Sun habits in the children of Southern Italy

Skin cancer represents an increasingly worldwide public health problem. Because an estimated 50% to 80% of the skin's lifetime sun damage is thought to occur in childhood, it is during this critical period that excessive sun exposure is considered a risk factor for later development of skin cancer. Our objective was to investigate sun habits of children of Southern Italy. The population was a randomly selected sample of 800 parents of children who attended primary schools in Campania between December 2005 and September 2006. Interviews were conducted using a questionnaire, which provided information about sociodemographic characteristics, parents' knowledge about the risk of skin cancer, their level of education, and their and their children's sun-protection and sun-exposure habits. Our results show that 45% of the children were exposed to the sun less than 2 hours a day; it is important to notice that 71.2% often stayed in the sun from 11 am to 4 pm. About 40% of children had sunburns during holidays. These data show that prevention should imperatively be emphasized for improving sun-protection and sun-exposure habits.     

Esmolol in Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Lichen sclerosus with enlarged vessels: A variant of lichen sclerosus in young girls

Vascular findings have rarely been described in the setting of lichen sclerosus. Enlarged vessels within the atrophic plaques have been observed on the free margins of the labia minora and clitoral hood. The enlarged vessels completely remit upon treatment of lichen sclerosus with an ultra‐potent corticosteroid ointment in the acute phase. During maintenance therapy with calcineurin inhibitors, there was no recurrence of the enlarged vessels.     

Redox homeostasis in sport: do athletes really need antioxidant support?

ABSTRACT

Supplementation with antioxidants received interest as suitable tool for preventing or reducing exercise-related oxidative stress possibly leading to improvement of sport performance in athletes.

To date, it is difficult to reach a conclusion on the relevance of antioxidants supplementation in athletes and/or well-trained people. The general picture that emerges from the available data indicates that antioxidants requirement can be covered by dosage equal or close to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) provided by consumption of a balanced, well-diversified diet. Nevertheless, it remains open the possibility that in specific context, such as in sports characterized by high intensity and/or exhaustive regimes, supplementation with antioxidants could be appropriated to avoid or reduce the damaging effect of these type of exercise. This review will discuss the findings of a number of key studies on the advantages and/or disadvantages for athletes of using antioxidants supplementation, either individually or in combination.     

Adult pulmonary blastoma: Report of an unusual malignant lung tumor

Pulmonary blastoma is an uncommon lung malignancy, usually presenting itself as a large chest mass causing pain, hemoptysis, cough and dyspnea; however, it is asymptomatic in up to 40% of patients. We present the case and suggestive images of a 37-year-old non-smoking lady with a monophasic pulmonary blastoma located in the lower lobe of the left lung who underwent a left posterolateral thoracotomy with lower lobectomy, hilar and mediastinal node dissection, followed by chemo and radiation therapy. After 36 mo, there is no disease progression and the patient is in good health, clinically stable and without significant chest pain.     

Combined liver-kidney transplantation in glycogen storage disease Ia: a case beyond the guidelines.

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia) is a rare metabolic disorder due to hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency. Although great progress has been made in managing affected patients, severe hypoglycemia, lactic acidosis, hyperlipidemia, hepatic cytolysis, and impaired kidney function are frequent. Liver transplantation is the only radical treatment, for which the main indications are hepatic adenomatosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, or severe hepatic dysfunction. We present the case of a patient with end-stage renal disease without focal hepatic lesions and with moderate hepatic metabolic control, and we explain how combined liver-kidney transplantation (LKT) made it possible to correct the metabolic defects responsible for the impaired glucose homeostasis, liberalize the diet, and give birth to a healthy child after an uneventful pregnancy. Patients with end-stage renal disease that resulted from GSD Ia should be considered for LKT even in the absence of hepatic lesions with the aim of improving their quality of life.