ABSTRACT Background: Risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been associated with stress from serving in a war, but it has not been established whether children who experience war-related stress are at increased CVD risk. Objective: This study aimed to compare CVD risk factors in young adults according to whether they experienced traumatic events as children during the 1990–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whether those exposed to trauma have evidence of subclinical atherosclerosis. Method: We examined 372 first-year medical students who were preschool children during the war (1990–1995) (average age 19.5 ± 1.7 years, 67% female) in 2007–2010. They completed the Semi-Structured Interview for Survivors of War. CVD risk factors and carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT) measurements were obtained and compared in individuals with and without trauma. We also examined whether increased CIMT was independently associated with trauma after adjustment for other risk factors. Results: From multiple logistic regression, only elevated triglycerides (> 1.7 mmol/l) were associated with a 5.2 greater odds of having experienced trauma. The mean CIMT of subjects with trauma was greater than that of non-trauma-exposed subjects (0.53 mm vs 0.50 mm, p = 0.07). Moreover, trauma was independently associated with higher CIMT (difference = 0.036 mm, p = 0.024) after adjustment for CVD risk factors. Conclusions: We show that most CVD risk factors are associated with post-war trauma in young adults, and, if present, such trauma is associated with higher triglycerides and higher levels of CIMT in multivariable analysis. HIGHLIGHTS • Our investigation was to examine whether there are differences in cardiovascular risk factors and subclinical atherosclerosis in persons previously exposed compared to not exposed to trauma during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.• We demonstrated that while traditional risk factors are not strongly related to the presence of post-war trauma in young adults, those with greater CIMT appear to have been more likely to have had been prevoiusly exposed to trauma.

BACKGROUND Benzodiazepines have a direct bronchodilatory effect. Methacholine is a non-selective muscarinic receptor agonist causing bronchoconstriction. AIM To examine the effects of inhaled benzodiazepines, modulating bronchoconstriction induced by methacholine in patients with asthma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twelve patients with well controlled asthma were studied. On the first day, after determining the initial values of pulmonary function, a dose response curve was carried out with progressive doses of methacholine. After the last dose, when at least a 20% drop of the initial forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) was achieved, vital capacity (VC) and FEV1 were measured at 7, 15 and 30 minutes after provocation. On the second day a diazepam aerosol was inhaled by the patients prior to the same protocol with methacholine. RESULTS In the first day of testing, methacholine inhalation (6 mg/mL) led to a significant drop in FEV1 from 2.98 to 1.69 L. On the second day of study, in the same patients, previous inhalation with diazepam reduced the changes of FEV1 after inhalation of methacholine. This parameter decreased from 2.48 to 2.21 L. CONCLUSIONS Inhalation of benzodiazepines reduce bronchoconstriction after a methacholine challenge in patients with asthma.

Background: Benzodiazepines have a direct bronchodilatory effect. Methacholine is a non-selective muscarinic receptor agonist causing bronchoconstriction. Aim: To examine the effects of inhaled benzodiazepines, modulating bronchoconstriction induced by methacholine in patients with asthma. Patients and methods: Twelve patients with well controlled asthma were studied. On the first day, after determining the initial values of pulmonary function, a dose response curve was carried out with progressive doses of methacholine. After the last dose, when at least a 20% drop of the initial forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) was achieved, vital capacity (VC) and FEV1 were measured at 7, 15 and 30 minutes after provocation. On the second day a diazepam aerosol was inhaled by the patients prior to the same protocol with methacholine. Results: In the first day of testing, methacholine inhalation (6 mg/mL) led to a significant drop in FEV1 from 2.98 to 1.69 L. On the second day of study, in the same patients, previous inhalation with diazepam reduced the changes of FEV1 after inhalation of methacholine. This parameter decreased from 2.48 to 2.21 L. Conclusions: Inhalation of benzodiazepines reduce bronchoconstriction after a methacholine challenge in patients with asthma.

The aim of this paper is to give a brief overview of research and the newest theoretical considerations on internet addiction classification and treatment. Over the past years we have been increasingly facing the so-called “new age” disease of internet addiction as a serious problem affecting numerous people, especially the young population who has made social networks and other internet contents a modus vivendi. A literature search was conducted for the purpose of locating information on prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of internet and computer addiction. Certain researchers and psychiatrists believe that the excessive internet use is a symptom of other disorders, such as depression and anxiety, or impulse control disorder. However, over the past few years a consensus has been reached that this constellation of symptoms is actually an addiction disorder. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has recently come up with a new definition, according to which addiction represents a chronic brain disorder. Consequently, the new American Classification of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) has introduced this form of addiction under the diagnostic category dubbed “cybernetic disorder”. The field of internet addiction is advancing rapidly through its official recognition as a separate and distinct addiction disorder. Some individuals with internet addiction are at significant risk and merit professional care and treatment. There are several treatments available, but the primary prevention is the most effective intervention. Family practitioners and psychiatrists should be taught to screen their patients for this disorder.

