Thyroid anomalies in Williams syndrome: investigation of 95 patients.

Thyroid involvement in Williams syndrome (WS) was recently reported in two small groups of patients, both showing an increased prevalence of elevation of TSH serum concentration; in one of the two reports, 70% of the patients demonstrated a hypoplasia of thyroid gland as well. In our institution, we currently follow a large population of WS patients who periodically undergo a multispecialist clinical evaluation that includes ultrasound evaluation of the thyroid gland, and levels of FT3, FT4, TSH, and anti-thyroid antibodies. Here, we report on the prevalence of thyroid structural and functional anomalies, in a population of 95 WS patients, half of them followed for more than 5 years. Our study confirms the increased incidence of both elevated TSH serum values (37.9% in our sample) and thyroid gland hypoplasia (74.7%). Moreover, we demonstrated that TSH elevation declines with age. For this reason, we suggest that a complete thyroid evaluation be performed in every patient with WS, and that this medical complication should be periodically searched for in follow-up visits.

Uterine motility in patients with bicornuate uterus.

This study analyzes uterine motility in 12 women with a bicornuate uterus using the results of the recordings of endo-uterine pressure, obtained with two balloon-closed catheters. Seven patients had symmetric uterine cavities, while the rest (5 patient) had very dissimilar ones. The registration of the uterine motility was carried out during various phases of the cycle and after the administration of two drugs (oxitocin and methylergobasine), with the following results: the bicornuate uterus has a spontaneous activity similar to that of a normal uterus. A similar contractile response was observed in the uteri with two anatomically symmetric horns, whereas a dissimilar response was typical of the uteri with marked anatomic differences between the two horns.

Antibiotic prophylaxis in gynecological surgery.

A randomized prospective study was undertaken at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the Catholic University of Rome in order to evaluate the effectiveness of two wide spectrum antibiotics: mezlocillin and cefotetan. Both drugs were administered 2 g i.v. 15 to 20 minutes preoperatively to allow optimal serum and tissue levels of antibiotic at the moment of bacterial innoculation. 184 patients undergoing elective gynecological surgery for nonmalignant disease were considered eligible for the study (124 pts abdominal hysterectomy, 58 pts vaginal hysterectomy). We found no statistically significant differences between the results obtained with the two drugs.

[Chemical and nutritional evaluation of commercial bakery products for children (author's transl)]. / Studi sul valore nutritivo di alcuni prodotti da forno destinati prevalentemente all'infanzia

Various bakery products, differing in either composition or processing, all widely consumed in Italy by school children, have been studied. Protein, lipid, reducing and total sugars, amino acid and available lysine contents have been determined, as well as biological parameters have been calculated to verify hypotheses about growth factors. The products examined have low protein biological value and the proteins are considerably demaged by technological processing. Lysine, always the limiting amino-acid in these proteins, is shown to be unavailable in percentages varying from 20 to 60% of the total lysine. Upon describing growth as a function of protein content, the correlation improves considerably. Furthermore, when this variable, protein content, is associated with the corrected chemical score in a linear model, the correlation reaches even higher values.