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Biomedical subjects

P Grassi

Publications and source records attributed to P Grassi.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

Magnetic properties of human hippocampal tissue--evaluation of artefact and contamination sources.

To investigate the possibility that postmortem chemical alteration or contamination is responsible for recent results indicating the presence of magnetite in human brain tissue and to determine whether magnetite is present in living brain tissue, we examined tissue samples resected from six patients during amygdalohippocampectomy operations. The tissue samples were sealed in sterilized vials in the operating theater and placed into liquid nitrogen directly after removal to prevent changes in tissue chemistry after the death of the brain cells. The low temperature magnetic properties of the tissue were measured to determine the presence of ferro- or ferrimagnetic material in the tissue. The results of these experiments indicate that magnetite is present in the tissue. In addition, results of experiments designed to control for airborne contamination and contamination during cauterization of vessels during surgery indicate that these are not significant sources of magnetite contamination in the tissue.

Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe↗

[Obstetric complications associated with DIC. Importance of D-dimer in the diagnosis and treatment. A clinical case].

The case of a 32-year old woman with 36-week pregnancy presented at hospital because of spontaneous vaginal bleeding, anemia and mild hypotension is reported. Fetal mors in utero, abruptio placentae and diffuse intravascular coagulation were diagnosed. The patient subsequently underwent cesarean section and large retroplacental hematoma was removed and obviously fetum. The DIC was easily controlled by means of recently introduced method of determination of fibrin D-dimer.

Abruptio Placentae↗

[Comparison of 2 techniques of anesthesia induction in modern closed-circuit anesthesia].

The application of low flow anesthesia goes back already for more than 65 years when Ralph Waters introduced and applied cyclopropane with a very simple canister technique. The guide-lines for the clinical use of the closed circuit anesthesia were published in Chicago and Los Angeles by Professor Lin and Professor Lowe 15 years ago. We examined and followed these procedures on a modern anesthesia machine and easily achieved a good clinical performance. Our results were consistent with the modern anesthesia standard in closed circuit t.i.: economical benefits, environment savage of waste gases, heat production and humidification and last but not least in both techniques a quick anesthesia plane on 10-12 minutes that was consistent with theoretical considerations.

Anesthesia, Closed-Circuit↗

[The use of intravenous nifedipine for the treatment of severe hypertensive crisis. A clinical case].

Nifedipine is a calcium channel antagonist. Hypertensive crisis during anaesthesia may be elicited during the induction period or by the surgical manipulating of intrapelvic viscera. We report a case in which nifedipine given intravenously (currently an investigational dosage form) was effective in controlling a severe hypertensive crisis at dose averaging 3.4 mcg/kg/min initially and half as much for maintenance. Arterial pressure was controlled as quickly as with nitroprusside, but with no change in heart rate or cardiac output and without other untoward effects during anaesthesia.

Anesthesia↗

[Hydrothorax as a complication of subclavian vein catheterization. Pathogenetic mechanism and description of a clinical case].

We report a case of possible detouring and malfunctioning of the left subclavian catheter in the homolateral internal mammary vein or of perforation form its tip of the wall of the left innominate vein. The tip of the catheter was rigid and sharp, may be the contractions of the heart or turbulent flow impinged it against the vein wall and have enhanced the perforation. The result was a hydrothorax that allowed a severe cardiac simile tamponed syndrome. The pathophysiology was also discussed.

Cardiac Tamponade↗

[Poisoning with shoe dye. A clinical case].

The paper reports the case of a young male which was severely poisoned by anilyne shoe black. After a few hours, he was in a semicomatose state, accompanied by "very dark" arterial blood gases with oxygen tension in excess of 100 mmHg. Following the administration of intravenous methylene blue (2 mg/kg), methemoglobin was reduced to hemoglobin and the level of consciousness immediately improved.

Adolescent↗

[Hemofiltration and dialysis in a case of rhabdomyolysis].

The effect of CAVDH was evaluated in a patient with rhabdomyolysis due to extreme low temperature and also to carbon monoxide poisoning. Since renal failure im myoglobinuria has a relatively good prognosis, we recommend in this case the use of a soft technique such as continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration with dialysis.

Acute Disease↗

Integrated and free viral DNA in hamster tumors induced by BK virus.

