Child barbarity and torture: a case report.

Penile strangulation with a strand of hair, acting as a tourniquet, and perforation of the eyes with a knife are uncommon accidental injuries in children. In such a situation, a mistreatment must be evoked. We present a case of barbarity and torture involving a young boy 3 years old. He was a victim of penis strangulation and perforation of the eyes, performed on previous surgical and infectious lesions. The mistreatment was performed by his mother's boyfriend. The perpetrator used the previous lesions to hide his misdeed. This amazing case of mistreatment points out the violence of the wounds and their being performed on previous lesions.

[Relationship between sudden infant death and in utero exposure to smoking: how should smoking parents be informed?]. / Liens entre la mort subite du nourrisson et l'exposition in utero au tabagisme: comment informer les parents qui fument?

Recent campaigns on having infants sleep on their back has decreased the rate of sudden infant death. Other risk factors have also been identified, including maternal smoking during pregnancy. While many studies have methodological biases, most demonstrate a two to three-fold increase in the risk of sudden infant death among mothers who smoked during pregnancy. The effect of smoking is basically caused by nicotine which is toxic for the brain. This compound has specific trophicity for the respiratory centers rich in nicotinic cholinergic receptors. Deficiencies which could result could lead to greater vulnerability of the infant to episodes of hypoxia. The risk would be dose dependent and more marked in women smoking more than nine cigarettes per day. After birth, certain factors would increase the risk, including passive smoking and sleeping in the mother's bed.

[Carcinogenic effect of metals]. / Effet cancérigène des métaux.

Some metals are essential oligo-elements for man. However, if the body load of these same metal derivatives becomes excessive they may be responsible for deleterious effects, particularly cytotoxic ones. Metals are divided into four categories: potent carcinogens; presumptive carcinogens with a documented cocarcinogenic effect; ascertained cocarcinogens; metals with no demonstrated carcinogenic or cocarcinogenic effect. The most common tumors induced by metals are those of the lung. Arsenic induces cancer of the lung and skin, beryllium may induce lung cancer, the effects of cobalt are dubious, cadmium can induce cancer of the lung and, above all, prostate, the role of iron is uncertain, hexavalent chrome may induce cancer of the lung and nasal fossae, nickel is responsible for cancer of lung and nasal fossae. Our understanding of metal carcinogenesis is clearly insufficient and more experimental research and epidemiologic studies addressing this subject are needed.