Green Propolis: Thirteen Constituents of Polar Extract and Total Flavonoids Evaluated During Six Years through RP-HPLC.

In order to verify the chemical qualities of polar extract of Green Propolis produced in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, was analyzed by means of RP-HPLC, the concentration of eleven flavonoids, Artepillin C and p-coumaric acid were analyzed by means of RP-HPLC. Samples were collected in the months of February, March, May, July, September, and October, during a period of six years (2008 to 2013) and the results compared with purchased standards. Artepillin C was the main constituent (80-90%) found in all samples. Lower concentrations of p-coumaric acid, chrysin and kaempferide were observed in March, and of ricin and galangin in September. Respectively, these months correspond to the end of Summer and Spring period in Brazil. The variation in concentration of the analyzed constituents always occurred in the same month, during the entire six years of evaluation period. All thirteen constituents of Green Propolis were detected throughout the study period, and the average concentration of each one was similar in relation to the respective monthly collection period of each year. Due to similarities among chemical constituents of Green Propolis with those present in B. dracuncufolia, this plant was identified as being the principal source of Green Propolis.

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest) in a Sample of Undergraduate Students.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the initial psychometric properties of the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest) in its Brazilian Portuguese version tested in adult undergraduate students. METHODS: Brazilian undergraduate medical and psychology students comprising the sample (n=184) completed the following measures: Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. These self-report instruments were administered collectively in classrooms. RESULTS: The Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.85) and concurrent validity with Beck Depression Inventory (r=0.65, p<0.001) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (r=0.52, p<0.001). Furthermore, it was able to discriminate between groups possessing depressive (Beck Depression Inventory composite score ≥12) and anxious (Beck Anxiety Inventory composite score ≥ 11) indicators from those not possessing them (p<0.001). Principal components showed the measure was unidimensional, and it explained about 29 percent of the data variance. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that all the regression coefficients are greater than or equal to 0.40 CONCLUSION: The original Brazilian version of the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire is adequate for use in the context of national undergraduate students and is able to separate different cognitive distortions. However, further studies using clinical samples are needed.

Immunomodulatory properties of green propolis.

Propolis is a resinous material collected by honeybees from numerous plants and serves as a defense against intruders. Because of its relevant curative properties, it is now gaining popularity in health foods and in cosmetic products. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of phytochemicals has become a good strategy in bioprospection for new anti-inflammatory compounds. The biological activity of propolis derives from its high levels of phenolic acids, while flavonoids are thought to account for the activity of propolis extracts. The comprehension of the relationship between propolis and the immune system has progressed in the last years, recent articles have provided important contributions to this investigation field. Studies have shown that propolis suppressed the "IL-6-induced phosphorylation of signal transducer and STAT3", an essential cytokine-activated transcription factor in Th17 development. Therefore, action mechanisms of "propolis on Th17 differentiation could be instrumental in controlling disturbed cytokine networks in inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and infections." The use of propolis has been proposed in some patents as: WO201363714; CN102885854, WO2013142936, US20130266521, and US20130129808, which are related to the treatment of dental diseases; adjuvant in anti-cancer treatment; in cosmetic products; as an anti-inflammatory agent and natural antibiotic. Although there are many publications regarding the propolis efficacy, its applicability to human health and mechanisms of action are not completely understood, creating opportunities for new studies.

pSnakes: a new radial active contour model and its application in the segmentation of the left ventricle from echocardiographic images.

