General health & psychological distress in children with temporomandibular disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are an heterogeneous group of disorders affecting temporomandibular joints (TMJ), masticatory muscles, or both. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between general health and psychological distress variables and the clinical diagnosis of TMD in children between 8 - 13 years old. Moreover, it will be underlined the different perception of psychological distress existing between patients and their parents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were divided in two groups: the "case group", which includes patients with TMD, and the "control group", which included patients asymptomatic for TMD. The "case group" is composed by 29 patients, while the "control group" is composed by 22 patients. The patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire called Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ), to evaluate general health and psychological condition and, eventually, the presence of symptoms of stress, anxiety and/or depression. The CHQ is 87 - item questionnaire developed in USA specifically for children. RESULT: As widely reported during the present work, the link between TMD and psychological distress is existing and quite strong, because of lack of number of patients many aspects worth of attentions have not been analyzed as they deserved. CONCLUSION: That's way the conclusion must lead to the proposal of going on with the present study following, possibly, some aspects of research as an increase of the number of patients involved in the study; Individuate possible elements, internal and external, that could strongly influence differences between patient's results and parent's results, etc.

Quinidine versus propafenone for conversion of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm.

The efficacy and safety of quinidine, as a rapid oral loading therapy, and propafenone in the conversion of atrial fibrillation of <6 months duration to sinus rhythm were compared. Quinidine was more efficacious and as well tolerated as propafenone.

[Femoral arterio-venous fistula. A rare complication of right heart catheterization]. / La fistola artero-venosa femorale. Una rara complicanza del cateterismo cardiaco destro.

Percutaneous central venous catheterization through the femoral vein is frequently used in the Coronary Care Unit. Complications such as thrombophlebitis, thromboembolism and femoral artery puncture are rare. We describe a case of arteriovenous fistula due to femoral vein catheterization in a 61 year old man who was admitted because of advanced atrioventricular block. Auscultation revealed a systodiastolic murmur. Two dimensional and color Doppler flow imaging demonstrated an arteriovenous communication between the superficial femoral artery and common femoral vein without hemodinamic consequences. Two months later, on physical examination and Doppler investigation, the fistula had disappeared.

Molecular characterization of hemoglobin C in Sicily.

Analysis of polymorphisms of the beta-globin gene cluster was performed on 12 families and on one unrelated individual of Sicilian origin who carried hemoglobin C (Hb C). Two different haplotypes were found in association with beta c Sicilian alleles, corresponding to haplotypes I and II previously described in American blacks. In our population, the more frequent one (haplotype I) was linked to the lack of a polymorphic HpaI site 3' to the beta gene (13.0-kb fragment), similarly to haplotype I in blacks, while the less frequent one was linked to a 7.0-kb HpaI fragment attributable to a site that had never been previously described in linkage with beta c alleles. In Italy, these two haplotypes have been found in rare cases in association with beta A alleles. These findings provide new insights into the origin of Hb C present in Sicily, suggesting that (1) the beta c mutation detected in Sicily derived from African black chromosomes and does not represent a new mutation; and (2) Hb C may have originated either by multiple mutational events on separate chromosomes or by mutation in the HpaI site 3' to the beta gene in a pre-existing beta c chromosome.

[Ambulatory electrocardiography in aged patients with syncope]. / L'elettrocardiografia dinamica nei pazienti anziani affetti da sincope.

3600 dynamic ecg recordings were carried out over a period of about seven years. In 408 cases (11.3%), indication for the investigation consisted of syncopal or equivalent minor episodes. 37 patients (9%) presented symptoms during the recording; in 12 cases (2.9%), the symptoms corresponded to an arrhythmia. An increase in atrial and ventricular arrhythmias with advancing age was also observed. Owing to the high incidence of arrhythmias in the elderly, and the poor correlation between symptoms and significant arrhythmias, dynamic ecg is therefore of little diagnostic value in syncope patients.

[Atrial myxoma in the aged. Apropos of 2 clinical cases]. / Il mixoma atriale nell'anziano. A proposito di due casi clinici.

Cardiac myxoma are a diagnostic dilemma, simulating a variety of cardiac and non cardiac diseases. Echocardiography is a powerful technique for diagnosing primary tumors of the heart. We report two cases of elderly patients, with atrial myxomas, for which operation was safely performed on the basis of echocardiography alone without preoperative catheterization.

[Carcinoid cardiopathy]. / La cardiopatia da carcinoide.

A series of 5 males and 2 females aged 23-73 yr with carcinoid cardiopathy is presented, all of them with clinical and instrumental signs of liver metastasis. The main clinical signs were dyspnoea and asthenia rendered ingravescent by effort, and, in the later stage, a frank picture of congestive cardiac decompensation. All subjected presented stethoscopic evidence of tricuspid valvulopathy, combined with pulmonary stenosis in 2 cases. The ECG picture displayed a constant reduction in cardiac potentials, together with right branch bundle block in 3 cases. In cases where an echocardiogram was taken, this confirmed tricuspid involvement. The disease progressed in all cases, and four patients died as a result of terminal liver failure.