Psoriasis in childhood and adolescence: evaluation of demographic and clinical features

BACKGROUND: The present study was aimed to define the gender ratio, familial occurrence, age of onset, precipitating factors, clinical types, nail and joint involvement of psoriasis in childhood and adolescence in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 61 children with psoriasis under 18 years old were evaluated retrospectively, for age, gender, age of disease onset, family history, concomitant disease, the clinical type of psoriasis, clinical localization, nail and joint involvement and treatment modalities. RESULTS: Of the patients, 23 (37.70%) were boys and 38 (62.30%) were girls. Mean age was 9.28 +/- 4.02 years in girls and 11.18 +/- 3.85 years in boys (9.96 +/- 4.03 years in all children). Mean age at the onset of the disease was 6.81 +/- 4.11 years in girls and 7.03 +/- 4.28 years in boys (6.89 +/- 4.14 years in all patients). In 14 (23%) cases, a positive family history was detected. The most frequent probable triggering factors were upper respiratory tract infections (14.8%) and positive throat culture for A group ss-hemolytic streptococcus (21.3%). Frequency of emotional stress and psychiatric morbidity were 54% and 9.8%, respectively. The most frequent localizations at onset were trunk (44.3%), extremities (54.0%), and scalp (36.0%). Three children (4.9%) had a history of dissemination from psoriatic diaper rash. In total, 51 (83.6%) patients presented with psoriasis vulgaris, eight (13.1%) with generalized pustular psoriasis, and the remaining two (3.3%) with erythrodermic psoriasis. CONCLUSION: The incidence of psoriasis among dermatological patients in childhood and adolescence was 3.8%. The disease tends to appear earlier in girls than boys. The authors suggested that stress and upper respiratory infections are the most important triggering factors in childhood and adolescence psoriasis.     

Increased incidence of congenital hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency

BACKGROUND: The incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is expected to be elevated in iodine-deficient areas. In this study, the authors aimed to determine the incidence of transient and permanent CH in a large city which is known to be in the zone of moderate iodine deficiency. METHODS: Newborn babies in Bursa, Turkey, were screened by measurement of serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) obtained by heel prick. The babies who had a serum TSH >20 mIU/L were recalled for measurement of T4 and TSH in venous serum. RESULTS: A total of 11 770 newborns were screened over a period of 9 years. The incidence of CH was found to be 1/840. However, after excluding the transient cases, permanent CH was diagnosed in 1/2354. It was impossible to distinguish transient patients from permanent CH by initial laboratory tests (P > 0.05). The estimated power of the study in determining the incidence of CH in the population was 90% (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that the incidence of CH is very high in their population which warrants a country-wide neonatal screening program. Since transient cases cannot be distinguished and untreated transient hypothyroidism may also cause mental retardation, treatment must be started as early as possible with frequent monitoring to optimize the outcome and identify the transient patients.     

国际体力活动问卷中体力活动强度对中老年人糖尿病患病率的影响

目的 采用国际体力活动问卷(IPAQ)评价广州市中老年人体力活动状况对糖尿病患病率的影响.方法 2006年11月至2007年9月从"广州生物库队列研究"第三期招募研究对象中随机选出1996名年龄≥50岁的广州市居民,进行包括详细的生活方式、疾病史等调查,以及身高、体重、腰围、臀围和空腹血糖及葡萄糖耐量等指标的测量和检测.采用IPAQ调查并评价受检者体力活动状况.结果 共1932名(96.8%)受试者接受IPAQ体力活动调查,其中体力活动活跃(60.0%)、充分(中等,29.8%)和不足者(10.2%)糖尿病患病率分别为9.1%、12.0%和14.2%.多因素logistic回归分析,在调整了年龄、性别、肥胖等多种潜在混杂因素之后,相对体力活动不足组,体力活动充分和活跃组患糖尿病的OR值分别为0.75(95%CI:0.46～1.26)和0.60(95%CI:0.38～0.97),趋势分析P=0.03.结论 经常性的适度体力活动有助于降低中老年人糖尿病患病风险.     

