Two neonates with severe culture proven pertussis were successfully treated with salbutamol 0.5 mg three times daily. There was a demonstrable decrease in the total number of coughing spasms, their mean duration and severity. In one baby this was shown by the transcutaneous oxygen tension measurements.
Obesity causes dysfunction of adipose tissue, with resultant chronic inflammation and adverse interplay of various adipokines, sex steroids and endocrine hormones. All these drive tumourigenesis and explain the epidemiological link between obesity and cancer. Over the past decade, the associations among obesity, adipokines and cancer have been increasingly recognized. Adipokines and their respective signalling pathways have drawn much research attention in the field of oncology and cancer therapeutics. This review will discuss the recent advances in the understanding of the association of several adipokines with common obesity-related cancers and the clinical therapeutic implications.
Circulating adiponectin levels have been shown to be associated with a risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, its primary role in protecting against the development of CHD remains controversial due to conflicting observations in prospective studies. To gain further insight into the primary role of adiponectin, our major objective was to investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) and incident CHD in a population-based cohort with no CHD at baseline.We conducted a 16-year longitudinal study in 2196 subjects from the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study (CRISPS). During 33 862 person-years of follow-up, 184 subjects developed CHD (cumulative incidence rate=5.4 per 1000 person-years). Nine ADIPOQ SNPs with potential functional relevance or shown to be associated with adiponectin levels and/or CHD were genotyped.Among the nine ADIPOQ SNPs, +276G>T (rs1501299) was independently associated with incident CHD in men but not in women, even after adjustments for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (Padjusted=5.5×10(-3) to 0.023; hazard ratio=1.39-1.54). Furthermore, there was a significant association of the T allele of +276G>T with a lower adiponectin level (P=0.027; β (95% CI)=-0.05 (-0.10, -0.01).This study demonstrated that +276G>T may be an independent predictor of CHD development. Our findings suggest that low adiponectin levels, as may be influenced by +276G>T, confer a higher risk of CHD, in keeping with a role of hypoadiponectinaemia in the development of CHD in the general population.
ABSTRACTS The incidence of language delay in Chinese preschool children was studied by a stratified proportional sampling of all 3 year olds in Hong Kong. The Developmental Language Screening Scale (DLSS) devised for use with Cantonese speaking children was used to identify children with language delay. Of 855 children sampled in the stage I screening procedure, 4%, 2.8% and 3.3% were identified as having delay in verbal comprehension, expression or both respectively. The stage II clinical diagnostic study included a randomly selected group of children screened in stage I with or without any associated behavioural problem. Among these, 3.4% were identified as having a language delay using the Reynell Language Developmental Scale (RDLS) with a criterion of language age of less than or equal to two‐thirds of the chronological age; 3% had specific language delay using the criteria of language age less than or equal to two‐thirds the chronological age and developmental age more than or equal to two‐thirds the chronological age. More boys were found to have language delay, although this was not statistically significant. La fréquence du retard dans l'acquisition du langage chez les enfants chinois d'âge préscolaire a été étudiée au moyen d'échantillonnages proportionnels stratifiés au sein de la l'énsemble de la population des enfants de 3 ans de Hong‐Kong. L'on a utilisé l'Echelle de Dépistage pour le Développement du Langage (Developmental Language Screening Scale, ou DLSS), déjà mise au point pour les enfants de langue cantonaise, pour identifier ceux souffrant de retard linguistique. Parmi les 885 enfants prélevés par échantillonnage pour le premier stade du processus de dépistage, il s'est révélé que les pourcentages de retards en ce qui concernait la compréhension verbale, l'expression verbale, ou une combinaison de ces deux facteurs, étaient, respectivement, de 4%, 2.8% et 3.3%. Le deuxième stade de l'étude diagnostique clinique concernait un groupe d'enfants sélectionnés au hasard parmi ceux qui avaient déjà été examinés au premier stade, et dont certains présentaient en plus des problèmes de comportement alors que d'autres n'en avaient pas. Dans le nombre il s'est trouvé que 3.4% souffraient de retards du langage d'après l'Echelle de Reynell (Reynell Language Development Scale, ou RDLS) avec un critère d'âge linguistique inférieur ou égal aux 2/3 de l'âge chronologique, et que 3% souffraient de retard spécifique du langage en utilisant un âge linguistique de 2/3 de l'âge chronologique et un âge de développement supérieur ou égal aux 2/3 de l'âge chronologique. Davantage de garçons que de filles souffraient de retards du langage, mais la différence n'était pas statistiquement significative. Die Prävalenz der Sprachentwicklungsstörung bei chinesischen Vorschulkindern wurde an Hand von einer schichtenförmigen, proportionierten Stichprobe von alien dreijährigen Kindern in Hong Kong studiert. Um die Kinder mit einer Sprachentwicklungsstörung zu identifizieren, haben wir die Developmental Language Screening Scale (DLSS) angewendet, die für den Gebrauch bei kantonesisch sprechenden Kindern entwickelt wurde. Von den 855 Kindern, die wir in der ersten Phase der Stichprobe getestet haben, haben wir bei jeweils 4, 2.8, 3.3% eine Entwicklungsverzögerung des Sprachverständnisses, des Ausdrucks oder beides festgestellt. In der zweiten Phase der klinischen, diagnostischen Studie haben wir eine randomisierte Gruppe von Kindern ausgewählt, die in der ersten Phase geprüft wurden und die mit oder ohne Verhaltensprobleme waren. Von diesen hatten 3.4% laut der Reynell Language Development Scale eine Sprachentwicklungsverzögerung, d.h. Sprachalter ≤ 2/3 des eigentlichen Alters; 3% eine Teilleistungsschwäche, d.h. Sprachalter ≤ 2/3 des eigentlichen Alters und Entwicklungsalter ≥ 2/3 des eigentlichen Alters. Wir haben gefunden, dass mehr Jungen eine Sprachentwicklungsverzögerung hatten, obgleich dieses statistisch nicht signifikant war.
Introduction: Methotrexate (MTX) is effective for treating psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, but its potential hepatoxicity remains a concern.Liver biopsy, the gold standard for detecting MTX-induced liver injury, is invasive and carries considerable risk.Transient elastography (TE) offers a non-invasive alternative for detecting advanced liver fibrosis.This study investigated the performance of TE in detecting MTX-induced liver fibrosis among Chinese psoriasis patients, compared with liver biopsy.Methods: This study included adult patients with clinical psoriasis.Liver stiffness measurement using TE was performed in patients receiving MTX.Exclusion criteria were known liver cirrhosis, positive viral hepatitis carrier status, or conditions influencing TE performance.Liver biopsy was performed when liver stiffness was ≥7.1 kilopascals (kPa) or when the total cumulative dose (TCD) of MTX was ≥3.5 g. Results:A total of 228 patients were screened; among 34 patients who met the inclusion criteria, nine (26.5%) had significant liver fibrosis (Roenigk grade ≥3a).The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.76 (95% confidence interval=0.59-0.93;P=0.021), indicating that TE had satisfactory performance in detecting liver fibrosis.A cut-off value of 7.1 kPa of liver stiffness yielded 100% sensitivity and 68% specificity.Liver fibrosis was not correlated with the TCD of MTX or the duration of MTX use; it was significantly correlated with obesity and diabetes status (body mass index
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