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Biomedical subjects

S Santana

Publications and source records attributed to S Santana.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[Anthropometric patterns in non-Caucasian full-term neonates of African, Moroccan and South American origin born in Catalonia (Spain)].

INTRODUCTION: The rise in immigration to Spain in recent decades has increased the number of non-Caucasian newborns in our environment. The aims of this study were to establish normal intrauterine development values for weight, length and head circumference in a population of non-Caucasian full-term newborns (FTN). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 2,444 healthy full-term singleton newborns (37-42 weeks' gestational age; 1,230 boys, 1,214 girls) with the following ethnic origins: black (n =1,257; 622 boys, 635 girls), Moroccan (n =520; 297 boys, 223 girls) and South-American (n =667; 356 boys, 311 girls). Mean values and standard deviations were estimated for each week of gestation for sex and race and these values were compared with those of a Spanish population of the same gestational age and sex. RESULTS: Anthropometric values in black FTN were similar to those of the Catalan population. By contrast, these values were higher in Moroccans and South-American FTN than in the native population. Statistically-significant differences were observed in all the parameters evaluated from the 38th week of gestation in full-term Moroccan newborns compared with the reference population. Statistically significant differences were observed in full-term South-American newborns from the 38th week of gestation in girls and from the 40th week in boys. The presence of sexual dimorphism in the anthropometric patterns evaluated was not constant at all the gestational ages evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: Anthropometric patterns of the Spanish Caucasian FTN population are not extrapolable to FTN of other ethnicities.

Africa↗
PubMed1999

Neuropsychological deficits in withdrawn cocaine-dependent males.

Previous research suggests that cocaine abuse may result in neuropsychological deficits. To examine this further, we compared cocaine-withdrawn patients (N = 35) to normal controls (N = 17) on tasks of attention, concentration, perceptual-motor speed, and cognitive flexibility. The withdrawn cocaine patients performed significantly worse on Arithmetic, Grooved Peg Board Dominant and Non-Dominant, and Trails B tests. These findings suggest that withdrawn cocaine-dependent patients have more neuropsychological impairment than normal controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Electroretinogram in withdrawn cocaine-dependent subjects. Relationship to cue-elicited craving.

BACKGROUND: We have previously reported that people who are cocaine-dependent have reduced blue cone b-wave electroretinogram (ERG) responses. In this preliminary study, we examined the relationship between blue cone ERG amplitudes and craving response to cocaine cues. METHOD: A new series of 14 recently withdrawn subjects who were cocaine-dependent completed a cocaine craving questionnaire at baseline, and again following exposure to laboratory cues; an ERG was also performed. RESULTS: Cocaine-dependent subjects with a blunted ERG blue cone response (< 0.5 microV) showed significantly greater increases in craving following cue-exposure than subjects without the blunted ERG blue cone response. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with a blunted ERG response may represent a subgroup more vulnerable to cocaine craving and relapse.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The impact of the economic crisis and the US embargo on health in Cuba.

OBJECTIVES: This paper examines the combined effects of a severe economic decline since 1989 and a tightening of the US embargo in 1992 on health and health care in Cuba. METHODS: Data from surveillance systems for nutrition, reportable diseases, and hospital diagnoses were reviewed. These sources were supplemented with utilization data from the national health system and interviews with health leaders. RESULTS: Changes in Cuba include declining nutritional levels, rising rates of infectious diseases and violent death, and a deteriorating public health infrastructure. But despite these threats, mortality levels for children and women remain low. Instead, much of the health impact of the economic decline of Cuba has fallen on adult men and the elderly. CONCLUSIONS: To be consistent with international humanitarian law, embargoes must not impede access to essential humanitarian goods. Yet this embargo has raised the cost of medical supplies and food Rationing, universal access to primary health services, a highly educated population, and preferential access to scarce goods for women and children help protect most Cubans from what otherwise might have been a health disaster.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Leprosy and AIDS: Report of a Fatal Case and Literature Review.

We report a severe fatal lepromatous leprosy case in an adult homosexual male 2 years after AIDS class IV was diagnosed. Multidrug therapy including thalidomide for erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) was ineffective. The patient died with multiple large skin ulcerations due to multibacillary leprosy. Leprosy in AIDS patients may present as a severe uncontrolled disease, with extensive ENL unresponsive to therapy.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Inescapable shocks accentuate fluctuations of forced swimming immobility in different phases of the rat estrous cycle.

