Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease of primarily premature infants that results from an imbalance between lung injury and repair in the developing lung. BPD is the most common respiratory morbidity in preterm infants, which affects nearly 10, 000 neonates each year in the United States. Over the last two decades, the incidence of BPD has largely been unchanged; however, the pathophysiology has changed with the substantial improvement in the respiratory management of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Here we have attempted to comprehensively review and summarize the current literature on the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of BPD. Our goal is to provide insight to help further progress in preventing and managing severe BPD in the ELBW infants.
The organization of the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) was studied in the human colon. Fragments of the whole colonic wall were either routinely processed or Zinc-Iodide Osmium impregnated. Single-layer preparations were also obtained from some of the Zinc-Iodide Osmium-impregnated specimens. The results showed some differences in the organization of human colonic ENS from that of other mammals. In fact, the human submucous plexus was made up of three interconnected ganglionated networks arranged along three different planes. With respect to the myenteric plexus, its ganglia were large sized and irregularly shaped. Moreover, during the microdissection of the colonic wall, we found the absence of a cleavage plane between the circular and longitudinal muscle layers; on the other hand the cleavage plane between mucosa and submucosa was not immediately below the muscularis mucosae, but slightly deeper, since the innermost part of the submucosa remained adhering to overlying layers.
This article highlights the issues of studying the psychosocial rehabilitation of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, provides findings of evidence-based medicine point of view on the need and appropriateness of the use of rehabilitation measures and the provision of psychosocial assistance to this category of patients. The study involved 38 patients of the main group with post-traumatic stress disorder (F43.1) in accordance with ICD-10 and 19 patients from the control group with a similar diagnosis, but without participation in psychosocial rehabilitation activities. Based on a detailed study and statistical analysis of patients' complaints, a general "bank" of the identified problems of psychosocial functioning in various spheres of activity was formed, the most important directions in the rehabilitation process were detected. Comparison of the main and control group results testifies in favor of the effectiveness of the developed complex system for the rehabilitation of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as evidenced by the significant predominance of the recovery rate and the absence of patients with mental deterioration in the main group. The results of the study carried out according to clinical and psych diagnostic indicators show the effectiveness of the developed complex system for the rehabilitation of patients with PTSD. The research work proves that the goal of rehabilitation work in patients with PTSD is achievable only when the activity of the pathological process, the mental state of the patient, his personality, features of the immediate social environment and individual standard of living are sufficiently taken into account.
Excessive body weight and obesity in childhood and adolescence are becoming more and more important unfavorable factors that entail extremely adverse consequences and require close attention of physicians of any specialty. Along with the high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in pediatric patients, children and adolescents in the majority of countries are diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency. Among the non-calcaemic effects of vitamin D, a significant role is played by its impact on the hormonal regulation of glucose metabolism and the synthesis of adipokines by fat tissue. The review presents literature data indicative of a close pathogenic relationship between vitamin D insufficiency and impaired tissue insulin sensitivity. It demonstrates the role of vitamin D insufficiency in immune reactions resulting in development of subclinical inflammation in fat tissue infiltrated with macrophages and lymphocytes. It also shows the role of adipokines, immune system cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines produced by them in the pathogenesis of obesity, as well as the function of vitamin D as an endocrine and paracrine regulator of the process of inflammation in adipose tissue. The relationships between the principal adipokines (leptin, adiponectin, resistin) are revealed in the presence of normal vitamin D content and in vitamin D deficiency. The carbohydrate and lipid metabolism parameters in overweight children and adolescents with vitamin D insufficiency are analyzed. A high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in overweight and obese children and adolescents (increasing along with the severity of obesity) is demonstrated. The review also presents the current recommendations for the correction of vitamin D insufficiency and underlines the need for higher cholecalciferol doses to achieve serum calcifediol targets in overweight and obese children and adolescents.
This investigation reports the mineralogy and possible pathological significance of urinary stones removed from patients in Fars province, Iran. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and polarizing microscope (PM) techniques were used to investigate the mineralogical compositions of urinary stones. The identified mineral components include whewellite, weddellite, hydroxyapatite, uricite and cystine. These techniques revealed that the whewellite and uricite were the most common mineral phases. Platy-like/monoclinic whewellite, prismatic/monoclinic uric acid and hexagonal cystine crystals were revealed by SEM. Biominerals (calcium carbonate) and quartz were also identified in PM images. Of the variables determining the type of precipitated minerals, the effects of pH on depositional conditions proved to be the most apparent parameter, as shown by occurrences and relationships among the studied minerals. Our results revealed the importance of detailed knowledge of mineralogical composition in assessing the effects of age and sex. The highest incidence of urinary stones was observed in the 40–60 age group. Calcium oxalate and uric acid stones are more frequent in men than women. Finally, the study concluded that knowledge of the mineralogical composition of urinary stones is important as it helps the scientific community to explain the chemistry and the etiology of the calculi in the urinary system.