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N Rodríguez

Publications and source records attributed to N Rodríguez.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Leishmania braziliensis causing visceral leishmaniasis in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection, identified with the aid of the polymerase chain reaction.

This study describes a male patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection, grade IV-C (oropharyngeal moniliasis and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia), associated with visceral involvement produced by Leishmania braziliensis which was identified by deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization after the polymerase chain reaction had been performed. The patient was treated with molgramostim in association with meglumine antimonate to enhance macrophage destruction of parasites.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Canine visceral leishmaniasis on Margarita Island (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela).

The frequency of American visceral leishmaniasis affecting humans on Margarita Island, Venezuela, has increased in recent years, and infected dogs appear to constitute the principal source of infection. ELISA tests with Leishmania donovani promastigotes and rK39 antigen from L. chagasi in serum from 541 dogs were positive in 33.1% and 21.6% of the samples, respectively. A second blood sample taken from 50 animals after 8-10 months revealed an increase from 24% to 40% of ELISA positivity to both antigens, suggesting high susceptibility and transmission in the canine population. Among 42 serologically positive dogs, 33% of which showed clinical signs of disease, 79% were positive in polymerase chain reactions using primers specific for the L. donovani complex. Control measures including epidemiological hypersurveillance, the humane sacrifice of infected dogs, and rapid diagnosis and treatment of human cases have been initiated.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of Leishmania braziliensis in naturally infected individual sandflies by the polymerase chain reaction.

The natural infection of sandflies by Leishmania in wild-caught specimens was studied, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-hybridization technique. The PCR was carried out using 2 oligonucleotides (primers 3J1 and 3J2) derived from a repetitive nuclear DNA sequence. The primers support the enzymatic amplification of a fragment of approximately 500 bp, present in the nuclear DNA of Leishmania braziliensis. The expected band was observed in 5 of 65 sandflies containing flagellates. After hybridization with a species-specific probe, we confirmed natural infection by L. braziliensis. The technique allowed the identification of Lutzomyia gomezi and Lu. panamensis as vectors of L. braziliensis in an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Urama, Puerto Cabello district in Venezuela. As far as we are aware, this work constitutes the first report of natural infection of Lu. panamensis with L. braziliensis in the study area. We also demonstrate that PCR-hybridization is a suitable approach to establish the Leishmania-sandfly relationship and will be useful in epidemiological studies of leishmaniasis in endemic areas.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Methods for analysis of the occurrence of abscess in patients with pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVE: Standard survival analysis methods are useful for data involving censored cases when cures do not generally occur. If the object is to study, for instance, the development of a complication in the progress of an infectious disease, some people may be cured before complications develop. In this article, we provide methods for the analysis of data when cures do occur. An example is a study of prognostic factors for pancreatic abscess in patients with pancreatitis, some of whom leave the risk set because the pancreatitis clears. DESIGN: We present methods for estimating the survival curves and comparing hazard function for two objectives: (1) the occurrence of an abscess, irrespective of whether the patients are cured or not, and (2) the occurrence of an abscess for patients who, at that stage, have not been cured. PATIENTS: We illustrate the applications of the methods using a sample of 50 patients with severe pancreatitis. RESULTS: To study the occurrence of an abscess, regardless of whether the patients are cured or not, we show that the appropriate strategy is to assign to the cured patients an infinite time to the appearance of an abscess. If the cured were considered censored at the moment the pancreatitis cleared, this would result in an overestimation of the hazard of presenting an abscess. On the other hand, if the objective is to compare the occurrence of abscess according to an exposure for patients who have not been cured, one needs to censor the cured patients at the time they are cured. CONCLUSIONS: For the analysis of survival data in the context of infectious diseases when cure is possible, it is important to use a censoring strategy that is pertinent to the specific aims of the study. Considering cures as censored at the time of cure is not always appropriate.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Autonomic dysfunction in children with traumatic brain injury].

INTRODUCTION: Autonomic dysfunction syndrome following traumatic brain injury is a situation involving adrenergic hyperactivity produced by the lack of control over the autonomous nervous system at a central level. The difficulties involved in its therapeutic management make it even more important. CASE REPORTS: We report the cases of a boy and a girl aged 6 and 12 years, respectively, who had suffered a severe traumatic brain injury with important brain damage that included diencephalic and mesencephalic compromise and areas of diffuse axonal injury. From the acute phase onwards, they presented episodes of hypertension, tachycardia, excessive sweating and spasticity in the form of attacks that initially led to a differential diagnosis between sepsis, opiate and/or benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome and epilepsy. The length of time spent in coma was very long and the attacks went on throughout the awakening phase almost until the moment they were discharged from hospital, despite trying different treatments. In our cases, orally administered baclofen and midazolam seemed to be the most effective. CONCLUSIONS: Autonomic dysfunction is difficult to manage. There are no standardised treatments and speculation continues with regard to its true promoter. We might think that the central injury is the cause of the process and that the autonomic dysfunction increases the secondary lesion and contributes to the functional worsening. If we take into account that the survival rate of the children is high despite the severity of the injuries and although the dysautonomia can be self-limiting with time, we believe that its treatment is essential if the ultimate aim is to minimise the sequelae.