Active contours are image segmentation methods that minimize the total energy of the contour to be segmented. Among the active contour methods, the radial methods have lower computational complexity and can be applied in real time. This work aims to present a new radial active contour technique, called pSnakes, using the 1D Hilbert transform as external energy. The pSnakes method is based on the fact that the beams in ultrasound equipment diverge from a single point of the probe, thus enabling the use of polar coordinates in the segmentation. The control points or nodes of the active contour are obtained in pairs and are called twin nodes. The internal energies as well as the external one, Hilbertian energy, are redefined. The results showed that pSnakes can be used in image segmentation of short-axis echocardiogram images and that they were effective in image segmentation of the left ventricle. The echo-cardiologist's golden standard showed that the pSnakes was the best method when compared with other methods. The main contributions of this work are the use of pSnakes and Hilbertian energy, as the external energy, in image segmentation. The Hilbertian energy is calculated by the 1D Hilbert transform. Compared with traditional methods, the pSnakes method is more suitable for ultrasound images because it is not affected by variations in image contrast, such as noise. The experimental results obtained by the left ventricle segmentation of echocardiographic images demonstrated the advantages of the proposed model. The results presented in this paper are justified due to an improved performance of the Hilbert energy in the presence of speckle noise.

Long-term chorioretinal changes after photodynamic therapy for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate morphological and functional chorioretinal changes 5 years after standard photodynamic therapy (PDT) for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). METHODS: A retrospective, nonrandomized study, including patients with chronic CSC treated with standard PDT and followed for at least 60 months. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmological examination, and the location and number of treatments were registered. Five or more years after treatment, subfoveal and non-subfoveal treated areas were evaluated with Spectralis optical coherence tomography and microperimetry. RESULTS: Seventeen eyes of 15 patients were included, with mean age of 48.3 ± 8.4 years and a mean follow-up of 80.6 ± 12.4 months (range from 62 to 104 months). All eyes had neurosensory detachment (NSD) at baseline. Treatment was performed under the fovea in 58.8 % and in a non-foveal area in 41.2 % of the eyes. At the final visit all eyes had resolution of the NSD, with a statistical significant reduction in central macular thickness (p = 0.005) and preserved neuroretinal thickness (p = 0.839). There was a statistical difference between initial and final BCVA (p < 0.001) and a mean gain of 8.4 ± 7.8 letters. Subfoveal morphological changes in external limiting membrane (ELM) and in photoreceptor inner and outer segment junction (IS/OS) were correlated with final BCVA (p = 0.015 and p = 0.014 respectively), but not with the variation of BCVA. There was a statistical correlation between morphological changes in IS/OS line and retinal sensitivity in the central 12° and 2° (p = 0.003 and p = 0.002 respectively). The morphological changes in the subfoveal layers were not dependent on treatment location (p = 0.154, p = 0.644, and p = 1.0 for ELM, IS/OS line, and retinal pigment epithelium respectively). Subfoveal final mean choroidal thickness was 295.1 ± 68.7 µm, and showed no statistical difference from the normal population (p = 0.633). CONCLUSIONS: Morphological and functional chorioretinal changes, observed 5 or more years after standard PDT for chronic CSC, were not correlated with the location of treatment, neither with the progression of visual acuity or with the location of treatment, and are more likely to be related to the disease itself than with the treatment provided.

Independent patterns of damage to retinocortical pathways in multiple sclerosis without a previous episode of optic neuritis.

Asymptomatic visual loss is a feature of multiple sclerosis (MS) but its relative impact on distinct retinocortical pathways is still unclear. The goal of this work was to investigate patterns of subclinical visual impairment in patients with MS with and without clinically associated previous optic neuritis (ON). We have used functional methods that assess parvo-, konio- and magnocellular pathways in order to compare pathophysiological mechanisms of damage in a population of 44 subjects with MS (87 eyes), with and without a previous episode of ON. These methods included chromatic contrast sensitivity across multiple chromatic axes (Cambridge Colour Test-parvo/konio pathways), perimetric achromatic contrast sensitivity for the magno pathway [frequency doubling technique (FDT)] and pattern visual evoked potentials (VEP). These measures were correlated with field sensitivity measures obtained using conventional automated static perimetry (ASP) and were also compared with conventional clinical chromatic/achromatic contrast sensitivity chart-based measures. We have found evidence for uncorrelated damage of all retinocortical pathways only in patients with MS without ON. VEP evidence for axonal damage was found in this group supporting the emerging notion of axonal damage even in sub-clinical stages of ON/MS pathophysiology. Only in this group was significant correlation of functional measures with disease stage observed, suggesting that distinct pathophysiological milestones are present before and after ON has occurred.

