Dacriocistocele bilateral congénito: reporte de un caso / Congenital bilateral dacryocystocele: case report

Introducción: el dacriocistocele es una malformación congénita rara, secundaria a la obstrucción del conducto nasolagrimal; tiene una incidencia de 0,1 % de pacientes con obstrucción congénita del conducto nasolagrimal y se encuentra bilateralmente hasta en 25 % de casos. Caso clínico: lactante femenina de dos meses con celulitis periorbitaria derecha preseptal no asociada con lesión de entrada y diagnóstico inicial de dacriocistitis derecha. Al examen físico de ingreso, en el ojo derecho se evidencia gran masa abscedada en saco lagrimal; en el ojo izquierdo, un área indurada y leve reflujo a la presión del saco lagrimal. Se realiza tomografía computarizada de órbitas con hallazgos compatibles con dacriocistocele bilateral. Discusión y conclusiones: conocer la presentación y posibles complicaciones asociadas con esta patología previene una morbilidad importante al paciente. La mayoría de los casos de dacriocistocele se pueden manejar médicamente, sin embargo, aquellos asociados con complicaciones requieren de manejo quirúrgico oportuno.

Introduction: Dacryocystocele is a rare congenital malformation secondary to na-solacrimal duct obstruction. It has an incidence of 0.1% of patients with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction, being found bilaterally in up to 25% of cases. Case Report: Two-month-old female infant with preseptal right periorbital cellulitis not associated with an entrance lesion, with an initial diagnosis of right dacryocystitis. On physical examination, a large abscessed mass in the lacrimal sac was eviden-ced in the right eye; in the left eye, there was an indurated area and slight reflux to the lacrimal sac pressure. Computed tomography of the orbits was performed with findings compatible with bilateral dacryocystocele. Discussion and conclusions: Knowing the presentation and possible complications associated with this pathology prevents significant patient morbidity. Most cases of dacryocystocele can be mana-ged medically, however, cases associated with complications require timely surgical management.

Trypanosoma cruzi XRNA granules colocalise with distinct mRNP granules at the nuclear periphery

BACKGROUND Eukaryotic ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules are important for the regulation of RNA fate. RNP granules exist in trypanosomatids; however, their roles in controlling gene expression are still not understood. XRNA is a component of granules in Trypanosoma brucei but has not been investigated in Trypanosoma cruzi. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the TcXRNA dynamic assembly and its interaction with RNP components under conditions that affect the mRNA availability. METHODS We used in vitro metacyclogenesis of T. cruzi to observe changes in RNP granules during the differentiation process. TcXRNA expression was analysed by Western blot and immunofluorescence. Colocalisation assays were performed to investigate the interaction of TcXRNA with other RNP components. FINDINGS TcXRNA is constantly present during metacyclogenesis and is localised in cytoplasmic granules. TcXRNA does not colocalise with TcDHH1 and TcCAF1 granules in the cytoplasm. However, TcXRNA granules colocalise with mRNP granules at the nuclear periphery when mRNA processing is inhibited. MAIN CONCLUSIONS TcXRNA plays a role in mRNA metabolism as a component of mRNP granules whose assembly is dependent on mRNA availability. TcXRNA granules colocalise with distinct RNP granules at the nuclear periphery, suggesting that the perinuclear region is a regulatory compartment in T. cruzi mRNA metabolism.

Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis of the petrous apex with inner ear involvement: Case report and literature review / Histiocitosis de células de langerhans del ápex petroso con compromiso del oído interno

Temporal bone involvement in Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) is the second most common site of involvement in the head and neck area, with the mastoid and squamous portion of the bone as the most frequent site where LCH manifests. Since there are not many cases reported in the literature, it is possible to state that primary manifestation of histiocytosis affecting the inner ear structures is uncommon. This article reports the case of a patient with involvement of the petrous apex of the temporal bone that was referred to the Fundación Hospital de la Misericordia, and carries out a literature review in order to discuss the manifestation, treatment and outcome of this disease.

