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Journal Article 2003; 24(6): 479-498 PubMed PMID: 15073580 Citation  Keywords:  Humans, Hypertension:diagnosis, Neuroendocrinology:trends, Periodicity,.   

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Journal Article 2003; 24(6): 449-453 PubMed PMID: 15073574 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Educational Measurement, Exploratory Behavior, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone:metabolism, Male, Psychometrics, Saliva:metabolism, Stress, Psychological:diagnosis, Students:psychology,.   

OBJECTIVES: Although it is widely accepted that academic examinations are accompanied by a cortisol increase, some recent studies reported either no effect or even a decline of the cortisol level. To reevaluate these discrepancies, we investigated whether personality traits predict the cortisol response upon academic examinations.

SETTING AND DESIGN: Nineteen male and female adolescent pupils (17 to 19 years) participated in the study. Two anticipated, mandatory, routine written examinations were used as familiar stressful conditions, whereas an anticipated, mandatory oral examination in front of a board of known and unknown examiners was used as a novel stressful situation.

METHODS: Baseline, pre- and postexamination salivary cortisol were quantified and correlated with psychometric measures, including self-estimated stress level, obtained from a five-point scale, and sensation seeking subscales according to Zuckerman.

RESULTS: Salivary cortisol response, taken as an average of all subjects, showed a transient increase upon examinations. However, comparing individual cortisol responses revealed three distinct cortisol profiles, including a transient increase (Type 1), a transient decline (Type 2), or no response (Type 3). Type 1 predominates in examinations combined with novelty. A moderate negative association was noted between saliva cortisol concentrations on some sensation seeking subscales. Self-reported stress levels did not significantly correlate with salivary cortisol concentration.

CONCLUSION: Our findings show that upon academic examinations the cortisol response varies among subjects. A moderate negative association was unveiled by correlating individual cortisol responses with sensation seeking subscales....

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Journal Article 2003; 24(5): 339-340 PubMed PMID: 14647008 Citation  Keywords:  Blood Pressure, Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory:standards, Circadian Rhythm, Heart Rate, Humans, Hypertension:diagnosis, Seasons,.   

: The diagnoses of summer or winter hypertension in one and the same person can depend upon the clock hour of measurement....

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Comment 2003; 24(3-4): 148-150 PubMed PMID: 14523348 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Psychological:physiology, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity:diagnosis, Biological Evolution, Child, Child Behavior:physiology, Humans,.   

: The evolutionary approach to the issue of ADHD derives from the assumption that what is regarded as a pathological phenomenon today was once an adaptive response to the conditions of life in the ancestral stages of human development. The paper argues against this conception on the basis of the clinical picture of ADHD. The author believes that in the previous "natural" conditions the ADHD syndrome was even more of a maladaptation than in the "protective" conditions of present-day life....

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Clinical Trial 2003; 24(1-2): 57-64 PubMed PMID: 12743534 Citation  Keywords:  Humans, Hypersensitivity:diagnosis, Immunization, Lymphocyte Activation, Lymphocytes:immunology, Metals, Patch Tests, Reproducibility of Results,.   

OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out to evaluate the reproducibility, sensitivity, specificity, and reliability of the MELISA Test for detecting metal sensitivity in patients with clinical symptoms of a type IV hypersensitivity to metal.

DESIGN: Blood from 250 patients was tested in MELISA against up to 20 different metals in 2 to 3 concentrations. The frequency and distribution of metal reactivities, the sensitivity and specificity of nickel reactivity in patients with and without confirmed or suspected sensitivity to nickel, and the roles of lymphocyte concentration and concentration of inorganic mercury were analyzed. In addition, for reproducibility testing, 196 metal tests were performed in duplicate, and intra- and interassay variations of MELISA results were examined in patients patch-test positive for the relevant metal.