Photodynamic therapy with verteporfin in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: results after 3 years of follow-up.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of verteporfin photodynamic therapy on the treatment of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. METHODS: A prospective, nonrandomized institutional study was conducted involving 42 eyes of 38 patients with newly diagnosed symptomatic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy treated exclusively with photodynamic therapy. Twenty-seven eyes completed 3 years of follow-up. Subjects were observed every 3 months with evaluation of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), retinography, and fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography. Treatment was given whenever the patient exhibited subfoveal exudation on fluorescein angiography. RESULTS: Mean BCVA was 0.91 +/- 0.33 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution on the initial visit and 0.93 +/- 0.39 on the 36-month visit. Patients were submitted to an average of 3.19 treatment sessions. On the final evaluation at 36 months, 14.8% of the treated eyes improved their BCVA by at least 0.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution, 74.1% had no significant loss of BCVA, and 25.9% lost >or=0.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution. Recurrences were frequent (59.3% of the eyes at 3 years of follow-up), responded well to retreatment, and were not associated with additional BCVA loss. CONCLUSION: Photodynamic therapy remains a good option for management of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. After 3 years, approximately three fourths of the treated eyes had no significant loss of vision, and 14.8% showed significant improvement in visual acuity.

Línea de sutura de anastómosis intestinales: efecto de la presión ejercida por el volumen intraluminal durante el tránsito intestinal normal: resultados preliminares: biomodelos / Intestinal anastomoses suture line: effects of pressure exerted by the intraluminal volume during the normal bowel transit: preliminary results: bionodels

Demostrar que la ingesta precoz de líquidos por vía oral no produce aumento de la opresión intraluminal sobre la línea de sutura en las anastomosis intestinales y por lo tanto no es causa de dehiscencia de la misma, aunado que este hecho produce una estancia hospitalaría menor del paciente. Un estudio prospectivo con 21 cerdos a quienes se les practicará resección y anastomosis T-T, sometidos a una presión intraluminal de líquidos VIT y VID, con un protocolo de seis cirugías en 18 días y estudio de la anastomosis resecada en microscopia óptica y electrónica. Unidad de Investigación Quirúrgica de la Escuela de Medicina José María Vargas, Facultad de Medicina UCV. La ingesta precoz de alimentos y líquidos no es causa de dehiscencia en anastomosis intestinales con tránsito intestinal normal. Los resultados preliminares de este estudio apuntan a que la ingesta precoz de líquidos no es causa de dehiscencia en anastomosis intestinales.

Demostrate that early fluid intake vía oral produces no increase of pressure intraluminal on the suture line in the intestinal anastomoses, and therefore is not cause of dehiscence of the same, combining this fact produces a smaller hospital stay of the patient. A prospective study with 21 pigs to who they shall resection and under pressure T-T, anastomoses VIT and VID, liquids with a protocol of six surgeries in 18 days intraluminal and study the resected anastomoses in optical microscopy and electronics. Research Surgical Unit of the Escuela de Medicina José María Vargas, Facultad de Medicina UCV: Early lood and fluid intake is nor cause of intestinal anastomoses dehiscence with normal intestinal transit. The preliminary results of this study suggest that early fluid intake is not cause of dehiscence in intestinal anastomoses.

Shunt vascular temporal en pacientes gravemente lesionados: servicio cirugía I Hospital Vargas de Caracas / Temporary vascular shunt in severely injured patients: surgery service I Vargas de Caracas Hospital

Presentar la experiencia en el uso de shunts temporales arteriales en pacientes gravemente lesionados con lesiones vasculares en el Servicio de Cirugía I, Hospital Vargas de Caracas y revición de la literatura. Estudio descriptivo de 2 pacientes, politraumatizados, severamente lesionados, donde el manejo de las lesiones vasculares periféricas se hizo a través de shunt temporales, específicamente en arterias axilar y femoral. Los shunt fueron herramientas invaluables en la cirugía abreviasa de estas enfermos, manteniendo la perfusión distal de los miembros, con reintervención para cirugía definitiva entre las 48 y 72 horas por parte del Servicio de Cirugía Cardiovascular. Todo cirujano debe tener conocimientos en procedimientos vasculares básicos. En casos seleccionados, en el contexto de pacientes severamente lesionados, los shunt temporales son herramientas útiles que permiten la conservación de los miembros y salvar la vida del paciente durante la realización de una cirugía abreviada.

