Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), 25(OH) D3, chronic kidney disease (CKD), the MYH9 (myosin heavy chain 9) gene in old and very elderly people.

It is known that the common physiological denominator of the ageing process is an attenuation of functional performance with respect to the situation of young people and adults. However, since the first cohort-based longitudinal studies, it has not been possible to establish a "linear" relationship between age and glomerular filtration in all cases. This does not mean that there is no physiological ageing process at all; in addition to those already elucidated, its mechanisms include cell senescence, podocyte dysfunction, a vitamin D deficiency, and homozygotic forms of the MYH9 gene.

[Bone mineral density after treatment for nasal polyposis].

Purpose: Medical treatment of nasal polyposis is based on corticotherapy, and the most frequent complication of long-term corticotherapy is corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis.

Objective: To assess bone mineral density after long-term, high-dose corticosteroid treatment for nasal polyposis.

Patients And Methods: Bone mineral density at the spine and hip was measured by absorptiometry in 32 patients who had received high doses of corticosteroids for nasal polyposis.

Correlation between nasosinusal symptoms and topographic diagnosis in chronic rhinosinusitis.

Rhinitis and sinusitis concern roughly a quarter of the population in the Western world. They are associated with a wide range of symptoms: nasal obstruction, anterior and posterior nasal discharge, sneezing episodes, facial pain or congestion, and taste and smell disorders. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the clinical significance of these various symptoms as a function of the topographic diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis.

Medical treatment of stage I nasal polyposis over a 3-year follow-up period.

Purpose: To determine the effects of a standardized therapeutic protocol (short-term oral administration of prednisolone and daily intranasal spray of beclometasone) on stage I nasal polyposis over a follow-up period of 3 years.

Procedures: Assessments (evaluation of nasal function and drug consumption) were conducted at baseline and every 3 months on 54 consecutive patients with stage I nasal polyposis during 3 years.

Results: Over the follow-up period of 3 years, this dual modality proved to be successful in 87% of the subjects; only 13% had to undergo surgery after its failure.

[Adrenal insufficiency after treatment of nasal polyposis].

Objective: Assessment of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis after long term and uncontrolled corticosteroid treatment in nasal polyposis.

Patients And Methods: A short synacthen test was performed in ten patients who received uncontrolled doses of corticosteroids in a population of 128 patients treated for nasal polyposis.

Results: Mean yearly dose of oral prednisone administered in short-term treatment varied between 1280 and 7300 mg.

[Sino-nasal polyposis. Evaluation of the efficacy of combined local and general corticotherapy in a series of 100 consecutive patients with a 3-year follow-up].

Nasal polyposis accounts for 40% of chronic nasal disease. The part played by surgery seems to be steadily growing if the number of publications dedicated to this approach is any yardstick. The medical treatment remains however the undisputed therapeutic mainstay but trials dedicated to the assessment of its overall efficacy are rather scarce.

Medical management of nasal polyposis: a study in a series of 152 consecutive patients.

Background: The management of nasal polyps is undoubtedly a controversial subject. The medical treatment remains the undisputed therapeutic mainstay but most of the publications are aimed at the registration of new molecules from the pharmaceutical industry which explains why they are confined to a single agent.

Design: The aim of this study is focused on the evaluation of a dual modality on a series of 152 subjects treated according to a standardized protocol combining a short-term administration of prednisolone and the daily intranasal spraying of beclomethasone.

Corticosteroid treatment in nasal polyposis with a three-year follow-up period.

Objectives/hypothesis: The management of nasal polyposis is undoubtedly a controversial subject. The part played by surgery seems to be steadily growing, if the number of published reports dedicated to this approach is any yardstick. Although the medical treatment remains the undisputed therapeutic mainstay, trials dedicated to the long-term assessment of its overall efficacy are scarce.

[Olfactory disorders due to medications: analysis and review of the literature].

Introduction: Olfactory disorders caused by medicinal drug intake are an uncommon occurrence. However, such an etiology should be systematically taken into account and investigated, as olfactory loss may be reversible once the particular treatment has been stopped.

Current Knowledge And Key Points: An analysis of the literature shows that of the large number of drugs that are apparently responsible for olfactory disorders, this adverse side effect has in fact only been observed in animal study populations, and no clinical case report has been made on the subject.

[Chemicals toxic to the olfactory system. Analysis and description].

AN IMPORTANT PROBLEM: Occupational exposure to chemical products can have toxic effects on the olfactory system. An important number of patients have experienced olfactory disorders subsequent to the development of the chemical industry and atmospheric pollution. EPIDEMIOLOGY DATA: Straightforward data are difficult to collect because several cofactors other than the toxic product are involved.

[Olfactory disorders in Alzheimer's disease and in Parkinson's disease. Review of the literature].