RESULTS: Among the 250 patients, reactivity to 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or > or = 5 metals was 26%, 36%, 15%, 12%, 6%, and 5%, respectively. Reactivity was most frequent to nickel (73%), followed by titanium (42%), cadmium (18%) gold (17%), palladium (13%), lead (11%), beryllium (9%), inorganic mercury (8%), tin (8%), and phenylmercury (6%). All patients (n=15) with confirmed or suspected nickel allergy were positive in MELISA, while patients with no suspicion of nickel allergy were either negative (n=6) or very low positive (n=4) in MELISA. MELISA reactivity is directly dependent on lymphocyte concentration: the higher the lymphocyte concentration per test, the stronger the reactivity. Concentrations of inorganic mercury > 0.5 microg/ml cause non antigen-specific (mitogenic) reactions in a majority of patients. The reproducibility rate was 94% using a cut-off of Stimulation Index > or = 3 or 99% using a cut-off of > or = 5. While the absolute intra- and interassay Stimulation Index values may vary, the qualitative results are highly reproducible.

CONCLUSION: The MELISA Test is reproducible, sensitive, specific, and reliable for detecting metal sensitivity in metal-sensitive patients....

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Clinical Trial 2002; 23(5-6): 455-458 PubMed PMID: 12500172 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Auditory Threshold, Delayed-Action Preparations:administration & dosage, Estradiol:administration & dosage, Female, Follicle Stimulating Hormone:blood, Follow-Up Studies, Hearing Loss:diagnosis, Hearing Tests, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Humans, M.   

BACKGROUND: Estrogens have not only direct and beneficial effect on relaxation of the arteries increasing the blood flow in the blood vessels, but also their level of secretion has considerable effect on synthesis of acetylcholine a neurotransmitter indispensable for appropriate functioning of the hearing organ. The aim of this study is analysis of the effect of hormones on the hearing organ in women who underwent surgical castration.

MATERIAL: The study included 40 females, aged between 32 55 years who had undergone an operative treatment mainly because of uterine myoma. A group of 50 women aged between 32 50 years with appropriate hormone level comprised the control group.

METHOD: Each woman investigated underwent the following examinations: gynaecological, otolaryngological and laboratory tests, such as: evaluation of levels of estradiol (E) and folliculin stimulating hormone (FSH). The assessment of hearing was carried out using tone and speech audiometry, tympanometry, test registration of auditory brain stem responses (ABR) and otoacoustic emissions (EOAE). The examinations mentioned above are performed in women as initial examinations before surgical treatment and as follow-up examinations 1, 3 and 12 months after the surgery.

RESULTS: The results presented in this paper include initial examinations and follow-ups 3 months after the surgical treatment taking into consideration the correlation with the results of laboratory tests and the results obtained in the control group....

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Case Reports 2002; 23(4): 370-372 PubMed PMID: 12195243 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Fluorescein Angiography, Humans, Macular Degeneration:diagnosis, Photochemotherapy, Photosensitizing Agents:administration & dosage, Porphyrins:administration & dosage,.   

: Our controlled case describes the drug possibility to stabilize the exudative form of Age-related Macular Degeneration. The new approach of selective destruction of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) can be applied in patients with subfoveal lesions. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based on the reaction of photoactivable drug with the light of low-energy laser beam. So far only verteporfin [Visudyne, Novartis] as sensitizer is marketed and laser with wavelength of 689 nm is used. But it is questionable whether to apply this very costly treatment to extremely old people. An example of treatment of 90-year old woman with AMD with classic form of CNV is presented. Her BCVA was 0.05 OD. She underwent four session of PDT. At the last visit (eighteen months after initial and ten months after last session of PDT) the BCVA remained 0.05 OD. The patient is using a special magnifying lens for reading achieving near vision of 0.32. The presented example indicates the necessity of detailed study of every case to promote the therapeutic decisions for the benefit of progress in the field....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(4): 356-364 PubMed PMID: 12195241 Citation  Keywords:  Goiter:diagnosis, Humans, Iodine:deficiency, Thyroid Nodule:diagnosis,.   

: The present opinions on the therapy with L-thyroxine (L-T4) of non-toxic multinodular, as well as of non-toxic thyroid nodules are rather divergent. This treatment is based on the suppression of TSH secretion from the pituitary. There are no doubts that fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) performance is the first and--at the same time--the most significant diagnostic procedure in the case of thyroid structural lesions (nodules, goitre, thyroiditis). FNAB performance should--by all means--precede the beginning of L-T4 application for the treatment of non-toxic multinodular goitre or thyroid nodules. The simplicity, clearness and high efficacy, with comparable results in each case, are the core of good diagnostic algorithm. Unfortunately, not all diagnostic algorithms concerning thyroid nodules and multinodular goitre fulfil these important criteria....

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