Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to I Pastor.
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The usefulness of sonography in evaluating the pancreas in infants and children is well known. Its usefulness is due to the optimal sonic window provided by the relative lack of fat tissue and the large left hepatic lobe in children. A wide spectrum of pancreatic pathologic conditions can be identified sonographically in children, including congenital abnormalities; inflammatory, cystic, pseudocystic, and neoplastic lesions in usual and unusual manifestations; rare processes such as nesidioblastosis and Schwachman-Diamond syndrome; and pancreatic involvement in systemic disease. Multiple pathologic processes can affect the pancreas focally or diffusely, making diagnosis difficult in some instances, since the pancreatic response is limited to changes in echogenicity and size independent of the cause. Sonography is rapid, accurate, and noninvasive and does not require patient sedation. It is the modality of choice for evaluating suspected pancreatic disease, since it allows not only direct visualization of the pancreas but also evaluation of adjacent organs.
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A case of an 81 year old woman who had fever, abdominal pain and a palpable mass in epigastrium and right hypochondriac region is presented. She was diagnosed as having acute cholecystitis and hydrops of the gallbladder. The surgical operation was performed and the findings were: dilated gallbladder with necrotic aspect, free floating with torsion of the cystic duct (greater than 180 degrees) wrapped in the mentum. There was no hepatic bed of the gallbladder. After correcting the torsion, the gallbladder was extirpated, with good clinical evolution. The etiopathogenia is discussed and the literature is reviewed. Despite the rareness of the gallbladder's torsion and the disease being relatively unknown, it has to be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in the elderly.
Neurologic alterations were noted as important early from the description of the AIDS epidemic. At present, there is evidence that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus can be the aetiologic agent of the AIDS dementia complex. The natural history of this disease is not well known. Various longitudinal studies have been undertaken to assess the appearance of neurologic and neuropsychologic alterations in seropositive patients. Until now the results show that asymptomatic seropositive patients have not significant alterations. We are studying seropositive asymptomatic patients with haemophilia. The results of the first year of the study indicate that these patients, taken all together, have not significant alterations. However, neuropsychologic and subtle neurologic alterations were found in 3 patients (21%). If these findings are also observed in other similar studies, these group II "asymptomatic" patients will must be reclassified, with probable changes in management and prognosis.
Werner's syndrome, a relatively rare and autosomal recessive disorder, is well known to be characterized by a high frequency of malignant neoplasms. Werner's syndrome has not infrequently been associated with meningiomas. We report a case of Werner's syndrome and temporal astrocytoma in a 49-year-old male. As far as we are aware, this is the first report of the association of Werner's syndrome and astrocytoma.
The effects of immobilization on fetal bone development were studied through post-mortem radiographs in 11 newborns with congenital neuromuscular diseases (CNMD) of intrauterine onset. Quantitative parameters were determined in the following bones: tibia, femur, humerus, radius, 3rd lumbar vertebra, and 5th rib. Thirty stillborns or newborns of similar gestational age and deceased from causes other than neuromuscular or related diseases were used as controls. No significant differences in bone lengths were observed between both groups. However, external diameters, cortex thicknesses, and cortical areas values were significantly lower in newborns with CNMD than in the control group. In newborns with CNMD, the medullary diameter of long bones showed good correlation with gestational age. However, this diameter was greater than that expected according to the reduced external diameter. These results suggest that intrauterine immobilization induces a decrease in mechanical usage of bone, mainly influencing bone modeling and probably bone remodeling. No changes were observed in longitudinal bone growth. Bones showed osteopenia and mechanical defects and were prone to fractures. In summary, reduced immobilization in utero produces bone osteoporosis of the fetus.
Cytoplasmic lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzymatic activities were measured in normal renal cortical tissue and in hypernephroma. Significantly lower activities were always found in tumoral tissue than in normal renal tissue. Their respective values (mean +/- SD) were: LDH, 4,333 +/- 747 (normal tissue) vs. 997 +/- 748 U/l (tumor); HBDH, 2,554 +/- 466 vs. 387 +/- 290 U/l; AST, 529 +/- 109 vs. 65 +/- 37 U/l, and ALT, 205 +/- 45 vs. 9.9 +/- 5.4 U/l. The LDH/HBDH ratio was significantly greater in tumoral (2.69 +/- 0.69) than in normal tissue (1.70 +/- 0.11). These results indicate that hypernephroma exhibits a low metabolic rate when compared to normal tissue. Their enzymatic activities suggest a decreased energy metabolism, predominantly of the anaerobic type, and a reduced synthesis of nonessential amino acids in the tumor. These findings could explain in part the slow growth rate of hypernephroma.
A case of chromosomic aberration and chondrodysplasia punctata is presented. Nine similar have been previously reported being this case first described in Spain. Hypothesis arouse from these observations suggest that they are different entities but also permit to include bone alterations among chromosomic aberration signs.
Enzyme levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured in the cytosol of renal cortex samples from either normal and pathologic kidney tissue. The mean enzyme activity values, expressed in Units per gram of cytosolic protein decreased in the following order: normal cortex (LDH = 4,299 +/- 654; AST = 522 +/- 101; ALT = 197 +/- 44). chronic pyelonephritis (LDH = 2,360 +/- 876; AST = 297 +/- 117; ALT = 90 +/- 48), hydronephrosis (LDH = 2,208 +/- 1,264; AST = 279 +/- 165; ALT = 82 +/- 61), pyonephrosis (LDH = 1,410 +/- 596; AST = 158 +/- 69; ALT = 23.4 +/- 16.4) and renal tuberculosis (LDH = 1,149 +/- 481; AST = 93 +/- 34; ALT = 5.6 +/- 2.8). The decrease in the enzyme activities paralleled tissue damage and it was shown to affect cellular functionality in relation with energy and amino acid metabolism.
Cytoplasmic creatine kinase (CK) activity was measured in 39 renal cortex samples from various kidney diseases. The highest CK values were observed in normal tissues (507 +/- 71). The mean values of CK enzymatic activity in the other groups decreased in the following order: chronic pyelonephritis (273 +/- 98), hydronephrosis (233 +/- 102), renal tuberculosis (133 +/- 34), pyonephrosis (96 +/- 46), and hypernephroma (45 +/- 33). The decrease in CK activity in kidney tissue paralleled tissue damage, and affects cellular functionality in relation with the processes that use adenosine 5'-triphosphate, such as the ionic pumps.
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The content of cytoplasmic androgen receptors (Bmax) was analyzed in non-tumoral renal tissue of 12 men and 15 postmenopausal women using a synthetic androgen (methyltrienolone) as ligand and a method of dextran-coated charcoal. The Bmax in both sexes was compared, establishing correlations between it and circulating levels of testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androstenedione, and estradiol to find out the possible influence of the hormonal environment on androgen receptors in the human kidney. No differences in Bmax were observed between males (46.3 +/- 24 fmol/g of tissue) and females (45.4 +/- 26 fmol/g), in spite of the significantly greater (p less than 0.01) levels of circulating testosterone in the former group. No significant linear correlations existed between any of the steroids analyzed and the Bmax. These results demonstrate the existence of androgenic receptors in non-tumoral human kidney and indicate that its content is not regulated by circulating levels of testosterone. The concentrations of the principal extratesticular androgens and estradiol do not seem to have a quantitative influence on these androphilic proteins either.
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A new case of short rib-polydactyly with multiple visceral malformations is reported. Authors wish to draw attention to existence of intermediate forms between Majewski type and Saldino-Noonan type.