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The significance of serotonin (5HT) in mental health is underscored by the serotonergic action of many classes of psychiatric medication. 5HT is known to have a significant role in neurodevelopment, thus 5HT disruption during development may have a long term impact on brain structure and circuits. We previously generated a model of 5HT alteration throughout neurodevelopment by maternal administration of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine. We found resulting social behavior alterations in the offspring during both postnatal and adult ages. Previous work by others has indicated that early 5HT disruption influences neuronal morphology. Therefore, in the current study we sought to determine if dendritic morphological changes occur in areas involved in the social behavior deficits we previously observed, specifically the primary motor (M1) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices. We quantified dendritic morphology of projection neurons in M1 and mPFC at postnatal day (P)10 and P79 in mice exposed to fluoxetine. Basilar dendritic complexity and spine density were persistently decreased in M1 fluoxetine-exposed neurons while in the mPFC, similar reductions were observed at P79 but were not present at P10. Our findings underscore that the developing brain, specifically the projection cortex, is vulnerable to 5HT system perturbation, which may be related to later behavioral disruptions.

Objective: To determine the incidence of systemic inflammatory response of the organism in surgical patients and its impact on the outcome of treatment. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 60 patients undergoing abdominal surgical procedures, between January 2014 and December 2015 in the Surgery Clinic at the University Clinical Center Tuzla. Two groups of thirty were formed by the method of consecutive sampling. The first group consisted of subjects who were prepared for elective abdominal surgery (laparoscopic cholecystectomy), and the second group subjects underwent an emergency surgery due to acute abdomen (laparoscopic cholecystectomy). Results: The body temperature difference was statistically significant between the two investigated groups in all stages (c2: t0=3,486; t1=3,098; t2=2,453, t: t0=-11,210; t1=-7,360; t2=-4,927, p < 0,05). Non-elective surgery group had a statistical significant difference of the heart rate at all stages (c2: t0=3,873; t1=3,357; t2=3,227, t: t0=-16,524; t1=-10,407; t2=-9,842, p < 0,05). There is a statistically significant difference in the pCO2 values ​​in all stages between groups (c2: t0=2,582; t1=1,678; t2=1,162, t: t0=4,323; t1=2,653; t2=2,229, p < 0,05). The SIRS score has a good positive correlation with the length of treatment, while the correlation with the outcome of treatment has no statistical significance. Conclusion: Inflammation scores monitoring in surgical patients is important for the surgical treatment success analysis. By modifying the therapy and influencing the inflammatory response, the results of treatment are improved.

Patients on hemodialysis (HD) often experience changes in body composition due to metabolic disorders. Phase angle (PhA) is a marker of tissue integrity and may reflect overall functional condition. This study evaluated body composition and its relationship with PhA in 53 HD patients (27 women, 26 men) over 40 years old, compared with 106 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Body composition was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), measuring skeletal muscle mass (SMM), fat tissue, total bone mass (BM), and PhA. HD patients had significantly lower fat mass and PhA than controls (p < 0.001). The prevalence of low SMM and BM was higher in patients, though not statistically significant. Sex differences were generally not significant, except for a higher prevalence of low BM in female controls (p < 0.001). After adjusting for age and sex, PhA was positively associated with SMM% (p = 0.021) and BM (p = 0.035) in HD patients only. These results indicate that PhA–body composition relationships differ between HD patients and healthy individuals, highlighting PhA as a potential marker of body composition disturbances in HD.

