Street food among children: a study in north Tunisia

As urbanization increases in Tunisia, eating meals outside the home is becoming more frequent. Children are prime consumers for the fast food sold in the streets. Neither their nor their parents' attitude towards street food is well documented as yet. This study was conducted in the city of Bizerte in February 1998. Its aim was to gather information about street food and parents' and children's attitudes towards it to help organize educational sessions with the children, parents, teachers, and vendors. The study interviewed 421 primary school children, ranging in age from 6 to 15 years (mean age: 10 years), from 24 schools. Half received pocket money, a percentage that did not differ by sex. Three quarters of the children used more than 75% of their pocket money to buy street food. The items bought most frequently were candy (27.2%), sandwiches (23.9%), pastries (23.9%), sunflower seeds and peanuts (21%), and either pizza, chocolate, or cheese (20.3%); the largest proportion of money was spent on sandwiches. In more than half the cases (55.7% of the children), the main motivation for buying street food was either to replace or fill out a meal at home, with sandwiches or pastries. The parents' monthly income did not influence the children's purchasing behavior, but the rhythm of receiving pocket money did. Most children were satisfied with the nutritional and hygienic quality of the food available, but their opinion of this quality as well as the reasons for buying the food and the prices spent on it differed considerably from that of their parents. This study highlights the important role of street foods in the daily diet of schoolchildren and the need for appropriate nutrition education in primary schools.     

Topical application of dimethylbenz[a]anthracene results in the generation of multiple melanocytic nevi in C3H/HeN mice

Melanocytic nevi are a common dermatological problem for which there are few in vivo models. It has been postulated that environmental factors contribute to their development. Experiments were therefore conducted to determine whether application of dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) to the skin of mice would result in the development of melanocytic nevi. One hundred microliters of a 0.1%, 0.5%, or 1.0% solution of DMBA was applied to the dorsal skin of C3H/HeN mice. The mice were then observed for the appearance of pigmented lesions. Histological examination revealed perifollicular accumulations of nevus cells, which were S-100-protein and HMB-45-positive, confirming their melanocytic origin. Pigmented lesions did not occur in animals treated with vehicle alone. Dose response studies revealed both greater numbers of nevi and lesions with larger diameters as the dose of DMBA was increased from 0.1% to 0.5%. In no instance was an invasive melanoma observed even after 40 weeks. The fact that melanocytic nevi can be produced by topical application of DMBA suggests that xenobiotics may play a previously unrecognized role in the development of this common benign neoplasm. Because this is one of the only animal models for melanocytic nevi, further examination of this model may facilitate identification of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms that lead to the development of pigmented nevi and the factors that promote their evolution into invasive melanomas.     

A large cerebral hydatid cyst associated with liver cyst

Hydatid disease in childhood is a serious health problem in Turkey and other places where the parasite is endemic. An 8-year-old girl from a rural area was admitted with headache, recurrent abdominal pain, abdominal distension and hypo-aesthesia and paresis of the right arm. Computerised tomography (CT) scans demonstrated a large intracranial hydatid cyst. A hydatid cyst was detected in the liver also. Her mother had been treated previously for disseminated hydatid disease. The cerebral cyst was removed but only subtotal excision of the hepatic cyst was possible. She was treated with albendazole, has fully recovered and, after 12 months of follow-up, there is no sign of recurrence.     

Isolated posterior pre-marginal hernia. Apropos of 6 cases

Posterior pre-marginal disk hernia, a rare lesion, was diagnosed in six young adults with lumbago. Lateral lumbar spine radiographic images showed an unusual appearance, combining a posterior marginal defect of a vertebral corner and a small bony spicule projecting into lumbar canal. A literature review revealed 27 similar cases, mostly in adolescents. These vertebral disk anomalies are considered by some authors to be fractures of the posterior margin border. A more plausible hypothesis is a pre-marginal hernia, because of lack of a history of injury, the radiologic appearance comparable with that of sequelae of Scheuermann's disease, and the frequent association of these lesions with a spinal growth dystrophy.     

A randomized pilot study of high-dose epirubicin as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer of the bilharzial bladder

Seventy-one patients with T2 and T3 bladder cancer were randomized to receive either two courses of epirubicin 120 mg/m2 i.v. push every 21 days pre-operatively, and four additional courses post-operatively (group I = 34 patients), or radical surgery (group II = 37 patients). At a median follow-up of 24 months (range 22 months to 38 months) 25 patients from group I and 14 patients from group II are still alive and disease-free. The estimated two-year disease-free survival percentages were 73.5 and 37.9%, respectively (P = 0.05). After initial chemotherapy, resected specimens were subjected to histopathological study of chemotherapeutic effects. Necrosis was detected in 95% of cases with squamous cell carcinoma and in 57.3% of cases with transitional cell carcinoma. We conclude that the benefit which was obtained by pre-operative and post-operative chemotherapy with epirubicin is promising and may represent a significant improvement in the treatment of patients with carcinoma of the bilharzial bladder.