[The circadian (24-hour) variability of blood pressure (BP) is influenced by constant and variable (external and internal) factors. With this in mind and by determining the type of hypertension with a 24-hour blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), individual chronopharmacological (chronopharmacotherapy) treatment can be planned. There are significant differences in the chronokinetics of antihypertensive drugs administered at different times. Their therapeutic range and efficacy depend significantly on their circadian timing. Although the most modern antihypertensives have a 24-hour effect, they are not able to lower blood pressure at all times. Morning intake of ACE inhibitors, ARB-s, alpha-blockers mainly affect the afternoon and early evening rise, while evening intake reduces nocturnal and morning rise. Calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers (except carvedilol and labetolol), do not affect the circadian blood pressure profile. Therefore, in nondipper hypertension or in the case of morning rise, the twice daily morning and evening administration is more effective than the single morning administration. (Usually a lower dose is sufficient in the evening.) Adequate control of nocturnal or morning blood pressure elevations can be achieved with medication taken in the evening. According to the relevant studies the conclusion is that there is no convincing evidence that the administration of BP-lowering drugs in the evening provides any significant advantage in terms of quality of BP control, prevention of target organ damage or reduction of cardiovascular events, so evening intake only is not recommended. In particular the administration of antihypertensive drugs at bedtime, especially in the case of elderly patients may cause excessive BP fall at night with increased risk of silent cerebral infarct and the myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary heart disease.]

Introduction - The shift work is burdensome for nurses and may lead to health problems. Aims - The purpose of the study was to examine the nursing shift system types and to analyse the effects on nutritional status, subjective state of physical and mental health in case of different shift schedules. Method - In the first phase of the research 326 nurses working in changing shifts filled out the Bergen Shift Work Questionnaire after adaptation into Hungarian. 518 nurses participated in our second study in hospitals of the South-Danubian Region, in clinics of University of Pécs and at trainings organized by the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Pécs. Results - Based on the psychometric characteristics of Bergen Shift Work Questionnaire technically it is suitable for the examination of sleeping disorders associated with shift work. Sleeping quality is worse in those working in irregular work shifts compared to those working in regular and flexible work schedules (p<0.001). The irregular work schedule is worse than the regular work schedule according to 76.6% of the nurses. According to 63.8% of the respondents the following regular work schedule is the best: after one 12-hour day shift one 12-hour night shift, followed by two days of rest. The average Body Mass Index (BMI) is 26.16 kg/m2. Since the nurses work in shift work 47.7% of them reported weight gain. Among the psychosomatic symptoms the most frequent is back pain (78.4%) related elevated BMI (p=0.013). The nurses’ sense of coherence on average is 61.76 points. In case of full-time employees the sense of coherence is better than those who work in shifts (t=2.933, p=0.004). The nurses working irregular shift work asses their health worst (mean rank: 166.61; p=0.019), and their sense of coherence is lower (p=0.04). Conclusion - The irregularity of work schedules is stressful for nurses. Due to the health of nurses it would be useful to establish the least exhausting work schedules.

[Blood pressure reduction to target level decreases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, in the vast majority of cases, this can be achieved only with a (multiple) combination regimen. The primary objective of the PAINT (Perindopril- Amlodipine plus Indapamide Combination for Controlled Hypertension Non-intervention Trial) study was to evaluate the efficacy of combination therapy with perindopril, amlodipine, and indapamide in patients who had not reached target blood pressure with their pre-existing therapy. Secondary objectives included the monitoring of metabolic parameters and the number of antihypertensive tablets taken by the subjects. In this subgroup-analysis we involved 126 patients (74 females and 52 males, mean age 59.8±12.5 years) who had a valid 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring both at baseline and at the end of the 4-months follow-up. At the beginning of the study none of the subjects reached blood pressure target despite taking on average 2.4±1.4 antihypertensive drugs. During the study, the subjects received the combination of amlodipine, perindopril, and indapamide instead of their pre-existing antihypertensive regimen. 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure decreased from 139.2±13.4 mmHg to 126.5±12.9 mmHg (p<0.01), as well as mean diastolic blood pressure from 77.3±11.3 mmHg to 71.1±8.7 mmHg (p<0.01). Heart rate remained unchanged. Blood pressure reduction was statistically significant both during the day and the night. We found significant blood pressure reduction in all hours (10.1-15.4/5.1-7.8 mmHg; p<0.001). Hyperbaric impact decreased from 366.9±251.1 mmHg × hour to 166.2±185.4 mmHg × hour (p<0.01) for systolic blood pressure, and from 112±130.6 mmHg × hour to 41.6±65.6 mmHg × hour (p<0.01) for diastolic blood pressure. We also could observe favourable changes in metabolic parameters, not only in lipids, but also in blood sugar level. The mean number of tablets taken by the subjects increased from 2.4 to 2.9, but this led to a significantly improved control of blood pressure. Triple combinations of state-of-the-art antihypertensive agents - such as of perindopril, amlodipine and indapamide - ensure effective blood pressure control in sufficiently compliant patients.]

Introduction - Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a disease, primarily composed of sensational symptoms, caused by the urge to move lower extremities especially at night, and characterized by undesired feelings of the legs. Decreasing of the dopaminergic effect at night is thought to be responsible from these symptoms. RLS patients suffer from low quality of sleep affecting their daily life activities even causing socio-economic loss. Although RLS is a common and treatable disease, it can not be diagnosed easily due to the variability of symptoms. Aim - The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of RLS among health workers and to define the disease causing factors. Method - A questionnaire was applied to 174 randomly selected health workers at Baskent University Medical Faculty (KA17/285). The demographic information, history of illnesses or usage of drugs, socioeconomic status, working hours and daytime sleepiness were questioned. Included in the questionnaire were diagnostic criteria for RLS, frequency assessment scale, and survey of sleep quality. We used “the diagnostic criteria of international RLS working group” for the diagnosis, and “Pittsburgh sleep quality index survey” to determine the quality of sleep. Reliability and validity studies were performed on both tests. Results - A significant relationship between socio-economic status and RLS was found (p<0.05) as an increase of RLS frequency in parallel with decreased socio-economic status. RLS was found to be common among health workers. We suggest that health workers should be checked regularly, and they should be informed about the disease in order to raise an awareness and hence increase their quality of life.

[The Hungarian cult of the plague, or in the vernacular the cult of the saints (Sebestyén, Rozália, Rókus) who protect against the black death, glandular death, and death by pestilence (1), has been most thoroughly described by Sándor Bálint. His research was continued by Zoltán Szilárdfy, who compiled an iconography of the anti-plague images of the Virgin Mary, embedded in a broad historical and ethnographic context (2).]