Specific Triggers of Migraine Headache in Adolescents

AIM: Purpose of the study was to recognize specific migraine triggers in adolescents.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study was conducted on 20,917 adolescents in Serbia.RESULTS: Lack of sleep, passive tobacco smoking, alcohol intakes, and "not eating in time" are triggers that provoke migraine in adolescents.CONCLUSION: Avoiding migraine triggers in 68% of adolescents reduced drug therapy for 75%

Influence of Mg doping on structural, optical and photocatalytic performances of ceria nanopowders

Nanosized Mg-doped ceria powders were obtained by self-propagating room temperature reaction without using surfactants or templates. X-ray diffraction analysis and field emission scanning microscopy results showed that the doped samples are solid solutions with fluorite-type structure and spherical morphology. Raman spectra revealed an increase in the amount of oxygen vacancies with the increase of Mg concentration. This increasing results in a narrowing of the bandgap of CeO2. The photocatalytic performances of the Mg-doped ceria solid solutions were evaluated by decomposing an organic dye, crystal violet under UV irradiation. The Mg-doped ceria solid solutions exhibit significantly better photocatalytic activity than the pure CeO2 and commercial TiO2. The higher first rate constant of the Mg-doped samples demonstrated that they are much more efficient than TiO2 and CeO2 under UV light. Mg2+ dopant ions and oxygen vacancies play a significant role in the enhancement of photocatalytic performances of the Mg-doped ceria

Association between the SMN2 gene copy number and clinical characteristics of patients with spinal muscular atrophy with homozygous deletion of exon 7 of the SMN1 gene

Background/Aim. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by degeneration of alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord and the medulla oblongata, causing progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. The aim of this study was to determine association between the SMN2 gene copy number and disease phenotype in Serbian patients with SMA with homozygous deletion of exon 7 of the SMN1 gene. Methods. The patients were identified using regional Serbian hospital databases. Investigated clinical characteristics of the disease were: patients' gender, age at disease onset, achieved and current developmental milestones, disease duration, current age, and the presence of the spinal deformities and joint contractures. The number of SMN1 and SMN2 gene copies was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results. Among 43 identified patients, 37 (86.0\%) showed homozygous deletion of SMN1 exon 7. One (2.7\%) of 37 patients had SMA type I with 3 SMN2 copies, 11(29.7\%) patients had SMA type II with 3.1 +/- 0.7 copies, 17 (45.9\%) patients had SM\_A type III with 3.7 +/- 0.9 copies, while 8 (21.6\%) patients had SMA type IV with 4.2 +/- 0.9 copies. There was a progressive increase in the SMN2 gene copy number from type II towards type IV (p < 0.05). A higher SMN2 gene copy number was associated with better current motor performance (p < 0.05). Conclusion. In the Serbian patients with SMA, a higher SMN2 gene copy number correlated with less severe disease phenotype. A possible effect of other phenotype modifiers should not be neglected.Hungary-Serbia IPA Cross-Border Co-Operation Program: Research Cooperation to Improve Symptoms in Neurological Disorders, and Quality of Life of Patients {[}HU-SRB/0901/214/052