Childhood and adolescent lymphoma in Spain: incidence and survival trends over 20 years.

BACKGROUND: Lymphoma is the third most common malignancy in children (0-14 years) and the first in adolescents (15-19 years). This population-based study-the largest ever done in Spain-analyses incidence and survival of lymphomas among Spanish children and adolescents. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 1664 lymphoma cases (1983-2007) for incidence and 1030 for survival (1991-2005) followed until 31/12/2010, were provided by 11 cancer registries. Age-adjusted incidence rates (ASRw) to the world standard population were obtained; incidence trends were modelled using the Joinpoint programme, observed survival (OS) was estimated with Kaplan-Meier and trends tested with a log-rank test. Results are presented according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer-3. RESULTS: In Spain, the ASRw0-14 for lymphomas was 17.5 per 1.000.000 child-years and 50.0 the specific rate for adolescents. Overall incidence increased significantly during 1983-1997 with no increases thereafter. Patients over 9 years old showed significant rising trends for all subtypes, except for Burkitt lymphoma (BL) in adolescents. During 2001-2005 (age 0-19 years), 5-year OS was 94 (90-98), 73 (64-83) and 86 (78-94) for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and BL, respectively. No improvement in survival was found. The incidence in Spain was higher than overall European rates, but within the range of that in Southern Europe. Comparing OS in Spain 1991-1995 and 2001-2005 with results for Europe of the Automated Childhood Cancer Information System (ACCIS) (1988-1997) and the European cancer registry-based study on survival and care of cancer patients (EUROCARE) (2000-2007), it was similar for HL and lower for NHL and BL. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic monitoring and analysis of lymphoma paediatric data would provide clinical and epidemiological information to improve the health care of these patients and the outcomes for these malignancies in Spain.

Biological monitoring of embrio-fetal exposure to methamidophos or chlorothalonil on rat development.

Maternal exposure to pesticides during the pre-implantation and very early post-implantation periods of pregnancy is correlated with numerous adverse effects on the offspring and in reproductive parameters like an increase in resorption, a decrease in fetal survival and weight, and teratogenic effects. Although the epidemiological evidence is inconclusive as regards the risk of the adverse outcome of pregnancy and developmental toxicity events, the use of biomarkers in exposure assessment may contribute to recognizing a potential health impairment. The present study evaluated the influence of prenatal oral exposure to an insecticide (1.0 mg methamidophos/kg) or a fungicide (200.0 mg chlorothalonil/kg) during gestation days 1 to 6 on maturational and behavioral aspects of offspring development of rats. The pesticides did not affect the body weight gain of dams and offspring, nor did the exposure affect the weight of gravid uterus, fetus, placenta and ovary. There were no observed alterations in the swimming behavior tested at postnatal days 7, 14 and 21, but the pesticides interfered with physical and maturational development landmarks of offspring according to age, showing subtle effects on behavioral and physical development. These findings show the importance of categorizing developmental effects, establishing the relationship between age and important performances, to recognize potential impacts on human populations.

[Daily living with hypertension: changes, restrictions and reactions]. / O cotidiano da vida de hipertensos: mudanças, restrições e reações.

Aiming to describe daily living of hypertensive people after Arterial Hypertension (AH) diagnoses and to identify changes in their lives. The method of inquiry used was descriptive and qualitative using discursive method to figure out theme factors. The results showed different behaviors/reactions of being sick according to their daily living after discovering AH, that not always happened at the same time that the antihypertensive treatment began. Those differences seems to be associated with individual understanding of sickness itself and of impact in their lives. So, getting along with hypertension is to learn about the sickness and symptoms and also make the necessary changes.

Relevance of developmental testing of exposure to methamidophos during gestation to its toxicology evaluation.

The organophosphate insecticide (OP) are known to be able to promote cholinergic toxicity related to neurobehavioral findings. The measures of cholinesterase activity are the most common index of its action. The influence was evaluated, of the OP methamidophos (1.0 mg/kg), by oral exposure during gestational organogenesis of rats, on maturational and behavioral aspects of offspring development. This dose did not promote evidence of maternal toxicity. The pesticide did not affect body weight gain of the dams and offspring, but interfered with the offspring's physical and maturational development landmarks according to age. The behavioral performance of the offspring with or without a pharmacological challenge was tested at different postnatal days (pnd 14, 21 and 40) in an open-field apparatus. The results showed a large standard deviation that prejudiced the conclusions. There were no observed alterations in the swimming behavior tested also at pnd 7, 14 and 21. As long as the obtained results showed some subtle effects on rat development, the data, as possible additional effect biomarkers for risk analysis, will aid further studies of the embryo-feto-toxic potential of OP exposure.

