Phototherapy during treadmill training improves quadriceps performance in postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of infrared-light-emitting diode (LED) during treadmill training on functional performance. METHODS: Thirty postmenopausal women aged 50-60 years were randomly assigned to one of three groups and successfully completed the full study. The three groups were: (1) the LED group, which performed treadmill training associated with phototherapy (n = 10); (2) the exercise group, which carried out treadmill training only (n = 10); and (3) the sedentary group, which neither performed physical training nor underwent phototherapy (n = 10). Training was performed over a period of 6 months, twice a week for 45 min per session at 85-90% of maximal heart rate, which was obtained during progressive exercise testing. The irradiation parameters were 100 mW, 39 mW/cm(2) and 108 J/cm(2) for 45 min. Quadriceps performance was measured during isokinetic exercise testing at 60°/s and 300°/s. RESULTS: Peak torque did not differ amongst the groups. However, the results showed significantly higher values of power and total work for the LED group (∆ = 21 ± 6 W and ∆ = 634 ± 156 J, p < 0.05) when compared to both the exercise group (∆ = 13 ± 10 W and = 410 ± 270 J) and the sedentary group (∆ = 10 ± 9 W and ∆ = 357 ± 327 J). Fatigue was also significantly lower in the LED group (∆ = -7 ± 4%, p < 0.05) compared to both the exercise group (∆ = 3 ± 8%) and the sedentary group (∆ = -2 ± 6%). CONCLUSIONS: Infrared-LED during treadmill training may improve quadriceps power and reduce peripheral fatigue in postmenopausal women.

Ectopic pregnancy on previous cesarean section scar. Case report.

This report concerns a very rare case of ectopic pregnancy on previous cesarean section scar, with its clinical therapeutic solutions. The increasing amount of cesarean sections could cause, in the next years, a greater probability to meet cases such this one. Here it follows a description of the diagnostic iter and the surgical therapy with laparotomic approach.

Relevance of clinical and laboratory findings in the diagnosis of cytomegalovirus encephalitis in patients with AIDS.

A retrospective evaluation was conducted in patients with AIDS and an autopsy diagnosis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) encephalitis to determine the relevance of clinical and laboratory findings in establishing a diagnosis. On autopsy of 100 patients, CMV encephalitis was diagnosed in 13 patients; eight had periventricular CMV encephalitis, four micronodular CMV encephalitis, and one both conditions. Seven patients had had a CMV infection previously (6 cases of retinitis, 1 case of colitis), and at the onset of encephalitis all of them were receiving a maintenance dose of ganciclovir. Examination of the CSF showed specific changes in patients with periventricular encephalitis. CT revealed no characteristic findings, while MRI showed an increased signal intensity on T2 weighted images. CMV DNA amplification by nested PCR was performed in nine patients with CMV encephalitis; PCR was positive in eight patients whose CSF was collected during CMV encephalitis, and negative in one patient whose CSF was collected six months before death. In conclusion, some clinical findings suggest a presumptive diagnosis, especially of periventricular encephalitis, and nested PCR appears to be a reliable and rapid technique for making an antemortem diagnosis.

[Toxocariasis: a case report]. / Toxocariasi: descrizione di un caso.

The Authors present a case of infestation by Toxocara canis occurring in a eighteen months' child. A first time he was hospitalised for wheezing, reported hypereosinophilia and a thoracic X-ray with a soften congestion in the right lung's base. Two months later he was admitted to hospital for the persistence of high level of eosinocyte. The clinical tests and the patient's history explain the first symptoms like the passage of the Toxocara's larvae in the lungs, but don't justify the anomalous behaviour of eosinocytes. In fact the hypereosinophilia was present two months before the admission in our Department, but two tests, executed during the first stay in hospital, didn't show abnormality. A few months after, another blood's sample showed an high level of eosinocytes and, in the same time, a new control of thoracic X-ray, didn't show any change in the image.

Zinc and magnesium in liver cirrhosis.

The Authors determined zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg) in the plasma, urine, erythrocytes (RBCs), mono- and polymorphonuclear cells (MNCs and PMNs) of patients with overt alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis. In order to obtain a clearer clinical picture, biochemical and nutritional parameters (retinol, tocopherol, six different carotenoids, creatinine-height index and tricipital skinfold), as well as markers of portal hypertension (spleno-portal size and platelet count) were also evaluated. The plasma levels of Zn and Mg were found to be reduced, as were the urine levels of Mg. Urine Zn, on the other hand, was higher than normal. Plasma Zn correlated inversely, and urine Zn directly, with the severity of the disease, rather than with alcohol consumption or treatment with diuretics. Protein metabolism impairment would appear to affect the plasma transport of Zn rather than its overall availability in the organism; the opposite was found in the case of Mg, the availability of which appeared to be reduced. Determination of the two elements in RBCs, MNCs and PMNs suggested that a true nutritional deficit cannot be demonstrated. MNCs, rather than RBCs or PMNs seem better to reflect tissue status of trace elements.

