[Our aim is to review the radiologic literature of lung cancer of 2004 and some remarkable publications from 2003. There are three main groups in the recent publications dealing with lung cancer’s radiology. The first group comprises those reviews and metaanalyses which focus on the overall utility and reliability of routinely applied modalities such as CT and MRI. In the second group we find original articles reporting on the experience with new modalities. This group is dominated by publications dealing with positron emission tomography and the first clinical results of combined PET-CT technology. In the third part we review those articles dealing with lung cancer screening. Radiological lung cancer screening is in the focus of interest again, mainly due to the introduction of low-dose CT which is undoubtadly the most sensitive radiological modality for the early detection of lesions, however, its clinical utility is debated. The papers referred are basically sceptic, but this is not the end, because controlled long term follow-up studies are still in progress. Part of the publications report on the first clinical results of new methods, while others give valuable additional data regarding the performance of “well established” radiological modalities.]

[Glucocorticoid hormones may have dual action on the stomach: physiological gastroprotective and pathological proulcerogenic one. In physiological conditions, even in acute stress situations, glucocorticoids have an adaptive effect on the stomach and, therefore, are gastroprotective. The findings that we review in this article suggest that glucocorticoids released during acute stress are naturally occurring protective factors that play an important role in maintenance of the gastric mucosal integrity.]

[The number of people living with diabetes continues to rise. Therefore neurologists or other health care practitioners may be increasingly faced with comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders commonly presented by diabetic patients. More recently there has been an increasing research interest not only in the interactions between diabetes and the nervous system, the fine structure and functional changes of the brain, but also in the cognitive aspects of antidiabetic treatments. Patients with both types of diabetes mellitus may show signs of cognitive decline, and depression. Comorbid insomnia, anxiety, and distress may also occur. The bi-directional relationships between all these phenomena as well as their connection with diabetes can lead to further health and quality of life deterioration. Therefore it is important that all practitioners involved in the care of diabetic patients recognize the presence of comorbid neuropsychiatric disturbances early on during the healthcare process. Identifying higher risk patients and early screening could improve the prognosis of diabetes and may prevent complications.]

[Background and purpose - Vasopressin plays an important role in the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation as well as in stress-related disorders. A common view suggested that the role of vasopressin is especially important during chronic stresses. Here we tested the hypothesis that vasopressin-deficient rats may be more resistant to the development of chronic hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity after chronic mild stress. Methods - Male vasopressin deficient Brattleboro rats were compared to their heterozygous littermattes. Chronic mild stress consisted of different mild stimuli (e.g. wet cages, restraint) for 6 week. The corticosterone changes were followed by repeated tail cutting and organs and blood were collected from decapitated rats. Results - In controls, chronic mild stress resulted in symptoms of chronic stress state characterized by typical somatic (body weight reduction, thymus involution) and endocrine changes (resting plasma ACTH and corticosterone elevation and POMC mRNA elevation in anterior lobe of the pituitary). Unexpectedly, the lack of vasopressin could not influence any chronic mild stress-induced changes. Conclusion - Somatic changes and endocrine effects of chronic mild stress are similar in control and vasopressin deficient animals. This suggests that either vasopressin is not indispensable for activating the hypothalamo-pituitaryadrenal axis by chronic stress or the absence of vasopressin is compensated by other mediators (e.g. CRH) in Brattleboro rats.]

[Although Hans Selye is mostly known for his discovery & development of the stress concept, he also introduced the first physiologically sound, structure-activity classification of steroids that was also based on the chemical structure of steroids in 1943. He not only introduced the names of glucocorticoids & mineralocorticoids but discovered the anti- & pro-inflammatory properties, respectively, of these steroids in animal models. Furthermore, he not only described the first stress-induced gastric ulcers in rats (1936) & characterized the first human ‘stress ulcers’ during the air-raids in London during World War II (1943). Thus, Selye was a much more productive & creative scientist than it is generally considered.]