Neuritic pathology is lacking in the entorhinal cortex,subiculum and hippocampus in middle-aged adults with schizophrenia,bipolar disorder or unipolar depression

Earlier reports have provided conflicting results regarding the association between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mental disorders. Using a well-characterized postmortem series of 40 middle-aged human brains, we have performed quantitative analysis of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in the entorhinal cortex, subiculum and rostral hippocampus in 9 subjects with schizophrenia, 8 with bipolar disorder, 12 with depression, and 11 age- and sex-matched controls. No significant differences were found among the four groups. Our study indicates that the Alzheimer-type changes, which might be related to the likelihood of AD development later in life, are not increased in middle-aged subjects with mental illness. The result also supports the more recent reports that have demonstrated no increased incidence of AD in mentally ill patients.     

Dietary survey in an obese population

The body mass index (BMI) shows a rate of 17.4% patients suffering from first degree fatness and 56.5% from second degree fatness. The frequency of the illness increases with age, the differences established being statistically important for a p of 0.001. 45.6% persons were diagnosed with HTA, with differences statistically important at a p of 0.01, so the number of cases increases with age. The same situation is to be found in cardiovascular illnesses (angina pectoris, ischaemic cardiopathy). The high level of cholesterol is more frequent at older people, and still the differences established are statistically not significant. In these conditions, the diet must be adapted to the patient's condition. A comparative study was made on groups of age, using the following groups of food: cereal derivatives, vegetables, fruits, dairy product, meat, fish. In most of the cases, the differences established are statistically not significant. So, even if the diagnosis is known, the patient doesn't give up his eating habits.     

Diagnostic traps in porphyria: case report and literature review

Porphyrias are metabolic disorders of heme biosynthesis, which encompass a broad range of symptoms and signs, neurologic, cutaneous or mixed. Because of lack of specificity and polymorphous clinical picture, porphyrias can mimic either neuropsychiatric, dermatologic, or gastrointestinal diseases. We present the case of a 58 years old man to whom clinical presentation suspicious of Addison's disease (melanoderma, fatigue, weight loss, intermittent abdominal pain) was the disguise of porphyria cutanea tarda. A general background of porphyrias and differential diagnosis with other forms of hepatic porphyria, as well as other causes of hyperpigmentation, are given. The clinician should be aware of the protean manifestations of porphyrias and include them in clinical judgment in various situations.     

Assessment of aorto-iliac disease with magnetic resonance angiography using arterial phase 3-D gradient-echo and interstitial phase 2-D fat-suppressed spoiled gradient-echo sequences

PURPOSE: To evaluate magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) of the pelvis for the examination of the aorto-iliac system using arterial phase 3-D gradient echo and interstitial phase 2-D fat-suppressed spoiled gradient-echo (SGE), with comparison to surgery and angiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety MR angiograms performed on 79 consecutive patients were analyzed, retrospectively, for the presence of narrowing, aneurysm, and dissection. Comparisons were made with angiography and surgery in 50 examinations, and a weighted kappa statistic test was applied to assess agreement. MR examinations were performed at 1.5T 3-D fast imaging in steady state precession (FISP) acquired immediately, and fat-suppressed SGE in the interstitial phase following gadolinium administration. RESULTS: MRA had overall sensitivities of 100% at aortic segments, 100% at common iliac, 93.8% at external, and 95.7% at internal iliac, and specificities of 100% at aortic segments, 89.7% at common iliac, 95.2% at external iliac, and 88.7% at internal iliac in detection of vascular disease. The agreement of MRA with the angiography and surgery yielded a weighted kappa statistic of 0.97 at the aortic, 0.94 at the common, 0.85 at the external, and 0.82 at the internal iliac segments. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates an excellent performance of MRA in the evaluation of aorto-iliac arterial system and almost perfect agreement with angiography and surgery at all vascular levels.     

Epilepsy in different types of cerebral palsy

Epilepsy (E) is common in all types of cerebral palsy (CP) and in some varieties it is the rule. The aim of this study is to evaluate the nature, course and prognosis of seizures in patients with E and CP. Clinical observations were performed on a group of 109 patients, from 2.5 to 17 years of age, 2/3 associated mental retardation. The results proved that all types of seizures can be observed at the patients with CP and the epileptic attacks can be controlled in most cases with polytherapy.     

Diagnostic importance of angiographic visualization of distal vessel in elucidating abrupt vessel closure

Acute vessel closure complicates 0.5 9.3% of percutaneous coronary interventional procedures. This case series demonstrates the potential value of distal vessel angiographic visualization during abrupt vessel closure, which allows rapid determination of the underlying mechanism and the subsequent appropriate therapy.     

Tick-borne pathogens in tick species infesting humans in Sibiu County,central Romania

Parasitology Research - Romania has a highly diverse tick fauna. Consequently, a high diversity of tick-transmitted pathogens might be a potential threat to humans. However, only a limited number...     

Suspected pancreatic cancer: evaluation by dynamic gadolinium-enhanced 3D gradient-echo MRI

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of gadolinium-enhanced 3D gradient-echo (GRE) MR images in the detection of pancreatic cancer. CONCLUSION: Dynamic gadolinium-enhanced 3D GRE images are both sensitive and specific in the detection of pancreatic cancer. Our study shows that the identification of pancreatic cancer using these images can be performed with a high degree of confidence and accuracy, making them very useful in the detection of pancreatic cancer.