Stress response symptoms in adolescent and young adult children of parents diagnosed with cancer.

The aim of this study was to assess stress response symptoms in children of parents diagnosed with cancer 1-5 year prior to study entry. The impact of event scale was used to measure stress response symptoms in terms of intrusion and avoidance; the youth self-report assessed emotional and behavioural functioning; the state-trait anxiety inventory for children measured trait-anxiety. Participants included 220 adolescents (aged 11-18 years) and 64 young adults (aged 19-23 years) from 169 families.

Distribution of Buruli ulcer lesions over body surface area in a large case series in Ghana: uncovering clues for mode of transmission.

We studied hospital records of 750 consecutive Buruli ulcer patients in a highly endemic area in Amansie West, Ghana. Although more Buruli ulcer lesions were found on the right side of the body, comparison of lesions on arms and legs showed a bilaterally symmetrical distribution. Upper and lower extremities were affected equally by Buruli ulcers, if correction was made for differences in body surface area.

Gender and age-related differences in Burkitt lymphoma--epidemiological and clinical data from The Netherlands.

Although Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) is classified as one entity in the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification, we wondered whether BL should not be considered as a different disease in children compared with adults. Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR) data were obtained from 1994 to 1998 (n=203). Detailed clinical data from two treatment protocols were compared: one for adults up to the age of 65 years (n=27) and one for children (n=80).

Recurrent splinter haemorrhages weeks after a tick bite.

A 52-year-old man developed fever, headache, tinnitus, and painful joints. He reported a tick bite contracted during a summer holiday in the Netherlands, followed by erythema on his left arm three weeks earlier. Initial treatment with doxycycline had failed and he had now developed signs of meningoencephalitis.

Neuroticism: a non-informative marker of vulnerability to psychopathology.

Background: Neuroticism measures are very popular in psychopathological research, but it is unclear how useful neuroticism is in studies of the aetiology of psychopathology.

Method: A conceptual examination was made of the literature on the association of neuroticism and psychopathology, the ontological status of neuroticism, the purport of neuroticism questionnaires, and causal issues.

Results: The research on which neuroticism is built has historically been based solely on the factor analyses of the common adjectives used to describe usual behaviours.

Renal ACE2 expression in human kidney disease.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a recently discovered homologue of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) that is thought to counterbalance ACE. ACE2 cleaves angiotensin I and angiotensin II into the inactive angiotensin 1-9, and the vasodilator and anti-proliferative angiotensin 1-7, respectively. ACE2 is known to be present in human kidney, but no data on renal disease are available to date.

Albuminuria, not only a cardiovascular/renal risk marker, but also a target for treatment?

Albuminuria has been identified as a marker for predicting both cardiovascular and renal risk. From normal to overt proteinuria levels, albuminuria shows a continuous marked increase in risk. This is independent of other well-known cardiovascular and renal risk markers and factors, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, overweight, and others.

Increase of bone and joint tuberculosis in The Netherlands.

There has been an increase in the incidence of bone and joint tuberculosis (BJTB) in The Netherlands and we have carried out an epidemiological study in order to find an explanation for this increase. Data from 1993 to 2000 from The Netherlands Tuberculosis Register (NTR) were used. In 1993 there was a total of 52 patients with BJTB.

Genetic predisposition to testicular germ-cell tumours.

Testicular germ-cell tumours (TGCT) are the most common neoplasm in young men. Various studies have suggested the existence of an inherited predisposition to development of these tumours. Genome-wide screens subsequently provided evidence of a TGCT susceptibility gene on chromosome Xq27 (TGCT1) that might also predispose to cryptorchism.

Mycolactones and Mycobacterium ulcerans disease.

Context: Mycobacterium ulcerans causes devastating necrotic lesions in affected individuals. The disease, commonly called Buruli ulcer, is increasing in prevalance in western African countries. Treatment is mainly surgical; no clinical trials have been done to support the use of antimycobacterial drugs.

Clinical value of gallium-67 scintigraphy in assessment of disease activity in Wegener's granulomatosis.

Background: Diagnosis of active pulmonary and paranasal involvement in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) can be difficult. The diagnostic value of gallium-67 scintigraphy in WG is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the added diagnostic value of gallium-67 scintigraphy in patients with WG with suspected granulomatous inflammation in the paranasal and chest regions.