
Simplified description and interpretation of pathological thermography signs in malignant breast lesions
Background and Purpose: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death
among women aged 20ā59 years in developed countries, with similar mortality trends, observed among women in Croatia. Breast cancer detection usually relies on mammography, ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), however, thermography is a noninvasive, reliable and applicable diagnostic procedure for early detection of breast disease that has attracted interest in this field. The aim of this study was to establish the frequency and characteristics of pathological thermographic signs in female
patients, who were operated on malignant breast lesions. In addition, the authors offered a simplified description and interpretation of pathological thermographic signs, based on published literature.
Matherial and Methods: The seventy four female patients with histopathologically confirmed breast cancer were included in the study. In all patients breast cancer was diagnosed using standard protocol which have included clinical examination, mammography, ultrasound and for selected patients MRI and/or fine needle aspiration (FNA). Thermographic imaging has been conducted 1 to 14 days before scheduled surgical procedures.
Results: Mean tumor size positively correlated with number of pathological thermographic signs (IR 3 vs. IR 5, p < 0.05). Mean number of pathological thermographic signs per patient was 3.5Ā±1, 72 (range 1 to 8). The most frequently noted singular signs were heat in area of finding and vascular signs, as well.
Conclusion: The simplified description could offer a suitable clinical
tool for standardization of pathological thermography signs in malignant breast lesions, taking into account the learning curve of medical teams involved and ethical aspects, as well
OÅ”teÄenje DNA stanica bubrega in vivo prouzroÄeno kombiniranim izlaganjem hlapljivim anesteticima i radioterapijskim dozama od 1 Gy ili 2 Gy
Patient immobilisation with volatile anaesthetics (VA) during radiotherapy is sometimes unavoidable. Although it is known that both Vas and ionising radiation can have nephrotoxic effects, there are no studies of their combined effects on DNA damage. The aim of this in vivo study was to address this gap by investigating whether 48 groups of healthy Swiss albino mice (totalling 240) would differ in kidney cell DNA damage response (alkaline comet assay) to isoflurane, sevoflurane, or halothane anaesthesia and exposure to 1 Gy or 2 Gy of ionising radiation. We took kidney cortex samples after 0, 2, 6, and 24 h of exposure and measured comet parameters: tail length and tail intensity. To quantify the efficiency of the cells to repair and re-join DNA strand breaks, we also calculated cellular DNA repair index. Exposure to either VA alone increased DNA damage, which was similar between sevoflurane and isoflurane, and the highest with halothane. In combined exposure (VA and irradiation with 1 Gy) DNA damage remained at similar levels for all time points or was even lower than damage caused by radiation alone. Halothane again demonstrated the highest damage. In combined exposure with irradiation of 2 Gy sevoflurane significantly elevated tail intensity over the first three time points, which decreased and was even lower on hour 24 than in samples exposed to the corresponding radiation dose alone. This study confirmed that volatile anaesthetics are capable of damaging DNA, while combined VA and 1 Gy or 2 Gy treatment did not have a synergistic damaging effect on DNA. Further studies on the mechanisms of action are needed to determine the extent of damage in kidney cells after longer periods of observation and how efficiently the cells can recover from exposure to single and multiple doses of volatile anaesthetics and radiotherapy.Imobilizacija bolesnika hlapljivim anesteticima (HA) tijekom radioterapije ponekad je neizbježna. Iako je poznato da i HA i ionizirajuÄe zraÄenje mogu imati nefrotoksiÄne uÄinke, ne postoje istraživanja o njihovu kombiniranom uÄinku na oÅ”teÄenje DNA bubrežnih stanica. Cilj ovog istraživanja in vivo na miÅ”evima soja Swiss albino bio je utvrditi oÅ”teÄenje DNA stanica bubrega (alkalni komet-test) nakon anestezije izofluranom, sevofluranom ili halotanom i izlaganja ionizirajuÄem zraÄenju u dozama od 1 Gy ili 2 Gy. Uzorke bubrežnoga korteksa uzeli smo nakon 0, 2, 6 i 24 sata od izlaganja i izmjerili parametre komet-testa: duljinu repa i njegov intenzitet. Kako bismo kvantificirali uÄinkovitost staniÄnoga popravka, izraÄunali smo indeks popravka staniÄne DNA. Izloženost bilo kojem od testiranih anestetika poveÄalo je oÅ”teÄenje DNA u odnosu na kontrolu, sliÄno kod sevoflurana i izoflurana, a najveÄe kod halotana. U kombiniranom izlaganju HA-u i zraÄenju od 1 Gy, oÅ”teÄenje DNA ostalo je na sliÄnim razinama u svim vremenskim toÄkama, ili je bilo Äak niže od oÅ”teÄenja prouzroÄenih samim zraÄenjem. Halotan je ponovno izazvao najveÄa oÅ”teÄenja. U kombiniranom izlaganju sa zraÄenjem od 2 Gy sevofluran je znaÄajno poveÄao intenzitet repa tijekom prvih triju vremenskih toÄaka, koji se smanjivao te je nakon 24 sata Äak bio niži nego u uzorcima koji su bili izloženi samo zraÄenju. Potrebna su daljnja istraživanja mehanizma djelovanja kako bi se utvrdilo u kojoj mjeri oÅ”teÄenja ostaju u bubrežnim stanicama nakon duljeg razdoblja, kao i koliko se uÄinkovito stanice mogu oporaviti nakon jednokratnog ili viÅ”ekratnog izlaganja HA-u i zraÄenju
Reforma zdravstvenog sustava
NajveÄi problem u provoÄenju reforme zdravstvenog sustava je stanje opÄe rezignacije ( kako puÄanstva tako i profesionalaca ) tako da potrebu za reformom ne istiÄe niti jedna interesna skupina, pa je prvi zadatak naÅ”e male skupine da nametnemo temu. Kako da u zemlji u kojoj je "ŽUJA ZAKON" , "DINAMO JE SVETINJA, OSTALO JE SRANJE" uspijemo istaknuti problem zdravlja, kao polaznu osnovu uspjeÅ”nog sveopÄeg oporavka
Thermography in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer: evidence and review of the method
Background and Purpose: There is a need for a simple, noninvasive and reproducible test that could accurately reflect the inflammatory activity and neoplastic lesions, and that could be used safely and repeatedly during the biological course of inflammatory and neoplastic bowel disease. During past few decades, the joint efforts of professionals have resulted in evolution of technological advances in infrared sensor technology, thus developing the new methods that enabled the use of thermal imaging in biomedical research
and clinical medicine. The aim of this viewpoint was to present, and
comment on,the possibility of thermal imaging in assessing inflammatory disease activity and the existence of neoplastic bowel lesions.
