Changes in routine laboratory tests and survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between changes in routinely prescribed laboratory tests and tracheostomy-free survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Two hundred seventy-five ALS patients were retrospectively studied. BMI, forced vital capacity, hemoglobin, hematocrit, lymphocytes, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, proteins, albumin, creatine-phosphokinase, iron, ferritin, transferrin, glucose, urea, uric acid, and creatinine were measured every 6 months from baseline to 24 months, death or study end, together with the probability of death or tracheostomy.

[Epidemiologic study about the variation of the demand in mental health in the last two decades].

We have investigated age, sex, nationality, origin, diagnosis and treatment types in ambulatory patients of the External Clinics of the Division Health Mental of the General Hospital for Acute Patients "Dr. Teodoro Alvarez", of 600 Clinical Histories obtained in the years 1980, 1990 and 2000. These data have been extracted with the purpose of studying probable changes in the social and psychopathologic conformation of the patients, in the last two decades.