This paper provides an analysis of Andrija Štampar’s activities after World War II on the establishment of effective international health. Analyzed archival materials have confirmed with numerous ...evidence that Štampar as the president of the Interim Commission of the World Health Organization (WHO) played a crucial role in the establishment of the ideological starting points and organization of the WHO system, which remain relevant to date. Apart from the strategic foundations, it has been shown that his principles regarding the need for practical action based on the best professional knowledge and experience have no alternatives. The above is presented in the paper with the details of Štampar’s activities during the cholera epidemic in Egypt and associated with the experiences of the recent global crisis caused by the COVID pandemic.
Rad donosi pregled aktivnosti Andrije Štampara nakon Drugoga svjetskog rata i opisuje zatečeno stanje neaktivnih nacionalnih zdravstvenih organizacija. Obrađenom arhivskom građom brojnim je dokazima utvrđeno kako je upravo Andrija Štampar, kao predsjednik tzv. Prijelazne komisije Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije (SZO), tadašnjim intenzivnim djelovanjem presudno djelovao na uspostavu ideoloških polazišta i organizacije sustava SZO, koji ostaju aktualni do danas. Osim strateških osnova, pokazalo se da njegova načela potrebe praktičnog djelovanja utemeljenog na najboljim znanjima i iskustvima struke nemaju alternative. To je u radu ilustrirano detaljima Štamparova globalnog djelovanja tijekom epidemije kolere u Egiptu i povezano s iskustvima nedavne globalne krize uzrokovane COVID pandemijom.
The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of exercise training on the levels of plasma cytokines and acute phase reactants in the early post acute myocardial infarction (AMI) period. ...Sixty patients were enrolled into this three-week cardiac rehabilitation study. The mean time from AMI was 7.08 +/- 1.60 days, and the patient mean age was 60 +/- 10 years. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: the control group treated with standard measures, and the group with additional regular moderate-intensity exercise training. Physical activity was based on the ergospirometry test results. Apart from clinical follow-up and routine laboratory analysis we determined the levels of plasma cytokines: tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), soluble TNF-alpha receptor 1 (TNF-alphaSR1), interleukin (IL)-8, IL-10, and acute phase reactants: high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and fibrinogen. The obtained results confirmed the hypothesis that the early post AMI period is an inflammatory state the intensity of which gradually decreases with standard treatment during the first month after AMI, while including patients into early exercise training improves their inflammatory profile by decreasing the level of acute phase reactant and TNF-alphaSR1.
At a time when the Internet has become an inseparable part of the everyday lives in the population of developed countries, the awareness of the need for its use in health promotion and disease ...prevention is continuously increasing. Although there are numerous studies in this field that are still in progress, at the time being we have more open questions than safe answers. Health issues are on the internet dominated largely by unfounded commercial promotions and sales campaigns, while professional content tends to be limited to the official web site of professional societies. Promotion health campaigns that are based on proven and effective -- evidence based platforms are still sporadic. Because of its specificity and longevity, the prevention and treatment of obesity is area of a special interest. It seems that the Internet-based education, practical materials, web -- medical and psychological counseling, and controlled support groups within social networks represent the next major step in the development of effective therapeutic strategies for obesity.
Obesogens – new global health problem? Ćurić, Melany; Klobučar Majanović, Sanja; Detel, Dijana ...
Periodicum biologorum,
07/2022, Letnik:
123, Številka:
3-4
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
Obesity is a serious global public health problem. It is a complex disease caused by a combination of several factors including overeating and a sedentary lifestyle, genetic susceptibility and ...environmental factors. Substantial scientific evidence indicates that increase in obesity prevalence correlates with increase in production and human exposure to environmental chemicals, suggesting that a long list of chemical compounds that can be found all around us may play a role in the etiology of obesity.Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are chemicals that can interfere with the function of endocrine system. A subclass of EDCs that can disrupt a great number of metabolic processes including normal development of adipose tissue and balance of lipid metabolism thus leading to obesity are called obesogens. They can be found in electronics, plastics, furniture, clothes, cosmetics and also in the air, water and food that people consume. Persistent organophosphate pesticides, flame retardants, nicotine and plastics have all been linked to obesity particularly if exposure occurs during early life (in utero, newborns). Early development is the most vulnerable period for obesogen exposure leading to epigenetic changes that persist throughout life.Current knowledge on obesogens is probably just „the tip of the iceberg“ and future research is needed as well as increasing public awareness of this problem and its implications to human health. It is important to establish control over obesogens and try to prevent or at least limit the exposure of people, especially children and pregnant women, to these dangerous and harmful chemical compounds.
To identify the risk factors of a repeated episode of severe febrile neutropenia (FN) and to build an accurate and easy-to-use predictive model.
This single-center retrospective cohort study ...conducted at the Clinical Hospital Center Children's Hospital Rijeka from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2016 included pediatric patients with malignant diseases who experienced at least one FN episode. The association of the second severe FN episode appearance with relevant clinical and laboratory data was analyzed by logistic regression.
