Refraction dynamics in children up to age 3

Въведение: Състоянието на рефракцията при деца в ранна възраст е важно да бъде изследвано с оглед превенция на редица очни заболявания (амблиопия, страбизъм, хордеолоза, блефарит и др.). В литературата съществуват достатъчно данни относно динамиката в сферичната рефракция. Относно промяната в асферичната рефракция информацията е значително по-оскъдна. Цел: Целта на настоящото проучване е да се определи и проследи във времето динамиката в рефракцията при деца до 3 години. Материал и методи: Проучването обхваща 324 деца (648 очи) на възраст между 6 и 12 месеца при първото им посещение и изследване на рефракцията. Децата са разпределени в четири възрастови групи и са разделени по пол. От тях 159 са момичета (318 очи) и 165 момчета (330 очи). Пациентите са проследени минимум еднократно (до трикратно) във възрастовия период между една и три години. Използваните методи са: фотоавторефрактометрия с PlusoptiX S04; по преценка: циклоплегия, скиаскопия и оптична корекция при необходимост; статистически методи за обработка на данните. Резултати: 1. Хиперметропията е най-често срещаната рефракция сред изследваните деца; 2. Миопията е рядко очно състояние при деца до 3 години; 3. Астигматизмът намалява с възрастта; 4. Астигматизмът се променя в най-голяма степен във възрастта между 18 и 24 месеца; 5. Не съществува статистически значима разлика в рефракцията между двата пола. Заключение: Фотоавторефрактометрията с Plusoptix S04 е метод, който дава възможност за прецизно установяване и проследяване на динамиката в рефракцията при деца от 6- месечна възраст в хода на диагностично-лечебния процес. Благодарение на него можем да изкажем категорично становище, че астигматизмът намалява с възрастта.Introduction: The state of refraction in young children is important to be examined with regard to preventing various eye diseases (amblyopia, strabismus, hordeolosis, blepharitis etc.). There is enough literature data about the dynamic changes of the spherical refraction during childhood. Regarding the dynamics of the aspheric refraction the information is much more poor. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine and follow-up refraction in children up to age 3. Material and methods: The study covers 324 children (648 eyes) aged between 6 and 12 months at their first visit and refraction examination. 159 of them are girls (318 eyes) and 165- boys (330 eyes) .The children are grouped in four age groups and are divided by gender. They are followed up one to three times later. The methods used are: photoautorefractometry with PlusoptiX S04; cycloplegia, retinoscopy and optical correction if needed; statistics. Results: 1. Hypermetropic refraction remains the most prevalent among the studied children; 2. Myopia is a rare eye condition in children up to age 3; 3. Astigmatism changes with age (towards reducing); 4. Diopters of astigmatism are most decreased in age between 12 and 18 months; 5. There is no statistically significant difference in refraction between genders. Conclusions: The PlusoptiX S04 photoautorefractometer is operational for children aged at least 6 months. This method can be used to define and follow-up the refraction dynamics in children in the course of the diagnostics and the treatment process. It allows us to state that astigmatism reduces with age

Turismo y crisis: el comportamiento del inmobiliario turístico en la montaña española durante la última década. Estudio de casos: la Val d’Aran y Sierra Nevada

En esta comunicación se analiza, como respuesta al enunciado del título, la evolución reciente del parque de viviendas que puede estar vinculado a una función turístico-residencial. Se pretende valorar, a partir de los resultados, el papel que desempeña esta función en el proceso de dinamización local y de renovación de la montaña española como escenario turístico y detectar, asimismo, otros posibles fundamentos de dicha renovación. Se analizan específicamente los datos de los censos de vivienda y las estadísticas de viviendas construidas en destinos significativos previamente seleccionados. El estudio se centra en los últimos quince años, y se realiza a escala municipal. La comarca y el municipio constituyen unidades espaciales operativas idóneas a efectos del tratamiento estadístico de la información obtenida

Global Gene Expression Associated with Hepatocarcinogenesis in Adult Male Mice Induced by in Utero Arsenic Exposure

