Effect of brief secondhand smoke exposure on endothelial function and circulating markers of inflammation.

Objective: In contrast to the well defined detrimental consequences of long-term secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, little is known about the acute effects of passive smoking on endothelial function and inflammation. The aim of the present study was to assess the acute effects of short-term SHS exposure on endothelial function and circulating markers of inflammation.

Methods: Peripheral microvascular endothelial function assessed by reactive hyperemia peripheral arterial tonometry (RH-PAT) index, circulating markers of endothelial function (von Willebrand factor antigen, Thrombomodulin, E-selectin) and circulating inflammatory markers (high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6)) were measured in eighteen male, non-smoking volunteers before and 12h after a 1-h SHS exposure.

[Prevalence of autistic states in a cohort of very young children followed up in home care].

It is hypothesized that infantile autism could represent a defensive position with variable clinical characteristics whose expressions are notably influenced by the environment. We examined a group of ten children under the age of three who were followed up on home care. Our research focused on a double-blind correlation test between two types of data: the diagnostic on the one hand and the child video recording observation on the other hand.

[Epidemiologic characteristics of 21 peranesthetic anaphylactoid accidents observed in a population of 12,855 surgically treated patients].

A study of anaphylactoid reactions (AR) observed between September 1982 and September 1983 was carried out in the surgical departments of a French regional hospital. The patients who had presented clinical symptoms suggesting an AR (bronchospasm, collapse, tachycardia, with or without skin rash) during a general anaesthesia were included in this study. A precise history of previous anaesthesias and allergy was taken; allergological testing was carried out six to eight weeks after the AR.