Second-generation antipsychotic and diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents.

Second generation antipsychotics (SGA) are used in children for the treatment of various psychiatric diseases, including pervasive developmental disorders. These drugs can cause metabolic effects as hyperglycemia and diabetes. A 16-year-old young-boy, diagnosed with autism, developed diabetes mellitus type 1 whilst he was on treatment with olanzapine (started 4 months before), clomipramine, valproic acid and lithium.

Mutation analysis of the ATP7B gene in a new group of Wilson's disease patients: contribution to diagnosis.

Wilson's disease (WD), an autosomal recessive disorder of copper transport with a broad range of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, results from mutations in the ATP7B gene. Herein we report the results of mutation analysis of the ATP7B gene in a group of 118 Wilson disease families (236 chromosomes) prevalently of Italian origin. Using DNA sequencing we identified 83 disease-causing mutations.

Epidemiology and prevention of rotavirus infection: an underestimated issue?

Rotaviruses (RVs) were found to cause human disease in 1973. They are the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children of <5 years of age worldwide and they are the cause of approximately half a million deaths each year. The impact of the disease on families and society (increased health care costs, lost productivity) is extremely significant and the incidence of gastroenteritis (RVGE) is similar both in industrialized and in developing countries.