The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of gender on recovery after cerebral stroke.It is believed that functional outcome of cerebral stroke (CS) depends on gender. Female gender is mildly negative prognostic factor in after stroke results. Two hundred and two patients who had first ischemic cerebral stroke were questioned with help of, HADS and WHOQOL-Bref questionnaires, looking for differences in recovery depending on gender. Average patients' age was 72+/-13 (ME+/-IR) years. The youngest patient had 40 years, and the oldest 92 years, and medium range was 52 years. There were 112 males and 90 females. Quality of life was equally graded by both male and female after CS (p=0.208). Male patients had significantly better results in physical (p=0.035) and psychological (p=0.020) domain of life quality. After CS, male patients had better results only in memory dimension (p=0.003). Anxiety was statistically more frequent among female patients (p=0.009). Gender did not influence frequency of metabolic syndrome in patients with CS. Quality of life after CS was better in male patients, and statistically significant difference has been shown in physical, psychological domain and memory dimension. Female patients were more anxious then male after CS.

Adverse drug reactions still pose an important clinical problem. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is an enzyme that regulates 5-FU quantities available for anabolic processes and hence affects its pharmacokinetics, toxicity and efficacy. There are several studies describing a hereditary (pharmacogenetic) disorder in which individuals with absent or significantly reduced DPD activity may even develop a life-threatening toxicity following exposure to 5-FU. The most common mutation is known as the DPYD*2A or as the splice-site mutation (IVS14 + 1G A) leading to creation of a dysfunctional protein. An objective behind the study was to ascertain existence of the IVS14 + 1G A mutation among the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our research has undeniably attested to existence of one heterozygote for the DPYD gene mutation, i.e. one heterozygote for IVS14 + 1 G > A, DPYD*2A mutation.

The aims of the study were to estimate the prevalence of excessive weight in infants and school-age children in Sarajevo Canton, to isolate the main causative agents and to propose a strategy for its efficient prevention. The methods included anthropometry and originally designed questionnaire. Calculated body mass index was classified according to the criteria proposed by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The research included 3608 students from elementary and secondary schools from Sarajevo Canton. Nearly 1/5 of subjects had excessive body weight while 12.49% of students were malnourished. Elementary school lower graders had the highest grade of excessive weight, while the secondary school students exhibited the lowest grade of excessive weight. During school hours, about 42.47% of students were fed on bakery produces and snacks. Non-sparkling, thickened juices are frequently consumed beverages (20.65%), second only to water (51.82%). 58.15% of children consume sweets on daily basis. This is even more prominent among secondary school students (80.85%). Only 1/3 of students practice sports on daily basis, while 8.51% of them rarely engage in sports. Elementary school lower grade students had the lowest level of activity while the secondary school students were the most active. As many as 27.56% students spend two hours or more sitting by the computer or TV set. The most significant mediators of excessive weight gain are sedentary life-style, frequent consumption of sweets and thickened juices and unsuitable nutrition during school hours. Continuous preventive and therapeutically activities must be undertaken among as wide population as possible.

The goal of research was to determine the frequency, intensity, time of occurrence, duration and causes of breakthrough pain (BTP) in patients whose carcinoma pain was treated by transdermal fentanyl. (TDF). A prospective study was conducted in a hospice for recumbent patients of the Centre for Palliative Care (hospice) University Clinical Centre Tuzla from October 2009 to December 2010. 33 patients in terminal stage of carcinoma, who had been treated by transdermal fentanyl due to their excruciating pain (7-10 mark on numerical scale) with initial dosage of 25 microg as a strong opiate analgesic, were monitored within the time period of 10 days. In the statistics we used the even T - test, the Wilcox test and Mann-Whitney test. The difference was seen to be significant at p < 0.05. Treatment by transdermal fentanyl significantly reduces the intensity of strong carcinoma pain (p < 0.0001), with a frequent requirement for dose increase with bone metastasis. The intensity of BTP is higher compared to the pain experienced upon reception. The frequency and intensity of BTP are significantly reduced already in the second day of treatment by transdermal fentanyl (p = 0.0024). The BTP is most intense in patients with neck and head tumours (9.26 +/- 0.66), and most frequent with abdomen and pelvic tumour. The biggest number of BTP (68.3 %) occurs within first three days of treatment. BTP most frequently occurs in the evening or at night (between 18:00 and 06:00 h in 62.2 % of the cases), with the duration of usually less than 15 minutes (65.2 % of the cases). In 61.6 % cases the occurrence of BTP is related to physical activities or psychosocial incidents, while the cause is undetermined in 38.4 % of examinees. BTP is most frequent within first three days of treatment by TDF. Using the optimal dosage a good control of carcinoma pain is enabled, regardless of the occurrence of bone metastasis, while it also helps reduce the frequency and intensity of BTP.

