Does endoscopic ultrasound staging already allow individual treatment regimens in gastric cancer.

Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative TNM staging with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in gastric cancer patients in comparison with the pathohistological stage of the resected specimen, and to determine the possible implications of EUS for individualized treatment of gastric cancer patients at our institution.

Patients And Methods: The study included 82 patients operated for resectable gastric cancer between January 1(st) 2001 and July 1(st) 2003 at the Maribor Teaching Hospital Department of Abdominal and General Surgery. The EUS stage was assessed preoperatively at the Endoscopical Unit, and the pathohistological stage in the resected specimen was determined postoperatively at the Department of Pathologic Morphology according to recommended standards.

Polyneuropathy in hemodialysis patients: the most sensitive electrophysiological parameters and dialysis adequacy.

Background: Polyneuropathy (PNP) is a common complication in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Electrophysiological parameters are quantitative indices of its severity. The aim of our study was to find the prevalence of pathologic electrophysiological parameters, to assess their prevalence in relation to duration of HD treatment and age, to establish which parameters are the most sensitive in demonstrating PNP and to find an association between them and HD adequacy.

Acquired cystic kidney disease and arterial hypertension in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) and arterial hypertension (AH) are both frequent complications in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Until now, AH has not been described as a complication of ACKD.

Patients And Methods: Our study included 86 HD patients (46 men and 40 women; mean age 51.

The frequency of neonatal morbidity after exposure to antiepileptic drugs in utero: a retrospective population-based study.

Objectives: To investigate the frequency of malformations, fetal growth retardation, cerebral hemorrhage and neonatal withdrawal symptoms in newborns exposed to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in utero.

Design: Population of the northeastern part of Slovenia (pregnant women and newborns between 1998 and 2002).

Methods: Data on newborns born between 1998 and 2002 of 37 epileptic mothers taking AEDs in pregnancy, of 32 epileptic mothers not taking AEDs in pregnancy and of 211 mothers healthy in pregnancy were ascertained from hospital obstetric and neonatal records and included in the study.

Treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms: report from a low-volume center.

Background: The aim of this retrospective analysis was to present our experience and results in treating subarachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured intracranial aneurysms at a neurosurgical department with a small annual number of cases (i.e. a low-volume center) and to discover which factors could influence treatment and reliably predict the outcome of hemorrhage.

Maribor General Hospital from its foundation until World War II.

The author describes the history of Maribor General Hospital from its foundation in 1799 until the beginning of World War II. In 1799 the magistrate of the town of Maribor issued a memorandum regarding the establishment of a town hospital in the renovated building of the town hospice, providing space for 24 patients. The work of the hospital was carried out in the former hospice building until 1855.

Multinucleation and cleavage of embryos derived from in vitro-matured oocytes.

In patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the proportion of optimal embryos-blastomere number and fragmentation rate-derived from in vitro-matured oocytes after the hCG priming protocol was higher (43.3%) than the proportion of optimal embryos derived from oocyte in vitro maturation with the FSH priming protocol (11.1%).

3D power Doppler analysis of the vascularisation in tumours of the oral cavity.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the volume and vascularisation of tumours by three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound in patients with "tumours of the oral cavity".

Materials And Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound investigation was performed pre-operatively on 49 patients with carcinomas of the oral cavity. Digitally-stored data were analysed with 3D View program software, a part of which is the "VOCAL-Imaging program".

Polymorphisms in four candidate genes in young patients with essential hypertension.

Aim: To determine whether four potential genetic factors (polymorphisms in genes for alpha-adducin, beta-adducin, the G-protein beta-3 subunit and nitric oxide synthase) are important for the development of essential hypertension (EH) in Slovenian children and young adults with EH.

Methods: Both a nuclear families approach and case-control study have been performed. Genotyping of common polymorphisms in these genes using polymerase chain reaction was carried out in 104 nuclear families (an affected child, both parents) and in 200 control patients.

A colloid cyst of the third ventricle -- the cause of episodic headache and sudden unexpected death in an adolescent girl.

An 18-year-old girl was found dead in her bed. The autopsy revealed a colloid cyst of the third ventricle. The cyst obstructed the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, leading to prominent internal hydrocephalus with consecutive brain edema and compression of the caudal medulla at the foramen magnum.

Clinical use of pentoxifylline for activation of immotile testicular sperm before ICSI in patients with azoospermia.

The testicular sperm from biopsy and frozen/thawed tissue are frequently immotile. The purpose of our retrospective study was to assess the effect of short exposure of testicular samples with only immotile sperm to pentoxifylline (PF)-sperm motility stimulator. In 77 of 294 (26.

The impact of anthropometric parameters on the incidence of low back pain.

