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M Alarcon

Publications and source records attributed to M Alarcon.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Surveillance of bacterial pathogens associated with acute diarrhea in Lima, Peru.

OBJECTIVES: A study was conducted in Lima, Peru, from January to April 1995, to determine the bacterial pathogens associated with acute diarrhea in adults, their susceptibility to common antimicrobials, the risk factors involved in cholera transmission, and the best clinical predictors of cholera. METHODS: A random sample of adult patients with acute diarrhea was studied. Epidemiologic and clinical data and risk factors to acquire diarrheal diseases were evaluated. Identification of bacteria and susceptibility to antimicrobials were determined. RESULTS: The study included 336 patients. Vibrio cholerae O1 (52.7%), Shigella spp. (4. 8%), and Salmonella spp (2.7%) were the pathogens most commonly isolated. No resistance to antimicrobials was observed. Patients with cholera had less access to municipal water (P = 0.0018) and were less likely to have homes connected to a sewage system (P = 0. 0003) or to have indoor toilet facilities (P = 0.0001) than those without cholera. Liquid stools (odds ratio [OR] = 16.51; confidence interval [CI] = 13.71-19.02; P = 0.003), severe dehydration (OR = 2. 48; CI = 1.57-3.38; P = 0.0083), generalized cramps (OR = 4.63; CI = 3.10-6.17, P < 0.0001), and washerwoman's hands (OR = 2.45; CI = 1. 55-3.34; P = 0.017) were the best clinical predictors of cholera in this setting. CONCLUSIONS: Cholera is still prevalent in Lima, and people living in environments with low sanitary conditions are especially at risk. Clinical signs of severe dehydration and liquid stools were the best predictors of cholera.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Brain morphometry in reading-disabled twins.

OBJECTIVE: To test for brain structure differences in reading disability (RD) by means of MRI-based morphometry. BACKGROUND: Consensus is lacking on the brain structural correlates of RD. The current study reports on a wider set of structures in the largest sample yet studied, controlling for age, gender, IQ, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: A case-control study was performed that was comprised of 75 individuals with RD (mean age, 17.43+/-4.29 years) and 22 control subjects without RD (mean age, 18.69+/-3.75 years), each a single member of a twin pair. The two groups were similar in age, gender, and handedness, but differed in full-scale IQ (FSIQ), with the RD group having a lower mean FSIQ (101.8+/-9.9 versus 118.3+/-10.3). Using three group-by-structure analyses of covariance, groups were compared in terms of volume (in cubic centimeters) of major neocortical subdivisions, subcortical structures, and midsagittal areas (in square millimeters) of three subdivisions of the corpus callosum. RESULTS: Controlling for age, gender, and IQ, the authors found a significant group-by-structure interaction for the major neocortical subdivisions (p = 0.002), reflecting a different developmental pattern in the RD group, with the insula and anterior superior neocortex being smaller and the retrocallosal cortex being larger in the RD group. In contrast, they found no group main or interaction effects for the subcortical or callosal structures. The pattern of results was essentially the same in subjects without ADHD. CONCLUSIONS: Most brain structures do not differ in size in RD, but cortical development is altered subtly. This study replicates in a larger sample previous findings of insular differences in RD and demonstrates further that those differences are not attributable to comorbid ADHD.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Biochemical characterization of myocardial damage in chronic Chagas' disease.

BACKGROUND: In the early asymptomatic stages of cardiomyopathy in chronic Chagas' disease, septal endomyocardial biopsies disclose multiple evidence of evolving myocardial damage. Detection of signs of an active myocardiopathic process may allow a better understanding of the evolution of this and other related dilated cardiomyopathies and provide a means for evaluation of the result of future therapeutic schemes. HYPOTHESIS: This study was designed to explore whether cellular damage caused by Chagas' disease is reflected by changes of certain serum electrolytes, enzymes, and glycoproteins associated with myocardial metabolism, especially in the coronary sinus into which the blood just metabolized by the heart is drained. METHODS: The study included 47 patients (35 men and 12 women, average age 40 years) with positive complement fixation reaction and hemagglutination test for Chagas' disease. The study protocol included medical records, electrocardiographic (ECG) recordings, routine laboratory analysis, chest x-rays, noninvasive cardiac examinations, and cardiac catheterization. RESULTS: In this study, we determined the concentration or activity of 9 electrolytes, 5 glycoprotein fractions, and 12 enzymes related to cardiac metabolism in blood from the coronary sinus, the superior vena cava, the pulmonary and femoral arteries, and found early release of inorganic phosphorus (p < 0.01) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (p < 0.01) from the heart and increased activity of serum alkaline phosphatase and aldolase (p < 0.05). Discriminant analysis suggested that the combination of the clinical picture, electrocardiographic findings, and peripheral activity of serum aldolase might be useful for the recognition of 86% of patients with Chagas' disease without segmental myocardial damage, 80% of those with early segmental abnormalities, and all patients with advanced myocardial damage or congestive heart failure. CONCLUSION: These results would make the application of more invasive techniques, such as left cineventriculography for detection of early myocardial compromise, unnecessary.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Hyperlexia: precocious word recognition in developmentally delayed children.

Seven children who had unusually precocious word-recognition skills and otherwise had multiple significant developmental deviations were identified. Past findings are reviewed along with psychometric results and clinical observations of the seven hyperlexic children. Implications concerning the syndrome of hyperlexia and how this behavioral pattern may disrupt the acquisition of appropriate modalities of communication are discussed.

Adolescent↗