[Feto-maternal transfusion. Description of a case]. / Trasfusione feto-materna. Descrizione di un caso.

Feto-maternal transfusion is an uncommon cause of neonatal anemia due to the passage of fetal blood in maternal circulation, in an amount greater than 150-180 ml. The onset of anemia may be acute or chronic in relation to the speed of blood loss. The case that we report has intermediate features between the acute and chronic form.

Magnetic resonance imaging and different levels of iron overload in chronic liver disease.

The need for accurate and noninvasive evaluation of liver iron stores prompted us to evaluate the reliability of high-field magnetic resonance imaging equipment in liver patients with low or moderate siderosis, given the poor results obtained using systems operating at low field strength in such cases. Twenty patients with sporadic porphyria cutanea tarda and 28 with comparable chronic liver diseases (chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis) and moderate siderosis were compared with 10 patients with idiopathic or secondary hemochromatosis and 10 healthy controls. Plasma iron profile, ferritin concentration and liver iron concentration, determined with atomic absorption spectroscopy, were matched with the magnetic resonance parameters-namely, transverse relaxation time and the signal intensity for a given proton amount, obtained with equipment operating at a field strength of 1.5 T. Hemochromatosis patients with mean liver iron concentrations of 550 mumol/gm dry wt (vs. 10 mumol of controls) exhibited an impressive reduction in the signal intensity with respect to the other three groups, and this reduction prevented any further comparison with the same porphyria cutanea tarda and chronic liver disease groups, whose liver iron level was twice that of the controls. The signal intensity remained almost unchanged in the latter groups, whereas the transverse relaxation time was significantly reduced. Moreover, correlation with liver iron was significantly inverse in the case of the transverse relaxation time (n = 17, r = 0.62, p = 0.008) and direct in the case of the transverse relaxation rate. The transverse relaxation time values returned to normal in five patients who had completed an iron-depletion program.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[The clinical implications of the use of an amino acid mixture without tryptophan in liver cirrhosis]. / Implicazioni cliniche dell' utilizzo di una miscela aminoacidica priva di triptofano nella cirrosi epatica.

The ingestion of an amino acid mixture lacking tryptophan causes a rapid fall of plasma tryptophan in healthy subjects. This is because amino acids elicit protein synthesis and endogenous tryptophan is incorporated into new proteins. If protein synthesis is the mechanism through which tryptophan-free solution decrease blood tryptophan, it may be interesting to study tryptophan levels after a tryptophan-free mixture in subjects with impaired protein synthesis. In the present paper we show that in 27 cirrhotics the administration of a tryptophan-free solution caused a fall of total plasma tryptophan that began significantly later than in 14 control subjects, the delay being significantly proportional to the severity of the disease. The difference between control and cirrhotic subjects was due to the bound fraction of plasma tryptophan. The diagnostic and clinical usefulness of our findings are discussed.

[Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome): two case reports]. / La trisomia 18 (sindrome di Edwards): considerazioni su due casi.

Edwards (or trisomy 18) syndrome, with a frequency of about 1 over 8000 births, is commonly characterized by a very short survival; those rare cases reported with ages of 12 months or more, always were demonstrated to be chromosomic mosaicisms. Two affected children with completely different outcomes are here described; the first with a classic short-life evolution, in opposition to the second with long survival, the last a good example of all those various biological, psychological and social support interventions in these circumstances, very rare to match with, for this appears to be a trisomy 18 without mosaicism.

[Perinatal listeriosis. A report of a case with a hydrocephalus outcome]. / Listeriosi perinatale. Descrizione di un caso con esito in idrocefalo.

Perinatal listeriosis is a disease whose incidence has increased constantly in recent years. Like neonatal infection determined by B hemolyticus streptococcus, the disease appears in two forms: the first is the septicaemic form with early onset, the second form is meningoencephalitic with late onset. We describe a case of listeriosis with immediate onset in which, in spite of the prompt therapy and the normality of rachiocentesis, developed a purulent ventriculitis with outcome in hydrocephalus.

Carotenoids and liposoluble vitamins in liver cirrhosis.

