Acute febrile cholestatic jaundice in children: keep in mind Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is characterized by persistent fever in addition to 4 of 5 signs of mucocutaneous inflammation. Although gastrointestinal involvement does not belong to the classic diagnostic criteria, it has been often associated with KD onset. We reviewed patients who were admitted for febrile cholestatic jaundice between 2003 and 2010 in 2 tertiary pediatric care centers.

Usefulness of wireless capsule endoscopy for detecting inflammatory bowel disease in children presenting with arthropathy.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a cause of chronic intestinal inflammation in children. In a subset of patients affected by IBD, arthropathy may be the leading presenting sign. In the past years, remarkable advances in gastrointestinal endoscopy techniques have been achieved; recently, the development of capsule endoscopy (CE) provided a non-invasive method for the complete endoscopic evaluation, including small bowel assessment.

Prognostic impact of atypical presentation in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus: results from a multicenter study.

Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess the rate of atypical manifestations at onset in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to evaluate their effect on disease outcome.

Study Design: This is a multicenter retrospective cohort study. A manifestation was considered atypical if it was not included in the American College Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE but was reported in literature as associated with SLE.

Fasting increases tobramycin oral absorption in mice.

The pharmacokinetics of the aminoglycoside tobramycin was evaluated after oral administration to fed or fasting (15 h) mice. As expected, under normal feeding conditions, oral absorption was negligible; however, fasting induced a dramatic increase in tobramycin bioavailability. The dual-sugar test with lactulose and l-rhamnose confirmed increased small bowel permeability via the paracellular route in fasting animals.

Prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus in Ixodes ricinus from a novel endemic area of North Eastern Italy.

In Alpine area of extreme North Eastern Italy the first autochthonous case of TBE was reported in 1998 and was followed by 45 cases during the period 2001-2007, thus defining this area as definitely endemic. An ecological survey evaluated the tick density and the Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection prevalence in tick collected in selected sites. In addition, TBE strains were characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.

Human herpes virus 6 in archival cardiac tissues from children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy or congenital heart disease.

Objective: To explore the possible role of human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) in cardiac disorders in childhood in a retrospective study on archival specimens of explanted hearts.

Methods: 16 children (median age at transplantation 11.0 years) with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and 19 children (median age at transplantation 1.

Fas receptor is not present on ejaculated human sperm.

Background: Apoptosis appears to have an essential role in the control of testis germ cell number and Fas expression has been reported in apoptotic spermatocytes and spermatids. We investigated if Fas (CD95) was present on ejaculated human sperm and any relationship between Fas on sperm and the apoptotic marker Syto16.

Methods: Semen samples from 77 male partners of infertile couples were evaluated.

Semen preparation methods and sperm apoptosis: swim-up versus gradient-density centrifugation technique.

Objective: To compare the effects of density-gradient centrifugation and swim-up on sperm apoptosis by using a multiparameter flow cytometric method.

Design: Autocontrolled split-sample study.

Setting: Tertiary infertility center.

Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) as a biochemical tool for the screening of congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs).

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide a tool based on CDT measurements for a diagnostic approach to identify patients affected by congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) in a selected population.

Design And Methods: Serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) of pediatric and adult patients (a total of 168 individuals) with neurological symptoms was analyzed. Abnormal results were confirmed by HPLC analysis and by enzymatic and molecular studies.

Balloon catheter vs. cervical vacuum cup for hysterosalpingography: a prospective, randomized, single-blinded study.

Objective: To compare the use of a balloon catheter device with the use of a cervical vacuum cup device in performing hysterosalpingography (HSG).

Design: Prospective, randomized, single-blinded study.

Setting: Tertiary infertility center.

Laparoendoscopically assisted endoscopic small bowel polypectomy in a patient with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a rare condition, requiring regular endoscopic or radiological diagnostic studies. Polyps are a potential source of dysplasia and malignancy. We present a case in which we used a new diagnostic and therapeutic approach to this pathology by performing a laparoscopically assisted endoscopic polypectomy.

New developments in children's environmental health in Europe.

Important developments have taken place in Europe regarding children's environmental health (CEH) over the last few years. In 1999 the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health identified CEH as a priority area and started a process of scientific review and policy development that culminated at the Fourth Ministerial Conference held in Budapest in June 2004 with the adoption of the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE). The rationale of the CEHAPE is based on a thorough review of the scientific evidence on CEH and on a study that quantified for the first time the burden of disease related to the main environmental exposures of children and adolescents in Europe.

A new multiparameter flow cytometric method for human semen analysis.

Background: The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate whether the combined use of Syto 16 and 7-amino-actinomycin-D (7-AAD) allows the detection of sperm apoptosis and (ii) to describe a new multiparameter flow cytometric method to assess simultaneously sperm concentration (SC), viability and apoptosis as well as leukocyte concentration.

Methods: Semen samples from 68 patients were evaluated according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria (normal, n=26; abnormal, n=42). The detection of activated caspases before and after betulinic acid (BA) incubation was carried out in 13 semen samples by flow cytometry using fluorescein-labelled inhibitors of caspases (FLICA).

A comparison of the reach-to-grasp movement between children and adults: a kinematic study.

In this study, the reach-to-grasp movement of 5-year-old children was compared to that of adults. Participants were required to reach out and grasp objects, with and without on-line visual feedback. Object size and distance were covaried in a within-subjects design and it was found that for both groups, grip formation and reach kinematics were affected by the manipulation of either variable.

A rapid ethnographic study of breastfeeding in the North and South of Italy.

Background: The past ten years have witnessed a rising trend in the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding in Italy, but breastfeeding rates increase in an unequal way; they are higher in the North of Italy than in the South. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences, expectations and beliefs of a sample of mothers, and to identify differences, if any, between the North and the South of Italy.

Methods: The study was conducted in two regions of Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia in the Northeast and Basilicata in the South.