Decreased physical activity in adults with bronchial asthma.

Contradictory findings have been reported in the literature on the impact that bronchial asthma may have on habitual physical activity. The present study was designed to compare physical activity, objectively measured with an activity monitor, between adults with bronchial asthma and apparently healthy controls. Valid registrations of physical activity were obtained in 226 patients with asthma and 201 healthy controls.

Four patients with hypothyroid Graves' disease.

In autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's disease), TPO (thyroid peroxidase) antibodies may be detected, while in autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease) thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH ) receptor antibodies (TSH -R-AB s) are frequently present. Less well known is the fact that autoimmune hypothyroidism can present with TSH-R-ABs and ophthalmic Graves' disease (OGD). This condition is also known as hypothyroid Graves' disease.

[Inflammatory bowel disease and Clostridium difficile: be prepared].

In this report we describe 3 female patients, aged 38, 29 and 91, with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and suffering from an episode of abdominal symptoms and diarrhoea. This raised suspicion of a flare-up of IBD, but all three proved to have Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD). This diagnosis led to a change in management, medication being changed from ciprofloxacin into metronidazole in 2 patients.