Surveying for Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans presence in Spanish captive collections of amphibians.

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), a pathogenic fungus causing the fatal disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians, was likely introduced to Europe through the trade in pet salamanders from Asia and then escaped into wild populations. Among European countries, Spain has a large number of private breeders and keepers of pet salamanders, and cases of Bsal in wild and captive populations already have been confirmed there. However, surveillance for the pathogen in Spanish collections of amphibians is sparse. Therefore, assisted by private owners and breeders, we surveyed 10 amphibian collections and analysed a total of 317 samples for presence of Bsal. All of our analyses yielded negative results. However, this apparent lack of Bsal cases in captivity should not encourage relaxation of vigilance, quarantine efforts or good practices. Because amphibian collections represent highly dynamic environments (animals are coming in and out), the pathogen could easily be introduced into a collection by new individuals. Any case of Bsal infection in captive animals could lead to its further spread to wild populations of susceptible species, potentially decimating them, and thus should be prevented.

[Quality of nephrolithiasis surgical treatment - what is it influenced by?] / Kvalita operacnej liecby nefrolitiázy: co na nu vplýva?

INTRODUCTION: Identifying factors effecting the quality of nephrolithiasis surgical treatment could improve medical care for patients suffering from kidney stone disease. The objective of the article is to identify factors influencing reintervention rate after surgical treatment of kidney stone disease either by percutaneous nephrolitholapaxy or flexible ureterorenoscopy. METHOD: A retrospective study was conducted on 149 patients who underwent a surgery for a kidney stone disease at the Urological department of F.D. Roosevelt hospital Banská Bystrica from January 2015 till June 2015. The cohort included 60 women at average age of 57 (range 28-91) and 89 men at average age of 58 (range 30-92). Patients were treated by percutaneous litholapaxy (67 cases) and flexible ureterorenoscopy (82 cases, including 72 using dusting technique). Factors with potential influence on probability of repeated intervention during following 12 months have been studied and statistically analyzed. For the statistical analysis we used the generalized linear regression framework (GLM Generalized Linear Model) with the stepwise forward modeling approach. RESULTS: Using the significance level of 5% the statistically significant factors affecting the probability of the re-intervention for ipsilateral kidney stone disease are the stone size (p-value 0.0035) and the postoperative stone free status (p-value 0.0418). Other studied factors as demographical data (age, gender), surgical method (percutaneous nephrolitolapaxy or flexible ureterorenoscopy), stone count, postoperative draining system (nefrostomy or JJ stent) did not have any statistically significant impact. CONCLUSION: Patients could benefit from early diagnosis which could lead to earlier identification of smaller stones. Perfect operative technique with intraoperative achievement of stone free status is important to lower the need of repeated intervention.Key words: kidney stone disease - reintervention residual fragments.

Laparoscopic reconstructive management of cervical agenesis.

OBJECTIVE: To asses the viability of laparoscopic management of cervical agenesis. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: II. Gynaecology and Obstetrics Dpt. at the University Hospital of F.D. Roosevelt, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. METHODOLOGY: Diagnostic management and laparoscopic technique. RESULTS: Congenital agenesis of the cervix is a rare anomaly of the inner genital. It may be associated with vaginal aplasia and less frequently with other anomalies like an incomplete fusion of müllerian ducts. Hysterectomy was frequently used to resolve main symptoms with respect to frequent complications associated with reconstructive surgery. Recently we can see a comeback to reconstructive surgery as a result of new medical technologies (new antibiotics and antibacterial sutures). Laparoscopic surgery is considered to be the main approach. The treatment strategy is related to a detailed individual pre-surgery investigation. Success of the surgical treatment is measured by normal menstruation and restored fertility. In this article we report the laparoscopic approach in creating the uterovaginal anastomosis in 20-year old women with cervical agenesis and duplex uterine anomaly and review the treatment options. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic treatment of cervical agenesis is eligible and might be considered as a first-line treatment option.

