[Polyps (single or multiple) and juvenile polyposis]. / Polipi (singoli o multipli) e poliposi giovanile.

The authors underline the important aspects of juvenile familial polyposis (JFP), a disease transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. A case of JFP characterized by the presence of hundreds of polyps in the colo-rectal intestinal tract, is analyzed. The single juvenile polyp, multiple polyps (=/>5 polyps) and the sporadic form are examined. These are mucous hamartomas which can undergo neoplastic transformation (in carcinoma in 68% of untreated cases), a behaviour similar to that of adenomatous polyps. They differ from the later due to the following features: epidemiology (earlier appearance age), anatomopathology (stroma), clinical observation (self-recovery in some cases) and genetics (10q23.3-18q21, genetic mutations in a locus different those of adenomatous polyps). It is also necessary to determine its extension by means of colonoscopy, ileoscopy, gastroscopy and small bowel barium enema. Patients' screening through construction of the genealogical family tree is fundamental. Isolation of possible degenerative aspects of the polyps through biopsy is also fundamental. Single or multiple polyps are treated endoscopically, the juvenile polyposis is treated surgically (colectomy, total colectomy). A rigorous follow-up of the patients and their family members is recommended.

Effects of short-term dietary administration of marginal levels of vitamin B(6)and fish oil on lipid composition and antioxidant defences in rat tissues.

Previous reports have shown that vitamin B(6)deficiency leads to peroxidative stress in rat organs. In this paper, we evaluated the effects on lipid peroxidation of short-term (six weeks) dietary administration of marginal contents of vitamin B(6). A further risk factor of susceptibility to peroxidation was the presence of fish oil with higher contents of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA). The contemporaneous vitamin B(6)deficiency and presence of fish oil caused a C18:2 increase, a C20:4 decrease, and replacement of some n-6 LCPUFA with n-3 LCPUFA, without changes in the unsaturation index. In liver, TBARS production did not show any differences between dietary conditions, whereas the activities of glutathione-dependent enzymes were stimulated. In heart, fish oil increased lipid peroxidation, especially in the vitamin B(6)-deficient group.