Smartphone use can be addictive? A case report

Background and aims The use of mobile phones has become an integral part of everyday life. Young people in particular can be observed using their smartphones constantly, and they not only make or receive calls but also use different applications or just tap touch screens for several minutes at a time. The opportunities provided by smartphones are attractive, and the cumulative time of using smartphones per day is very high for many people, so the question arises whether we can really speak of a mobile phone addiction? In this study, our aim is to describe and analyze a possible case of smartphone addiction. Methods We present the case of Anette, an 18-year-old girl, who is characterized by excessive smartphone use. We compare Anette’s symptoms to Griffiths’s conception of technological addictions, Goodman’s criteria of behavioral addictions, and the DSM-5 criteria of gambling disorder. Results Anette fulfills almost all the criteria of Griffiths, Goodman, and the DSM-5, and she spends about 8 hr in a day using her smartphone. Discussion Anette’s excessive mobile phone usage includes different types of addictive behaviors: making selfies and editing them for hours, watching movies, surfing on the Internet, and, above all, visiting social sites. The cumulative time of these activities results in a very high level of smartphone use. The device in her case is a tool that provides these activities for her whole day. Most of Anette’s activities with a mobile phone are connected to community sites, so her main problem may be a community site addiction

Smartphone use can be addictive? A case report

L

Cystás fibrosisban szenvedő betegek életminőségének felmérése Magyarországon

Bevezetés: A cystás fibrosis progresszív genetikai betegség, amely korlátozhatja a betegek mindennapi életét, befolyásolja életminőségüket. Célkitűzés: A szerzők célul tűzték ki a hazai cystás fibrosisban szenvedő betegek életminőségének felmérését. Módszer: Az életminőség értékelésére betegségspecifikus kérdőív (The Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire – Revised) magyar nyelvre validált változatát alkalmazták. A betegség súlyossági állapotát Shwachman–Kulczycki-pontszám segítségével határozták meg. Spirometriai vizsgálat is történt. Eredmények: A vizsgálatban 59 beteg (átlagéletkor 14,03±4,8 év) vett részt öt magyarországi centrumból. A 8–13 éves korosztályban a gyermekek és szüleik válaszai között a következő korrelációkat állapították meg: fizikai aktivitás = 0,77 (p<0,001); érzelmi állapot = 0,07 (p<0,001); étkezési zavarok = 0,51 (p<0,001); kezelés terhe = 0,21 (p<0,001); testkép = 0,54 (p<0,001); légúti tünetek = 0,49 (p<0,001); emésztési tünetek = 0,40 (p<0,001). Következtetések: A gyermekkori életminőség felmérése során a gyermekek és szüleik véleménye szorosan megegyezett azokban a dimenziókban, amelyek a fizikális területre vonatkoztak, azonban a pszichoszociális doménekben lényeges különbségek voltak mérhetők. Cystás fibrosisos gyermekek életminőség-vizsgálata során mind a gyermekek, mind a szülők véleményének figyelembevétele ajánlott. Orv. Hetil., 2013, 154, 784–791. | Introduction: Cystic fibrosis is a progressive multisystemic disease which affects the quality of life of patients. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate quality of life in Hungarian patients with cystic fibrosis. Methods: Validated Hungarian translation of The Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire – Revised was used to measure quality of life. Clinical severity was determined on the basis of Shwachman–Kulczycki score. Lung function was measured using spirometry. Results: 59 patients were included from five centres in Hungary. The relationships between 8–13 year-old children self-report and parent proxy report was 0.77 (p<0.001) in physical functioning, 0.07 (p<0.001) in emotional functioning, 0.51 (p<0.001) in eating, 0.21 (p<0.001) in treatment burden, 0.54 (p<0.001) in body image, 0.49 (p<0.001) in respiratory symptoms and 0.40 (p<0.001) in digestive symptoms domains. Conclusions: In contrast to physical domains weak correlations were observed between answers obtained from children and their parents in psychosocial domains. The perception of both patients and their parents should be assessed when measuring quality of life in paediatric patients with cystic fibrosis. Orv. Hetil., 2013, 154, 784–791

