Obtaining spirometric reference values when height is not available - comparison of alternative anthropometric measures.

Introduction: Height is one of the variables used to derive reference values for respiratory function but it is not always available. To fulfil this need, different formulas are described in literature.

Aim: To understand which method best estimate height in order to obtain Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and Forced Expiratory Volume in 1st second (FEV1) reference values.

Subcutaneous metastasis of a pulmonary carcinoid tumor: A case report.

Rationale: Carcinoid tumors are derived from neuroendocrine cells and are most frequently found in the gastrointestinal tract and bronchopulmonary system. They are generally characterized by an indolent clinical course but may in some instances spread to regional lymph nodes or to distant sites. Subcutaneous metastases of carcinoid tumors are extremely rare; there are only few cases reported in the literature and the site of the primary tumor was mainly the gastrointestinal tract.

Phonological alexia with vowel-consonant dissociation in non-word reading.

We present a patient with alexia secondary to cerebral lesion whose errors in the reading of non-words affect vowels more than consonants. The interest of the case resides in: (1) the documentation of a vowel-consonant dissociation selectively affecting the reading of non-words; and (2) the localization of the alteration in a specific stage of the perilexical reading pathway, that is, the blending of phonetic chains. The case contributes to the discussion on the nature of representations and the processing of vowels and consonants.