La farmacoterapia delle malattie cutanee allergiche in gravidanza

--

La relazione padre-madre-figlio nella famiglia del paziente oncologico pediatrico: un’indagine conoscitiva.

Questo studio si propone di valutare l’impatto della patologia oncologica pediatrica sulla relazione Padre-Madre-Figlio. La ricerca, svolta su un campione di 37 famiglie, ha confrontato 3 gruppi: 8 famiglie con un bambino affetto da patologia oncologica, 15 con un figlio affetto da diabete e 14 con figli sani. Per la valutazione è stato utilizzato il test FACES III di Olson, Portner e Lavee (1982), che descrive il funzionamento della famiglia attraverso le percezioni che le persone hanno delle proprie relazioni familiari. L’analisi dei dati ha evidenziato che i padri dei bambini affetti da patologie oncologiche sono quelli maggiormente soddisfatti del funzionamento del proprio nucleo familiare, mentre quelli con figli diabetici sono risultati i più insoddisfatti. Analizzando la struttura familiare interna sono emerse alcune tendenze significative: la coppia genitoriale con bambini oncologici appare, rispetto ai controlli, maggiormente “divisa”; in tali nuclei si riscontra minore contrapposizione tra genitori e figlio, maggiore vicinanza del bambino ad uno solo dei due coniugi, maggiore dispersione dei componenti e maggiore distanza madre-padre nell’analisi dei Punteggi di Discrepanza. I risultati di questo studio evidenziano l’importanza della funzione di “base sicura” che sembra svolgere il padre nei confronti della condizione di pericolo rappresentata dalla malattia del figlio. Ne consegue la necessità di sostenere entrambi i genitori nel difficile ruolo di contenimento delle angosce del piccolo paziente

Imaging of segmental testicular infarction: our experience and literature review

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the main methods of diagnostic imaging in patients with segmental testicular infarction (STI) for obtaining accurate clinical and therapeutic approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2004 and January 2011, 798 patients were examined with colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) for disease of the scrotum. Fourteen patients with CDUS findings suspicious for STI were subjected to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In five patients, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) was performed. RESULTS: CDUS showed hypoechoic avascular areas suspicious for STI in 14 patients (1.75%). MRI confirmed the presence of predominantly hypointense lesions in T1- and T2-weighted sequences, with perilesional vasculature and no intrinsic contrast enhancement in 13 patients. In follow-up examinations, these abnormalities gradually decreased. This finding was confirmed in the five patients examined with CEUS. Only in one case did MRI reveal discrete intralesional contrast enhancement after injection of contrast medium, and the lesions appeared stable during the CDUS and MRI follow-up; this patient underwent orchiectomy, with a diagnosis of B-cell lymphoma. CONCLUSIONS:In our experience CDUS, CEUS and MRI proved indispensable for accurate clinical and therapeutic approaches in suspected STI

Prevalence of Hypo- and Hyperalphalipoproteinemia according to different diagnostic criteria in the massa lombarda project cohort

Objective: Several studies use different cut off point to define the pathological HDL-C levels. We applied the most cited diagnostic criteria to the Massa Lombaxda Project cohort in order to estimate the prevalence of Hypo (HypoALP)- and Hyperalphalipoproteinemia (HyperALP). Methods: We stratified our sample (1199 adult subjects M:516, F:683) from The Massa Lombaxda Project cohort according to the main diagnostic criteria: the first one was based on the cut-off < 10th percentile for hypoALP and >90th percentile for hyperALP; the second one was based on NCEP (National Cholesterol Education Program) ATPIII (Adult Treatment Panel III) cut-off <40 mg/dl for low HDL-C levels and _>60 mg/dl for high HDL-C levels; the third one from Omagari Study was based on the cut off _>80 < 100 mg/dl for HyperALP and _> 100 mg/dl for marked HyperALP. Results: According to the first cut-off point the prevalence values of Hypo- Normo- and HyperALP were respectively F:5.1% M:3.5%, F:46.1% M:35.2%, F:5.6% M:4.2%; according to the second cut off point the values were F:6.0% M:12.8%, F:27.3% M:23.7%, F:23.5% M:6.4%; according to the third cut off point the prevalence values of Hyper- and marked HyperALP were F:3.5% M:0.5%, F:0.1% M:0.0%. Conclusion: Our research showed that the prevalence of Hypo- Normoand HyperALP in this sample changes according to the cut off point that we used; further according to ATP III diagnostic criteria there were more men (9.3%) with a significant cardiovascular risk factor: low HDL-C levels. It could be suitable to standardize the diagnostic methods

Assessment of the health status in the Massa Lombarda cohort: a preliminary description of the program evaluating cardio-cerebro-vascular disease risk factors and quality of life in an elderly population.

he Massa Lombarda program (MLP) is the first step of a European multi-center program, promoted and coordinated from Bologna University's Academic Spin off Health Research and Development, which attempts to manage advanced sanitary research in general population. The instant individual definition (IID) study is the first phase of the program concerning the study of risk factors (RF) and early diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD), through a new diagnostic technology called myocardial perfusion scoring system (MPS). The study consists of a longitudinal observational epidemiological investigation of adult population (above 25 years of age) resident in Massa Lombarda (Ravenna), with the survey of social and biological parameters. The elderly part of the population (1000 subjects above 75 years) was submitted to a more complex analysis, as part of the study on health status in European aging populations, aimed at revealing the determinants influencing the healthy aging, and at identifying their impact on mortality,cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity, disability and decline of quality of life. Laboratory analyses were aimed at identifying the following factors: (i) Genetic markers related to pro and anti-inflammatory cytokine- codifying genes. (ii) Oxidative stress-involved molecules, and inflammation-involved genes, and more in general genes involved in the brittleness(iii) (ApoE). Appraising the degree of interaction with non-genetic factors, like measurable immunological markers in the peripheral blood, markers of reactions to oxidative stress,evaluation of metabolic parameters. Moreover, old population is expected to answer the questionnaires for evaluation of the dietary habits, physical activity, self-sufficiency,cognitive ability, motor coordination, perceived stress and social relationships