Identificación de recidiva de cáncer colorrectal: con tomografía de emisión de positrones: a propósito de 2 casos / Identification colorectal cancer recidivate with emission positron tomography: study of two cases

La principal indicación actual del CT-PET en el cáncer colorrectal es el estadiaje, reestadiaje y la detección de recurrencias. El valor del FDG-PET en la detección de la recurrencia está bien establecido, con meta análisis recientes que demuestran su alta sensibilidad para del CT-PET en la evaluación del carcinoma colorrectal, aunque su utilización se discute por su alto costo. Estudio descriptivo de 2 casos clínicos del Servicio de Cirugía I Hospital Vargas de Caracas revisión de la literatura de pacientes con diagnóstico previo de cáncer colorrectal, con niveles elevados de marcadores tumorales y estudios imaginológicos y de extensión negativos, donde la realización de CT-PET permitió la constatación y localización de enfermedad. A diferencia de la tomografía computarizada y la resonancia magnética, que sólo muestra los detalles anatómicos, el CT-PET muestra los fenómenos químicos y fisiológicos celulares cuya utilidad en oncología se basa en la observación hecha hace 75 años de que las células malignas tienen más altas tasas de glicólisis anaeróbica, que el tejido sano. Entre las ventajas del CTPET resaltan su alta precisión para detectar las lesiones subclínicas, diferenciar fibrosis, inflamación y células neoplásicas y complementar el seguimiento de los pacientes con alto riesgo de recidiva o en el caso de estudios de extensión negativos y niveles séricos de marcadores tumorales elevados. A pesar de su elevado costo, el CT-PET es una herramienta versátil y de gran utilidad para la detección de recidivas de cáncer colorrectal.

Colgajo microquirúrgico de cavidad oral: en un paciente anciano / Micro surgery flap of the oral cavity in older patient

Presentar informe de una patología quirúrgica infrecuente, y descripción de caso clínico visto en el Servicio de Cirugía Uno del Hospital Vargas de Caracas, Venezuela. Se describe el caso de un paciente masculino de 80 años a quien se le diagnosticó un carcinoma de células escamosas de lengua clasificado como T2N1M0 el cual no infiltraba la mand¡bula. Se le realizó glosectomía de lengua móvil por técnica de "pull-through", asociada a disección cervical radical derecha, y sección cervical de los niveles I al III izquierda. El defecto que se creó fue de 8 cm a 6 cm, para cubrir este defecto se utilizó un colgajo microquirúrgico de radial izquierdo. El colgajo microquirúrgico es un método de reconstrucción ideal en pacientes ancianos ya que a pesar de que técnicamente es considerado más complicado, produce menos morbilidad al paciente, está demostrado que da mejores resultados.

Chorioretinal anastomosis and photodynamic therapy: a two-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the two-year efficacy of photodynamic therapy with Visudyne (PDT) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) eyes with chorioretinal anastomosis (CRA). METHODS: A non-randomized, institutional, prospective study, of 28 consecutive eyes of 23 patients, with CRA, treated with PDT. Masked best corrected visual acuity (VA) and angiographic features at baseline and during the period of two years were evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty eight eyes completed one year and 19 eyes completed two years of follow-up. The number of treatments was 3 in the first year, and 0.8 in the second year. A VA loss < 3 lines occurred in 53% of the eyes, at two years. Treated eyes lost 0.5 lines in the first year and 2.4 lines in the second (p < 0.01). Recurrence with additional significant VA loss occurred in four eyes (21%) during the second year. Fourteen eyes (74%) showed no fluorescein leakage at two years. CONCLUSION: AMD eyes with chorioretinal anastomosis can benefit from PDT with Verteporfin at two years. However, during the second year significant additional VA loss occurs mainly due to recurrence. New modalities of treatment are necessary to achieve VA improvement in CRA eyes.

