Estudio de los mecanismos implicados en la génesis y evolución del asma (proyecto MEGA): creación y seguimiento a largo plazo de una cohorte de pacientes asmáticos

The general aim of this study is to create a cohort of asthma patients with varying grades of severity in order to gain greater insight into the mechanisms underlying the genesis and course of this disease.The specific objectives focus on various studies, including imaging, lung function, inflammation, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, to determine the relevant events that characterize the asthma population, the long-term parameters that can determine changes in the severity of patients, and the treatments that influence disease progression. The study will also seek to identify the causes of exacerbations and how this affects the course of the disease.Patients will be contacted via the outpatient clinics of the 8 participating institutions under the auspices of the Spanish Respiratory Diseases Networking System (CIBER). In the inclusion visit, a standardized clinical history will be obtained, a clinical examination, including blood pressure, body mass index, complete respiratory function tests, and FENO will be performed, and the Asthma Control Test (ACT), Morisky-Green test, Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (Mini AQLQ), the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT-22), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) will be administered. A specific electronic database has been designed for data collection. Exhaled breath condensate, urine and blood samples will also be collected. Non-specific bronchial hyperresponsiveness testing with methacholine will be performed and an induced sputum sample will be collected at the beginning of the study and every 24 months. A skin prick test for airborne allergens and a chest CT will be performed at the beginning of the study and repeated every 5 years.     

What do TSECs provide in the menopausal hormone therapy?

Tissue-selective estrogen complex (TSEC) is projected as a progestogen-free option for the treatment of estrogen deficiency symptoms in postmenopausal, non-hysterectomized women. TSEC combines the benefits of estrogen with a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), in this case bazedoxifene acetate (BZA), which has an antagonistic effect on the endometrium, thus avoiding the use of progestins. The authorized TSEC combination (conjugated estrogens [CE] 0.45?mg/BZA 20?mg) for the alleviation of vasomotor symptoms has been demonstrated in randomized clinical trials compared with placebo or menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). In addition, TSEC has shown improvements in quality of life and vaginal atrophy. In respect to MHT using progestins, the benefits of TSEC are found mainly in the bleeding pattern, amenorrhea rate, and reduction in mammary repercussion (i.e., breast tenderness and radiological density). The objective of this guide will be to analyze the efficacy and safety of TSEC consisting of CE/BZA in postmenopausal women.     

Development and validation of an observational measure of symptoms of Reactive Attachment Disorder

ABSTRACT

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is presumed to be a consequence of social neglect and deprivation of the kind particularly associated with institutional care. Despite its clinical relevance there is a lack of assessment tools for RAD based on the direct observation of child–caregiver interaction.

Here we describe the development and validation of such a tool for use with preschool children, the Rating of Inhibited Attachment Disordered Behavior (RInAB). The RInAB is composed of 17 ratings grouped in three subscales assessing (1) Attachment, (2) Exploratory, and (3) Socioemotional behavior.

Participants were 134 institutionalized preschool children (M = 54.84 months; SD = 10.83; 60% boys) and their caregivers.

Adequate reliability was found for RInAB subscales and total score. Confirmatory factor analyses documented the three aforementioned RInAB subscales. Correlational analyses documented: (i) construct validity via positive and significant associations with caregiver sensitivity and quality of child–caregiver relationship; (ii) convergence validity via association evidence with some emotionally/withdrawn inhibited items of the Disturbed Attachment Interview (DAI), as well as, with Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)’s somatic complaints and withdraw syndrome scales; and (iii) discriminant validity via nonsignificant or negative associations with DAI-indiscriminate subscale, Rating of Infant and Stranger Engagement (RISE) and CBCL-externalizing problems. Discussion highlights the contributions complementary roles of RInAB for a comprehensive assessment of child RAD-related functioning.     

The reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire among controls participating in a case‐control study on cancer

This study was designed to test the reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire used in a population‐based case‐control study on diet and pancreatic cancer. Repeat questionnaires covering the same time period were obtained using 63 male and female population controls, 35–79 years of age. For selected food items included in the case‐control study, the attenuation of the odds ratios due to random error was estimated. Using 54 male and female population controls, 35–79 years of age, we conducted a second study to examine the agreement between original and repeat interviews when the time interval between interview and the period of interest was constant.

In the first study, the median correlation coefficient was 0.72 for foods (ranging from 0.36 and 0.59 for subgroups of vegetables to 0.96 for alcoholic beverages) and 0.77 for nutrients (ranging from 0.62 for β‐carotene to 0.85 for energy and 0.91 for ethanol). In the second study, the median correlation coefficient was 0.68 for foods (ranging from 0.28 for eggs to 0.87 for alcoholic beverages) and 0.75 for nutrients (ranging from 0.48 for β‐carotene to 0.76 for energy).

We conclude that for most items the agreement between original and repeat estimates was moderate (r> 0.50) to high (r > 0.70). Moderate agreement was found for 28 of 33 food items (85%) and for all 21 nutrient items (100%) and high agreement for 19 of 33 of food items (56%) and 15 of 21 nutrient items (71 %). In the second study, agreement was somewhat lower but closely paralleled the results of the first study. On average, random error presumably attenuated most of the observed diet‐cancer relationships only moderately; i.e., an observed odds ratio of 1.5 and a correlation coefficient of 0. 70 yield an unattenuated odds ratio of 2.1.     

Treatment of central giant cell lesions using bisphosphonates with intralesional corticosteroid injections

ABSTRACT: Central giant cell lesions are benign intraosseous proliferative lesions that have considerable local aggressiveness. Nonsurgical treatment methods, such as intralesional corticosteroid injections, systemic calcitonin and interferon have been reported. Recently, bisphosphonates have been used to treat central giant cell lesions. A case of a 36-year-old male with a central giant cell lesion crossing the mandibular midline was treated with intralesional corticosteroids combined with alendronate sodium for the control of systemic bone resorption. The steroid injections and the use of bisphosphonates were stopped after seven months when further needle penetration into the lesion was not possible due to new bone formation. After two years, the bony architecture was near normal, and only minimal radiolucency was present around the root apices of the involved teeth. The patient was followed up for four years, and panoramic radiography showed areas of new bone formation. Thus far, neither recurrence nor side effects of the medication have been detected.