Validity of BMI based on self-reported weight and height in adolescents

Aim:  To assess in a subset of a nationally representative sample of Portuguese adolescents, the validity of Body Mass Index (BMI) based on self-reported weight and height.
Methods:  This study included 462 students in grades 6, 8 and 10 (mean age 14.0 ± 1.9 years) from 12 public schools randomly selected from the list of schools which took part in the 2006 Health Behaviour in School Aged Children Portuguese survey, corresponding to approximately 10% of the sample. Self-reported weight and height were recorded and then measured.
Results:  Prevalence of normal weight, overweight and obesity based on self-report compared with that of measured values was not significantly different for boys and girls, and among age groups. BMI based on measured weight and height was underestimated compared with BMI based on self-reported data, both among girls and boys. Larger limits of agreement were found for boys, indicating a higher variability of self-reported BMI in estimating measured BMI, specifically below the age of 14 years.
Conclusion:  These data suggest that BMI based on self-reported weight and height is not accurate for BMI prediction at an individual level. However, self-reported BMI may be used as a simple and valid tool for BMI estimates of overweight and obesity in epidemiological studies.     

小切口开胸39例体会

1 临床资料小切口开胸39(男24,女15)例,年龄16～75(平均50.5)岁. 肺癌12,其中中央型肺癌3例,周围型肺癌9例;肺结核瘤2例;恶性胸水8例;自发性气胸肺大疱10例;食管裂孔疝3例,贲门失弛缓症4例. 术前准备同常规开胸手术. 采用单腔或双腔管气管内插管、全身静脉复合麻醉. 采用标准开胸的健侧卧位. 切口自锁骨中线至肩胛下线之间的范围沿肋间走行,长约8～12 cm,以病变的部位选择锁骨中线至腋中线或腋前线至腋后线或腋中线至肩胛线的相应肋间,依次切开皮肤、皮下组织,将背阔肌及胸大肌游离而不切断,沿欲切开之肋间将前锯肌纤维钝性分开,紧贴下位肋骨上缘切断肋间肌及壁层胸膜,用两副开胸器交叉撑开即可暴露术野进行操作. 关胸时,用10号丝线绕切口上下肋骨间隙缝合3针,关闭胸腔,逐层缝合切口各层组织,其中皮肤层以可吸收线行皮内连续缝合. 应用小切口进行肺叶切除11例;取活检1例;肺楔形切除2例;胸膜固定术8例;肺大疱切除10例;食管裂孔疝修补3例,贲门失弛缓症贲门胃底肌层切开膈肌瓣成形术4例. 开胸时间8～12(平均10)min. 关胸时间15～20(平均17.5)min. 开胸过程中出血量10～20 mL. 术后胸腔引流量70～200(平均130)mL/d. 术后伤口疼痛较标准开胸切口者明显减轻,均不用止痛剂. 术后术侧上肢活动无明显受限,肩关节活动在1 wk内均恢复正常,可耐受大范围的活动. 本组病例中,患者切口7～9 d拆线,全部I期愈合.     

MRI引导下超声聚焦对痛性骨转移瘤的姑息治疗

目的对标准治疗无效或不能进行标准治疗的痛性骨转移瘤病人进行MRI引导下超声聚焦姑息治疗的安全性和初期疗效的评估。材料和方法本研究经病人的知情     

Dysgenesis of thyroid is the common type of childhood hypothyroidism in environmentally iodine deficient areas of north India

Forty-five children (28 girls and 17 boys; mean age 4.5 years) with hypothyroidism referred to us from January 1989 to November 1990 were evaluated prospectively for the pattern of hypothyroidism by hormone assays, scintiscan and urinary iodine estimation. Among the 6 children from non-endemic areas, athyreosis and/or hypoplasia were seen in 3, ectopia in 2 and dyshormonogenesis in 1. Of 39 children from moderate to severe environmentally iodine deficient regions, 18 (46%) had athyreosis and/or hypoplasia and 10 (26%) ectopic thyroid. Iodine deficiency was seen in 4, dyshormonogenesis in 4, secondary/tertiary hypothyroidism in 2 and thyroiditis in 1. The mean age of these children at the onset of symptoms was 1.4 years and at clinical presentation 4.5 years. There was significant growth retardation with 54% of children being below the 5th centile of Indian standards. There was no significant difference in the age at onset of symptoms and presentation, clinical features and bone age for the different types. The levels of serum total T4 were significantly low in dysgenesis (athyreosis, hypoplasia and ectopia, p < 0,001). Dysgenesis of the thyroid is the most common type of childhood hypothyroidism in iodine deficiency endemias. We postulate that severe iodine deficiency in the intrauterine and early neonatal period may lead to dysgenesis of the thyroid.     