[Surgical treatment of renal carcinoma and thrombosis of the inferior vena cava]. / Chirurgická liecba karcinómu oblicky s trombózou dolnej dutej zily.

INTRODUCTION: In Slovakia every year some 600 renal carcinomas are diagnosed. This number includes 5 to 10% carcinomas with a tumours thrombus is the renal vein or inferior vena cava. The objective of the present work is to describe diagnostic and surgical methods is patients with this disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The authors describe the surgical procedures, depending on the level of the tumours thrombus in the inferior vena cava in a group of 22 patients operated at the Urological department of the F. D. Roosevelt Hospital in Banská Bystrica in 1997 to 2001. RESULTS: In all 22 patients the tumours thrombus was removed along with the tumours kidney. In two instances the thrombus reached as far as the right atrium and in 4 patients with a tumours thrombus in a subdiaphragmatic position extracorporeal circulation was used. There was no death in conjunction with the surgical operation. There was one complication caused by haemorrhage which called for surgical revision. Eight patients died during the investigation period as a result of a relapse and generalization of the disease. CONCLUSION: Based on the authors' experience and data in the literature the authors recommend surgery of the kidney with a tumours thrombus of the inferior vena cava as safe treatment in special hospital departments.

The effect of hyperlipidemia on serum fatty acid composition in type 2 diabetics.

Fatty acid (FA) profiles of total serum lipids were determined by capillary gas chromatography in Type 2 diabetic patients (NIDDM) with diverse types of hyperlipidemia. In patients with hypertriglyceridemia (DM-HTG) and combined hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia (DM-HLP), a significantly different total FA composition was found compared with healthy controls or diabetics with normal serum lipids. In particular, the proportions of saturated and monounsaturated FA were increased and the proportions of n-6 polyunsaturated FA were decreased. In DM-HLP patients, PUFA n-6 metabolites and C20-C22 PUFA were also decreased. Thus, hyperlipidemia shifts significantly the serum FA composition in NIDDM patients into an atherogenic profile. More study is needed, however, to understand if serum FA changes may contribute to the increased atherogenesis commonly found in these patients.

[Determination and assessment of biological age in 40-85-year-old persons]. / Urcovanie a hodnotenie biologického veku pre 40-85-rocné osoby.

Biological age was determined separately for men and for women in a series of 120 subjects (66 women) aged 40-85 years (mean age 66 +/- 11.6 years). The established biological age correlated significantly with the chronological age of the subjects investigated. For the calculation of functional age a battery of 10 tests covering 7 functional systems was developed to meet the requirements of the geriatrician and one of 6 tests covering 5 functional systems for the conditions of the general practitioner. The tests are undemanding as to time and procedure and reflect age and sex differences in the population of 40-85 year old people. A new method for the evaluation of biological age was suggested and used, namely the method of interval assessment and of correction of biological age with respect to the chronological age of the proband.

[Determination of functional "lipid age" on the basis of analysis of serum fatty acids]. / Urcovanie funkcného "lipidového veku" na základe analýzy mastných kyselín séra.

The composition of total fatty acids was analyzed in the serum of subjects with normal lipid and glycide metabolism, aged 20 to 89 years. A mathematico-empirical procedure was applied and on using the method of multiple linear regression the formulas of biological function age, designated as lipid age, were established, with individual serum fatty acids and their ratios in relation to characteristic attributes of markers of aging as independent variable parameters. Further correction of lipid age to the chosen level of 60 years was described and the thus corrected lipid age was expressed in percentages. Application of the obtained formulas of lipid age in the series studied showed that the increase rate of lipid age was higher in men by an average of 5.5% compared to women, which represents a difference of 3.8 years. The obtained results demonstrate a significant relationship of fatty acids to the process of aging and their potential use in evaluating processes affecting lipid metabolism.

[Functional status of thrombocytes in men of various age groups]. / Funkcný stav trombocytov u muzov rôznych vekových skupín.

