[Neuropsychological profile of Mexican paediatric patients with pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy]. / Perfil neuropsicológico de pacientes pediátricos mexicanos con epilepsia focal farmacorresistente.

INTRODUCTION: At least 20% of paediatric patients with epilepsy present resistance to multiple anti-crisis drugs in trials, which has a negative impact on their neuropsychological state, quality of life and prognosis; it is therefore necessary to document their neuropsychological profile in order to improve the clinical approach to them. AIMS: To describe the neuropsychological profile (cognitive, academic, behavioural, emotional, adaptive, sleep disturbances and quality of life) of paediatric patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy in the frontal, temporal and occipital lobes, and to compare performance between patients with frontal and temporal foci, and to assess the link between the duration of the condition, the frequency of seizures and the amount of anti-crisis drugs and the neuropsychological profile. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The neuropsychological profile of 19 paediatric patients with a diagnosis of pharmacoresistant epilepsy with a mean age of 10.89 years was evaluated. RESULTS: 57.9% of the 19 patients were men. 63.2% presented frontal focus; 26.3% presented temporal focus; and 10.5% presented occipital focus. Deficiencies in attention, comprehension, verbal memory, working memory and processing speed, in addition to adaptive difficulties were observed. When the patients with frontal and temporal focus were compared, the former were found to present greater deficits in planning, while the patients with temporal focus presented more severe symptoms of anxiety. Patients with a longer disease duration were found to present greater impairment to their intelligence quotient and adaptive behavioural skills. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacoresistant epilepsy in paediatric patients affects intelligence quotient and adaptive skills, as well as attention, memory and executive functions, and neuropsychological intervention programmes must therefore be implemented to improve these patients' quality of life.

TITLE: Perfil neuropsicológico de pacientes pediátricos mexicanos con epilepsia focal farmacorresistente.Introducción. Al menos el 20% de los pacientes pediátricos con epilepsia muestra resistencia a los ensayos de múltiples fármacos anticrisis, que impactan negativamente en su estado neuropsicológico, calidad de vida y pronóstico; por tal motivo, es necesario documentar ampliamente su perfil neuropsicológico para mejorar su abordaje clínico. Objetivos. Describir el perfil neuropsicológico (cognitivo, académico, conductual, emocional, adaptativo, alteraciones del sueño y calidad de vida) de pacientes pediátricos con epilepsia focal farmacorresistente de los lóbulos frontal, temporal y occipital, así como comparar el desempeño entre los pacientes con foco frontal y temporal, y evaluar la asociación entre la duración del padecimiento, la frecuencia de las crisis y la cantidad de fármacos anticrisis con el perfil neuropsicológico. Pacientes y métodos. Se evaluó el perfil neuropsicológico de 19 pacientes pediátricos con diagnóstico de epilepsia farmacorresistente, con una edad promedio de 10,89 años. Resultados. De los 19 pacientes, el 57,9% fueron hombres. El 63,2% presentó foco frontal; el 26,3%, temporal; y el 10,5%, occipital. Se encontraron deficiencias en atención, comprensión, memoria verbal, memoria de trabajo y velocidad de procesamiento, además de dificultades adaptativas. Al comparar a los pacientes con foco frontal y temporal, se encontró que los primeros presentaron mayores deficiencias en planificación, mientras que los pacientes con foco temporal presentaron mayores síntomas de ansiedad. Con respecto a la duración de la enfermedad, se encontró que los pacientes con mayor duración del padecimiento presentaron mayor afectación en el cociente intelectual y en las habilidades en la conducta adaptativa. Conclusiones. La epilepsia farmacorresistente en pacientes pediátricos afecta el cociente intelectual y las habilidades adaptativas, así como a la atención, la memoria y las funciones ejecutivas, por lo que es necesaria la implementación de programas de intervención neuropsicológica para mejorar la calidad de vida de estos pacientes.

Isolation and characterization of vibriophage vB_Vc_SrVc9: an effective agent in preventing Vibrio campbellii infections in brine shrimp nauplii (Artemia franciscana).

AIMS: This study describes the physicochemical and genomic characterization of phage vB_Vc_SrVc9 and its potential for phage therapy application against a pathogenic Vibrio campbellii strain. METHODS AND RESULTS: A lytic phage vB_Vc_SrVc9 against V. campbellii was isolated from shrimp farm sediment, and characterized physicochemical and genomically. The use of vB_Vc_SrVc9 phage increased the survival in brine shrimp Artemia franciscana and reduced presumptive V. campbellii to nondetectable numbers. Genomic analysis showed a genome with a single contig of 43·15 kb, with 49 predicted genes and no tRNAs, capable of recognizing and generating complete inhibition zones of three Vibrio sp. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge vB_Vc_SrVc9 is a lytic phage that could be used against Vibrio infections, reducing vibrio presence without any apparent impact over the natural microbiota at the family level in 28 libraries tested. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: vB_Vc_SrVC9 is a novel phage and ecofriendly alternative for therapeutic applications and biotechnological purposes because is stable at different environmental conditions, has the potential to eliminate several strains, and has a short latent period with a good burst size. Therefore, the use of phages, which are natural killers of bacteria, represents a promising strategy to reduce the mortality of farmed organisms caused by pathogenic bacteria.