Traumatismo cervical penetrante en cirugía general / Penetrating neck trauma in general surgery

Evaluar la experiencia en el manejo del traumatismo cervical penetrante en los pacientes que ingresaron en nuestro servicio. Estudio retrospectivo y descriptivo de 22 pacientes que ingresaron al Servicio de Cirugía Uno del Hospital Vargas de Caracas por traumatismo cervical penetrante entre enero del 2004 y marzo de 2005. Servicio de Cirugía Uno del Hospital Vargas de Caracas, Venezuela. Se estudiaron las historias de 22 pacientes con traumatismo cervical penetrante. El 95 por ciento pertenecía al genero masculino, el grupo etario más afectado fue el de veinte a veintinueve años (55 por ciento). El macanismo de producción de la lesión fue de 64 por ciento arma blanca y en 36 por ciento por arma de fuego. La zona II del cuello fue la más afectada (82 por ciento). Todos los pacientes ingresaron hemodinámicamente estables y se les sometió a cervicotomía exploradora, de las cuales 82 por ciento fue terapéutica. Las lesiones más frecuentes fueron vasculares (38 por ciento), practicándose ligadura selectiva del vaso comprometido en todos los casos; en segundo lugar se afectó el sistema muscular (33 por ciento), seguidas por lesiones del sistema disgetivo, respiratorio y endocrino, (24 por ciento en conjunto); y lesiones neurológivas (4,54 por ciento). Se presentaron complicaciones en 25 por ciento. Los traumatismos cervicales penetrantes representan un gran reto para el cirujano debido a la multiplicidad de lesiones que se pueden presentar como consecuencia de las estructuras vitales que se encuentran a ese nivel

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and photodynamic therapy with verteporfin.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated, in a nonrandomised, institutional, prospective study, the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) eyes with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and subfoveal exudation. METHODS: A prospective clinical and angiographic study was done in 40 consecutive eyes with PCV treated with PDT using masked best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and fluorescein and indocyanine green angiographic features at baseline and over 2 years. RESULTS: Twenty-one eyes completed 1-year follow-up and showed, after a mean 2.9 PDT sessions, VA improvement in 12 eyes, no change in five eyes, and VA decrease in four eyes. Leakage was absent at the retinal and choroidal level in 14 eyes at 1 year. Recurrence occurred in one eye during the first year. Six eyes completed 2 years of follow-up and showed, after a mean 4 PDT sessions, VA improvement in five eyes and VA decrease in one eye. Leakage was absent at the retinal and choroidal level in five eyes. Recurrence occurred in four of these six eyes during the second year of follow-up. No serious adverse events were observed during the 2 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: PDT with verteporfin was shown to be safe and effective for treating AMD eyes with PCV with subfoveal involvement. VA improvement and absence of leakage were achieved, respectively, in 57.1% and 66.6% of the eyes at 1 year. Recurrences were more frequent during the second year of follow-up.

Resecciones segmentarias de colon ascendente con anastomosis término-lateral / Segmental resections of the colon with term lateral anastomosis

Demostrar la experiencia de las resecciones segmentarias de colon derecho con anastomosis término-lateral en 20 pacientes y la irrigación del colon derecho. Un estudio prospectivo con 20 pacientes, quienes presentaban lesiones penetrantes de colon ascendente, desde la base del ciego hasta 15 centimetros en su límite distal, que abarca el período diciembre 1990 a dieiembre de 2001. Servicio de Cirugía I del Hospital "Dr. José María Vargas" de Caracas. Las resecciones segmentarias de colon ascendente con anastomosis término-lateral son de evolución satisfactoria, en 20 pacientes no hubo dehiscencia de la anastomosis, se presentó un 25 por ciento de complicaciones (infección del sitio quirúrgico incisional superficial), no hubo mortalidad ni reintervenciones. La irrigación del colon derecho es lo suficientemente capaz de mantener en buen estado una anastomosis íleo-cólica ascendente.