Materials and Methods: The authors presented thermal images of several patients (n=6: five patients with inflammatory bowel disease and one female patient with colorectal cancer), and one female healthy individual, describing the tem erature patterns and commenting on the possible thermographic signs of underlying disease.
Results: Inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer show a clear change in the thermal pattern of the abdominal surface and a different pattern of histogram temperature distribution.
Conclusion: This review has indicated the potential of infrared thermography as a feasible and noninvasivemethod in additional evaluation of patients with various manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease and also of colon cancer
Different damaging effects of volatile anaesthetics alone or in combination with 1 and 2 Gy gamma-irradiation in vivo on mouse liver DNA: a preliminary study
As the number of radiotherapy and radiology diagnostic procedures increases from year to year, so does the use of general volatile anaesthesia (VA). Although considered safe, VA exposure can cause different adverse effects and, in combination with ionising radiation (IR), can also cause synergistic effects. However, little is known about DNA damage incurred by this combination at doses applied in a single radiotherapy treatment. To learn more about it, we assessed DNA damage and repair response in the liver tissue of Swiss albino male mice following exposure to isoflurane (I), sevoflurane (S), or halothane (H) alone or in combination with 1 or 2 Gy irradiation using the comet assay. Samples were taken immediately (0 h) and 2, 6, and 24 h after exposure. Compared to control, the highest DNA damage was found in mice receiving halothane alone or in combination with 1 or 2 Gy IR treatments. Sevoflurane and isoflurane displayed protective effects against 1 Gy IR, while with 2 Gy IR the first adverse effects appeared at 24 h post-exposure. Although VA effects depend on liver metabolism, the detection of unrepaired DNA damage 24 h after combined exposure with 2 Gy IR indicates that we need to look further into the combined effects of VA and IR on genome stability and include a longer time frame than 24 h for single exposure as well as repeated exposure as a more realistic scenario in radiotherapy treatment
KritiÄne mineralne sirovine ā europski i svjetski tokovi sirovina u službi ubrzanog tehnoloÅ”kog razvoja
Suvremeni razvoj raznih grana proizvodne djelatnosti kao i napredak tehnologije zahtijevaju odgovarajuÄu opskrbu mineralnim sirovinama. Pojedine sirovine posebno su tražene u proizvodnji i razvoju novih proizvoda, a njihova ograniÄena opskrba ili Äak prekid dobave mogu ozbiljno ugroziti proizvodnju i daljnji razvoj, ugroziti sigurnost radnih mjesta te poljuljati lokalno gospodarstvo. Stoga je zadovoljavajuÄa i pravovremena opskrba kljuÄnim sirovinama nužan preduvjet svakodnevnog funkcioniranja suvremenih gospodarskih tokova, a time i bitna odrednica strateÅ”kog planiranja svake države. Nedovoljna dostatnost pojedine sirovine na tržiÅ”tu može biti posljedica nedostatne domaÄe proizvodnje i ovisnosti o uvozu s udaljenih tržiÅ”ta, ali i prekida opskrbe uslijed ekonomskih, prirodnih i geopolitiÄkih faktora. Ti Äimbenici takoÄer utjeÄu na Äestu fluktuaciju cijena sirovine, koja se dalje odražava na planiranje proizvodnje, cijenu konaÄnog proizvoda, kao i na poremeÄaje u proizvodnji ako volatilnost cijena ugrožava zacrtane proizvodne i razvojne ciljeve, a svakako može utjecati i na smanjenje konkurentnosti pojedinih industrija na tržiÅ”tu. Sirovine nužne za proizvodnju, a nedostatne na domaÄem tržiÅ”tu, podložne Äestim promjenama u dostupnosti i cijeni te poveÄanog rizika u opskrbi, smatraju se kritiÄnim sirovinama (European Commission Communication, 2011). Äesto se kod ove problematike naizmjence koristi izraz ākritiÄne sirovineā i ākritiÄne mineralne sirovineā, buduÄi da mineralne sirovine svojom brojnoÅ”Äu i obujmom proizvodnje Äine najveÄi dio kritiÄnih sirovina