Hippokratia
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Case Reports
Safety and efficacy of hydroxyurea in children and adolescents with sickle/beta-thalassemia: two-year experience.
Hydroxyurea is a cytotoxic and myelosuppressive drug that has been used during recent years in the treatment of children with severe sickle cell disease. Nevertheless, questions remain regarding its role in young patients with no severe course, like sickle/beta-thalassemia (S/b-thal) patients often present. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of hydroxyurea in young patients with S/b-thal, which is the commonest form of the disease in Greece. ⋯ To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to specifically assess the effect of hydroxyurea therapy in young patients with S/b-thal and the results indicate is safe and efficacious in this patient cohort. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (2):172-175.
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The aim of the study was to determine the effect of oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on levels of serum oxidative stress biomarkers in hemodialysis patients. ⋯ It is suggested that treatment with NAC appears to be associated with restoration of important parameters of antioxidant defence and reduction in the levels of mediators of oxidative cellular damage. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (2):131-135.
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Case Reports
Coronary artery fistula connecting the left main coronary artery with the superior vena cava.
Coronary artery fistulas are rare congenital coronary artery abnormalities, with direct communication between a coronary artery and a cardiac chamber, great vessel or other structure. ⋯ Angiographic recognition of coronary artery fistulas is important for the appropriate diagnosis and management of patients. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (2):186-188.
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Perineural (Tarlov) cysts are benign, usually asymptomatic, cerebrospinal fluid filled cysts of the spine, most often found in the sacral region. ⋯ This is the first report of a cervical Tarlov cyst treated conservatively without the use of oral or injected steroids. The perineural cyst should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with radicular symptoms. Hippokratia 2015, 19 (1): 76-77.