[Behavioral characteristics of the only child vs first-born and children with siblings]. / Características de comportamento do filho único vs filho primogênito e não primogênito.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of being an only child on characteristics of parental and peer relationships, school achievement, social and sexual behavior. METHODS: In the total, 360 adolescents identified at third year of high school were sampled from a private school from Porto Alegre in 2000 and 2001. Fifteen to nineteen years old male and female were selected in a cross-sectional study. Assessment of demographic data, education of the parents, birth order (only child, first born and non-first born children), cigarette smoking, alcoholic beverages consumption, illicit drug use, school achievement, social and sexual behavior were gathered with a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire, anonymously fulfilled at the classroom. RESULTS: This study encompassed 8% of only children, 35% first-born, and 57% non-first born adolescents of a socioeconomic homogeneous sample. Social behavior, parents and peer relationships, sports participation, smoking and illicit drug were not associated with birth order. Only children were less likely to report an episode of alcohol intoxication (39%) than first-born (68.9%; p=0.03) and adolescents with siblings (72.3%; p<0.001). Only children had high school achievement than adolescents with siblings (p=0.03). Sexual behavior distinguished only children due to younger age at first sexual intercourse and lower rate of heterosexual self-identification, which persisted even after adjustment for confounding variables in comparison with non first-born adolescents (p=0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the status of being only child is not associated with a poor outcome in several areas of the development. The impact of the presence of siblings in the development of sexual identification should be further explored.

Stabilization of visual acuity with photodynamic therapy in eyes with chorioretinal anastomoses.

PURPOSE: (1) To evaluate, in a non-randomized, institutional, prospective study, the efficacy of photodynamic therapy with Visudyne (PDT) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) eyes with chorioretinal anastomoses (CRA). (2) To review, in a retrospective study and for comparison, the natural evolution of neovascular AMD eyes with CRA. METHODS: Prospective clinical and angiographic study of 17 consecutive eyes with CRA, treated with PDT. Retrospective clinical and angiographic study of the natural course of 17 consecutive patients with CRA. Masked best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and angiographic features at baseline and during the period of one year were evaluated. RESULTS: The two groups presented similar characteristics at baseline regarding age, sex, initial VA, duration of follow-up and angiographic features. PDT-treated eyes showed, at 1-year follow-up, VA stabilization or improvement in 73.3% of the eyes, no cases with very severe VA loss, and no fluorescein leakage in 46.6% of the eyes. In contrast, at 1-year follow-up the natural evolution of CRA was characterized by severe or very severe VA loss in 69% of the eyes and statistically significant mean VA loss (P=0.001) with persistence of fluorescein leakage in all cases. CONCLUSION: The natural history of AMD eyes with CRA leads to progressive and dramatic VA loss, which is associated with blindness in most of the cases. PDT with verteporfin can offer some benefit to these patients, allowing VA stabilization or improvement in more than two thirds of the cases, at one year.

