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Journal Article 2008; 29(3): 281-286 PubMed PMID: 18580841 Citation  Keywords:  Autistic Disorder:pathology, Brain:pathology, Child, Diagnostic Imaging, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging,.   

: Structural neuroimaging studies done by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have provided important insights into the neurobiological basis for autism. The aim of this article is to review the current state of knowledge regarding structural brain abnormalities in autism. Results of MRI studies dealing with total brain volume, the volume of the cerebellum, caudate nucleus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus and the area of the corpus callosum are summarized. Existing research suggests that autistic individuals have larger total brain, cerebellar and caudate nucleus volumes; however, the area of the corpus callosum is reduced. Results of studies involving the amygdala and hippocampus volume in autistic subjects remain inconsistent and no changes have been detected in thalamic volume....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(2): 201-204 PubMed PMID: 18404141 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging:blood, Alopecia:blood, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Czech Republic, Dihydrotestosterone:blood, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Longevity:physiology, Male, Middle Aged, Prostatic Diseases:blood.   

OBJECTIVE: The dihydrotestosterone:testosterone ratio seems to be an important factor in the expression of androgenic activity, especially in the prostate and pilosebaceous unit. Whereas the decline of testosterone (T) in aging men is well known, controversial data can be found in literature concerning the age dependence of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels. Data from the database of the Institute of Endocrinology served as the basis for the definition of the life span curve for the ratio dihydrotestosterone : testosterone.

METHODS: The results of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone obtained immunoassays from 10 251 male patients were used in the construction of the curve.

RESULTS: The data show that after a peak of DHT:T in infancy and a subsequent decrease in puberty, the ratio of both androgens remains practically without change from approx. 20 years of age till old age.

CONCLUSION: High DHT:T ratio in infancy decreases at puberty and throughout the entire reproductive period of life this ration remains practically constant....

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Clinical Trial 2008; 29(2): 252-255 PubMed PMID: 18404138 Citation  Keywords:  Alendronate:pharmacology, Bone Density Conservation Agents:pharmacology, Diphosphonates:pharmacology, Female, Humans, Lipid Metabolism:drug effects, Lipids:blood, Middle Aged, Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal:blood,.   

OBJECTIVES: Bisphosphonates are widely used for the treatment of metabolic bone disorders and their effects on lipid metabolism have also been investigated. Some studies reported that bisphosphonates have beneficial effects on serum cholesterol levels. In this study we aimed to assess the effects of bisphosphonates on lipid levels in hyperlipidemic patients who received bisphosphonates because of osteoporosis.

METHODS: 49 female patients (age: 54.2+/-7.2 years) with diagnosis of osteoporosis and hyperlipidemia were enrolled. Patients received alendronate 10 mg/day and they were followed up for 6 months. Pretreatment total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 and apolipoprotein B levels were measured and compared with post-treatment levels.

RESULTS: Pretreatment and post-treatment levels of total cholesterol were 255.2+/-34.3; 233.02+/-37.0 mg/dL, triglyceride levels were 153.0+/-57.3; 129.1+/-54.4 mg/dL, and LDL levels were 170.7+/-30.5; 160.0+/-34.2 mg/dL, respectively. Reductions in total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol levels were statistically significant; whereas differences in HDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein-A1 and apolipoprotein-B levels were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS: Data from our study suggest that alendronate therapy may have beneficial effects on lipid metabolism. Thus, when hyperlipidemia is detected in patients receiving bisphosphonates, it is considered reasonable to follow the patient for a while before initiating antihyperlipidemic agent to prevent unnecessary use of drugs....

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Evaluation Studies 2008; 29(2): 267-271 PubMed PMID: 18404137 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Early Diagnosis, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Laparoscopy, Postoperative Period, Pregnancy, Pregnancy, Ectopic:diagnosis, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Salpingostomy:methods,.   

OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic process, laparoscopic treatment and postoperative period in patients hospitalized with a suspicion of ectopic pregnancy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 211 women who underwent a typical laparoscopic surgery due to ectopic pregnancy, from 1993 through to 2006, were included in the study. The diagnosis was based on the patient's history, gynecological examination, transvaginal ultrasound findings and beta hCG concentration.

RESULTS: The abnormal uterine bleeding was the most often reported symptom at admission (70.1%). The typical triad for ectopic pregnancy - amenorrhoea, abnormal bleeding and pain were present in only 55 patients (26%). The most frequent ultrasound findings were abnormal echogenic structures on the side of operated ectopic pregnancy (77.3%). 15.7% of women had no abnormalities described. The most frequent site of ectopic pregnancy implantation was the ampulla of the Fallopian tube (59.7%). Salpingectomy was performed in 53.5% of the cases, while salpingotomy in 35%. The postoperative period was generally uneventful in the majority of patients. There were only two cases that required a second surgery because of the worsening general clinical condition of the patient.

