Valoración del dolor de los pacientes ingresados en un Servicio de Oncología / Pain assessment of inpatients at an Oncology Department

El dolor es un síntoma que disminuye en gran medida la calidad de vida de los pacientes oncológicos, por lo que creímos oportuno un estudio en nuestro medio analizando dicho síntoma y el tratamiento que aplicamos para su control. Para lo cual realizamos un estudio transversal con todos los pacientes oncológicos que ingresaron en nuestro servicio a lo largo de un mes, valorando la presencia o no de dolor, así como si lo hubiera, el tipo, etiología e intensidad y el tratamiento que recibían. Encontramos que el dolor es un síntoma frecuente, en la mayoría de los casos se debe al efecto directo del tumor o sus metástasis y suele ser de características somáticas. No siempre se valora de forma adecuada, tanto en tipo como en intensidad, lo que nos puede llevar a la aplicación de un tratamiento poco apropiado o deficiente en algunas ocasiones, así mismo, sería preciso poner una mayor atención en el tratamiento de los efectos secundarios de los analgésicos para conseguir un buen control sintomático (AU)

Pain is a symptom that decreases quality of life in oncologic patients, and we thought it important to study this symptom as well as the treatment applied for its control in our setting. Thus we performed a cross-sectional study in all oncologic inpatients seen in our department over one month, in whom we analyzed the presence or absence of pain, and in the former case we assessed its etiology, type, severity, and treatment. We found that pain is a frequent symptom, most often produced by a direct effect of tumor or metastatic disease, and usually has somatic characteristics. It is not always properly assessed, and this may lead to deficient treatment. In addition, treating analgesic medication side effects is important for a good symptoms control (AU)

Osteosarcoma meníngeo sin exposición previa a radiaciones. A propósito de un caso / Meningeal osteosarcoma without previous exposition to radiation. About a case

Los osteosarcomas intracraneales primarios son lesiones verdaderamente infrecuentes. La radiación previa ha sido, descrita como un factor predisponente para el desarrollo de osteosarcomas meníngeos primarios. Presentamos el caso de un paciente diagnosticado de osteosarcoma meningeo primario sin exposición previa a radiaciones, tratado con cirugía, quimio y radioterapia, aprovechando para revisar el estado de la literatura al respecto. (AU)

Coriocarcinoma mediastínico primario con metástasis pulmonares, cerebrales y hepáticas / Primary mediastinal choriocarcinoma with lung, brain and liver metastases

Entre el 1 y el 4 por ciento de los tumores germinales (TG) pueden originarse en el mediastino, siendo esta su localización extragonadal más frecuente. De ellos, los tumores germinales mediastínicos (TGM) no seminomatosos como el coriocarcinoma son menos habituales, más agresivos y de peor pronóstico. Presentamos el caso de un paciente varón de 34 años, diagnosticado de inicio en Febrero del 2000 de un coriocarcinoma mediastínico primario con metástasis pulmonares bilaterales, hepáticas y cerebrales, aprovechando la ocasión para revisar algunas características de estos tumores, de su historia natural, diagnóstico y tratamiento (AU)

A tomato peroxidase involved in the synthesis of lignin and suberin.

The last step in the synthesis of lignin and suberin has been proposed to be catalyzed by peroxidases, although other proteins may also be involved. To determine which peroxidases are involved in the synthesis of lignin and suberin, five peroxidases from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) roots, representing the majority of the peroxidase activity in this organ, have been partially purified and characterized kinetically. The purified peroxidases with isoelectric point (pI) values of 3.6 and 9.6 showed the highest catalytic efficiency when the substrate used was syringaldazine, an analog of lignin monomer. Using a combination of transgenic expression and antibody recognition, we now show that the peroxidase pI 9.6 is probably encoded by TPX1, a tomato peroxidase gene we have previously isolated. In situ RNA hybridization revealed that TPX1 expression is restricted to cells undergoing synthesis of lignin and suberin. Salt stress has been reported to induce the synthesis of lignin and/or suberin. This stress applied to tomato caused changes in the expression pattern of TPX1 and induced the TPX1 protein. We propose that the TPX1 product is involved in the synthesis of lignin and suberin.

Improved germination under osmotic stress of tobacco plants overexpressing a cell wall peroxidase.

The cell wall is a fundamental component in the response of plants to environmental changes. To directly assess the role of the cell wall we have increased the expression and activity of a cell wall associated peroxidase (TPX2), an enzyme involved in modifying cell wall architecture. Overexpression of TPX2 had no effect on wild-type development, but greatly increased the germination rate under high salt or osmotic stress. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that transgenic seeds were able to retain more water available for germination than wild-type seeds. Thermoporometry calculations indicated that this could be due to a lower mean pore size in the walls of transgenic seeds. Therefore, the higher capacity of transgenic seeds in retaining water could result in higher germination rates in conditions where the availability of water is restricted.

Expression of a highly basic peroxidase gene in NaCl-adapted tomato cell suspensions.

A tomato peroxidase gene, TPX2, that is only weakly expressed in the roots of young tomato seedlings is highly expressed in tomato suspension cells adapted to high external NaCl concentration. The protein encoded by this gene, with an isolectric point value of approximately 9.6, is found in the culture medium of the growing cells. Our data suggest that the expression of TPX2 in the salt-adapted cells is not the result of the elicitation imposed by the in vitro culture or the presence of high NaCl concentration in the medium.

[The value of immunological assays in the diagnosis of meningeal histoplasmosis]. / Valor de las pruebas inmunológicas en el diagnóstico de la histoplasmosis meníngea.

INTRODUCTION: Between 1985 and 1995, 3,860 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with mycotic meningitis were analyzed. METHODS: Direct examination, cultures, complement fixation (CF) and immunodiffusion (ID) with Histoplasma capsulatum were carried out. RESULTS: Seventy four samples from 31 patients (three of them with AIDS) were reactive at the immunological assays. Cultures were positive in five patients. In 26 patients the clinical diagnosis together with positive CSF assays gave indirect evidence of meningeal histoplasmosis. ID and CF reactivity were 93.5% and 100% respectively. For 23 patients who had simultaneous examination of blood and CSF the double positivity was 78.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the direct isolation of Histoplasma capsulatum is a difficult one, the diagnosis of subacute or chronic meningeal histoplasmosis may be confirmed by indirect immunological assays.

Induction of a tomato peroxidase gene in vascular tissue.

Expression of a tomato peroxidase gene that is constitutively expressed only in roots was induced in stems and leaves as a result of mechanical wounding. However, wound-induction of TPX1 transcript accumulation in leaves was limited to the mid-rib. No TPX1 transcript was detected in the lamina of the leaf after wounding. Peroxidase isozyme studies indicated the presence of a unique basic isoform in stems after wounding.