Add-On Effect of Selenium and Vitamin D Combined Supplementation in Early Control of Graves' Disease Hyperthyroidism During Methimazole Treatment.

Prompt and stable control of hyperthyroidism is fundamental to avoid the detrimental effects of thyroid hormone excess, and antithyroid drugs, mainly methimazole (MMI), represent the first-line treatment for Graves' disease (GD) hyperthyroidism. Decreased serum concentrations of selenium (Se) and calcifediol (25(OH)D, VitD) have been reported in newly diagnosed GD patients in observational studies. Low Se levels might exacerbate oxidative stress by compromising the antioxidant machinery's response to reactive oxygen species, and low VitD levels might hamper the anti-inflammatory immune response.

Modeling population exposure to ultrafine particles in a major Italian urban area.

Average daily ultrafine particles (UFP) exposure of adult Milan subpopulations (defined on the basis of gender, and then for age, employment or educational status), in different exposure scenarios (typical working day in summer and winter) were simulated using a microenvironmental stochastic simulation model. The basic concept of this kind of model is that time-weighted average exposure is defined as the sum of partial microenvironmental exposures, which are determined by the product of UFP concentration and time spent in each microenvironment. In this work, environmental concentrations were derived from previous experimental studies that were based on microenvironmental measurements in the city of Milan by means of personal or individual monitoring, while time-activity patterns were derived from the EXPOLIS study.