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Aim. To assess the levels of s BGP and BAP and correlate them with the rate of bone remodelling. Patients and Methods. The study was performed on 74 cases with postmenopausal osteoporosis, divided into two groups, according to the duration of estrogenic deprivation, compared with a control group (n= 20, postmenopausal women without osteoporosis). The serum levels of the discussed markers were measured by ELISA technique. BMD was measured using the DXA technique with the assessment of T score. Results. In the group I: BGP were 20.12±0.87ng/mL (p<0.03), those of BAP 13.76±0.6μg/mL (p<0.001) and sT spine were -3.63±0.65DS (p<0.001). In the group II: BGP were 15.12±1.55ng/mL (p<0.05), those of BAP 11.88±0.38μg/mL (p<0.001) and sT spine were -3.78±0.36DS (p<0.001). The control group presented: BGP of 16.22±1.62ng/mL, those of BAP of 8.68±0.44μg/mL and sT spine of -1.78±0.11DS. The serum levels of BGP in postmenopausal osteoporosis cases were increased in group I (suggesting an osteoblastic activation) and decreased in group II (probably secondary to the stimulation of osteoblastic apoptosis). The serum levels of BAP are significantly increased in postmenopausal osteoporosis versus control group, attesting osteoblastic activation. Conclusion. Bone resorption begins gradually to outrun a new bone formation rhythm associated with low BMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlabelled: Childhood asthma presents with specific clinical and functional characteristics. The aim of our study was the description of a large cohort of asthmatic children. It was also to assess their outcome with maintenance therapy according to guidelines, and to analyze the relationship with baseline's characteristics. We focused particularly on clinical and functional pediatric specificities., Methods: Prospective study driven on asthmatic children, without treatment, recruited during a hospitalization for exacerbation or a visit for uncontrolled asthma, treated according to GINA guidelines and followed for one year., Results: 412 children (mean age: 11.6 years +/- 2.7), were included. The level of severity was: intermittent asthma for 30% and persistent asthma for 70% (40.5% mild, 28% moderate, 1.5% severe). Mean prebeta2-FEV1 was 88.5% +/- 10.5 (PV) with mean beta2-reversibility of 10.8% +/- 7.8 (> 12% for 42% patients). 374 patients ended the study. After one year, we observed an improvement of clinical symptoms (p < 0.0001), rate of hospitalization (p < 0.0001), and lung function (mean prebeta2-FEV1: 91.2% +/- 7.9, p < 0.001). Asthma control was obtained for only 24.6%. Multivariate analysis show that decrease of symptoms was significantly related to younger age, higher level of initial severity and number of days of hospitalization., Conclusion: This study confirms pediatric specificities of asthma, as a normal FEV1 level and a limited beta2-reversibility of FEV1, and the large part of uncontrolled asthma after one year of treatment. It emphasizes the risk of undertreatment in a strategy based on severity. It argues for the regular assessment of control as now recommended, taking into account the pediatric asthma specificities.

For the study of leukocyte metabolism in the serum and the urine from 52 patients with urinary infections, the Nitroblue Tetrazolium (NBT) test was used for a qualitative estimation of leukocyturia. It was observed that 26 of the 52 patients (50%) presented higher values of NBT positive urinary neutrophils than in the control group. The NBT test might be useful in the estimation of the cellular immune response in the course of urinary infections.