Out of 45 patients with one FN episode, 25 (56%) had severe FN and 11 (24%) had repeated severe FNs. Significant predictors of a repeated severe FN episode were the first FN episode duration of 9 or more days and red blood cells ≤3.0×1012/L. The predictive model constructed by crossing these two indicators had the accuracy of 87% (95% confidence interval CI 73%-94%), sensitivity of 82% (95% CI 53%-97%), and specificity of 88% (95% CI 79%-93%).
The first FN episode duration and anemia are significantly associated with the risk for severe FN re-occurrence. These factors may be useful in the identification of children with cancer who are at high risk for adverse outcome at any future fever onset and may benefit from early intensive treatment.
To test the psychometric properties of the Croatian version of the Chronic Venous Insufficiency Quality of Life (CIVIQ) Questionnaire and to assess the quality of life in patients with chronic venous ...disorders of all stages.
This cross-sectional study performed between 2014 and 2015 in a private family practice assessed the factorial validity, cross-sectional validity, and reliability of the Croatian CIVIQ 20-item questionnaire completed by 428 adult patients (78% women) with chronic venous disorders classified according to the Clinical-Etiologic-Anatomic-Pathophysiologic (CEAP) C classification as stages C1-C6.
Median patient age was 52 years (5th-95th percentile, 30-77). The distribution according to the clinical stages of chronic venous disorders was as follows: C1 (n=78, 18%), C2 (n=192, 45%), C3 (n=53, 12%), C4 (n=44, 10%), C5 (n=13, 3%), and C6 (n=48, 11%). The CIVIQ-20 factorial structure was unstable, and six items were excluded from the analysis to test the psychometric properties of the shortened version (CIVIQ-14). CIVIQ-14 has three dimensions (physical, psychological, and pain). Internal consistency reliability is high for the entire CIVIQ-14 (Cronbach α=0.92) and for all CIVIQ-14 dimensions (α≥0.80). The median quality of life significantly decreased with higher CEAP C stages as follows: C1/C2 (86, 50-100); C3/C4 (75, 36-98); C5/C6 (67, 31-95) (P<0.001). Post-hoc analysis showed a higher quality of life in C1/C2 than in other groups (P<0.001).
The shortened CIVIQ-14 version is useful for assessing the quality of life in patients with chronic venous disorders in everyday clinical practice. To achieve a stable validated instrument, we recommend a cross-cultural validation of items that have loadings on more than one factor.
The aim of this investigation was to determine the seroprevalence of H. pylori in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients with coronary artery disease (n = 90) and control group (n = ...90) were enrolled into this randomized, multi-centre study. CAD risk factors analyzed included age, male gender, diabetes mellitus, systemic hypertension, cigarette smoking, hypercholesterolemia and socioeconomic status. The results of this study showed a higher seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with CAD compared to controls (78.8% versus 58.3%, p < 0.05). However, Helicobacter pylori seropositivity was not associated with coronary artery risk factors (smoking, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, total cholesterol and socioeconomic status) either in the whole study population or in the patients and control subjects analyzed separately (P > 0.05). Further study are needed to clarify the precise role of Helicobacter pylori infection on the development of coronary artery disease.
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a clinical syndrome resulting from interaction of different structure and functional disturbances leading to decreased heart ability to ensure adequate supply of ...oxygenized blood to tissues and ensure adequate metabolic needs in the cases of normal or increased afterload. Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is a pathological condition characterized by general imbalance of all major endothelial mechanisms with key role in development and progression of atherosclerotic disease. ED has been associated with most cardiovascular risk factors. There is increasing interest in assessing endothelial function non-invasively, leading to development and evaluation of new diagnostic methods. We suggest that MRI is safe and reliable test that offers important advantages over ultrasound for the detection of ED and monitoring of the expected therapeutic effect. We believe that ED plays a pivotal role in chronic heart failure development and progression, regardless of its etiology, and that MRI should be introduced as a “gold standard” in diagnostic procedure and treatment.
Smjernice međunarodnih stručnih društava ukazuju da je povišena koncentracija lipoproteina(a)
Lp(a) u krvi dugoročni neovisni čimbenik rizika za razvitak aterosklerotske kardiovaskularne bolesti ...(ASKVB), kao i za kalcifikacijsku stenozu aortnih zalistaka. Cilj je ovog članka koji je rezultat konsenzusa nacionalnih stručnjaka iz tog područja predstaviti najnovije spoznaje o dijagnostici i sadašnjim mogućnostima liječenja bolesnika s povišenom koncentracijom Lp(a) u krvi koje su u ovom trenutku skromne, ali i naznačiti buduće mogućnosti liječenja koje su na pomolu. Zaključak koji se može postaviti na temelju dosadašnjih spoznaja upućuje da postoji neposredna korist za bolesnike u mjerenju koncentracije Lp(a), čak i ako potpuno učinkovito farmakološko liječenje još nije dostupno. Mjerenje Lp(a) olakšava bržu i pouzdaniju identifikaciju bolesnika s visokim kardiovaskularnim rizikom i bolje upravljanje tim rizikom, odnosno upućuje na potrebu intenzivnijeg smanjivanja i liječenja ostalih čimbenika rizika za ASKVB ako je Lp(a) značajnije povećan. Izražavanje koncentracije Lp(a) preporučuje se u nmol/L izmjerene metodama kalibriranim kalibratorima čija je koncentracija izražena u nmol/L.
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