Different Perspectives of Spanish Patients and Professionals on How a Dialysis Unit Should Be Designed.

Aim: The opinion of hemodialysis patients, professionals and family members is rarely considered in the design of a hemodialysis unit. Purpose: To know and compare the opinion and preferences of patients, family members and professionals regarding the design of a dialysis unit and the potential activities they believe should be carried out during the session in order to provide architects with real information for the construction of a dialysis center. Patients and Methods: Anonymous and voluntary survey in electronic format addressed to patients, relatives and professionals belonging to the 18 hemodialysis centers of the renal foundation and to ALCER and its different delegations, in relation to leisure activities to be carried out in the dialysis center and preferred design of the treatment room. The results obtained between the patient-family group and the professionals were compared. Results: We received 331 responses, of which 215 were from patients and family members (65%) and 116 (35%) from professionals. The most represented category among professionals was nursing (53%), followed by assistants (24%) and physicians (12.9%). A higher proportion of patients (66%) preferred rooms in groups of 10-12 patients as opposed to professionals who preferred open-plan rooms (p<0.001). The options that showed the most differences between patients and professionals were chatting with colleagues and intimacy (options most voted by patients/families), versus performing group activities and visibility (professionals). Conclusion: The professionals' view of patients' needs does not always coincide with the patients' perception. The inclusion of the perspective of people with kidney disease continues to be a pending issue in which we must improve both patient organizations and professionals, and the opinion of professionals and patients must be included in the design of a dialysis unit and the activities to be developed in it.

Knock-in mice harboring a Ca(2+) desensitizing mutation in cardiac troponin C develop early onset dilated cardiomyopathy.

The physiological consequences of aberrant Ca(2+) binding and exchange with cardiac myofilaments are not clearly understood. In order to examine the effect of decreasing Ca(2+) sensitivity of cTnC on cardiac function, we generated knock-in mice carrying a D73N mutation (not known to be associated with heart disease in human patients) in cTnC. The D73N mutation was engineered into the regulatory N-domain of cTnC in order to reduce Ca(2+) sensitivity of reconstituted thin filaments by increasing the rate of Ca(2+) dissociation. In addition, the D73N mutation drastically blunted the extent of Ca(2+) desensitization of reconstituted thin filaments induced by cTnI pseudo-phosphorylation. Compared to wild-type mice, heterozygous knock-in mice carrying the D73N mutation exhibited a substantially decreased Ca(2+) sensitivity of force development in skinned ventricular trabeculae. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that median survival time for knock-in mice was 12 weeks. Echocardiographic analysis revealed that knock-in mice exhibited increased left ventricular dimensions with thinner walls. Echocardiographic analysis also revealed that measures of systolic function, such as ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS), were dramatically reduced in knock-in mice. In addition, knock-in mice displayed electrophysiological abnormalities, namely prolonged QRS and QT intervals. Furthermore, ventricular myocytes isolated from knock-in mice did not respond to ß-adrenergic stimulation. Thus, knock-in mice developed pathological features similar to those observed in human patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). In conclusion, our results suggest that decreasing Ca(2+) sensitivity of the regulatory N-domain of cTnC is sufficient to trigger the development of DCM.

Reparación de lesiones venosas con peritoneo parietal / Repair of venous lesions with parietal peritoneum grafts

Objetivo. Comparar en el animal de experimentación la permeabilidad obtenida con parches de peritoneo autólogo versus el de vena autóloga y observar la epitelización del parche, tanto en el injerto peritoneal como en el venoso, así como su comportamiento clínico e histológico. Sede. Servicio de cirugía general del Hospital General de México, de la Secretaría de Salud. Diseño. Estudio prospectivo, experimental, longitudinal, con grupo control. Material. Se formaron dos grupos de 5 perros cada uno, con peso de entre 10 y 15 kg; en el grupo I se empleó parche de vena yugular externa, en el grupo II la herida fue reparada con parche de peritoneo perietal. En ambos grupos se provocó una herida intencional de la vena iliaca primitiva. Método. Los parches de vena y peritoneo se fijaron con prolene del seis ceros, como antiagregante plaquetario se empleó ácido acetilsalicílico, durante el transoperatorio se aplicó heparina y en el posoperatorio se inyectó penicilina procaínica por 10 días. La observación clínica fue entre 40 y 45 días. Al final se practicó flebografía y se sacrificó a los perros, la zona del parche se estudió por histopatología. Se emplearon la prueba exacta de Fisher y la de Kruskal. Resultados. Clínicamente no se detectaron datos anormales en ninguno de los dos grupos: en la flebografía se observó permeabilidad en el 100 por ciento de los parches venosos, en cambio, sólo dos parches peritoneales exhibieron 100 por ciento de permeabilidad, en uno 90 por ciento, en otro 60 por ciento y en uno 30 por ciento. No existió diferencia estadística en ambos grupos (p=0.083). Todos los parches venosos tuvieron endotelización, mientras en los del peritoneo no hubo ninguno (Diferencia estadística p=0.0040)