CONCLUSIONS: The ectopic pregnancy is currently diagnosed quite early and therefore can be treated with the use of endoscopic tools in a scheduled operation time. Nowadays, only a small percentage of women still require a sudden open surgery intervention....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(1): 71-74 PubMed PMID: 18283271 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Aggression:psychology, Anxiety:psychology, Child, Child Abuse:classification, Child, Preschool, Disabled Children:psychology, Epilepsy, Post-Traumatic:classification, Humans, International Classification of Diseases:classification, Panic Disor.   

: This paper studies the contribution of anxiety in origin of functional behavioural disorders of children. The intense sensing of anxiety attributes to the shaping of one's personality. Adaptation and adjustment, accommodation and assimilation to stressful conditions producing anxiety are analyzed. There are diagnosed reactions of organism to the circumstances of the CAN syndrome and trauma. In these circumstances, a primary perception of reality is at stake that consequently leads to sociopathological features. This paper also provides the authors' opinions of psychoanalytical and behavioural schools on origin of personal decompensation and neurotic disorders. Causes of panic disorder and other diseases, in which a stress trauma plays a role, are considered. For these reasons the authors suggest classifying the CAN syndrome as a separate nosologic unit in the future ICD-11....

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Letter 2008; 29(1): 59-62 PubMed PMID: 18283267 Citation  Keywords:  Acromegaly:blood, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Drug Administration Schedule, Growth Hormone:blood, Humans, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I:metabolism, Octreotide:therapeutic use, Peptides, Cyclic:therapeutic use, Poland, Somatostatin:analogs & derivativ.   

: Consensus statement of the Polish Society for Endocrinology, regarding presurgical somatostatin analogs in acromegaly has been presented. It is suggested to administer depot somatostatin analog (Octreotide LAR at the dose 20 mg and then 30 mg or equivalent doses of Lanreotide Autogel 90/120 mg every 4 weeks) in order to normalize or suppress to a maximal extent GH and IGF-1 concentrations. The period of therapy in case of microadenoma would be at least 3 months (targets: biochemical improvement, reduced risk of disease's complications, perioperative risk reduction, inhibition of tumor growth). The period of therapy in case of macroadenoma would be at least 6 months, until maximal possible reduction of GH and IGF-1 concentrations (targets: tumor shrinkage, biochemical improvement, reduced risk of disease's complications, perioperative risk reduction). Using an uniform approach in a group, as numerous as possible, of treated patients would allow objective evaluation of long-term efficacy of the treatment....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(1): 159-162 PubMed PMID: 18283263 Citation  Keywords:  Adrenocorticotropic Hormone:blood, Animals, Body Weight:physiology, Central Nervous System:physiology, Circadian Rhythm:physiology, Corticosterone:blood, Entorhinal Cortex:physiology, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System:physiology, Male, Pituitary-Adrenal Syst.   

OBJECTIVE: In our previous study, a lesion in the entorhinal cortex was found to significantly attenuate the elevation of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in plasma during immobilization stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the entorhinal cortex exerts a modulatory effect on circadian ACTH and corticosterone release.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ibotenic acid (15 microg/microl) was stereotaxically bilaterally injected into the entorhinal cortex of rats. Two weeks after the injections, ACTH and corticosterone levels in plasma were measured at 0800 h, 1300 h and 1800 h.

RESULTS: Compared with sham-operated control rats, rats with entorhinal cortex lesions produced by ibotenic acid showed either significantly elevated plasma ACTH or plasma corticosterone levels at 0800 h, but no difference at 1300 h or 1800 h.

CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that the entorhinal cortex plays a certain role in the regulation by the central nervous system of the circadian rhythm of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(1): 113-116 PubMed PMID: 18283262 Citation  Keywords:  Adenoma:metabolism, Adult, Aged, Female, Growth Hormone:metabolism, Hemangiopericytoma:metabolism, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pituitary Neoplasms:metabolism, Prolactin:metabolism, Receptors, Somatostatin:metabolism, Somatostatin:pharmacology, Tumor Cells,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of somatostatin (SST) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion from clinically non-functioning pituitary tumors incubated in vitro.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eight pituitary tumors surgically removed were investigated. All of the tumors were diagnosed before surgery as non-functioning. Seven of them were diagnosed after surgery as pituitary adenomas and expressed either gonadotropins or their subunits as detected by immunohistochemistry. Two tumors additionally expressed prolactin and growth hormone. One tumor was immunonegative for pituitary hormones and was diagnosed as haemangiopericytoma. All tumors but one were investigated immunohistochemically to detect the somatostatin receptors and expressed at least 3 of 5 subtypes of somatostatin receptors. The cells isolated from the examined tumors were exposed in vitro to native SST-14. The concentration of VEGF in the culture media was performed by means of ELISA method.

RESULTS: It was found that the exposure on SST-14 resulted in the divergent changes (increase in 4 cases and decrease in 3 cases) in VEGF concentrations in the medium. It seems that the inhibition of VEGF secretion is related to the expression of somatostatin receptor subtypes sst1 and sst2.

CONCLUSIONS: The response of VEGF secretion from pituitary tumoral cells to SST seems to depend on the spectrum of expressed somatostatin receptor subtypes. However, this presumption needs further studies on the larger material....

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