Patients on hemodialysis have signs of chronic systemic inflammation and a higher incidence of sarcopenia. Poor oral health can also trigger systemic inflammation and thus affect sarcopenia. The study included 100 patients on chronic hemodialysis who underwent oral status, routine laboratory measurements, bioimpedance analysis, hand grip strength measurement, and two questionnaires regarding oral health and sarcopenia. Data were analyzed using the Fisher exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test. In total, 28.0% of the participants had sarcopenia. The median total number of erupted teeth in all patients was 12.0 (7.0–23.0). A positive correlation of the total number of erupted teeth and erupted premolars with sarcopenia was confirmed (p = 0.035). CRP was significantly elevated in patients with sarcopenia (p = 0.035). Laboratory parameters showed that the blood albumin level was reduced in all patients (p = 0.002). The median overall score of the SarQoL questionnaire for all participants was 60.37 (43.87–70.61), which indicates that patients on hemodialysis are aware of their limitations caused by sarcopenia. Moreover, SarQoL was significantly negatively correlated with sarcopenia. This study confirmed poorer oral health in hemodialysis patients who had sarcopenia. Therefore, intervention studies are needed to improve the oral health of patients on HD, which could possibly influence the incidence of sarcopenia.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can lead to chronic disability. The aim of this study was to explore the association between disease activity and quality of life (QoL) in patients with PsA from the usual clinical practice. The study involved 143 consecutive adult patients with PsA (49.6% women and 50.4% males), with mean age of 57.75 ± 10.91 years, and duration of disease 11.6 ± 9 years. Tender (TJC) and swollen joints count (SJC), Disease activity score (DAS) 28, patient’s global assessment (PtGA), physician’s global assessment (PhGA), enthesitis score, number of fingers with dactylitis, sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated. The functional assessment of chronic illness therapy - fatigue scale (FACIT-F) questionnaire was used in fatigue assessment and physical health domains of Short Form (SF)-36 questionnaire were chosen to assess subjective QoL: physical functioning (PF), role limitations due to physical health (RP), bodily pain (BP) and general health (GH). Significant correlations (p < 0.001) were found between FACIT-F and all SF-36 domains. DAS28, PtGA and PhGA were significantly correlated to two or three SF-36 domains, while ESR and CRP were not significantly correlated to any of SF-36 domains. Regression analysis showed, when controlling for age, that FACIT-F, dactylitis and DAS28 were the most significant predictors of SF-36 physical health domains. Regression and factor analyses confirmed that FACIT-F was most consistently associated with SF-36 physical health domains. In our real-life study most of the analyzed clinical measures of PsA were significantly associated with physical health domains of SF-36 questionnaire. Considering the strength of those associations, we conclude that PsA activity has mild to moderate impact on health-related Qol.

An enormous increase in the application of wireless communication in recent decades has intensified research into consequent increase in human exposure to electromagnetic (EM) radiofrequency (RF) radiation fields and potential health effects, especially in school children and teenagers, and this paper gives a snap overview of current findings and recommendations of international expert bodies, with the emphasis on exposure from Wi-Fi technology indoor devices. Our analysis includes over 100 , animal, epidemiological, and exposure assessment studies (of which 37 and 30 covering Wi-Fi technologies). Only a small portion of published research papers refers to the “real” health impact of Wi-Fi technologies on children, because they are simply not available. Results from animal studies are rarely fully transferable to humans. As highly controlled laboratory exposure experiments do not reflect real physical interaction between RF radiation fields with biological tissue, dosimetry methods, protocols, and instrumentation need constant improvement. Several studies repeatedly confirmed thermal effect of RF field interaction with human tissue, but non-thermal effects remain dubious and unconfirmed.

The aim of this research is to determine: the influence of continuous opiate and intermittent non-opiate postoperative analgesia on thoracic surgical patients' acute phase response, based on acute phase response protein serum values (IL-6 and C-reactive protein) 24, 48 and 72 hours after surgery; to analyze the acute phase responses in those thoracic surgical patients in which the postoperative complications have developed and in those in which they haven't. The study itself has a prospective character involving 60 patients divided into two homogenous groups, 30 patients each, which are of the same age, sex, pathological substrate, and are the patients of the University Clinical Centre in Tuzla. The first group of patients were those to whom the non-opiate intermittent analgesia of methamisol natrium was applied, and the second group were the patients to whom the continuous tramadol chloride opiate analgesia was applied after the thoracic surgical procedure had been performed. According to the examined patients and applied types of analgesia, the following results were obtained: CRP values enhanced in both groups, all three measurements, with no significant statistical differences (p=0.051; p=0.054; p=0.1). While the IL -6 values enhanced in all measurements in group I, in group II they remained within reference range, with a significant statistical difference (p=0.042; p=0.039; p=0.035). This study suggests that CRP enhanced values in both groups are the result of the response to surgery. The enhanced IL-6 values in group I, and maintained IL-6 values within reference range in group II, are the result of continuous tramadol chloride opiate analgesia, which turned out to be more efficient and safer.

One of the main determinants of who will develop osteoporosis is the amount of bone accumulated at peak bone density. There is poor agreement, however, on when peak bone density occurs. Ethnic differences were observed in age at peak bone density and their correlates. Since the diagnosis of osteoporosis and osteopaenia is based on the comparison between patients' bone mineral density (BMD) and optimal peak bone density in healthy young people (T-score), it is of great importance that each country should provide its own reference peak bone density data.This review article presents our published results on peak bone density in Croatia and compares them with findings in other populations. Our research included 18 to 25-year-old students from Zagreb University and their parents. The results showed that peak bone mass in young Croatian women was achieved before the age of twenty, but BMD continued to increase after the mid-twenties in the long-bone cortical skeleton. BMD was comparable to the values reported by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and other studies that included the same age groups, except for the cortical part of the radius, where it was significantly lower. Men achieved peak bone density in the spine later than women, which cannot be explained by different diet or physical activity. As expected, heredity was more important for peak bone density than the environmental factors known to be important for bone health. However, the influence of heredity was not as strong as observed in most other populations. It was also weaker in the cortical than in the trabecular parts of the skeleton. Future research should include young adolescent population to define the exact age of achieving peak bone density in different skeletal sites.

