Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Ojeda.
This report describes three cases of eosinophilic cellulitis (Wells' syndrome) observed during six years. In the author's opinion this condition is not frequent, but neither exceptional. A revision of clinico-pathological, etiopathogenic and therapeutics aspects is carried out.
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A Western Venezuelan indigenous Yukpa(Irapa) family with moderate bleeding and discrepancy in the prothrombin values by biological and immunological methods is described. The propositus presented biological activity of 2% by the methods in one-stage including Staphylocoagulase and Echis carinatus. Electrophoretic migration of the prothrombin in plasma was normal, while the serum only showed one precipitation arc instead of the three of normal serum. The propositus appeared to be homozygous for the abnormal prothrombin which we have denominated Prothrombin Perijá.
The specific chemical modification by sodium cyanate of highly reactive cysteine residues at pH 7.5 in pig kidney fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase results in the reversible loss of activation of the enzyme by monovalent cations. No loss of activation by potassium ions occurs when modification is carried out in the presence of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. The effect of Mg2+ on native and cyanate-modified enzyme activities implicates the above cysteine residue as being directly linked to the inhibition by both the divalent cation and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Incorporation of [14C]cyanate to the enzyme shows that the blockage of two reactive residues per tetramer is sufficient to eliminate the activation of the enzyme by K+.
We developed a method to asses the infectivity of Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes for cultured Vero cells, after incubation under different conditions with human leucocyte populations. Total leucocytes, polymorphonuclear (PMN) and mononuclear (MN) cells, from either infected (INF) or cardiomyopathic (CDM) Chagas patients were tested in the presence or absence of autologous serum. Both patient groups had positive complement fixation tests (CFT) for T. cruzi and these were compared with a group of normal controls with negative CFT. Serum alone was found to cause reductions in the infectivity of the trypomastigotes, particularly in the case of CDM. However, in the control and INF groups, a significantly greater effect was observed with combinations of leucocytes and serum. The inhibition caused by cells plus serum was significantly greater in INF and CDM patients than in normal controls. In addition, we evaluated the penetration of trypomastigotes into the different types of leucocytes and found a significantly greater penetration of INF leucocytes at 15 min, compared to the controls, in the presence of both autologous and homologous normal serum. However, after 60 min of incubation the differences were not statistically significant.
Autonomic hyperreflexia is a serious peripartum complication associated with spinal cord lesions. Although the majority of reported cases have occurred with lesions at T-5 or higher, we report a case occurring in a patient with a lesion at T-10. Management may be by regional anesthesia or primarily medical.
The plasma levels of beta-Thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and Platelet Factor 4 (PF4) were measured in patients during the normal obstetrical period and in pre-eclampsia. A significant increase was observed in the two proteins with respect to the non-pregnant control group but no difference was seen between pregnancy and puerperium in either the normal or pre-eclamptic cases. The one significant variation in the concentration of the two proteins was a sharp rise during parturition. There was no correlation between beta-TG, PF4 and either the platelet count or creatinine but urea and uric acid did show a slight correlation with the two platelet proteins.
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The order of potency of 'binding' of both glutamate and aspartate to synaptosomal fractions of brain regions was: cerebellar cortex greater than caudate nucleus greater than or equal to cerebral cortex greater than medulla approximately pons greater than corona radiata. Glutamate was bound to a greater extent than aspartate to particles of all regions studied, except for cerebral cortex.
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A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to assess interferon-beta efficacy and safety in the treatment of anogenital condylomatous lesions. One hundred patients received a daily intramuscular injection of either interferon-beta (IFN-beta) (2 MIU/day) or placebo for 10 days. Of 94 evaluable patients, the complete response rate observed 8 weeks after treatment was significantly higher in the group receiving IFN-beta, as compared to the placebo-treated group (51% vs 28.9%, P < 0.05). After one year, 24 patients (100%) out of 24 complete responders to IFN-beta who attended for follow-up remained free of lesions. Twelve of 13 patients with complete response to placebo (92.3%) remained free of lesions after one year. Side effects were mild and no significant analytical changes were observed. In conclusion, interferon-beta is an effective and safe treatment for long-term eradication of anogenital condylomatous lesions.
We evaluated the clinical characteristics found in 29 children who showed allergic symptoms after direct and/or indirect contact with fish, from 197 children diagnosed with IgE-mediated fish hypersensitivity. Allergic reactions to fish through ingestion began in most patients (79%) within the first 24 months of life. All the patients showed cutaneous symptoms, either alone or associated with other clinical manifestations. Whiff and hake were the species more frequently implicated in eliciting clinical manifestations upon ingestion. After diagnosis, all patients were placed on a strict fish avoidance diet. During this period of avoidance, 29 patients reported allergic reactions (mean age 5 years, 6 months; SD 4 years, 2 months) after incidental skin contact with fish. Clinical manifestations after touching fish were only cutaneous in 28 of the 29 studied patients. One showed local urticaria with wheezing. The majority reported two or more episodes. Incidental skin contact with fish could play an important role in accidental encounters with fish particles in children on a fish avoidance diet for fish IgE-mediated hypersensitivity. Such exposures could result in immunologic immediate contact reactions and in some cases could lead to systemic reactions (contact urticaria syndrome).
Caffeine has rarely been reported as the cause of allergic reactions. We describe a 10-year-old child who developed urticaria after the intake of coffee and cola beverages. The prick test and the oral challenge test with caffeine were both positive. Nevertheless, the oral challenge test with theophylline, another methylxanthine, was negative.