Smrtnost od akutnih otrovanja u području Plovdiva u Bugarskoj

The severe recession in Bulgaria which followed the collapse of the totalitarian regime in 1989 had an unfavourable impact on the health status of the population. Systematic studies of acute poisoning mortality rate in the transitional period (1990-98) are scarce in the post-totalitarian Eastern European countries and are lacking in Bulgaria. This retrospective study analysed 1,150 deaths due to acute poisoning in Plovdiv Region for the period 1961-98. Acute poisoning mortality rate was moderately high in the period between 1990 and 1998 with respect to the average of 4.99 per 100,000 a year. It grew steadily during rapid socialist industrialization (1961-90) and showed a trend of slight decrease during transition (1991-1998). The decrease may largely be accounted for by the foundation of the regional toxicological centre and to a certain degree by a drop in industrial and agricultural production and exposure to hazards.Nakon pada totalitarnog režima 1989. godine, socioekonomska kriza što je zahvatila zemlju odrazila se negativno na zdravstveno stanje populacije. Sustavna praćenja akutnih otrovanja tijekom tranzicijskog razdoblja u Istočnoj Europi su oskudna, a u Bugarskoj ih nije ni bilo. U ovom se radu retrospektivno analizira 1150 slučajeva akutnih smrtnih otrovanja u području Plovdiva, i to u razdoblju 1961-1990. u vrijeme intenzivne industrijalizacije. U tom je razdoblju stopa smrtnosti od akutnih otrovanja stalno rasla dosegnuvši maksimum između 1986. i 1989., a nakon toga je počela lagano opadati. U razdoblju između 1990. i 1998. smrtnost od akutnih otrovanja iznosila je 4,99 na 100.000 stanovnika. Spomenuti trend opadanja smrtnosti pripisuje se osnivanju regionalnoga toksikološkog centra, kao i usporavanju industrijske i poljoprivredne aktivnosti s posljedicom smanjenja ekspozicije toksičnim tvarima. U smanjivanju stope smrtnosti od akutnih otrovanja posebnu ulogu imaju dobro planirane i provođene preventivne mjere

Gender differences in the somatotype of bipolar I patients and sex-matched controls

Ninety-five years after Kretschmer`s original publication the concept of somatotype in psychiatry remains controversial. The aim of the study was to compare the somatotype of patients with bipolar I disorder and sex-matched mentally healthy controls using the Heath-Carter Anthropometric Method and predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. 67 bipolar I patients (26 males, 41 females) and 119 mentally healthy controls (54 males, 65 females) were assessed. Bipolar I males were significantly less endomorphic and more ectomorphic than sex-matched controls. Bipolar I females were significantly less ectomorphic than sex-matched controls. We found significant interaction effects between gender and group membership on all somatotype components. Bipolar I males had significantly lower, while bipolar I females had significantly higher BMIs than controls. Kretschmer`s hypothesis may only apply to females. In an age of orexigenic mood stabilizers bipolar I females may be a particularly vulnerable treatment population. Our data suggest bipolar I disorder is at least partly a neurodevelopmental condition

Between gender difference in fingerprint patterns between schizophrenia patients and normal controls

Introduction: Fingerprints are detailed, nearly unique, durable over the life of an individual, and suitable as long-term markers of human identity. Their biological and clinical value is associated with the common ectodermal origin of the brain and dermal patterns and the strictly defined periods of embryonic formation of papillary ridges (III - IV month of gestation).Aim: The current study aimed to evaluate gender differences in certain dermatoglyphic features in schizophrenia patients compared with normal control subjects.Material and methods: The study included 141 patients with schizophrenia (76 males, 65 females) and 120 mentally healthy subjects (54 males, 66 females) of Bulgarian origin. Fingerprints and palmprints were obtained using an ink method and were read with light (6D) magnification in accordance with the methods given by Cummins, Midlo. All statistical analyses were performed separately for males and females in view of the available evidence for significant gender differences in ectodermal derivatives. The level of statistical significance was set at

Response to Pharmacological Treatment in Major Depression Predicted by Electroencephalographic Alpha Power – a Pilot Naturalistic Study

Background: Pharmacological treatment of depression is currently led by the trial and error principle mainly because of lack of reliable biomarkers. Earlier findings suggest that baseline alpha power and asymmetry could differentiate between responders and non-responders to specific antidepressants