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Biomedical subjects

I Villa-Elízaga

Publications and source records attributed to I Villa-Elízaga.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

[The pediatric heart transplant. Its evolution and early postoperative complications].

BACKGROUND: Cardiac transplantation is an acceptable therapeutic alternative for cardiac diseases refractory to other forms of management in adults as well as in infants and children. METHODS: Between 1987-1992 7 children (4 girls and 3 boys) underwent cardiac transplantation: four with dilated cardiomyopathy, one with cardiac fibroma and two with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Age at transplantation ranged from 2 months to 13 years and 5 months, with a follow-up ranging from 15 months to 5 years and 9 months. Prophylaxis of acute rejection consisted of cyclosporine, azathioprine and glucocorticoids. RESULTS: Two patients presented acute rejection three weeks after cardiac transplantation, with a good response to high dose glucocorticoids. Two patients developed severe infection (sepsis by Staphylococcus aureus) with successful outcome after antibiotic treatment. One patient died in the early postoperative period and other after 4 years 11 months postransplantation because myelodysplastic syndrome. At present only one case is receiving glucocorticoids in immunoprophylaxis. The status is asymptomatic in the other 5 patients with a normal height-weight development. CONCLUSIONS: Heart transplantation provides durable therapy for congenital and myopathic heart disease in infants and children with an excellent quality of life.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Mutational activation of ras genes is absent in pediatric osteosarcoma.

Activation of ras oncogenes is found in human cancers; overall it is observed in 15% of all neoplasms. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of involvement of ras oncogenes in osteosarcoma. Tumor samples from a series of 49 pediatric patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma and treated at our institution were evaluated. Paraffin-embedded tumor samples from diagnostic biopsies, from tumor en bloc resection tissue after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and samples from metastases were examined in search of point mutations in H, K, and N-ras genes at codons 12 and 61 by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), slot-blotting, and radioactive labeled specific DNA probes. A total of 92 archival samples were studied. No point mutations activating these genes were found. These findings suggest that the activation by point mutations at codons 12 and 61 of the H, K, and N-ras genes does not play a role in the pathogenesis of human osteosarcoma. Since no point mutations in codons 12 and 61 were detected, it was not possible to establish any correlation between the ras genes and clinical or histologic findings.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Respiratory distress syndrome in copper deficiency: an experimental model developed in rats.

An experimental model has been developed to investigate the effect of copper deficiency on lung maturity in the newborn rat. Three groups of female Sprague-Dawley rats were used: the copper-deficient group was fed with a copper-free diet; the control group received a copper-adequate diet, and the pair-fed group was fed with a limited copper diet. After gestation and delivery, 35% of the newborn copper-deficient group showed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The neonatal lungs were isolated and processed for ultrastructural and biochemical study: A greater thickness of the air-blood barrier was observed in the lungs of the copper-deficient group, however, no other differences were observed in the rest of the pulmonary structures. Quantitative differences in pulmonary surfactant were not found in the three groups. The thickness of the air-blood barrier might explain the RDS observed in the copper-deficient newborns.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Ultramicroscopic aspects of the lungs in copper-deficient newborn rats].

In order to investigate the possible morphological alterations in the lungs of copper-deficient neonatal rats, three groups of 10 female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. The copper-deficient group was fed with a copper-free diet beginning at 35 days before pregnancy and throughout the gestation period. The control group received a diet adequate in copper and the pair-fed group received a diet with adequate copper content, but in limited amounts. After birth, the ultrastructural study of the neonatal lungs showed a thickening of the air-blood barrier in the copper-deficient group. No other differences were observed in the rest of the pulmonary structures.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Importance of copper in respiratory distress syndrome in newborn rats].

To investigate the effect of copper-deficiency on Respiratory Distress Syndrome in newborn rats, 30 female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. The animals were divided at random into 3 groups of 10: The copper-deficient group was fed a copper-free diet from 35 days before gestation to delivery; the control group, fed a copper adequate diet and the pair-fed group was fed a limited copper adequate diet. After birth, an important percentage of the copper-deficient newborn showed symptoms of respiratory distress syndrome, such as apnoea, tachypnoea, and subcostal retraction; however, the pulmonary surfactant in the three groups did not present quantitative significant differences.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Alterations in deoxyribonucleic acid and proteins in cerebral tissues from fetuses subject to alcohol in utero.

