Hippokratia
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Free radicals, as a product of cigarette smoke, are considered to have deleterious effects causing oxidative stress. Acute active smoking seems to be followed by transient leukocytosis and delayed increase in neutrophil activation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the oxidative status of smokers and passive non-smokers, as well as the impact that acute cigarette smoking has on hematological parameters. ⋯ Acute exposure to cigarette smoking affects hematological indexes and oxidative stress biomarkers negatively, in both active and passive smokers, with similar results. The outcome seems to be even worse in passive smokers regarding oxidative stress and antioxidant protection markers. Elimination of cigarette smoking could prevent the adverse effects for smokers, as well as for healthy non-smokers in their vicinity. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (4): 293-297.
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Kidney size may differ between healthy members of Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) and non-BEN families. The present study was designed to elucidate this, in comparison with values for BEN patients. ⋯ Kidneys of BEN patients were significantly shorter than in healthy members of both BEN and non-BEN families, but no difference was found in kidney length and parenchymal thickness between healthy members of BEN and non-BEN families. No significant association was found between parental history of BEN and kidney size and function either in BEN patients or in healthy members from BEN families. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (4): 304-308.
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Recent studies provide evidence that peripheral blood monocytes have the ability to differentiate into mesenchymal-like cells. The ability of cultured monocytes to differentiate and produce insulin in vitro is analysed in the present study. ⋯ Monocytes can acquire morphological properties of multipotent cells when they are cultivated under specific conditions in vitro. Differentiated monocytes are able to synthesize and excrete insulin. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (4): 344-351.
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Case Reports
Giacomini vein: thigh extension of the small saphenous vein - report of two cases and review of the literature.
Varicose vein surgery is very commonly performed. Also, it is very frequently employed for recurrent disease. The recognition of the normal or variant veins, inducing incompetency, is a prerequisite for effective treatment. The thigh extension of the small saphenous vein, the so-called Giacomini vein, was extensively described in 1873 by Carlo Giacomini in an incidence of 72%. However, such a vein is usually underestimated in classic surgical textbooks. ⋯ Due to the fact that Giacomini vein could be incompetent, associated with or without varicose saphenous vein trunks, the vascular surgeon should keep in mind that anatomical entity, to include it in preoperative ultrasound scanning control. Moreover, this vein could be utilized as an autologous graft, when the large saphenous is not available. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (3): 263-265.