BK virus (BKV)-induced tumors in hamsters were investigated for the presence of viral DNA by the blot-transfer hybridization technique. Several viral genomes per cell were found in tumor tissues and in their derived cell lines and clones. Most of the detected viral genomes were integrated into the cellular DNA, but some tumors also contained free viral DNA sequences. Integration patterns were different from each other, and many different integration sites were available on the cellular or on the viral DNA or on both. Typical features of integration patterns were found in ependymomas, which were the most frequent (72%) among BKV-induced tumors. Readily detectable viral DNA sequences were only found in neoplastic tissues, but traces of BKV DNA were also present in the apparently normal portion of the brain of an animal that had developed an ependymoma and in the brain (but not in the liver) of another animal 15 days after virus inoculation. A cell line and a single-cell clone derived from a tumor had hybridization patterns considerably simpler that the pattern of the original tumor, lacking several integrated viral genomes and all free viral sequences.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗

Performance of the AutoPap Primary Screening System in the detection of high-risk cases in cervicovaginal smears.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the performance of the AutoPap Primary Screening System (APSS) (TriPath Imaging, Inc., Burlington, North Carolina, U.S.A.) for the detection of high grade cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions and invasive cervical cancer. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 14,779 consecutive conventional Pap smears were processed by the APSS. All slides designated as "Review" by the device were manually screened according to the Bethesda System. The ranking scores obtained from the device were compared with the cytologic interpretations in all cases and with the final histologic diagnoses in the cases with cytologic severe abnormalities. RESULTS: The device classified 10,349 slides as Review (78%) and 2,912 (22%) as "No Further Review." In the 78% Review cases, the samples were ranked in descending order of potential abnormality, broken into quintiles. The correlation between the slide quintile ranks and the manual cytologic diagnosis indicated that 90% of abnormal smears were categorized by the device as in the first and second quintile rank, and the correlation between the rank report of the device and the histologic diagnosis showed that all cases of HSIL or invasive carcinoma were in the top two ranks. No significant abnormalities were observed in any of the smears categorized as No Further Review. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the effectiveness of APSS for the detection of Pap smears with severe abnormalities.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗

[Populational study of investigation of perinatal and infant deaths: methodology, validity of diagnosis and under-registration].

OBJECTIVE: The main objectives of the present study were to evaluate the percentage of under-registration of infant mortality in 1993 and compare it with the ones found 1982; to analyze the agreement between the official death certificates and the ones made by the referees. METHODS: The infant mortality of all children born in Pelotas, in 1993, was monitored through daily visits to hospitals, as it was done in 1982; monthly, cemeteries and public registration offices were visited to detect any deaths outside the hospitals. Besides the official death certificates, two independent referees established the underlying cause of death based on information from pediatricians, case-notes, autopsies and through a home visit to the parents of the children. RESULTS: The percentage of under-registration fell substantially from 24%, in 1982, to 5.4%, in 1993. The agreement between the official death certificates and the ones made by the referees showed satisfactory Kappas, unless for ill defined diseases such as sudden infant death, where the agreement was null. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that there was a significant fell of the under-registration for infant death in Pelotas, and the ill defined causes such as sudden infant death have been hidden by the diagnosis of pneumonia.

English Abstract↗

[Mortality from uterine cervix cancer in Rio Grande do Sul].

The mortality from cervical cancer was studied by checking the death rates in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and in its 24 microregions. Each tendency (linear regression), in the period from 1970 to 1989, was also investigated. We have also studied the relative rates of this kind of cancer, the comparison with the rate in other places and the risk factors. The data were obtained at the Office of Health in Rio Grande do Sul as well as in the Statistics and Geography Brazilian Institute and World Health Organization. The average mortality rates/100,000 women in RS (1970-1989) was 3.8, with ascending tendency. Important differences in the death rates in the 24 microregions in RS were observed and they ranged from 2.5 to 6.7. The cervical cancer was the fourth cause of death in women from RS (mortality by cancer), in 1989. Papillomaviruses and smoking were important factors in the development of cervical cancer.

Brazil↗

[Validity of computer simulation in closed circuit anesthesia].

Developing a computer program to simulate the uptake, distribution, and elimination of inhalational anesthetics allow the anesthesiologist to address specific problems, but intense skills are required to translate the involved process first into a set of mathematical equations and then into a satisfactory computer program. The first step is facilitated by solutions offered in the literature. The second step by personal computer program now currently available as Gus, this program simulates anesthetic uptake and distribution using a numerical model with 12 compartments. Transport of anesthetic agents among the compartment occurs via convection of gas and blood during discrete iteration of the simulation. As initial clinical validation of the linear 12 compartment basic model the current study examined the predictive performance in 20 patients by comparing quantitatively the predicted and the measured alveolar concentration-time profiles after achievement of end tidal concentration of isoflurane (C-alv%) injected into a heated chamber (75 degrees) and then transported in closed circuit system during mechanical ventilation. With regard to the use of isoflurane 20 patients were adequately anesthetized with only 88 ml of liquid isoflurane and that is the same in simulation achieved by computer.

Adult↗