Our previous work has shown that exposure to inorganic arsenic in utero produces hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in adult male mice. To explore further the molecular mechanisms of transplacental arsenic hepatocarcinogenesis, we conducted a second arsenic transplacental carcinogenesis study and used a genomewide microarray to profile arsenic-induced aberrant gene expression more extensively. Briefly, pregnant C3H mice were given drinking water containing 85 ppm arsenic as sodium arsenite or unaltered water from days 8 to 18 of gestation. The incidence of HCC in adult male offspring was increased 4-fold and tumor multiplicity 3-fold after transplacental arsenic exposure. Samples of normal liver and liver tumors were taken at autopsy for genomic analysis. Arsenic exposure in utero resulted in significant alterations (p < 0.001) in the expression of 2,010 genes in arsenic-exposed liver samples and in the expression of 2,540 genes in arsenic-induced HCC. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed that significant alterations in gene expression occurred in a number of biological networks, and Myc plays a critical role in one of the primary networks. Real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis of selected genes/proteins showed > 90% concordance. Arsenic-altered gene expression included activation of oncogenes and HCC biomarkers, and increased expression of cell proliferation–related genes, stress proteins, and insulin-like growth factors and genes involved in cell–cell communications. Liver feminization was evidenced by increased expression of estrogen-linked genes and altered expression of genes that encode gender-related metabolic enzymes. These novel findings are in agreement with the biology and histology of arsenic-induced HCC, thereby indicating that multiple genetic events are associated with transplacental arsenic hepatocarcinogenesis

Nifedipin ublažava djelovanje kokaina na enzimsku aktivnost u mozgu i jetri te smanjuje njegovo izlučivanje putem mokraće

The aim of this study was to see how nifedipine counters the effects of cocaine on hepatic and brain enzymatic activity in rats and whether it affects urinary excretion of cocaine. Male Wistar rats were divided in four groups of six: control, nifedipine group (5 mg kg-1 i.p. a day for five days); cocaine group (15 mg kg-1 i.p. a day for five days), and the nifedipine+cocaine group. Twenty-four hours after the last administration, we measured neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activity in the brain and cytochrome P450 quantity, ethylmorphine-N-demethylase, and anilinehydroxylase activity in the liver. Urine samples were collected 24 h after the last cocaine and cocaine+nifedipine administration. Urinary cocaine concentration was determined using the GC/MS method. Cocaine administration increased brain nNOS activity by 55 % (p<0.05) in respect to control, which indicates the development of tolerance and dependence. In the combination group, nifedipine decreased the nNOS activity in respect to the cocaine-only group. In the liver, cocaine significantly decreased and nifedipine significantly increased cytochrome P450, ethylmorphine-N-demethylase, and anilinehydroxylase in respect to control. In combination, nifedipine successfully countered cocaine effects on these enzymes. Urine cocaine excretion in the cocaine+nifedipine group significantly dropped (by 35 %) compared to the cocaine-only group. Our results have confirmed the effects of nifedipine against cocaine tolerance and development of dependence, most likely due to metabolic interactions between them.Cilj je ovoga istraživanja bio utvrditi kako nifedipin ublažava djelovanje kokaina na enzimsku aktivnost u mozgu i jetri Wistar štakora te utječe li na njegovo izlučivanje putem mokraće. Mužjaci su podijeljeni u četiri skupine po šest jedinki: kontrolnu skupinu, nifedipinsku skupinu koja je pet dana intraperitonealno primala nifedipin u dozi od 5 mg kg-1; skupinu koja je pet dana primala kokain u dozi od 15 mg kg-1 na dan te skupinu koja je zajedno primala nifedipin i kokain u odgovarajućim dozama. Dvadeset i četiri sata nakon posljednje doze izmjerena je enzimska aktivnost sintaze dušičnoga oksida (nNOS) u mozgu, razina citokroma P450 te aktivnosti enzima etilmorfi n-N-demetilaze i anilinhidroksilaze u jetri štakora. Uzorci mokraće prikupljeni su 24 sata nakon posljednje doze kokaina odnosno kombinacije nifedipina i kokaina. Koncentracija kokaina u mokraći izmjerena je s pomoću vezanog sustava plinske kromatografi je i spektrometrije masa. Kokain je povećao aktivnost nNOS-a u mozgu za 55 % (p<0,05) u odnosu na kontrolnu skupinu, što upućuje na stvaranje tolerancije i ovisnosti. U kombiniranoj skupini nifedipin je značajno smanjio aktivnost nNOS-a u odnosu na skupinu koja je primila samo kokain. Kokain je značajno snizio, a nifedipin značajno povisio razinu citokroma P450 u jetri te aktivnost etilmorfi n-N-demetilaze i anilinhidroksilaze u odnosu na kontrolnu skupinu. U kombiniranoj skupini nifedipin je uspješno ublažio djelovanje kokaina na aktivnost spomenutih enzima. Izlučivanje kokaina putem mokraće u kombiniranoj skupini bilo je značajno manje (35 %) nego u skupini koja je primala samo kokain. Ovi rezultati potvrđuju da nifedipin štiti od djelovanja kokaina i stvaranja ovisnosti, najvjerojatnije zbog interakcija u metabolizmu dvaju spojeva

