ABSTRACT
The neuropsychological performance of schoolchildren living in areas with present and past iodine deficiency in Tuscany was investigated. Children were submitted to: a) block design subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and a modified version of the WISC-R coding subtest which evaluate the general neuropsychological and cognitive performance, independently from familial cultural background; b) simple reaction time (RT) session which evaluates the efficiency of the whole information processing and nervous transmission mechanisms. Neuropsychological performance was tested in 107 children living in Borgo a Mozzano, an area of mild iodine deficiency (IDA) with a median urinary iodine excretion (UIE) of 64 micrograms/L (mean +/- SD: 80.1 +/- 57). One hundred and six sex and age-matched children living in Marina di Pisa, an iodine sufficient coastal village of Tuscany (ISA) with a median UIE of 142 micrograms/L (mean +/- SD: 173 +/- 95) were used as controls. Tests for neuropsychological performance were performed in 57 children living in the village of Vagli, an area with past iodine deficiency (PIDA): 30 children born before iodine prophylaxis (Group 1), when the median UIE was 32 micrograms/L (mean +/- SD: 47 +/- 22), 27 children born after the institution of iodine prophylaxis (Group 2), when the median UIE was 109 micrograms/L (mean +/- SD: 130 +/- 73). Sex and age-matched ISA-children were used as controls for each group. RTs were significantly delayed (p < 0.05) in IDA than in ISA children, while block design and coding subtests showed no significant difference.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Subject(s)
Iodine/deficiency , Nervous System Diseases/etiology , Child , Cognition , Female , Goiter/epidemiology , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Iodine/administration & dosage , Iodine/urine , Italy , Male , Nervous System Diseases/epidemiology , Neuropsychological Tests , Pregnancy , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects , Reaction TimeABSTRACT
51 male patients with mild degree chronic airway obstruction underwent detailed evaluation of pulmonary function tests, blood gas analysis and exercise tolerance test before and after a short-term therapy. The patients were randomly assigned to medical therapy alone or to medical and rehabilitative therapy. 23 patients treated with medical and rehabilitative therapy showed a significant decrease of respiratory rate and PaCO2 and a significant increase of TV, FEV 1.0, FEV 0.75 x 40, PaO2, SaO2 and exercise tolerance after a month of therapy. 28 patients treated with medical therapy alone showed a significant increase of VC and FEV 0.75 x 40. These data suggest that rehabilitative therapy is a valid adjunct to medical therapy in the short-term treatment of chronic airway obstruction.
