The impact of the d3-growth hormone receptor (d3-GHR) polymorphism on the therapeutic effect of growth hormone replacement in children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency in Poland.

OBJECTIVES: The human growth hormone receptor (GHR) exon 3 deletion (d3) polymorphism has been reported to be associated with the responsiveness to growth hormone (GH) therapy. This study aimed to: (a) assess the frequency of this polymorphism in a group of Polish children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) and (b) analyze their response to GH therapy. METHODS: The study group consisted of 67 prepubertal children with IGHD. The control group was composed of 150 Caucasian newborns from whom umbilical cord blood samples were drawn. A genotype analysis was performed using the PCR multiplex technique in search for the existence or deletion of exon 3 of the GHR gene. RESULTS: In the study group the following genotype distribution was observed: fl/fl-GHR 64.2%; fl/d3-GHR 29.9%; d3/d3-GHR 5.9%. The total percentage of patients with d3-GHR polymorphism was 35.8% and 64.2% patients had a fl/fl-GHR. No significant differences were noted in growth rate SD before introducing therapy and growth rate after one year of recombinant human GH therapy in patients with individual genotypes. In the control group the genotype distribution was: fl/fl-GHR 63.3%; fl/d3-GHR 29.9%; d3/d3-GHR 6.8%. CONCLUSION: No differences were observed in genotype distribution between the study and the control group. Patients with IGHD did not differ among each other depending on their genotype (fl/fl-GHR or fl/d3-GHR) in terms of growth velocity before introducing therapy or growth rate after one year of recombinant human GH therapy.

[Selected bacterial infections - unavoidable threats to the health and lives of the man]. / Wybrane zakaienia bakteryjne - nieuniknione zagrozenia zdrowia izycia czlowieka.

In the present study we wanted to show that bacterial infections are an important factor threatening both the health and life of humans. This problem concerns the global population, both in developed and developing countries, and is often the cause of a significant proportion of deaths due to the negative impact of exo- and endotoxins on the host. Numerous infectious diseases caused by biological factors are undoubtedly associated with various risk factors. Despite the continuous development of medicine and countless actions spreading knowledge about bacterial gastrointestinal infections and sepsis, these conditions are still not marginal in the everyday hospital environment. Particular attention in this work was put on hospital infections because they are a major public health concern. Although a significant increase in awareness of the problem has been observed in Poland in recent years, this is still an important problem for medicine, and is also an economic issue. In addition, bacteria and their toxins can be used as a biological weapon for terrorist attacks.