The nature of mental disorders, the attitudes and prejudices of the social community towards psychiatric patients, the behavior and treatment of mental patients, all bring about numerous dilemmas and prejudices. When a patient is diagnosed with a mental disorder, he may suffer restrictions in the field of general human rights. However, the biggest problems in clinical practice occur in the treatment of patients who, besides their mental disorder also have a somatic disease. We report a 56-years-old female with a severe renal failure who refused to undergo dialysis. Following the patient's refusal to sign an informed consent, a psychiatrist was called in for consultation and diagnosed an acute psychotic reaction. To manage the delusions and acute psychotic reactions, risperidone in the dose of 2mg was started. After 22 days, the patient still had marked psychotic symptoms. A psychiatrist, a nephrologist and an anesthesiologist, in the presence of the spouse on the grounds of her life-threatening condition, decided to apply the necessary medical procedures even without the patient's consent. A day after the start of dialysis the patient still had delusional ideas, but without the presence of anxiety, and the patient no longer offered resistance to dialysis. Four days after the first dialysis, the patient was calm, had vague memories about the entire previous period, and signed the informed consent concerning her further treatment.

The nature of mental disorders, the attitudes and prejudices of the social community towards psychiatric patients, the behavior and treatment of mental patients, all bring about numerous dilemmas and prejudices. When a patient is diagnosed with a mental disorder, he may suffer restrictions in the field of general human rights. However, the biggest problems in clinical practice occur in the treatment of patients who, besides their mental disorder also have a somatic disease. We report a 56-years-old female with a severe renal failure who refused to undergo dialysis. Following the patient's refusal to sign an informed consent, a psychiatrist was called in for consultation and diagnosed an acute psychotic reaction. To manage the delusions and acute psychotic reactions, risperidone in the dose of 2 mg was started. After 22 days, the patient still had marked psychotic symptoms. A psychiatrist, a nephrologist and an anesthesiologist, in the presence of the spouse on the grounds of her life-threatening condition, decided to apply the necessary medical procedures even without the patient's consent. A day after the start of dialysis the patient still had delusional ideas, but without the presence of anxiety, and the patient no longer offered resistance to dialysis. Four days after the first dialysis, the patient was calm, had vague memories about the entire previous period, and signed the informed consent concerning her further treatment.

BACKGROUND/AIM Speech motor mechanisms play a crucial role in the process of demutization, due to the fact that they cover all the elements of the successive development of spech production movements leading to speech formation (so-called kinesthesia in speach). The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of perceptual motor actions on the cognitive process of reading in 130 students in regular schools and schools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the Republic of Serbia. METHODS Kostić and Vladisavljević test consisted of the ten levels weight was used for the assessment of reading speed. To assess understanding of text read by verbal responses, we used three-dimensional adapted reading test of Helene Sax. RESULTS The triage-articulation test for assessing reading speed (Kostié and Vladisavljević's test according to the weight of ten levels, revealed that students in regular schools statistically significantly faster read texts as compared to the deaf students. The results of the three-dimensional adapted reading test of Helena Sax, show that the words learned by deaf children exist in isolation in their mind, i.e., if there is no standard of acoustic performance for graphic image, in deaf child every word, printed or written, is just the sum of letters without meaning. CONCLUSION There is a significant difference in text reading speed and its understanding among the children who hear and the deaf and hard-of-hearing children. It is essential that in deaf and heard-of-hearing children education, apart from the development of speech, parallelly use the concept of semantic processing in order to get each word by the fullness of its content and the possibility of expanding its meaning in a variety of assets.

BACKGROUND Subjects that spend more time working on computers or watching television could have a higher body mass index. AIM To assess the relationship between time spent in front of a screen and studying, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and sleep duration among university students. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross-sectional study of 734 randomly selected students aged 21 ± 2 years (450 females) that responded an anonymous, structured questionnaire about time spent watching television or in front of a computer, time spent studying, number of daily hours of sleep, smoking habits and number of daily meals. Body mass index was also calculated for all subjects RESULTS Among males, the number of daily sleep hours, time spent working with computers and number of daily meals were significantly higher and time spent studying was significantly lower than females. Nonsmokers ate a significantly higher number of meals and spent less time watching television. No association was observed between time spent in front of a screen and number of sleep hours of body mass index. CONCLUSIONS Men and smokers spend more time working in computers. There is no association between body mass index and time spent in front of screens.

<p>Holistic approach to the nature of human beings shows the view of the man as a unique and indivisible whole and not as a collection of organs that are not interconnected. This means the integrity of the biological, psychological and social nature of the man and that just means the psychosomatic approach to the disease. More and more studies indicate that psychological stress can aggravate or improve some allergic diseases. Today there are a lot of discussions about the effects of chronic stress which has lasted for years and decades. Many unpleasant events from the past, such as fear, aggressive wishes, guilt and others, can have its effect on the body systems later, and gradually cause functional disorders and organic diseases within them. Enhanced work of the nervous system and increased secretion of hormones, which can protect us when the stress occurs for the first time, represents the same changes which can destroy us in the end when we face constant and persistent stress. Some studies have shown that in addition to heredity, common infections of the respiratory tract and pollution of the environment are the main villains for the development of allergic diseases as well as stress. Recent studies emphasize that stress and anxiety can extend the duration of seasonal allergies and boost their symptoms.</p>