Three-year follow-up study of blood-retinal barrier and retinal thickness alterations in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the 3-year alterations of the blood-retinal barrier and changes in retinal thickness occurring in the macular region in 14 eyes of 14 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. METHODS: We classified 14 eyes of 14 patients with type 2 DM and mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, as having disease levels 20 (microaneurysms only) or 35 (microaneurysm plus retinal hemorrhage[s] and/or hard exudates) of Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test grading, by using 7-field stereoscopic fundus photographs. We examined them 7 times at 6-month intervals, using fundus photography, fluorescein sodium angiography, the retinal leakage analyzer (RLA)-modified confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope, and the retinal thickness analyzer. The retinal leakage and retinal thickness maps were aligned and integrated into 1 image. Data from the group of individuals with type 2 DM were compared with those of a healthy control population (n = 14; mean age, 48 years; age range, 42-55 years) to establish reference maps for the RLA and retinal thickness analyzers. RESULTS: Areas of abnormally increased fluorescein leakage were detected in all eyes examined at baseline. The sites of increased fluorescein leakage reached values as high as 483% above normal levels, but in 20 of the total 95 examinations performed, fluorescein leakage returned to normal levels. Every eye that showed reversal to normal levels of fluorescein leakage showed stabilization or a decrease in glycosylated hemoglobin A(1c) values at the same visit. When comparing the RLA-leaking sites among the 7 examinations, they remained, in general, in the same locations, but there was a clear fluctuation in the percentage of increases. No clear correlation was observed among the location of areas of increased retinal thickness and RLA-leaking sites, the number of microaneurysms, or the glycosylated hemoglobin A(1c) values. Microaneurysms on fundus photographs showed different cumulative incidences throughout the follow-up period in the different eyes. Associations between these different abnormalities suggest specific patterns of evolution of type 2 DM-related retinal disease. CONCLUSIONS: The dominant alteration in the retina of patients with type 2 DM and mild nonproliferative retinopathy is the presence of RLA-leaking sites. This damage seems to be reversible and directly associated with variations in glycemic metabolic control. Together with the intensity and persistence of RLA-leaking sites, the rates of microaneurysm accumulation and alterations of the foveal avascular zone may characterize different genetically based phenotypes of diabetic retinopathy.

Trauma cardíaco: experiencia en el servicio de cirugía uno del Hospital Vargas de Caracas / Heart trauma: experience to the surgery services of the Caracas Hospital

El trauma cardíaco comprende una variedad de lesiones y manifestaciones con alta morbimortalidad y distintas implicaciones diagnósticas, terapéuticas y pronósticas, siendo el tratamiento definitivo la toracotomía o esternotomía con cardiorrafia. Evaluar la experiencia en trauma cardíaco del servicio de Cirugía Uno en la emergencia del Hospital Vargas de Caracas, marzo de 2002 a julio de 2003. Estudio prospectivo y descriptivo del diagnóstico, tratamiento y morbimortalidad del trauma cardíaco en la emergencia y quirófano. Ingresaron 12 pacientes con trauma cardíaco en 16 meses, predominantemente masculinos (83.33 por ciento), con edad promedio de 30.75 años. Hubo once casos de trauma penetrante (91.67 por ciento), siendo más frecuente por arma blanca en 7 casos (58,33 por ciento), seguido por arma de fuego en 3 casos (25.00 por ciento) y uno por pericardiocentesis (8.33 por ciento). Ocho pacientes presentaron taponamiento cardíaco (66.67 por ciento) que requiere toracotomía inmediata y cardiorrafia, con una mortalidad del 50 por ciento, mientras que a los asintomáticos (33.33 por ciento) se les diagnostica trauma cardíaco a través de ventana pericárdica subxifoidea (75 por ciento) o ecocradiográfia (25 por ciento), con sobrevida del 100 por ciento. Todos los pacientes con herida por arma blanca sobrevivieron, mientras que el 66.67 por ciento de aquellos con heridas por arma de fuego fallecieron en quirófano. El ventrículo izquierdo fue el más frecuentemente afectado (50 por ciento), seguido del ventrículo derecho (35.7 por ciento), aurícula izquierda (7.14 por ciento) y tabique auríventricular (7.14 por ciento). La mortalidad global fue de complicaciones postoperatorias del 50 por ciento entre los sobrevivientes

Conducta ante la colecistitis aguda / Conduct before the acute cholecystitis

Se estudio retrospectivo y prospectivo se llevó a cabo con 62 pacientes con diagnóstico de colecistitis aguda, se estudiaron las variables que influyeron en el tratmiento quirúrgico precoz; con la finalidad de comprobar que mientras menor sea el período de tiempo que haya transcurrido entre el inicio de la enfermedad y la operación, mejor evoluciona el paciente y se logran disminuir los costos globales