The role played by carotenoids, retinol and tocopherol in quencing oxidative cellular damage and combatting tumor growth is well documented, but little is known about their activity in human liver cirrhosis (LC), where oxidative damage and tumoral complications are common-place. We investigated 59 patients with LC of different etiology on admission to hospital and compared them with 32 healthy controls, matched for age and sex. Nutritional (cutaneous skinfolds, creatinine-height index) and serum parameters were determined; of these, alpha- and beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, lycopene, retinol and alpha-tocopherol were detected by an high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) technique, devised in our laboratory, which afforded an accurate and simultaneous resolution of all six compounds. The results point to a significant reduction in almost all the vitamin factors in LC, as well as in total serum lipids. In consequence, the ratio tocopherol/total serum lipids remains almost unchanged: 2.45 +/- 0.08 (m +/- se) in controls and 2.34 +/- 0.16 in patients. The effects of age, sex, nutritional habits, alcohol, malnutrition and the severity of the disease were also evaluated in relation to the vitamin-factor levels. It is suggested that the reduced levels observed in LC patients are due to a number of factors including portal hypertension and lymphatic circulation impairment, and it is concluded that thorough screening and improved diet are beneficial in the follow-up of LC.

Decrease in plasma tryptophan after a tryptophan-free amino acid solution. A comparison between cirrhotic and control subjects.

In healthy subjects the administration of an amino acid mixture devoid of tryptophan causes a marked decrease of plasma tryptophan. This is because amino acid mixtures induce protein synthesis and tryptophan in blood is incorporated into newly synthesized proteins. We hypothesized that a tryptophan-free mixture could differently affect plasma tryptophan levels in subjects with an impaired protein synthesis such as chronic liver patients. We studied tryptophan levels after a tryptophan-free amino acid solution in controls and cirrhotics fasting 12 hours. Plasma total tryptophan fell to 91% of the initial level 60 minutes after the administration of the diet, to 71% after 120, and to 50% after 210' in controls. In cirrhotics the solution caused a decrease of plasma tryptophan that began significantly later than in controls, the delay being proportional to the severity of the disease. Cirrhotics were subdivided into two groups in accordance to the Pugh modification of the Child-Turcotte criteria. Total plasma tryptophan was 100% of base line levels after 60', 88% after 120', and 65% after 210' in less severe clinical condition; total plasma tryptophan was 102% of base line levels after 60', 98% after 120', and 75% after 210' in more severe clinical condition.

Liver iron overload and desferrioxamine treatment of porphyria cutanea tarda.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate invasive and non-invasive indices of iron store and compare the effectiveness of different ferrodepletive protocols in 150 patients with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). Iron removal was performed either by intensive phlebotomy (22 cases) or slow subcutaneous and high intravenous doses of desferrioxamine (18 and 5 cases, respectively), and several laboratory parameters were studied; among these, oligo-elements and urinary porphyrins (detected by HPLC) were taken into account before and after the treatments. Serum iron, transferrin saturation, ferritin (RIA) and nuclear magnetic resonance results were compared with invasive findings in order to detect the metal deposition in liver tissue (atomic absorption concentration, optic or electron-microscopic detection). Liver iron overload was observed in 95% of cases. Full normalization of the disease took place by all the treatments, even if it required slightly more time in the phlebotomy group. We may conclude that ferrodepletive treatments are highly effective in PCT and, considering the fact that siderosis and liver damage always accompany the disease, these treatments are proposed as first choice in such cases.

[Hepatitis B: is the current vaccination policy the correct one everywhere?]. / Epatite B: è ovunque corretta l'attuale strategia vaccinale?

In this study we have tried to examine retrospectively all the babies born to HBsAg + mothers in the past nine years, in order to evaluate which is the real incidence of perinatal transmission of HBsAg, and then if the actual politic to vaccinate only these babies is right and sufficient. The results demonstrate that the perinatal transmission is not a major problem in our country, so we suggest that for improvement of public health is more advised the vaccination of all infants: those born to HBsAg + mothers at the birth, the others in the third month of life.

[A case of paralysis of the right diaphragm with paralysis of the contralateral brachial plexus]. / Un caso di paralisi di emidiaframmatica dx con paralisi del plesso brachiale controlaterale.

We describe a case of unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis following a distocic delivery. We think that the rarity of this syndrome in only apparent while, if investigated with fluoroscopy, much more cases can be discovered. Our case is interesting too since the Erb's palsy was contralateral to the diaphragmatic paralysis; that occurs in very few cases.