The aim of this study was to assess echocardiographic changes in female patients with untreated dysfunctional thyroid states and whether the therapy aimed to normalize the thyroid dysfunction could lead to improvement in cardiac systolic and diastolic function. The study included 90 female subjects who performed control of thyroid hormonal status at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Sarajevo Clinics Centre and who previously were untreated for the thyroid functional disorders. The study sample was divided in three groups based on the thyroid hormones levels: a) hyperthyroid group (n= 30) b) hypothyroid group (n=30) and c) euthyroid (control). Echocardiography measurements were performed on commercially available Toshiba, SSH 140. Before the therapy no statistically significant differences in the peak early and late mitral inflow velocities (E/A) values between the study groups was observed, but the mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in hypothyroid group was significantly lower (58.30+/-1.05) compared to control (64.96+/-0.71) and hyperthyroid group (64.69+/-1.31) (p<0.001). In hypothyroid group we found significant increase in mean LVEF (58.30+/-1.05 vs. 64.95+/-0.86, p<0.01) and E/A (1.06+/-0.07 vs. 1.17+/-0.08; p=0.01) values after the normalization of thyroid hormone status.Thyroid dysfunctional states were not associated with impaired diastolic function, probably due to the short duration of thyroid dysfunction and timely and successful conversion therapy. Systolic function however was significantly reduced in hypothyroid patients but subsequently improved after the adequate therapy. Early diagnostic approach in patients with thyroid dysfunctional states is important for avoidance of cardiac complications that accompany these disorders.

We read with great interest the article by Tang et al published in issue 4 of World Journal of Gastroenterology 2010. The results of their study indicate that percutaneous catheter drainage in combination with choledochoscope-guided debridement is a simple, safe and reliable treatment procedure for peripancreatic infections secondary to severe acute pancreatitis. However, there are some points that need to be addressed, including data about the patients in the study and their clinical characteristics, data about infection and superinfection during the treatment and type of treatment of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis.

We evaluated possible roles of interleukin-8 gene polymorphisms (1633T/C-rs2227543, 251A/T-rs4073) and interleukin-18 gene polymorphisms (-607C/A-rs1946518, -137G/C-rs187238) in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Caucasians with type 2 diabetes. 271 patients with DR and 113 without diabetic retinopathy were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. We did not observe an association between either interleukin-8 gene polymorphisms (1633T/C, 251A/T) or interleukin-18 gene polymorphisms (-607C/A, -137G/C) and diabetic retinopathy in Caucasians with type 2 diabetes. We did not find statistically significant differences in interleukin-8 serum levels between diabetics with the TT and AA genotype and those with other genotypes. The interleukin-18 serum levels between diabetics with the CC genotype of the -607C/A polymorphism and those with other genotypes (AA, AC) were not significantly different. Moreover, we did not observe a statistically significant effect of the tested polymorphisms of either interleukin-8 or interleukin-18 genes on serum levels in diabetics. In conclusion, our study indicates that the examined polymorphisms of interleukin-8 (1633T/C, 251A/T) and interleukin-18 (-607C/A or the -137G/C) genes are not genetic risk factors for diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, they may not be used as genetic markers for diabetic retinopathy in Caucasians with type 2 diabetes.