DL-methionine supplementation of rice-and-bean diets affects gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity and glutathione content in livers of growing rats.

Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT-EC 2.3.2.2) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were measured in livers of female weanling Wistar rats (N = 5-18), submitted to rice-and-bean diets (13 and 6% w/w protein), both supplemented or not with DL-methionine (0.5 and 0.23 g/100 g dry diet, respectively). After 28 days, the rats on the rice-and-bean diets showed significantly higher levels (four times higher) of liver GGT activity and a concomitant 50% lower concentration of liver GSH in comparison with control groups feeding on casein. The addition of DL-methionine to rice-and-bean diets significantly increased the liver GSH content, which reached levels 50% higher than those found in animals on casein diets. The increase in GSH was accompanied by a decrease in liver GGT activity, which did not reach levels as low as those observed in the control groups. No significant correlation could be established between GGT and GSH changes under the present experimental conditions. Linear correlation analysis only revealed that in animals submitted to unsupplemented rice-and-bean diets GSH concentration was positively associated (P < 0.05) with weight gain, food intake and food efficiency. GGT, however, was negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with food intake only, and exclusively for supplemented rice-and-bean diets. The high levels of GGT activity observed in the present study for rats receiving a rice-and-bean mixture could be a result of the poor quality of these diets associated with their deficiency in sulfur amino acids. The results also suggest that diet supplementation with methionine could be important in the reduction of the deleterious effects of GSH depletion by restoring the intracellular concentration of this tripeptide.

DL-methionine supplementation of rice-and-bean diets affects gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity and glutathione content in livers of growing rats

Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT-EC 2.3.2.2) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were measured in livers of female weanling Wistar rats (N = 5-18), submitted to rice-and-bean diets (13 and 6 per cent w/w protein), both supplemented or not with DL-methionine (0.5 and 0.23 g/100 g dry diet, respectively). After 28 days, the rats on the rice-and-bean diets showed significantly higher levels (four times higher) of liver GGT activity and a concomitant 50 per cent lower concentration of liver GSH in comparison with control groups feeding on casein. The addition of DL-methionine to rice-and-bean diets significantly increased the liver GSH content, which reached levels 50 per cent higher than those found in animals on casein diets. The increase in GSH was accompanied by a decrease in liver GGT activity, which did not reach levels as low as those observed in the control groups. No significant correlation could be established between GGT and GSH changes under the present experimental conditions. Linear correlation analysis only revealed that in animals submitted to unsupplemented rice-and-bean diets GSH concentration was positively associated (P<0.05) with weight gain, food intake and food efficiency. GGT, however, was negatively correlated (P<0.05) with food intake only, and exclusively for supplemented rice-and-bean diets. The high levels of GGT activity observed in the present study for rats receiving a rice-and-bean mixture could be a result of the poor quality of these diets associated with their deficiency in sulfur amino acids. The results also suggest that diet supplementation with methionine could be important in the reduction of the deleterious effects of GSH depletion by restoring the intracellular concentration of this tripeptide.

[Problems and solutions for patients with hypertension]. / Dificuldades e facilidades dos doentes no seguimento do tratamento da hipertensão arterial.

This study aims to identify difficulties and facilities of the patients in following the treatment of the arterial hypertension; and, to verify differences that exist between those difficulties and facilities in two moments of the trajectory--in the ambulatorial treatment and in the hospital stay. For this quantitative, descriptive study, 34 patients with medical diagnosis of arterial hypertension or its complications were interviewed, being 17 registered in the ambulatorial unit and 17 hospitalized in the nephrology unit. The results of the study revealed that, in general, there were no differences among the difficulties and the facilities referred by the patients for the following of the treatment in the two studied moments. The difficulties and facilities pointed out by the patients refer to the financing of the treatment (medication purchase and expenses with transport); accessibility to the service (easiness in marking medical consultation and distance of the service of health); change of alimentary habit (hipossodic diet), and the importance of the family support in this trajectory.