Directives de la Societe canadienne de thoracologie pour l'asthme professionnel canadian thoracic society guidelines for occupational asthma.

OBJECTIVE: To provide broad guidelines and principles to help primary care physicians, occupational physicians, allergists and respirologists with the recognition, diagnosis and management of patients with occupational asthma (OA). OPTIONS: These guidelines are mainly directed towards OA induced by a workplace sensitizing agent. However, irritant-induced asthma and workplace aggravation of underlying asthma are also addressed, and some consideration is given to other differential diagnoses.

Growth hormone and cortisol secretion in relation to sleep and wakefulness.

The study investigated secretory patterns of growth hormone (GH) and cortisol in relation to sleep and wakefulness. Plasma hormone levels were monitored in 10 young men during baseline waking and sleeping, during 40 hours of wakefulness, and during sleep following deprivation. The normal nocturnal GH surge disappeared with sleep deprivation, and was intensified following sleep deprivation.

A critical appraisal of the role of brachytherapy for pediatric brain tumors.

While brachytherapy is increasingly being utilized in adult patients with brain tumors, there has been very little experience with this approach in pediatric patients. This report reviews the current published experience with brachytherapy for brain tumors in children. Intracavitary irradiation with radioactive colloid is quite effective in controlling cystic craniopharyngiomas and represents an alternative approach to this subgroup of patients with craniopharyngiomas.