Bioelectric impedance was analysed before and after dialysis to assess the body composition of 36 patients suffering from chronic kidney failure in fair nutritional condition: resistance values were used to quantify total body water and reactance values as dimensional indices of the intracellular spaces and cell mass. Before dialysis, total body water was significantly higher than that of healthy subjects comparable for height, sex, age and weight, while it was not possible to obtain direct data on the dimensions of the cell mass. After dialysis, total body water values normalised and the dimensions of the intracellular spaces and cell mass became almost comparable to those of the controls: data analysis shows that during treatment, weight loss occurs almost exclusively in the extracellular compartments of the organism. Notwithstanding the fact that the absolute values are similar to those of the controls, body composition did not normalise as relationships between the dimensions of the various sectors remain altered.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The heterozygote beta-thalassemic patient with regard to radiological hazards].

Since anaemia of varying degree is a quite common finding in heterozygous beta-thalassaemia, a research was done to see if beta-thalassaemia heterozygotes occupationally exposed to long-term continuous external radiation should be more susceptible to haematopoietic damage than non thalassaemic subjects. We examined peripheral haematological findings of 20 beta-thalassaemia heterozygotes previously exposed to a mean of 10.7 mSv, compared with 22 non thalassaemic subjects exposed to 6 mSv, and with 50 not exposed beta-thalassaemia heterozygotes. The obtained results suggest that whole-body external irradiation--with the mean doses reported--does not cause noteworthy changes in beta-thalassaemia heterozygotes.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Osmotic resistance of urinary red cells in glomerular and non-glomerular haematuria.

The determination of glomerular or non-glomerular origin of urinary red blood cells (U-RBC) is an important goal in the management of haematuric children. Morphological changes of glomerular RBC are secondary to cell membrane damage, due, in part, to the hypotonic osmotic stress to which U-RBC are submitted during their passage through tubular segments. This study was performed on 2 urine specimens obtained from 30 patients with a known cause of haematuria. After centrifugation, both sediments were resuspended in two saline solutions (at 200 mosm/l and at 300 mosm/l) where they remained for 90 min. The number of U-RBC per microliters in each (U-RBC 200 and U-RBC 300) was determined by microscopic count in Burker's chamber. The U-RBC 200/U-RBC 300 ratio was calculated for all patients. We found that in non-glomerular haematuria the ratio was near to 1, whereas cases of glomerular origin had lower values. The discriminant threshold between this ratio was 0.76 (p < 0.001). We suggest that determination of osmotic resistance of U-RBC may be a reliable method to differentiate the origin of bleeding in haematuric children.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Morpho-functional adaptation and motility of the small intestine and colon after extensive intestinal exclusions].

Recent advances in anesthetic and surgical techniques have increased the survival of patients after extensive bowel exclusions. This, in addition to the increased use of intestinal bypass for the treatment of obesity, has substantially increased the number of persons living with a short bowel. Proper management of these individuals is based on a thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of the shortened gastrointestinal tract.

Adaptation, Physiological↗