One of the complications aneurysms subarachnoid hemorrhage is the development of vasospasm, which is the leading cause of disability and death from ruptured cerebral aneurysm. To evaluate the significance of previous comorbidities on early outcome of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by rupture of a cerebral aneurysm in the prevention of vasospasm. The study had prospective character in which included 50 patients, whose diagnosed with SAH caused by the rupture of a brain aneurysm in the period from 2011to 2013. Two groups of patients were formed. Group I: patients in addition to the standard initial treatment and \"3H therapy\" administered nimodipine at a dose of 15-30 mg / kg bw / h (3-10 ml) for the duration of the initial treatment. Group II: patients in addition to the standard initial treatment and \"3H therapy\" administered with MgSO4 at a dose of 12 grams in 500 ml of 0.9% NaCl / 24 h during the initial treatment. Two-thirds of the patients (68%) from both groups had a good outcome measured with values according to GOS scales, GOS IV and V. The poorer outcome, GOS III had 20% patients, the GOS II was at 2% and GOS I within 10% of patients. If we analyze the impact of comorbidity on the outcome, it shows that there is a significant relationship between the presence of comorbidity and outcomes. The patients without comorbidity (83.30%) had a good outcome (GOS IV and V), the same outcome was observed (59.4%) with comorbidities, which has a statistically significant difference (p = 0.04). Patients without diabetes (32%) had a good outcome (GOS IV and V), while the percentage of patients with diabetes less frequent (2%) with a good outcome, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.009). The outcome of treatment 30 days after the subarachnoid hemorrhage analyzed values WFNS and GOS, is not dependent on the method of prevention and treatment of vasospasm. Most concomitant diseases in patients with SAH which, requiring additional treatment measures are arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The best predictors in the initial treatment of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by rupture of a cerebral aneurysm has the presence of comorbidity, which has statistical significance.

As an important determinant of osteoporotic fracture risk, peak bone density tends to be higher in men than in women. The aim of this study was to see whether young men and women differed in the time and skeletal region of peak bone density. We also investigated the influence of diet and physical activity on bone mass. The study group included 51 male and 75 female students aged 19 to 25 years. Bone mineral density was measured for the spine, total femur, and the distal third of the radius using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Dietary data were obtained using a specially designed semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Bone mineral density (BMD; g cm-2) was higher in boys than in girls at all measured sites, while bone mineral apparent density (BMAD; g cm-3) was higher in girls. Age negatively correlated with bone mineral density in all measured sites except in the boys' spine. Sodium, protein, and fibres were nutrients that significantly correlated with bone mineral density. The study suggests that boys achieve peak bone density later than girls, and that this delay is the most prominent in the spine. In our study group, this difference could not be explained by different nutrition or the level of physical activity. Vršna koštana masa važna je odrednica nastanka osteoporotskih prijeloma i poznato je da je veća u muškaraca nego u žena. Cilj istraživanja bio je analizirati razlike u postizanju vršne koštane mase na različitim regijama skeleta između mladih muškaraca i žena. Također je procijenjen utjecaj prehrane i tjelesne aktivnosti na mineralnu gustoću kostiju. Ispitanici su studenti u dobi od 19 do 25 godina, 51 muškog i 75 ženskog spola. Mineralna gustoća kostiju određena je metodom dvoenergetske apsorpciometrije X-zraka na kralježnici, ukupnom femuru i distalnoj trećini radijusa. Podaci o prehrani dobiveni su semikvantitativnim upitnikom o prehrani. Mineralna gustoća kostiju (BMD; g cm-2) bila je veća u studenata na svim mjerenim regijama, dok je procijenjena volumetrijska koštana gustoća (BMAD; g cm-3) bila veća u studentica. U studenata obaju spolova vrijednosti mineralne gustoće kostiju smanjuju se s porastom dobi, jedino se s dobi povećava mineralna gustoća kralježnice u muških studenata. Unos proteina, natrija i vlakana značajno je povezan s koštanom masom. Dobiveni rezultati upućuju na zaključak da muškarci kasnije postižu vršnu koštanu masu, što je najizraženije na kralježnici. U ispitivanoj grupi te se razlike ne mogu objasniti mogućim razlikama u prehrani i/ili tjelesnoj aktivnosti između muških i ženskih ispitanika.