The functional state of thrombocytes was compared in men of three age groups, i.e. below 46 years, within the range of 46 to 59 years, and above 59 years. Thrombocytes of old people were found to be more sensitive to such aggregation inductors as ADP, collagen, arachidonic acid, and adrenaline compared to thrombocytes of subjects from the younger age groups. A further finding was that blood platelets of old men produced significantly greater amount of ATP than recorded in young men and this may account for hyperactivity of thrombocytes in old age.

[Reactive oxygen metabolites, antioxidant activity, antioxidants and aging]. / Reaktívne kyslíkove metabolity, antioxidacná aktivita, antioxidanty a starnutie.

The authors refer to literary data on the much discussed issues of reactive oxygen metabolites, presumably involved in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes as well as in ageing. The other part of the paper deals with intra- and extracellular antioxidant mechanisms and the feasibility of using different antioxidants to constrain the deleterious effects produced by reactive oxygen products in pathological processes which accelerate ageing. The authors' own observations are also presented.

[Method of determining functional age from the aspect of immunologic markers of aging]. / Metóda urcovania funkcného veku z hl'adiska imunochemických markerov starnutia.

In a series of 310 subjects partial functional immunochemical age was determined by the method of multivariant linear regression. The authors suggested equations for the determination of partial functional immunochemical age, separately for men, women, and mixed groups, as well as for the determination of global functional age by using parameters of other systems of the body. A possible correction of the equations is discussed with the aim to eliminate the phenomenon of distorted results in the extreme positions of the chronological age axis. The contribution of the method of assessing partial functional immunological age to the selection of relevant markers of aging of the immune system is substantiated and its importance in justifying geroprotective and therapeutic procedures is emphasized.

[Reactive products of oxygen, antioxidative and lysosomal enzymes in the blood cells as markers of aging and indicators for the determination of functional age]. / Reaktívne produkty kyslíka, antioxidacné a lyzozómové enzýmy v krvných bunkách ako markery starnutia a ukazovatele pre výpocet funkcného veku.

Reactive products of oxygen, lysosomal enzymes, and catalase in PMNL were studied in 174 men of different ages. In two age groups also superoxide dismutase was determined in erythrocytes. Of the given parameters of PMNL markers of aging were selectively established by using the method of correlation analysis and simple linear regression. Combinations of the parameters studied assessed by the method of multivariant linear regression provided equations for calculating the functional age are required due to underestimation or overestimation of the results in the extreme parts of the regression curve.

Age-related changes in human platelet function in vitro.

Platelet aggregation and ATP release were simultaneously measured in platelet-rich plasma samples obtained from humans of various age. In subjects aged over 59 years, an increase was found in platelet sensitivity to ADP and collagen as well as elevated aggregation amplitudes 5 min after induction with low concentrations of the aggregation agents. At 1 mumol/l ADP, old persons had a higher incidence of a secondary aggregation wave. Platelets from old subjects also released more ATP in response to collagen stimulation. Since no age-related changes are commonly found in the platelet count, the observed increase in platelet sensitivity to aggregation agents cannot be regarded as a mere compensatory reaction. An attempt is made to relate altered platelet function to peculiarities of lipid metabolism associated with ageing.

Antibodies against ss-DNA in persons of various age.

Antibodies against denatured, single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid were measured in the sera of children, young adults and old persons by means of a solid phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a peroxidase-labelled second antibody. Considerable amounts of anti-deoxyribonucleic acid antibodies were found in subjects in all the age groups studied. Mean serum activity in children and old persons was two times as high as that in young adults. Close correlation was observed in old age between the level of antibodies against single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid and disorders of lipid metabolism, namely hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia. Based on their finding that substantial quantities of antibodies of the above type appear to be present in healthy humans at different stages of ontogenesis, the authors suggest these autoantibodies may play, in addition to pathological, some physiological role.