Critical period for intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR), and biochemical parameters for tissue growth were studied in an animal model of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in rats. Our research used 40 animals, fed Lieber and DeCarli liquid diets, distributed into 4 groups: C, or control--non-alcoholic--, ad libitum; E, or alcoholic, fed ad libitum; F, or alcoholic, pair fed to E; and P, non-alcoholic, pair fed to E and F. Fetuses of group E were exposed to ethanol during the organogenic period, while those from group F exposed only during the last stage of pregnancy. Blood alcohol levels were determined both at the end of 42 days before pregnancy, and on days 3, 7, 14 and 19 of gestation. The brain content of total DNA and proteins was measured, along with the cell size of fetal tissues. Non-parametric statistics were applied, considering the litter as unit, and 5% as the significant level. Prenatal ethanol exposure was associated with a cell size, total DNA, and cerebral protein content all significantly lower (p less than or equal to 0.05) than in non-alcoholic groups. These facts strongly suggest that the critical period for growth retardation associated with FAS may be situated at the end of pregnancy, when metabolic disturbances of the brain could also arise, while major external malformations are likely to be produced during organogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Alterations in the nuclear volume of neurones from the hypothalamic magnocellular nuclei of fetuses born to rats subject to chronic alcoholism.

Previous authors have noticed alterations of the neuroendocrine system in the offspring of chronically alcoholic animals. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats, were used fed a liquid control diet and a 5%-alcohol liquid diet (Lieber and DeCarli). They were divided into four groups: Control (C), Pair Fed (P), Embryonic alcohol (E) and Fetal alcohol (F). Results obtained in the statistical analysis were as follows: from the paraventricular nucleus: between E and F, E and P, E and C, p less than 0.001. F and C p less than 0.01. P and C p less than 0.005. Between F and P there were no significant differences. From the supraoptic nucleus: E and P, E and C p less than 0.001. F and P p less than 0.025, F and C p less than 0.01. Between E and F, P and C there were no significant differences.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Zinc concentration in amniotic fluid of zinc-deficient rats and its relation to fetal weight.

Zinc concentration in amniotic fluid and its relation to fetal weight were investigated in three groups of pregnant rats: group A received a zinc-adequate diet, and the rats of groups B and C were fed a zinc-deficient diet. Group C also received zinc supplementation in water. The daily food consumption, weight and plasma zinc levels on days 1, 10 and 20, zinc concentration in amniotic fluid, the number of implantation sites, the number of resorptions, the number of live fetuses and fetal weight were determined. Plasma zinc concentrations were significantly different at the end of gestation between group B (Zn = 167.6 +/- 26.6 micrograms/dl) and the other two groups (group A = 199 +/- 18.6 micrograms/dl; group C = 204 +/- 13.7 micrograms/dl). The number of resorptions was significantly higher in group B and the number of live fetuses was significantly lower in this same group (p less than 0.025). Fetal weight was significantly lower in group B (p less than 0.001). The zinc concentrations of the amniotic fluid were significantly lower in group B (14 +/- 4.7 micrograms/dl) as compared to group A (83 +/- 11.4 micrograms/dl) and C (82 +/- 21 micrograms/dl; p less than 0.001). There was a positive linear correlation between zinc concentrations in amniotic fluid and fetal weight, being r: 0.7379 (p less than 0.001).

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Study of HLA antigens in patients with osteosarcoma.

HLA typing was carried out in a group of twenty-four Spanish unrelated patients diagnosed with conventional high-grade osteosarcoma. All of them were typed for HLA-A and HLA-B antigens. A significant increase in the HLA-A11 (33.3 vs. 12%, chi 2 = 9.752, corrected p value = 0.016) and HLA-B7 (33.3 vs. 11.3%, chi 2 = 10.919, corrected p value = 0.011) was found in osteosarcoma patients compared with the control group. A trend towards an increased frequency in HLA-A24 and HLA-A28 antigens was also found.

Adolescent↗