Role of IL-24 in the mucosal remodeling of children with coeliac disease

Background Recently, involvement of IL-19, IL-20 and IL-24 has been reported in inflammatory diseases associated with tissue remodeling. However, their impact on the pathomechanism of coeliac disease (CD) is still completely unknown. Methods Expression of IL19, IL20 and IL24 was measured by real-time RT-PCR, protein amount of IL-24, α smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibronectin (FN) was determined by Western-blot analysis in the duodenal biopsies of therapy naive children with CD and controls. Localization of IL-24 and IL-20RB was investigated by immunofluorescent staining in the duodenal mucosa. Effect of recombinant IL-1β, TNF-α, TGF-β and IL-17 treatment on the expression of IL19, IL20, IL24 and their receptors was investigated by real-time RT-PCR in small intestinal epithelial cells (FHs74Int), in primary duodenal myofibroblasts (pdMFs) and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Effect of IL-24 on H2O2 treated FHs74Int cells and on pdMFs was measured by MTT, LDH, Annexin V assays, real-time RT-PCR and by fluorescent microscopy. Results We found increased level of IL-24 (3.3×, p < 0.05), α-SMA (2.4×, p < 0.05) and FN (2.3×, p < 0.05) in the duodenal mucosa and increased expression of IL19 (3.6×, p < 0.05) and IL24 (5.2×, p < 0.05) in the PBMCs of children with CD compared to that of controls. IL-1β was a strong inducer of IL24 expression of FHs74Int cells (9.9×, p < 0.05), pdMFs (552.9×, p < 0.05) or PBMCs (17.2×, p < 0.05), as well. IL-24 treatment reduced the number of apoptotic cells (0.5×, p < 0.05) and decreased the expression of inflammatory factors, including IL1A, IL6 and TNF of H2O2-treated FHs74Int cells. IL-24 decreased the proliferation (0.6×, p < 0.05) of PDGF-B treated pdMFs. Moreover, IL-24 treatment altered the morphology of pdMFs by influencing the size of the angles between stress fibers and the longitudinal axis of the cells (2.0×, p < 0.05) and the expression of cytoskeletal components, including ACTA2, ACTB, VIM, SNAI1 and SNAI2. Conclusion Our results suggest that IL-24 plays a significant role in the maintenance of duodenal mucosal integrity in CD

Microarray Analysis Reveals Increased Expression of Matrix Metalloproteases and Cytokines of Interleukin-20 Subfamily in the Kidneys of Neonate Rats Underwent Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction: A Potential Role of IL-24 in the Regulation of Inflammation and Tissue Remodeling

Background/Aims: Congenital obstructive nephropathy (CON) is the main cause of pediatric chronic kidney diseases leading to renal fibrosis. High morbidity and limited treatment opportunities of CON urge the better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: To identify the differentially expressed genes, microarray analysis was performed on the kidney samples of neonatal rats underwent unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Microarray results were then validated by real-time RT-PCR and bioinformatics analysis was carried out to identify the relevant genes, functional groups and pathways involved in the pathomechanism of CON. Renal expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-12 and interleukin (IL)-24 were evaluated by real-time RT-PCR, flow cytometry and immunohistochemical analysis. Effect of the main profibrotic factors on the expression of MMP-12 and IL-24 was investigated on HK-2 and HEK-293 cell lines. Finally, the effect of IL-24 treatment on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and MMPs were tested in vitro. Results: Microarray analysis revealed 880 transcripts showing &#x3e;2.0-fold change following UUO, enriched mainly in immune response related processes. The most up-regulated genes were MMPs and members of IL-20 cytokine subfamily, including MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-12, IL-19 and IL-24. We found that while TGF-β treatment inhibits the expression of MMP-12 and IL-24, H2O2 or PDGF-B treatment induce the epithelial expression of MMP-12. We demonstrated that IL-24 treatment decreases the expression of IL-6 and MMP-3 in the renal epithelial cells. Conclusions: This study provides an extensive view of UUO induced changes in the gene expression profile of the developing kidney and describes novel molecules, which may play significant role in the pathomechanism of CON

THE ROLE OF IL-20 CYTOKINE SUBFAMILY IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

Background: Regardless of the etiology kidney fibrosis is a common outcome of progressive chronic kidney diseases. Our recent study showed that levels of interleukin (IL)-20 subfamily members, including IL-19 and IL-24 significantly increased in kidneys underwent unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). However, their precise role in the pathomechanism of renal fibrosis is not clearly understood. Methods: To study the role of IL-20 cytokine subfamily we applied a mouse model of UUO induced kidney fibrosis on wild type and IL-20 receptor beta gene knockout (IL-20Rβ KO) mice. Masson’s trichrome and Picro-Sirius Red staining were used to investigate the renal accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins. Real-time RT-PCR and western blot method were performed to measure the renal expression of fibrosis associated molecules. We also investigated the in vitro effect of IL-24 treatment on transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and platelet derived growth factor B (PDGF-B) expression of human proximal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells by real-time RT-PCR and flow cytometry. Results: We found elevated level of IL-19, IL-24 and IL-20Rβ in the fibrotic kidneys. IL-20Rβ KO mice showed reduced extracellular matrix deposition and decreased α-smooth muscle actin expression compared to wild-type mice following UUO. Treatment of renal epithelial cells with IL-24 increased their TGF-β and PDGF-B production. Conclusion: Our study provides direct evidence of the pathogenic role of IL-20 cytokine subfamily in the development of renal fibrosis, possibly through the IL-24 mediated production of pro-fibrotic factors. Therefore, inhibition of IL-24 may have therapeutic effect in treatment of chronic kidney diseases. Grants: OTKA K116928 and VKE-2017-00006. This project was supported by the János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Science