Effect of cytisine on some brain and hepatic biochemical parameters in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Tobacco smoking is a risk factor for variety of cardio-vascular diseases, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke and many others. It is of great importance for hypertensive patients to stop smoking. One of the medicines widely used for smoking cessation in Bulgaria is the original Bulgarian product Tabex®, which is developed on the basis of natural plant alkaloid cytisine. The aim of the following study was to ivestigate the effects of cytisine on some brain and hepatic biochemical parameters in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), an widely used rodent model for human essential hypertension, and to compare the obtained results with their age-matched normotensive controls Wistar Kyoto (WKY). Multiple cytisine administration did not affect the activity of ethylmorphine-N-demethylase (EMND) and anylinehydroxylase (AH), as well as the quantity of cytochrome P 450, nor in WKY neither in SHR In the liver cytisine increased the MDA quantity both in SHR and in WKY, by 25% (p<0.05) and by 29% (p<0.05) respectively, while the GSH level was not significantly changed by the compound in both strains. In contrast, on the brain level, cytisine administration to SHR caused more prominent toxicity, resulted in GSH depletion and increased MDA quantity, while in WKY strain did not exert any toxicity. Cytisine did not significantly affect ALAT and ASAT activity in both strains. In conclusion, the results of our study suggest higher brain toxicity of cytisine in spontaneously hypertensive rats, that might be due to their pathophysiological characteristics

The MiniArc sling for female stress urinary incontinence: clinical results after 1-year follow-up

Development and application of statistical models for medical scientific researc

HIV-Specific T-Cells Accumulate in the Liver in HCV/HIV Co-Infection

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)-related liver disease progresses more rapidly in individuals co-infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV), although the underlying immunologic mechanisms are unknown. We examined whether HIV-specific T-cells are identified in the liver of HCV/HIV co-infected individuals and promote liver inflammation through bystander immune responses. METHODS: Ex-vivo intra-hepatic lymphocytes from HCV mono-infected and HCV/HIV co-infected individuals were assessed for immune responses to HIV and HCV antigens by polychromatic flow cytometry. RESULTS: HCV/HIV liver biopsies had similar frequencies of lymphocytes but lower percentages of CD4+ T-cells compared to HCV biopsies. In co-infection, intra-hepatic HIV-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells producing IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha were detected and were comparable in frequency to those that were HCV-specific. In co-infected individuals, viral-specific CD8+ T-cells produced more of the fibrogenic cytokine, TNF-alpha. In both mono- and co-infected individuals, intra-hepatic HCV-specific T-cells were poorly functional compared to HIV-specific T-cells. In co-infection, HAART was not associated with a reconstitution of intra-hepatic CD4+ T-cells and was associated with reduction in both HIV and HCV-specific intra-hepatic cytokine responses. CONCLUSION: The accumulation of functional HIV-specific T-cells in the liver during HCV/HIV co-infection may represent a bystander role for HIV in inducing faster progression of liver disease