The forced swimming test is an animal model that is sensitive to the different antidepressant treatments. On the other hand, it is also sensitive to the characteristic changes suffered by animals that have been previously exposed to different depression models. In the present study we explored the effects of inescapable shocks on the forced swimming test, during different phases of the rat estrous cycle. There was an increase of the immobility during diestrus as compared to estrus. Furthermore, inescapable shocks increased the immobility, but only during diestrus. Thus, the differences found between both phases of the estrous cycle were accentuated. Due to the fact that during diestrus there is an absence of progesterone, and that depressed women exacerbate their symptoms during the premenstrual phase, the authors suggest that the immobility registered during the forced swimming test may be useful in the study of premenstrual depression.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Clomipramine modifies fluctuations of forced swimming immobility in different phases of the rat estrous cycle.

Many symptoms that define the premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are present in depressive states. The fact that there are not adequate animal models to study the PMS may explain the lack of knowledge about its etiology. An alternative might be the use of animal models which are useful to study depression, such as the forced swimming test. Eighteen female rats were subjected to the forced swimming test once a week for six consecutive weeks. An increase of immobility was observed during diestrus as compared to estrus. On the other hand, some premenstrual symptoms have been suggested to be caused by the influence of gonadal hormones on the activity of central serotonergic systems. Thus, the effects of clomipramine were further studied. The drug reduced rat immobility during diestrus, so that the differences between the two estrous cycle phases disappeared. We conclude that the use of the forced swimming test might be a helpful model in the study of PMS.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Pheochromocytoma with ectopic secretion of ACTH].

Pheochromocytoma is a tumor displaying a considerable degree of clinical polymorphism both with respect to its location and the secretion of different types of catecholamines and its capacity to synthesize several ectopic hormones. The present work reports on a case of pheochromocytoma with secretion of ACTH that exhibited several clinical and biological peculiarities. Firstly, the clinical picture of the patient was characterized by a predominance of manifestations of adrenal hyperfunction as compared with those of the original tumor. Secondly a striking finding was an important degree of neutrophilia without band forms and a marked hypokalemia produced by the joint secretion of catecholamines and steroid hormones, as demonstrated later. Finally, the images obtained with computerized tomography were very characteristic, such that together with the above data it was possible to establish a preoperative diagnosis.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

[Child health in the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe, Brazil: description of a methodology for community diagnosis].

No reliable data are available from most Brazilian states for a number of child health indicators, such as nutritional status, breast feeding, vaccine coverage, incidence and management of infectious diseases, and coverage of antenatal and perinatal services. However a methodology has been developed for state-wide, community-based health surveys for the obtaining of such information, which was recently applied in studies of representative samples of children from the states of Ceará, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte in Northeastern Brazil. The present report describes the key aspects of this methodology and some of the main findings. These results point out to the need for promoting breast feeding, increasing vaccine coverage, improving diarrhoea management with oral rehydration therapy and investing in antenatal and perinatal care, as well as in growth monitoring. They also show that child survival activities are paradoxically concentrated on higher-income, lower risk children. Besides contributing to the planning and evaluation of health programs, community-based child health surveys provide baseline data against which future progress may be ascertained.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1991

Human immunodeficiency virus in Cuba: the public health response of a Third World country.

This article describes Cuba's effort to develop a comprehensive program for control of its human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. The program consists of multiple interventions, including blood donor screening, a ban on imported blood and blood products, widespread semicompulsory screening of defined and general populations, research and clinical trials on treatment and diagnostic methods, and health education in the press, radio, television, workplace, and schools. The most controversial of the program's measures has been the treatment of HIV antibody-positive persons (both asymptomatic and clinically ill) through what Cubans term a "sanatorial regimen," consisting of admission into an institutional setting where both preventive and curative treatment is offered, and where residents have limited contact with their families, neighborhoods, friends, and the rest of society. The Cuban HIV control program merits studying because of the comprehensiveness of the measures in a poor country; the special experience of screening large, mostly healthy populations; its potential contribution to understanding the natural history of the disease due to the early identification and follow-up of HIV antibody-positive individuals; and the cultural, political, and socioeconomic conditions that give rise to a different epidemiologic profile of the disease and to an apparent societal consensus on the controversial issue of institutional semiconfinement.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