Introduction: Obesity has been suggested to be one of the risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Bariatric surgery has been used for the treatment of obesity and has been suggested to have a significant impact on obesity-related conditions such as diabetes mellitus, ED and LUTS. Previous studies have investigated the effect of bariatric surgery on erectile and urological function in obese men; however those studies used long-term time points post-operatively (more than 1 month). Since it is now known that bariatric surgery can potentially induce glycaemic improvement within one week independent of weight loss, this study aimed to investigate the short-term effect in order to test the hypothesis as to whether improvement in urogenital function after bariatric surgery is due to weight loss or whether it is due to glycaemic improvement. Aim: To evaluate the baseline characteristics of patients with erectile dysfunction and to determine the early effects of bariatric surgery on erectile and urological function in morbidly obese men.

In this investigation of immunotherapy (IT) children 6-16 years old with rhinoconjunctivitis due to birch polli­nosis were included. I. Methodological studies. To monitor IT a reliable provocation test is desirable. The conjunctival provocation test (CPT) was evaluated in 20 children with four repeated challenges. The test was found to have a good preci­sion, it was simple and appeared to be clinically safe. After repeated tests the levels of IgE antibodies against birch increased considerably in three children, indicating an immunological response. A pollen peak affects the symptoms of an atopic individual for several days. Thus pollen counts for previous days must be taken into account when relating symptom scores with the counts. A dynamic time series model was therefore developed by which groups of atopic patients could be compared when exposed to different amounts of pollens. II: Cross-reactivity between deciduous trees during IT. Immunotherapy with pollen allergen preparations made from either birch (B) or a mixture of birch, alder and hazel (M) were compared. As measured with symptom scores the children in the M group improved at least as much as those in the B group. In the B group but not in the M group the improvement correlated with immunochemical findings before IT or early during the treatment, probably an unsignificant finding. Otherwise there was little difference between the two groups. Analysis of sera with crossed radioimmunoelectrophoresis in 20 children revealed that 60% of the children below 13 years had de­veloped IgE antibodies during IT against allergens against which they had not been allergic before IT. This had no appearent clinical implications. III: Oral immunotherapy (OIT). A pilot study of 18 children treated with high doses of a birch pollen allergen preparation in enteric coated capsules and 8 untreated controls indicated that OIT was effective as shown by lower symptom scores, less conjuctival sensitivity and increased levels of IgE antibodies against birch. However, the gastrointestinal side-effects were pronounced. Therefore a second double-blind study, in 30 children, was performed reducing the side-effects through a different dose schedule. Compared with the placebo group, the ac­tively treated children had lower symptom scores (p = 0.04), reduced skin sensitivity (p = 0.01), increasing levels of IgE (p = 0.001) and IgG (p = 0.007) antibodies against birch before the birch pollen season and a suppression of the seasonal increase in levels of IgE antibodies against birch (p <0.001). After three months of OIT but not after ten months they also had a lower sensitivity in CPT than the controls (p = 0.01). The intestinal permeability as assessed by the urinary recovery of differently-sized polyethyleneglycols was studied in 24 of the children during IT. No changes were seen in the group of actively treated children. In two ad­ditional children openly treated with OIT small bowel biopsies were taken with normal morphological findings. Thus OIT did not result in a generalized inflammation of the small bowel. / digitalisering@umu

Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2017-07-04T10:50:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 flaviacristinadecarvalhomrad.pdf: 25667828 bytes, checksum: 67558dd38cd5b84d1921ca5e06445e03 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-08T14:22:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 flaviacristinadecarvalhomrad.pdf: 25667828 bytes, checksum: 67558dd38cd5b84d1921ca5e06445e03 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-08T14:22:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 flaviacristinadecarvalhomrad.pdf: 25667828 bytes, checksum: 67558dd38cd5b84d1921ca5e06445e03 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-23 / A disfuncão do trato urinario inferior (DTUI) é uma alteracão comum em crianças. Dados sobre sua prevalência em indivíduos com síndrome de Down (SD) são escassos. O presente estudo transversal tem como objetivo investigar a prevalência da DTUI em indivíduos com SD pertencentes ao Ambulatório da Síndrome de Down, único com critérios específicos de atendimento em Minas Gerais, Brasil. Os sintomas da DTUI foram avaliados através da aplicação da versão adaptada e validada para população brasileira do Dysfunctional Voíding Symptom Score (DVSS). No DVSS, os valores de corte para indicar a presença de DTUI foram maior do que seis para indivíduos do sexo masculino e maior do que nove para indivíduos do sexo feminino. Dos 114 indivíduos avaliados, 84 foram incluíduos, com idade variando de quatro a 57 anos (média 19,10 anos ± 12,02), sendo 66,70% do gênero feminino. A prevalência encontrada foi de 27,38%. Os sintomas foram mais frequentes nos indivíduos do gênero masculino (OR 3,06; IC 95% (1,131 a 8,321); p=0,03) e com a idade menor ou igual á 10 anos (OR 5,22; IC 95% (1,867 a 14,61); p= 0,001). Estes achados tornam-se importantes para alertar os profissionais envolvidos no seguimento destes indivíduos, orientando sobre a necessidade de investigação padronizada da DTUI, objetivando a prevenção e/ou a correta intervenção terapêutica. / Lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) is a common problem in children. Data on it's prevalence in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is scarce. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the prevalence of LUTD in individuals with DS, members of the Down Syndrome Clinic, the only one with specific treatment criteria in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The LUTD symptoms were assessed through the application of the validated and adapted version of the Dysfunctional Voiding Symptom Score (DVSS) for the Brazilian population. The cut-point to indicate the LUTD presence were > 6 for male individuals and > 9 for female individuals. Of the 114 individuals assessed, 84 were eligible, with ages varying from 0 to 57 years (medium age 19.10 years ± 12.02), of these 66.70% being female. The prevalence found was of 27.38%. The symptoms were more frequent in males (OR 3.06; IC 95% (1.131 to 8.321); p=0.03) and of age lower or equal to 10 years (OR 5.22; IC 95% (1.867 to 14.61); p= 0.001). These findings are important to alert the professionals involved in the follow-up of such patients, informing them of the need to standardize the investigation of the LUTD, aiming to prevent and/or the correct therapeutic intervention.