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The paper brings forward some of many achievements of women scientists in the 20th and 21st century medicine. Their essential contributions changed the medical specialities to the present day. The first and perhaps best known laureate is Marie Sklodowska-Curie, who is also the only scientist to win two Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. In total, there were twelve women honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Some of them also showed interest in other fields, like ethics. The most remarcable traits of these female Nobel laureates were ambition, open-mindedness and patience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between body mass index (BMI), sleep quality and physical activity. Material and methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study on a sample that included a total of 241 adults randomly selected, to respond to standardized questionnaires on physical activity levels and sleep quality. Assessment of nutritional status was done by measuring and weighing participants to determine BMI. Results. The average duration of sleep was 8.06 hours, the fall asleep interval was of 20.87 minutes and the number of hours of restful sleep per night of 7.14 hours. A total of 88 participants (36.5%) had a poor quality of sleep. Sleep duration was significantly correlated with energy expenditure during work (p=0.024) and recreational activities (p=0.006). Sleep quality was correlated only with energy expenditure in recreational activities (p=0.007). Average and total sedentary time was associated positively with the BMI. BMI increased with poor sleep quality (r=0.177, p=0.006) and daytime sleepiness (r=0.183, p=0.004). Conclusion. The association between BMI, sedentarism, recreational physical activity and sleep quality overlap current nutrition recommendations or physical activity which recommends regular exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory process of the pancreatic acinar cells. In severe cases of acute pancreatitis development can lead to multiple organ dysfunction. International studies in recent decades have highlighted numerous prognostic factors in severe acute pancreatitis: clinical, biological, intraopera-tive and pathological. Our research aims to identify the factors of prognosis in severe acute pancreatitis. The study was prospective and included a sample of 238 patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and its complications. Of all patients, 43.28% had severe acute pancreatitis, and 58.83% were male. Age over 55 years was found in 52.43% of patients with severe form and only 33.33% of patients with mild form. Female patients with obesity and aged between 60 and 80 years more frequently develop acute pancreatitis. Mortality among obese patients with the severe form is four times higher than in obese patients with mild form. Although female patients appear more frequently develop complications, total number of deaths occurring in obese patients is higher in males compared to the females. Conclusion. Age and obesity are factors useful for more precise prediction of severity of acute pancreatitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes is based on complex physiopathological mechanisms, mainly represented by insulin resistance and β cell dysfunction, the latter mechanism being in fact the defining one in the clinical expression of the disease and its progressive evolution. Unfortunately though, the conventional class of antihyperglyce-mic drugs only manage to partially fight against the pathogenic components of the disease and are accompanied by a series of limitations on their usage, including: weight gain, digestive intolerance, increased risk of hypoglycemia. Moreover, there have been studies showing that the use of certain hypoglycemiant agents has been associated with an increase in cardiovascular events. In this context, a recently developed strategy in order to obtain an optimal glycemic control is aimed at using a new class of drugs represented by DPP-4 inhibitors. Through their action of inhibiting dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), they extend the life of endogenous incretins: glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and amplify their biological effects. Therefore, besides enhanced glycemic control, DPP-4 inhibitors seem to have a number of additional benefits: neutral weight, improved β cell function, cardiovascular protection, which might confer them an important role in current medical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, predominantly degenerative, which is associated with a cognitive decline and, in the social functioning, with a progressive evolution, mostly irreversible. The involvement of the genetic factor was signaled only in early-onset Alzheimer's disease, in which the neurodegenerative mechanisms are correlated to the genetic modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are obtained by recording electrical currents generated in the primary visual cortex in response to flash-light stimulation of the retina. VEPs evaluate the functional integrity of the optic pathways. The VEP waveform is altered under anesthesia, with the pattern of variation depending on the type of anesthetic used. Materials and methods. We studied 18 male rats aged 3 month, randomly divided into a sevofluran study group and control chloral hydrate group. Anesthetic depth was evaluated by median frequency (MF). VEP latencies, interpeak latencies and amplitudes were considered eight epochs 0.5 Hz length within interval of anesthetic depth 2-6 Hz. Latencies were expressed as average latencies for each interval of anesthetic depth. Conclusions. Most reliable parameter of VEP is the value of latency peaks. Overall variability is reduced under sevofluran and thus allows the establishment of a variation pattern that can allow VEP changes in morphology to be differentiated from VEP changes induced by other mechanisms, such as diabetes or trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]