Autonomic Nervous System Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Current role of chemotherapy protectors in cancer treatment.

The administration of full doses of chemotherapy according to an established schedule improves the response rate and duration of response in cancer patients. However, frequently there are delays in therapy due to dose-limiting side effects and chemotherapy could affect permanently normal tissues. This has led to the development of chemotherapy protectors and of rescue agents in the past years. We will discuss some of these new agents and their use in cancer treatment. Some of these agents include amifostine (Ethyol), dexrazoxane (Zinecard), mesna (Mesnex), leucovorin, G-CSF, GM CSF, recombinant erythropoietin and thrombopoietin. Oncologists must learn the adequate use of different strategies in reducing chemotherapy toxicity in order to improve both the quality and quantity of life of cancer patients.

Amifostine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

RT-PCR comparative study of viral load levels in the HIV positive population in Puerto Rico before and after protease inhibitor regimen implanted.

Ponce School of Medicine AIDS Research Program conducted a large scale viral load assessment of Puerto Ricans who are infected by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) during the summer of 1996 through the Roche ACCESS program before general implementation of combination therapy. Since January 1997, it has monitored those HIV-1 patients who are under treatments at most HIV-1 health care clinics, including both public and private. The present study was conducted to evaluate how the new treatment has generally impacted on the HIV-1 disease status of HIV-1 infected population in the eight Immunology Clinics. Assessment was made by consecutively monitoring the changes in HIV-1 viral load profiles of the population from January to September, 1997. A large majority of samples were delivered for viral load assessment without information of their treatment status, and only a small number of samples were identifiable either as baseline or followup. Despite the paucity of individual information, remarkable improvements of HIV-1 (+) population at large were evident. For example, in the summer of 1996 (ACCESS), population median viral load was 51,842; only 9% of the population had viral load less than 500 viral RNA copies/ml plasma and 72% had over 10,000 copies/ml. By July-September, 1997, the population median dropped to 8,679 (83%); 23% were below 500 copies/ml (+156%) and the proportion of patients who had over 10,000 copies/ml was reduced to 48% (-33%). The group of individuals who were positively identified as "follow-up" (i.e., under active treatment) had a median of 37128 copies/ml (-94%); 28% were below 500 copies/ml (+211%) and only 40% had more than 10,000 copies/ml (-44%). It is obvious that the implementation of triple combination therapy by PASET in 1997, has very markedly improve the HIV-1 disease status of HIV-1 (+) population in Puerto Rico.

HIV Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anti-fungal and cytokine producing activities of CD8 + T lymphocytes from HIV-1 infected individuals.

Lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells are capable of killing not only malignant cells but also hyphal form of Candida albicans in vitro. When peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from normal healthy donors were cultured for 72-96 hrs with 1,500 international unit (IU)/ml interleukin-2 (IL-2), marked LAK activity was induced. However, even prior to IL-2 activation, PBMC isolated from some normal subjects and those from almost all individuals who are infected by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) exhibited significant levels of anti-fungal activity. Such pre-activation ("in situ") antifungal activity of PBMC decreased during the initial 48 hrs of IL-2 activation. PBMC from HIV-1 seropositive subjects showed higher levels of "in situ" anti-fungal activity than normal PBMC did. After a decline of "in situ" activity during the initial 48 hours, LAK activity gradually increased and reached near maximal levels by day 4 and remained more or less constant until day 6. No significant difference was observed between the LAK activity of normal and HIV-1(+) PBMCs on days 4-6. In IL-2 activated normal and HIV-1(+) PBMC cultures, both CD4 and CD8 T cells produced IL-2, INF-gamma as well as TNF-alpha. Production of IL-2 by both CD4 and CD8 T cells was suppressed in HIV-1(+) PBMC cultures, but no significant suppression of INF-gamma production was noted. Meanwhile, TNF-alpha production by CD4 was very much suppressed but no significant changes in TNF-alpha production by CD8 T cells was noted in HIV-1(+) PBMC cultures.

Adult↗