High prevalence of asymptomatic hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in hospitalized elderly females.

To investigate the prevalence of asymptomatic hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in hospitalized people, we performed thyroid function tests on a group of 2545 elderly patients consecutively observed in a General Hospital in Rome, during a six year period. The rate of asymptomatic hypothyroidism was as high as 0.71% in female patients and only 0.20% in male patients. In asymptomatic hyperthyroid subjects the prevalence rate was 0.58% in females and 0.20% in males. On the whole, prevalence rate of asymptomatic thyropathies resulted 0.94%, showing a clear difference in sex (women 1.29% and men 0.40%). The asymptomatic thyropathies screening of hospitalized elderly women may result in a very low cost diagnosis of many new cases of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.

Diagnostic value of serum peptides of collagen synthesis and degradation in dialysis renal osteodystrophy.

The assay of serum peptides of bone collagen formation and degradation could potentially provide an indirect estimate of the rate of bone turnover. In our study we have measured serum levels of the carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP) as a marker of bone formation and serum levels of the pyridinoline cross-linked telopeptide domain of type I collagen (ICTP) as a marker of bone resorption in 53 patients (47.7 +/- 10 years, M +/- SD) on haemodialysis (for 9.5 +/- 3.8 years) and affected by renal osteodystrophy. Besides PICP and ICTP, patients were also sampled for serum intact and C-terminal PTH, osteocalcin (BGP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP). A transiliac bone biopsy for histomorphometry was also performed in all. As expected both PTH assays, BGP and AP, were correlated reciprocally and to histomorphometric parameters. As for serum levels of PICP, they were on average increased (268.5 +/- 104.9 ng/ml, M +/- SD) compared to normals (range 66-176), but not correlated to classical humoral markers of hyperparathyroidism (PTH and AP), with the exception of BGP (with a rather low r value: 0.365, P < 0.01), nor to histomorphometric indices of bone resorption and formation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Micro-method for determining serum bilirubin (author's transl)]. / Micrometodo per la determinazione della bilirubina nel siero

A single, rapid, precise and automatizzable micro-method for determining serum bilirubin has been described. The method requires a little while of serum. It is possible reader the bilirubin concentration at last of 30 mg/100 ml without of serum dilution. The determination of "direct bilirubin" has been examined in connection with the reaction time. The reliability of the our diazo-method has been established by comparison with well-known diazo-methods and by demonstrating the effect of hemolysis.