戒烟门诊220例戒烟求助者问卷调查分析

目的分析220例戒烟求助者的人口学特征及其吸烟习惯等,为戒烟门诊服务工作提供依据。方法采用统一问卷,用自我填表的形式对220名来戒烟门诊寻求帮助的戒烟者进行基线调查。收集个人资料、有关吸烟习惯、尼古丁的依赖程度、戒烟的阶段、吸烟危害的认知和态度、戒烟成功的信心、困难程度等资料。以SPSS软件统计分析各参数的构成比。结果戒烟者的平均年龄为41岁,绝大多数（96%）为男性,（73%）多数是已婚,21~40岁占56%,大专以上文化水平的占54%,在职人员占75%。吸烟开始的平均年龄为20岁,16~19岁占48%。74%为中重度尼古丁依赖者,79%曾试过戒烟,46%试过2~5次。35%处于戒烟行动阶段,51%处于考虑戒烟阶段。过去6个月内有向医生求诊的经历,71%表示未有接受过任何戒烟忠告。结论需进一步加强吸烟有害健康的宣传,并且普及医务人员规范的戒烟服务的培训,提高医务人员戒烟服务水平。促进更多的戒烟求助者戒烟。     

LC-MS/MS测定人血浆中对乙酰氨基酚及其人体药动学和生物等效性研究

目的 建立一种快速、灵敏的高效液相色谱-串联质谱（HPLC-MS/MS）方法以测定人血浆中对乙酰氨基酚浓度,并应用于两种对乙酰氨基酚制剂的人体药代动力学和生物等效性研究。方法 以替硝唑为内标,200μL血浆样品经5倍于其体积的乙酸乙酯液液萃取,再经Waters XBridge? C18柱等度洗脱分离后导入串联质谱,以正离子多反应监测模式进行定量分析,对乙酰氨基酚和内标的选择性反应离子对分别是m/z 152→110和248→121。方法经验证后应用于19名健康受试者单剂量空腹口服两种对乙酰氨基酚制剂500mg后药代动力学和生物等效性的研究。结果 血浆中对乙酰氨基酚在0.1～8.0 μg·mL-1范围内线性良好（r2 > 0.99）,最低检测限为 0.1 μg·mL-1,提取回收率为91.0%～98.7%,日内和日间准确度分别为98.8%～111.3% （精密度：CV ? 9.03%）和94.9%～102.6% （精密度：CV ? 10.68%）。生物等效性试验中,受试制剂与参比制剂的主要药代动力学参数Cmax、AUC0-t和AUC0-∞ 几何均值比的90%置信区间分别为83.50%～105.79%,94.25%～101.54%和93.24%～101.02%,均落在生物等效可接受标准80.00%～125.00%范围内。结论 所建立测定人血浆中对乙酰氨基酚浓度的HPLC-MS/MS法具有快速灵敏、回收率高、选择性好的特点,适用于对乙酰氨基酚片人体药代动力学和生物等效性研究。受试制剂与参比制剂在人体内吸收速度和程度相似,两种制剂生物等效。     

Effect of sumac extract on serum oxidative status,RANKL/OPG system and alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis in rats

Objectives

Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) is widely used spice which has several properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. The purpose of this animal study was to evaluate the effects of sumac extract on levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression, serum oxidative status, and alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis.

Material and Methods

Twenty-four Wistar rats were separated into three groups: non-ligated (NL, n=8), ligature only (LO, n=8), and ligature and treated with sumac extract (S, n=8) (20 mg/kg per day for 11 days). A 4/0 silk suture was placed around the mandibular right first molars subgingivally; after 11 days, the rats were sacrificed, and alveolar bone loss was histometrically measured. The detection of RANKL and OPG were immunohistochemically performed. Levels of serum total antioxidant status (TAS)/total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) were also analyzed.

Results

Alveolar bone loss was significantly greater in the LO group compared to the S and NL groups (p<0.05). The number of inflammatory cell infiltrate (ICI) and osteoclasts in the LO group was significantly higher than that of the NL and S groups (p<0.05). The number of osteoblasts in the LO and S groups was significantly higher than that of the NL group (p<0.05). There were significantly more RANKL-positive cells in the LO group than in the S and NL groups (p<0.05). OPG-positive cells were higher in S group than in LO and NL groups (p<0.05). TOS and OSI levels were significantly reduced in S group compared to LO group (P<0.05) and TAS levels were similar in S and NL group (p>0.05).

Conclusions

The present study showed that systemic administration of sumac extract may reduce alveolar bone loss by affecting RANKL/OPG balance, TOS and OSI levels in periodontal disease in rats.