Olfactory disorders in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease have been the topic of a large body of work over the last decades. Work devoted to olfactory disorders in Alzheimer's disease includes over 300 papers providing clinical and fundamental data. Anatomy studies in Alzheimer's disease have demonstrated a specific concentration of lesions in peripheral and central olfactory structures (senile plaques, neurofibrillary degeneration) as well as lesions in layers II and III of the entorhinal cortex.

[Description and analysis of olfactory disorders after head trauma. Review of the literature].

Olfactory disorders subsequent to head trauma can raise medicolegal problems when the olfactory deficit occurs after a work accident or a traffic accident and also raises the problem of psychological and functional tolerance when the patient consults late for a therapeutic solution. We studied the epidemiology of olfactory disorders after head trauma. Such disorders have been recognized since the XIX(th) century.

Innate recognition of bacteria in human milk is mediated by a milk-derived highly expressed pattern recognition receptor, soluble CD14.

Little is known about innate immunity to bacteria after birth in the hitherto sterile fetal intestine. Breast-feeding has long been associated with a lower incidence of gastrointestinal infections and inflammatory and allergic diseases. We found in human breast milk a 48-kD polypeptide, which we confirmed by mass spectrometry and sequencing to be a soluble form of the bacterial pattern recognition receptor CD14 (sCD14).

[Olfactory disorders and general pathology. Analysis and review of the literature].

Introduction: Disturbances of the sense of smell have been documented in many general pathologies. The actual etiology of such impairments is often difficult to determine. The aim of the authors is to review the literature on olfactory disorders in general diseases.

[Analysis of olfactory disorders in aging].

AGING EFFECT: The effect of aging on the olfactory system is generally observed in subjects over the age of 65 and is the number one cause of olfactory disorders. Several studies taking into account the state of the naso-sinus system and possible early stage of developing dementia have examined the precise effects of aging on olfaction. AGE-RELATED CHANGES: Aging affects olfactory thresholds, estimation of the intensity of an olfactory stimulation, and identification and memorization of odors.

Antenatal therapy of Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.

Objectives: Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is a recessively inherited disorder caused by an inborn error of cholesterol metabolism that results in deficiency of cholesterol and accumulation of the cholesterol precursor, 7-dehydrocholesterol (DHC) and its epimer, 8-DHC. Affected patients present with congenital anomalies, growth restriction, and mental retardation. Postnatal treatment with cholesterol supplementation has been shown to improve plasma sterol levels and has resulted in improved growth and development in many patients.

Technical dependability of obstetric ultrasound transmission via ISDN.

Objective: To evaluate the dependability of a live telemedicine link for the transmission of obstetric ultrasonograms using a commercial telephone network.

Materials And Methods: We established an integrated services digital network (ISDN), consisting of three dedicated telephone lines from three satellite offices, to our central prenatal diagnostic center. All patients had a sonographic evaluation recorded on videotape by a trained sonographer.

Effect of ISDN bandwidth on image quality for telemedicine transmission of obstetric ultrasonography.

Objective: To evaluate objectively the effect of different bandwidths on the ability to interpret obstetric ultrasound scans transmitted live over a commercial telephone network.

Materials And Methods: An integrated services digital network (ISDN) was established from three satellite offices to our central prenatal diagnostic center. In the first half of the study, the network was based on four ISDN channels transmitting at a bandwidth of 256 kbits per second (kbps), while in the second half of the study, this was increased to six ISDN channels transmitting at 384 kbps.

Maternal morbidity associated with triplet pregnancy.

The objective of this article is to describe maternal morbidity in a large cohort of triplet pregnancies managed by a single Maternal-Fetal Medicine group over a short period of time. Records from all triplet pregnancies managed and delivered from 1992 to 1996 were reviewed for maternal outcome data. Pregnancies delivered prior to 20 weeks were excluded.

Pitfalls of the 'double bubble' sign: a case of congenital duodenal duplication.

The 'double bubble' sign in prenatal diagnosis is most often associated with duodenal atresia. However, other causes of upper intestinal obstruction and cystic abdominal masses need to be considered. One possible diagnosis that can mimic the 'double bubble' sign of duodenal atresia is duodenal duplication, but little information is available to guide sonologists in the prenatal diagnosis of this rare congenital anomaly.

Gender differences in twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

Objective: To determine whether there is a gender discrepancy in severe twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

Methods: All cases of twin-twin transfusion syndrome evaluated between 1989 and 1996 were reviewed retrospectively. The following sonographic criteria were used: a single placenta, a thin membrane, the same gender, a combination of polyhydramnios-oligohydramnios, a stuck twin, and an estimated weight discordance exceeding 20%.

Validation of fetal telemedicine as a new obstetric imaging technique.

Objective: Our purpose was to establish whether obstetric ultrasonography interpreted by a live video telemedicine link is comparable to interpretation by videotape review in a low-risk patient population.

Study Design: An Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN 6) was established from three satellite offices to our central prenatal diagnostic center. Patients seen at these satellite offices had a complete fetal anatomic survey recorded onto videotape by a trained ultrasonographer.