Oxidative stress modulation induced by chitosan-glutathione nanoparticles in chondrocytes.

The use of nanometric systems to deliver biologically active substances is a successful tool in different fields. In this study, we investigated nanometric systems with antioxidant capacity to modulate events associated with the redox state in human chondrocytes. We used nanoparticles (NPs) prepared with chitosan and glutathione (GSH) and an in vitro model: primary cultures of human chondrocytes were extracted from hyaline cartilage. The cells were exposed to CdCl2 in the presence or absence of NPs. CdCl2 is a widely known oxidizing agent. Fluorescence and confocal microscopy showed the location of the NPs within the cells. The results obtained showed that the NPs did not significantly affect cell viability. We studied the antioxidant capacity of the NPs by estimating the GSH, TBARs, and Cell Rox content and the enzymatic activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx). In vitro assays showed that GSH levels, GPx activity and reactive oxygen species (Cell Rox) levels were modified with both concentrations of NPs, while lipoperoxidation (TBARs) decreased when cells exposed to CdCl2 were in contact with the NPs. All these results suggest the ability of NPs to modulate the cell redox state in a dose-dependent manner.

Hypoxia-Inducible Factors (HIFs) in the articular cartilage: a systematic review.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease, and in recent years has become a major public health problem. The hallmark of OA is cartilage destruction with local commitment of subchondral bone and the synovial membrane. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are transcriptional factors and key regulators of the cellular response to hypoxia. To date, three members of the human HIF-α protein family have been described: HIF-1α, HIF-2α, and HIF-3α. HIF-1α plays an essential role in the articular cartilage (a hypoxic tissue), as it has a protective effect in the maintenance of the articular cartilage matrix, HIF-2α has a harmful effect on the articular cartilage matrix, and HIF-3α acts as a negative regulator of HIF-1α and HIF-2α. Due to the recent growing interest in the role of HIFs in rheumatic diseases, we focused this review on the potential role of these key regulators in articular cartilage maintenance as the central axis in OA development.

Relative expression analysis of IL-5 and IL-6 genes in tropical sheep breed Pelibuey infected with Haemonchus contortus.

Haemonchus contortus is a parasitic nematode of Pelibuey sheep, a meat breed used in tropical regions. Due to anthelmintic problems, the identification of hosts resistant to H. contortus is another option of control. The aim of this study was to analyse the relative expression of IL-5 and IL-6 genes in Pelibuey sheep after H. contortus infection. Nineteen lambs infected with H. contortus and three more lambs without infection were studied. The haemonchosis was determined by the number of eggs per gram of faeces (epg) and by the estimation of the percentage of the packed cell volume (%pcv). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained to extract RNA at 0, 1, 2, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after infection to quantify the relative expression of IL-5, IL-6 and GAPDH by real-time PCR. Five lambs were classified as low responders (lr) to haemonchosis with averages of 1519 ± 315·3 epg and 31·49 ± 5·13%pcv, and 14 lambs were identified as high responders (hr) with averages of 530 ± 132 epg and 34·88 ± 3·75%pcv. The expression ratio of IL-5 was significantly different compared with control lambs at 2, 7 and 14 days post-infection (PI), and IL-6 was significantly different after 14 days. The highest level of relative expression for IL-5 and IL-6 genes was 9·9-fold and 12-fold after 2 and 14 days for hr hosts (P < 0·05) compared with control group, respectively. In conclusion, the Pelibuey breed in grazing areas exhibited different expression of IL-5 and IL-6 obtained from PBMCs against H. contortus, suggesting the importance of these cytokines in regulating the nematode infection.

Uso de ecopotenciador en lesión renal quística compleja / The use of ultrasound with potentiator media in the diagnosis of complex cystic lesions

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Exposure to fine particulate matter and acute effects on blood pressure: effect modification by measures of obesity and location.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies and controlled experiments have provided evidence that airborne particulate matter (PM) is capable of acutely increasing blood pressure (BP) in certain scenarios. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether and to what extent obesity and community location affect relationships between fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) and blood pressure (BP) measures. METHODS: Using data from a stratified random sample survey of adults conducted in 2002-3 in Detroit, Michigan, we tested body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WCIR) in separate models as effect modifiers of the relationship between PM(2.5) exposure and BP. We also tested interactions with community location. Models were adjusted for covariates with established pro-hypertensive effects. RESULTS: PM(2.5) exposure was positively associated with increased pulse pressure (PP) for those categorised as obese (BMI> or =30) across lags 2 (beta 4.16, p<0.05) and 3 days (beta 2.55, p<0.05) prior to BP measure. WCIR similarly modified the effect of exposure to PM(2.5) on PP (beta 4.34, p<0.003). The observed effects were enhanced in the community with closer proximity to local emissions of PM(2.5), and for residents classified as obese (BMI> or =30) or with WCIR above high-risk cuts points. CONCLUSIONS: This community-based study suggests that positive associations between PM(2.5) exposure and PP and systolic BP are enhanced in areas proximate to sources of PM (2.5) emissions. These patterns were observed for all residents, but were more visible and consistent among those who were obese. Research is needed to examine the mechanistic pathways by which air particles interact with obesity and location to affect BP, and inform community interventions to reduce the population burden of hypertension and related co-morbidities.

