The iris signal: blue periphery, tan collaret and freckles pattern - strong indicators for epidermal skin cancer in South-Eastern Europe.

BACKGROUND: Eye and skin share the embryological origin. Both are established risk factors in epidermal skin cancer. There are few reports using iris colour classification scales, most of them analyse colour in general or are too complex to use in daily practice. OBJECTIVES: To investigate which iris colour pattern is associated with epidermal skin cancer in a S-E European Caucasian population. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted on 480 patients: 229 skin cancers patients and 251 controls (dermatological patients free of skin cancers) admitted in two medical clinics of Dermatology in Bucharest, between October 2011 and May 2014. High-resolution iris photographs were taken for each patient. Three parameters of the iris were analysed individually and in association patterns for each patient: periphery, collaret and freckles. RESULTS: The most frequent iris colour pattern associated with epidermal skin cancer was blue periphery with light brown collaret and freckles present. In terms of individual parameters, the strongest indicators for skin cancer patients were blue periphery and blue collaret. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study sustain the hypothesis that blue periphery with light brown collaret and freckles iris pattern is a reliable phenotypic marker for epidermal skin cancer. The results of this study differ from previous reports in which skin cancer risk was associated with a homogeneous blue iris. We account these differences in the characteristics of the recruited patients (S-E European, skin type II and III). The assessment of iris colour patterns is an easy and inexpensive detection tool in skin cancer risk assessment.

Bilateral absence of the transverse sinuses with fenestrated superior sagittal sinus draining through enlarged occipital and marginal sinuses.

The endothelial-lined dural venous sinuses collect blood from the brain, meninges, and calvaria and drain it to the internal jugular veins. The adult drainage pathway of the venous sinuses confluent is commonly via the transverse and sigmoid sinuses to the jugular bulb. The occipital (OS) and marginal (MS) sinuses are well-represented before birth, in most cases. During a retrospective study of the computed tomography angiograms of a 64-year-old female was found a rare combination of variants of the posterior fossa sinuses. The confluence of the dural venous sinuses was rhomboidal and drained superiorly the superior sagittal sinus, and inferiorly a well-represented OS. The transverse sinuses were aplastic, on the right side, and hypoplastic on the opposite side. The OS further drained into the MS which, on each side, emptied into the respective jugular bulb. On each side a condylar vein left the junction of the sigmoid sinus and jugular bulb. Such posterior fossa drainage, exclusively on the OS-MS pathway, should be kept in mind when transections of the venous sinuses are intended during neurosurgical approaches of the foramen magnum. The OS-MS drainage is rather a persisting foetal pattern. The bilateral anatomical exclusion of the transverse sinuses is an added condition to spare the OS and MS.

Relationship between Parameters Linked to Surgery, Hospitalization and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Patients with Colorectal Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide and a major public health issue. Management is difficult, especially in elderly patients, and efforts for an individualized treatment are an asset for patients' wellbeing. Factors such as cumulated comorbidities, disease stage, and operative time may increase the length of hospitalization (LOH) and overall costs. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) - rs6983267 - on CRC risk in Romanian individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case-control genotyping molecular study was performed on 32 patients diagnosed with CRC (median age 67.5 years) who underwent elective surgery and 30 patients withour CRC (median age 66 years). Genotyping rs6983267 was performed on DNA extracted from peripheral venous blood. RESULTS: Twenty fice patients were diagnosed with colonic cancer with different localizations, whereas seven had rectal cancers. Median LOH was 16.5 days. Genotyping for rs6983267 revealed no heterozygous (G/T) individuals within the control group, with all patients showing homozygous profiles (76.67% G/G, and 23.33% T/T), but the heterozyhous (G/T) genotype was present in 59.38% of the patients in the study group (with 21.88% G/G and 18.75% T/T genotypes). CONCLUSION: A higher percentage of CRC patients had at least one G allele (81.21%) when compared to controls (76.57%), although G allele frequency was higher in the control group due to an increased percentage of G/G homozygosity. When comparing clinical data between groups, we found an association between the lenght of hospitalization and factors that influenced operating time. Further research is still necessary to accurately calculate a CRC risk associated with the presence of this SNP in a Romanian population.

Perceptual differences regarding health and environmental problems and their remedies in two states of the former Czechoslovakia.

In the framework of the Central European Study on Air pollution and Respiratory Health (CESAR), a risk perception and risk communication study was carried out in a total of 25 areas in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic. This paper is focused on the differences of perception between the Czech (CR) and the Slovak Republic (SR), and the other involved countries. The analysis is based on the data of a structured risk perception questionnaire survey of a random population sample. 6,043 completed questionnaires were collected from the total number of 14,400 distributed ones in 25 areas of the 6 countries. The risk perception was different in the CR and the SR, mainly concerning local environment and health of children in the CR and drug abuse including alcohol consumption and AIDS in the SR. In both countries environmental and health problems were seen as important, but the perceived responsibility for finding a solution was placed with different kinds of institutions.

European dimension of cannabinoid-like products use.

The use of new psychoactive substances and the new patterns of drug use can have important public health and policy implications. Few countries have monitoring systems that are sensitive to this new phenomenon in the drug field, but methodological difficulties to detect them are considerable. Nonetheless, the importance of identifying potential new threats is widely recognized. The European Union's Early-Warning System (EWS) provides a quick-response mechanism to the emergence of new psychoactive substances on the drug scene. The European Council's decision on new psychoactive substances establishes a mechanism for the rapid exchange of information on new drugs. It also provides the possibility to trigger a formal risk assessment process, the findings of which may lead to a political decision to place new substances under control across the European Union.