Endogenic factors as one of possible reasons for low back pain were investigated and discussed in this study. The study included 122 male bus drivers, average age 44.2 years, average period of active service 24.

Epidemiology of Darier's Disease in Slovenia.

Aim: To present a retrospective and prospective epidemiological and clinical study on Darier disease in Slovenia.

Results: Data on 77 DD patients was collected in the period 1973 to 2003 from the major dermatological departments and outpatient units in Slovenia. The prevalence of Darier disease in Slovenia is calculated at 3.

Extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) predominantly affects the gastrointestinal system but it is associated with a large number of extraintestinal manifestations (EIM). These extraintestinal disorders can significantly contribute to morbidity and impair the overall life quality. EIM may be diagnosed before, concurrently with, or after the diagnosis of IBD is made.

Phlegmonous gastritis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Phlegmonous gastritis is an acute infection of the stomach wall by pyogenic bacteria. It represents an extremely rare disease with a fulminating course and a high mortality rate. A precise lifetime diagnosis is generally unsuccessful.

Cardiovascular calcification in patients with end-stage renal disease.

Vascular calcifications are very frequent extraosseous calcifications in patients with chronic renal disease. They occur in the intima and in the media. They are associated with decreased arterial elasticity and increased mortality.

Eighteen-year follow-up of a patient with partial hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency and a new mutation.

Hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) deficiency is an inherited disorder. Complete deficiency of HPRT activity is phenotypically expressed as the devastating Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Partial HPRT deficiency usually causes hyperuricemia, precocious gout, and uric acid nephrolithiasis.

Carotid artery intima-media thickness and angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism in the offspring of parents with premature stroke.

Aim: To determine some common cardiovascular risk factors, alterations in the measurements of intima-media thickness (IMT) and the distribution of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) polymorphism in children of parents with premature stroke, and to investigate the cardiovascular risk of these children and the potential need for some preventive measures.

Methods: A family history of cardiovascular disease represents a cardiovascular risk factor in the offspring. This association has not yet been clearly determined for cerebrovascular accidents.

Immunohistochemical staining of cathepsins B, L and stefin A in human hypophysis and pituitary adenomas.

Background: New biological markers are needed for diagnosis of atypical pituitary adenoma. The study aimed to evaluate cathepsins B and L and inhibitor stefin A in relation to their aggressive progression.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated 19 adenomas and 10 normal hypophyses.

A diagnostic approach for the child with hypertension.

Hypertension during childhood is not rare, with an estimated prevalence of between 1% and 2%, although it is often an underrecognized clinical entity. Elevated blood pressure may be a sign of underlying disease or it may represent early onset of essential hypertension. In recent years the measurement of blood pressure has been emphasized as an important component of the routine pediatric physical examination that enables early detection of children with hypertension.

Vaginal wall erosion after transobturator tape procedure.

Transobturator Prolene tape insertion represents a new method of operative treatment for stress urinary incontinence. The first results show that it is a simple and effective procedure accompanied by a minimum number of complications. Since February 2004, 30 Monarc procedures were done at our department and no intraoperative complications were observed.

Adult metachromatic leukodystrophy: disorganized schizophrenia-like symptoms and postpartum depression in 2 sisters.

We describe the cases of 2 sisters with adult metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). Whereas one sister presented with disorganized schizophrenia-like symptoms as the initial manifestation of MLD, the other remained symptom free except for a 4-week period of postpartum depression. In both patients, there was some residual activity of leukocyte arylsulfatase A (1.

Importance of intervertebral disc size in low back pain.

Aim: To compare two anthropometrical methods for measuring the intervertebral disc size with computer tomography measurements and to develop a new anthropometric method for calculating intervertebral disc area.

Methods: Intervertebral disc size was measured using computer tomography and two anthropometric methods (Colombini and modified Colombini) in a sample of 40 subjects. The new calculation for intervertebral disc size was developed and used in a sample of male bus drivers with (n=65) and without (n=30) anamnestic low back pain to asses clinical usefulness.

Acute presentation of a solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas.

We report a case of acute presentation of a solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas in a young boy who had suffered a blunt abdominal trauma. Urgently performed CT examination and repeated ultrasound revealed a subhepatic mass, which gradually increased in size, but the imaging features were not specific enough to permit a precise diagnosis. Because signs of peritoneal irritation and increased circulatory instability gradually developed within the hours of observation, the decision was made to perform an urgent exploratory laparotomy.

Abdominal actinomycosis presenting as a small-bowel obstruction.

A 48-year-old female, presented as a case of acute abdomen with a small-bowel obstruction and a palpable hypogastric mass, was urgently operated. Laparotomy revealed a tumor mass of unknown origin that included a loop of the small bowel by compressing it. Resection of the tumor including a portion of the large and small bowel was performed, and pathohistological examination revealed actinomycosis.