Malformacion de Chiari tipo 1. Revision de la literatura / Chiari malformations type 1. Literature review

El estudio de las manifestaciones clinicas y evaluar las diferentes modalidades de tratamiento quirurgico y sus resultados en todos los casos. Material y metodo: se realizo una revision critica y sistematica de la literatura en base a los criterios de la medicina basada en la evidencia (MBE), el metodo implico: estrategia de busqueda bibliografica, criterios de cribado y exclusion de estudios, analisis y sintesis de los resultados relevantes de los articulos seleccionados. La revision se realizo a partir de 1983 a 2003, utilizandose la base MEDLINE, en terminos de MeSH (Medical Subject Healing). Se seleccionaron 17 de 77 articulos. Resultados: de los 18 articulos revisados identificamos 7 con poblacion pediatrica, cinco del grupo C y dos del grupo D, se incluyeron un total de 108 pacientes, con siringomelia asociada en el 27.7 por ciento y el principal sintoma fue la cefalea 21.78 por ciento; de los articulos con poblacion mixta fueron 11, cinco del grupo B, tres del grupo C y 2 del grupo D, se incluyeron 614 pacientes, con siringomelia asociada en 53.74 por ciento y el principal sintoma fue la alteracion sensitiva en 47.01 por ciento. El principal procedimiento quirurgico realizado fue la craniectomia suboccipital 86.8 y 95.5 respectivamente, seguido por laminectomia 76.19 y 55.5 por ciento , y duroplastia en 62.85 y 33 por ciento. Durante la evaluacion postoperatoria con una mejoria clinica del 77 al 100 por ciento en los articulos de poblacion pediatrica y del 80 a 97.2 en los de poblacion mixta

Malformacion de Chiari tipo 1. Revision de la literatura / Chiari malformations type 1. Literature review

El estudio de las manifestaciones clinicas y evaluar las diferentes modalidades de tratamiento quirurgico y sus resultados en todos los casos. Material y metodo: se realizo una revision critica y sistematica de la literatura en base a los criterios de la medicina basada en la evidencia (MBE), el metodo implico: estrategia de busqueda bibliografica, criterios de cribado y exclusion de estudios, analisis y sintesis de los resultados relevantes de los articulos seleccionados. La revision se realizo a partir de 1983 a 2003, utilizandose la base MEDLINE, en terminos de MeSH (Medical Subject Healing). Se seleccionaron 17 de 77 articulos. Resultados: de los 18 articulos revisados identificamos 7 con poblacion pediatrica, cinco del grupo C y dos del grupo D, se incluyeron un total de 108 pacientes, con siringomelia asociada en el 27.7 por ciento y el principal sintoma fue la cefalea 21.78 por ciento; de los articulos con poblacion mixta fueron 11, cinco del grupo B, tres del grupo C y 2 del grupo D, se incluyeron 614 pacientes, con siringomelia asociada en 53.74 por ciento y el principal sintoma fue la alteracion sensitiva en 47.01 por ciento. El principal procedimiento quirurgico realizado fue la craniectomia suboccipital 86.8 y 95.5 respectivamente, seguido por laminectomia 76.19 y 55.5 por ciento , y duroplastia en 62.85 y 33 por ciento. Durante la evaluacion postoperatoria con una mejoria clinica del 77 al 100 por ciento en los articulos de poblacion pediatrica y del 80 a 97.2 en los de poblacion mixta (AU)

[Wilson disease. Report of a case of autopsy with copper tissue quantification and electronic microscopy]. / Enfermedad de Wilson. Informe de un caso de autopsia con cuantificación tisular de cobre y microscopia electrónica.

UNLABELLED: Wilson's disease is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of copper metabolism. Kinnear Wilson described the entity in 1912 and considered it to be a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system associated with asymptomatic cirrhosis. Gene linkage analysis has localized the genetic defect on chromosome 13. CLINICAL CASE: Woman of 15 years of age. She began with amenorrhea at 8 months of evolution, and acholia and hepatomegaly 1 month before her death. The viral serology panel was negative. She evolved with severe hepatic insufficiency and died. The quantitation of copper dose postmortem in hepatic tissue by atomic absorption spectrophotometry resulted in 250.57 micrograms/g. Electronic microscopy showed dense bodies in the mitochondria. Young adolescents frequently develop hepatic insufficiency as a first manifestation of Wilson's disease. Histologically, some morphology data such as the glucogenized naked nuclei, microvesticular fatty change, Mallory bodies, and hepatic regeneration, but the definitive diagnosis was decreased serum ceruloplasmin level, quantitation of copper in tissue, electron microscopy, and more recently, the molecular biology or genetic alterations.