Effects of growth hormone on body proportions in Turner syndrome compared with non-treated patients and normal women.

BACKGROUND: The majority of anthropometric assessments in Turner syndrome (TS) patients has focused on height. AIM: To analyze body proportions in young adult TS patients either treated or not treated with rhGH, and to compare them with a group of age-matched healthy women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Standing height, sitting height, weight, foot and leg lengths, arm span, head circumference, biliac and biacromial diameters were measured in 52 non-treated TS patients, 30 treated with rhGH and 133 healthy women. RESULTS: Age at the start of rhGH therapy varied from 7.8 to 15.1 yr (10.0±1.3 yr), the duration of treatment from 2.8 to 8.2 yr (3.7±1.5 yr) and the mean recombinant human GH (rhGH) dose was 0.42 mg/kg/week (from 0.32 to 0.50 mg/kg/week). Nontreated patients did not show any difference in anthropometric variables when compared with the treated ones, except for hand length (p=0.02) and height (p=0.05), which were increased in the treated group. All anthropometric variables, except head circumference, were different when comparing TS patients (either treated or not) with age-matched healthy women. CONCLUSION: Brazilian TS patients either treated or not with rhGH showed almost no differences in terms of their body proportions. This result is probably due to the late age at the start of treatment, and/or the short period of rhGH administration. Hand length was different between the groups, showing the importance of including the extremities in body proportion assessment during rhGH treatment of TS patients.

High prevalence of sick building syndrome in a new air-conditioned building in Italy.

This study, which was conducted in central Italy, included (a) 525 office workers employed in an air-conditioned building that had fan coil units in every room (building B) and (b) 281 subjects who worked in three naturally ventilated buildings (building A) that were operated by the same public administration. The prevalence of work-related symptoms was assessed by a questionnaire that was administered by an occupational medicine specialist. The most frequent complaints of employees in building B were dry air, strong lighting, and high temperature. Employees who worked in this building experienced a statistically higher prevalence of symptoms that were characteristic of the sick building syndrome. This is the first time that this syndrome has been reported in Italy. Excessive illumination, a low relative humidity, and fiberglass on floors and furniture might have contributed to the symptoms. Inadequate maintenance of the building's air-conditioning plant and the employees' lack of information regarding self-regulation of the fan coil units may also have contributed to the prevalence of symptoms.

[The "quality" system in health care]. / Il sistema "qualità" nell'assistenza sanitaria.

The evolution of the quality assistance care management, is contributing to create a new strategy toward the single operations responsibility. This program is based on efficiency improvements, based on a synthesis of scientific evidences translated with specifications and criteria, that represents the application of the progress of clinic methodology and of the scientific information in the clinics. The evaluation of new criteria, like the guidelines and evidence based medicine, are our goal of this work, because can be a continuous improvements of the healthy and care programs at all the levels of applications.

[Evidence-based medicine: accurate review of the international literature]. / L'evidence based medicine: revisione accurata della letteratura internazionale.

The Authors emphasize the continual scientific technological advances of medical science, the appearance of new nosological extents and the increased health request by people. Physicians are called to up-to-date all the time to keep a high-level of professional competence also after the end of the university studies. Every medical staff can use EBM, setting aside all personal specialization and also with the limitations estimated in our research.

Rabies infection: epidemiology and prophylaxis.

Authors of this paper underline the importance of worldwide epidemiological rabies infection and the prevention. Specifically, a program of health education first aid md's, family doctors, veteriners, animal's traders, and to students of ground schools (primary and secondary) in a large medical regional area of Rome was developed. This article is informative to whom can concern rabies infection risks in Italy in order to reduce the abuse of vaccination influencing on behaviors and on the relation humans-animals.

[Clinical investigation of hyaluronidase and nerve growth factor (NGF) at the ocular level: detailed review of the international literature]. / Sperimentazione clinica di ialuronidasi e del nerve growth factor (NGF) a livello oculare: revisione accurata della bibliografia internazionale.

In this paper the authors analyse the international bibliography about clinic tests on hyaluronic acid and Nerve Growth Factor at ocular level. This study was performed on request of a private oculistic clinic in the centre of Rome about the clinic test of the drugs mentioned above. Therefore, this paper is a joint work of Public Health physicians and oculists.