El compromiso del hueso temporal en la histiocitosis de células de Langerhans (HLC) es el segundo en frecuencia en el área de cabeza y cuello, siendo los sitios de mayor presentación la porción mastoidea y escamosa del hueso. La presentación primaria de la histiocitosis que afecta las estructuras del oído interno es poco frecuente, pues no hay muchos casos reportados en la literatura. En este artículo, se presenta un reporte de caso de compromiso del ápex petroso del temporal en una paciente remitida a la Fundación Hospital de La Misericordia y se realiza una revisión de la literatura para socializar la presentación de la enfermedad, su tratamiento y desenlace.

Rabdomiosarcoma de oído: Experiencia en la Fundación Hospital de la Misericordia / Ear rhabdomyosarcoma: Fundacion Hospital de la Misericordia Experience

Los rabdomiosarcomas son el tercer tumor sólido extracraneal más frecuente durante la niñez y el sarcoma más frecuente durante este periodo. 1/3 de estos tumores compromete las áreas en cabeza y cuello y solo un 4% compromete el oído medio como su sitio primario. La Fundación Hospital de La Misericordia (HOMI) en un centro hospitalario de cuarto nivel comprometido con la atención integral de la población pediátrica y es un centro de remisión nacional para el manejo de patologías de alta complejidad. Se realiza una revisión de casos de rabdomiosarcoma de oído de esta institución y una revisión de la literatura de esta patología para socializar los síntomas y pronóstico de esta patología en Colombia.

The rhabdomiosarcoma is the third most frequent extracraneal solid tumor in childhood and is the most frequent sarcoma in this age group. 1/3 of these comprise the head and neck area, and only 4% are present in the middle ear as its primary site. The Fundación Hospital de La Misericordia (HOMI) is a 4th level hospital committed with the attention of pediatric population and it is a national referral center for the management of high complexity pathologies. We will make a revision of ear rhabdomiosarcoma at our institution and a review of the literature to socialize symptoms and pronostic factors in Colombia.

Sera of Chagasic patients react with antigens from the tomato parasite Phytomonas serpens

The genus Phytomonas comprises trypanosomatids that can parasitize a broad range of plant species. These fagellates can cause diseases in some plant families with a wide geographic distribution, which can result in great economic losses. We have demonstrated previously that Phytomonas serpens 15T, a tomato trypanosomatid, shares antigens with Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of human Chagas disease. Herein, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS) were used to identify proteins of P. serpens 15T that are recognized by sera from patients with Chagas disease. After 2D-electrophoresis of whole-cell lysates, 31 peptides were selected and analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry. Twenty-eight polypeptides were identifed, resulting in 22 different putative proteins. The identifed proteins were classifed into 8 groups according to biological process, most of which were clustered into a cellular metabolic process category. These results generated a collection of proteins that can provide a starting point to obtain insights into antigenic cross reactivity among trypanosomatids and to explore P. serpens antigens as candidates for vaccine and immunologic diagnosis studies.

Differential gene expression during Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclogenesis

The transformation of epimastigotes into metacyclic trypomastigotes involves changes in the pattern of expressed genes, resulting in important morphological and functional differences between these developmental forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. In order to identify and characterize genes involved in triggering the metacyclogenesis process and in conferring to metacyclic trypomastigotes their stage specific biological properties, we have developed a method allowing the isolation of genes specifically expressed when comparing two close related cell populations (representation of differential expression or RDE). The method is based on the PCR amplification of gene sequences selected by hybridizing and subtracting the populations in such a way that after some cycles of hybridization-amplification genes specific to a given population are highly enriched. The use of this method in the analysis of differential gene expression during T. cruzi metacyclogenesis (6 hr and 24 hr of differentiation and metacyclic trypomastigotes) resulted in the isolation of several clones from each time point. Northern blot analysis showed that some genes are transiently expressed (6 hr and 24 hr differentiating cells), while others are present in differentiating cells and in metacyclic trypomastigotes. Nucleotide sequencing of six clones characterized so far showed that they do not display any homology to gene sequences available in the GeneBank.