Cardiovascular abnormalities in end stage renal failure: the effect of anaemia or uraemia?

Plasma interleukin-8 (IL-8) concentrations were measured in patients with atopic dermatitis. Plasma IL-8 was not detected in 25 controls (0/25), in allergic rhinitis (0/20), or in bronchial asthma during remission (0/13), while low concentrations of IL-8 were detectable in a few patients with urticaria (1/19), contact dermatitis (4/17), and bronchial asthma at the time of attack (6/16). In contrast, IL-8 was detectable in most cases of atopic dermatitis (41/52). Moreover, IL-8 concentrations were significantly higher in severe than in mild or moderate atopic dermatitis. IL-8 concentrations decreased as atopic dermatitis was improved by treatment, and IgE production in vitro was also decreased while serum IgE concentrations remained unchanged. IL-8 measurement may be a useful tool for the study of the pathogenesis and clinical course of atopic dermatitis.     

Mitochondrial DNA 8993 (NARP) mutation presenting with a heterogeneous phenotype including 'cerebral palsy'

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation 8993 is an important cause of Leigh's encephalopathy. A family is reported where other affected members have presented with non-specific delayed development or cerebral palsy. The diagnosis should be considered not only in children with Leigh's encephalopathy, but also in those with mild neurological dysfunction (including cerebral palsy) if there is a pigmentary retinopathy or a family history of neurological or ophthalmological disease. There was some correlation in this family between the disease severity and the proportion of mutant mtDNA in the blood. This mutation appears to segregate to high levels of mutant mtDNA rapidly within pedigrees and the mother of a severely affected child has a high risk of having further children with a high proportion of mutant mtDNA and a severe phenotype.     

Nurse-controlled analgesia using a patient-controlled analgesia device: An alternative strategy in the management of severe cancer pain in children

Abstract: Nurse-controlled analgesia (NCA) using a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device has been described for intensive care and postoperative use. This report describes the effective use of this technique for severe episodic and procedural pain in four children with advanced malignancy and high opioid requirements where conventional parenteral analgesia had been inadequate. Both morphine and fentanyl were used. Average duration of NCA was 6.75 days (range 4–12).     

cDNA cloning of a human homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans cell fate-determining gene mab-21: expression, chromosomal localization and analysis of a highly polymorphic (CAG)n trinucleotide repeat

The two most consistent features of the diseases caused by trinucleotide repeat expansion-neuropsychiatric symptoms and the phenomenon of genetic anticipation-may be present in forms of dementia, hereditary ataxia, Parkinsonism, bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia and autism. To identify candidate genes for these disorders, we have screened human brain cDNA libraries for the presence of gene fragments containing polymorphic trinucleotide repeats. Here we report the cDNA cloning of CAGR1, originally detected in a retinal cDNA library. The 2743 bp cDNA contains a 1077 bp open reading frame encoding 359 amino acids. This amino acid sequence is homologous (56% amino acid identify and 81% amino acid conservation) to the Caenorhabditis elegans cell fate-determining protein mab-21. CAGR1 is expressed in several human tissues, most prominently in the cerebellum, as a message of approximately 3.0 kb. The gene was mapped to 13q13, just telomeric to D13S220. A 5'-untranslated CAG trinucleotide repeat is highly polymorphic, with repeat length ranging from six to 31 triplets and a heterozygosity of 87-88% in 684 chromosomes from several human populations. One allele from an individual with an atypical movement disorder and bipolar affective disorder type II contains 46 triplets, 15 triplets longer than any other allele detected. Though insufficient data are available to link the long repeat to this clinical phenotype, an expansion mutation of the CAGR1 repeat can be considered a candidate for the etiology of disorders with anticipation or developmental abnormalities, and particularly any such disorders linked to chromosome 13.