ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of OSAS' risk in children of the province of Catanzaro, Italy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 2445 scoolchildren aged 6 to 12 years of the province of Catanzaro (Italy) were administered the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaires (PSQs) in its validated Italian version. A total of 1772 questionnaires were collected; however, 130 of them were excluded, and 1642 questionnaires were accepted and scored. RESULTS: According to final scores of questionnaires, 172 children (10.47%) were considered at risk for OSAS. No statistically significant association between sex and risk of OSAS was found (p = 0.189). The risk of OSAS was equally distributed in all ages (p = 0.984). It was found that the most common habits in children with risk of OSAS were: snoring, heavy or noisy breathing, oral breathing, xerostomia, difficulty waking up in the morning, behavioural disturbances during the day and excess weight. CONCLUSION: The study showed a high risk of OSAS, suggesting the importance of first-level screening and the need to pay special attention to the diagnosis of this syndrome.
Subject(s)
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive , Child , Humans , Italy , Prevalence , Sleep , Snoring , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Infliximab is an anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha chimeric monoclonal antibody which is highly effective in psoriasis, as well as in other indications. In clinical practice, some patients may require dose escalation to overcome a reduction of the extent and/or duration of response during regular maintenance treatment, possibly due to the loss of stable serum concentrations of the drug. Common strategies of dose escalation are the increase of dose per infusion and the decrease of interval between infusions. Here we report the results of re-induction therapy with infliximab used as a dose escalation strategy in 9 patients whose psoriasis relapsed during maintenance treatment with infliximab 5 mg/kg every 8 weeks. Re-induction was well tolerated and capable of restoring response in 8 of these patients.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal , Dermatologic Agents , Psoriasis/drug therapy , Adult , Antibodies, Monoclonal/administration & dosage , Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use , Dermatologic Agents/administration & dosage , Dermatologic Agents/therapeutic use , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Administration Schedule , Female , Humans , Infliximab , Infusions, Intravenous , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Psoriasis/prevention & control , Remission Induction , Secondary Prevention , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
A restoring process was set up to restore flexibility, size, and shape in naturally aged or fire-damaged parchments of old manuscripts. Validation of such a process requires the measurement of intrinsic parchment properties and comparison of them before and after the treatment. To this aim, we investigated morphological, mechanical, and surface physico-chemical properties of parchment by taking SEM pictures and characterizing small samples by microindentation, mercury porosimetry, and water vapor adsorption/desorption isotherms. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/drug therapy , Diabetic Retinopathy/physiopathology , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/therapeutic use , Insulin/therapeutic use , Blood Glucose/metabolism , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/blood , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/physiopathology , Disease Progression , Drug Therapy, Combination , Humans , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/adverse effects , Recombinant Proteins/adverse effects , Recombinant Proteins/therapeutic useABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To report the clinical and angiographic features of two monozygotic twins affected by bilateral group 2 idiopathic juxtafoveolar telangiectasis. METHOD: Case reports. RESULTS: Two 64-year-old women, who were identical twins, were suffering from visual loss. One twin had suffered from visual loss for 1 year and had a visual acuity of 20/25 in both eyes, and the other twin had suffered for 2 years and had a visual acuity of 20/30 in both eyes. Fluorescein angiography disclosed similar fundus features. An analogous area of capillary telangiectasis and leakage was observed in the right macula, where no intraretinal pigment was seen; the left macula showed a similar amount of intraretinal pigment associated with tiny right-angle venules and minimal leakage. CONCLUSION: This observation raises the issue of genetic influences in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Subject(s)
Diseases in Twins/genetics , Fovea Centralis/pathology , Optic Disk/blood supply , Retinal Diseases/genetics , Retinal Vessels/pathology , Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/genetics , Twins, Monozygotic , Female , Fluorescein Angiography , Humans , Middle Aged , Optic Disk/pathology , Retinal Diseases/pathology , Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/pathology , Visual AcuityABSTRACT
An epidemiological investigation of 41 subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis observed in the Province of Messina during 1976-1985 was performed. The incidence was 0.61/100,000 and the prevalence 2.48/100,000 inhabitants. The illness was found to be prevalent in males. The atrophic type occurred in 17 subjects, the bulbar type in 23 cases and the pseudo-polyneuritic form in only one patient. The mean age on the onset was 57.29 +/- 10.55 years. The duration of the illness was significantly higher in patients with atrophic type (p less than 0.01). No significant difference between occupation and development of the disease was found. Among all patients 12.19% presented evidence of trauma, but traumatic events were equally present in a control group.
