Insulin eye drops for refractory corneal epithelial defects. A case series / Colirio de insulina para defectos corneales epiteliales persistentes. Una serie de casos

Objetive: To report the clinical course of a case series of patients with persistent epithelial corneal defects (PECD) treated with insulin eye drops. Method: Retrospective review of five patients -four non-diabetic and one diabetic- in treatment with insulin eye drops 1 U/mL four times a day (QID). Results: Patients developed refractory epithelial ulcers due to different etiology (three infections, one trauma and one chemical injury). After treatment with topical insulin all defects were healed in about 30-60 days. Conclusion: Insulin formulated as 1 U/mL eye drops and administered QID can be an effective and safe option for PECD. (AU)

Objetivo: Comunicar la evolución clínica de una serie de casos de pacientes con defectos corneales epiteliales persistentes (PECD) tratados con colirio de insulina. Método: Revisión retrospectiva de cinco pacientes –cuatro no diabéticos y uno diabético– en tratamiento con colirio de insulina 1 U/mL cuatro veces al día (QID). Resultados: Los pacientes desarrollaron úlceras epiteliales refractarias de diferente etiología (tres infecciones, un traumatismo y una lesión química). Tras el tratamiento con insulina tópica todos las lesiones se curaron en unos 30-60 días. Conclusión: La insulina formulada en forma de colirio de 1 U/mL y administrada QID puede ser una opción eficaz y segura para la PECD. (AU)

Preservation of protective capacity of hyperimmune anti-Stx2 bovine colostrum against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 pathogenicity after pasteurization and spray-drying processes.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is a major etiologic agent that causes bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Shiga toxin (Stx) is the main virulence factor of EHEC responsible for the progression to HUS. Although many laboratories have made efforts to develop an effective treatment for Stx-mediated HUS, a specific therapy has not been found yet. Human consumption of bovine colostrum is known to have therapeutic effects against several gastrointestinal infections because of the peptide and proteins (including antibodies) with direct antimicrobial and endotoxin-neutralizing effects contained in this fluid. We have previously demonstrated that colostrum from Stx type 2 (Stx2)-immunized pregnant cows effectively prevents Stx2 cytotoxicity and EHEC O157:H7 pathogenicity. In this study we evaluated the preservation of the protective properties of hyperimmune colostrum against Stx2 (HIC-Stx2) after pasteurization and spray-drying processes by performing in vitro and in vivo assays. Our results showed that reconstituted HIC-Stx2 colostrum after pasteurization at 60°C for 60 min and spray-dried under optimized conditions preserved specific IgG that successfully neutralized Stx2 cytotoxicity on Vero cells. Furthermore, this pasteurized/dehydrated and reconstituted HIC-Stx2 preserved the protective capacity against EHEC infection in a weaned mice model. The consumption of hyperimmune HIC-Stx2 bovine colostrum could be effective for HUS prevention in humans as well as in EHEC control in calves. However, further studies need to be done to consider its use for controlling EHEC infections.

Terapia robótica para la rehabilitación de la marcha en patología neurológica / Robotic systems for gait rehabilitation in neurological disorders

Objetivo. El objetivo del presente trabajo es proporcionar una clasificación y descripción de las características principales de los distintos sistemas robóticos utilizados para la rehabilitación funcional del miembro inferior. Estrategia de búsqueda. Se realizó una revisión sistemática en las siguientes bases de datos: BRAIN, IEEE, SCIENCE DIRECT, SPRINGER, JNER, PROQUEST y específicas del ámbito de la ingeniería. Selección de los estudios. El idioma de los artículos incluidos debía ser el inglés o el español, sin límite en los años de búsqueda en las diferentes bases de datos. Síntesis de resultados. La información suministrada por las distintas bases de datos permitió distinguir un total de 50 dispositivos robóticos diseñados hasta la actualidad. Estos dispositivos se clasificaron en varios niveles: a) robots de aplicación clínica o prototipos; y b) aquellos que poseen una estructura tipo exoesqueleto, sistemas de efector final o sistemas híbridos. Conclusiones. Existe una amplia variedad de dispositivos robóticos para la recuperación funcional del miembro inferior. Se debe mejorar el desarrollo de estos dispositivos, aproximándose cada vez más a los movimientos fisiológicos que el ser humano realiza durante la marcha, teniendo en cuenta no solo aspectos relacionados con la movilidad. Por último, es fundamental fomentar la elaboración de estudios con adecuado diseño metodológico y con elevados tamaños muestrales que puedan respaldar los efectos de esta modalidad de tratamiento (AU)

Objective. To describe and classify the main characteristics of the various robotic systems used for functional rehabilitation of the lower limb. Search strategy. A systematic review was conducted in the following databases: BRAIN, IEEE, SCIENCE DIRECT, SPRINGER, JNER, Proquest and databases specifically for the field of engineering. Selection of the articles. The articles had to be written in English or Spanish with no limit on publication year. Summary of results. The information provided by the various databases showed that a total of 50 robotic devices have been designed to date. These devices were classified into several levels: a) prototypes or robots for clinical application; b) those with an exoskeleton-type structure, end-effector systems or hybrid systems. Conclusions. There is a wide variety of robotic devices for lower limb recovery. The development of these devices should be improved so that they become closer to the physiological movements made by humans when walking, taking into account factors other than those related to mobility. It is essential to promote the development of appropriately-designed studies with large sample sizes that could support the effects of this treatment modality (AU)

[Epidemiology of pemphigus in the Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Seville, Spain, 2005-2006]. / Epidemiología del pénfigo en el Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena (2005-2006).

BACKGROUND: Pemphigus is a serious, potentially fatal chronic autoimmune bullous disease with cutaneous and mucosal manifestations. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study that included patients diagnosed with pemphigus in the dermatology department of Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Seville, Spain, in 2005 and 2006. We reviewed demographic, clinical, and therapeutic data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-three patients, the majority women, were included in the study. Clinical onset usually occurred between 30 and 60 years of age. The most common variant was pemphigus vulgaris (79 %), and the sites most frequently affected were the oral mucosa, trunk, and scalp. Oral corticosteroids were the initial treatment of choice in all patients, and azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil were given as adjuvant therapy. Complete remission was induced in 8.68 % of patients and partial remission in 91.32 %. The main complications were infections, osteopenia and osteoporosis, and cataracts.

Localized Kaposi's sarcoma in a patient with pemphigus vulgaris.

We report the case of a patient with a 13-year history of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) treated with immunosuppressive agents, prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil who had developed lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) on a sole plaque of PV that had been previously treated with intralesional injections of steroids. The lesions were surgically removed and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrated human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) DNA. There were neither recurrences nor later dissemination of KS following gradual decrease of the immunosuppressive therapy. We suggest that the treatment with intralesional steroids may have influenced the local reactivation of a latent infection of the virus, determining the appearance of this localized KS.

Pemphigus vulgaris and disseminated nocardiosis.

Infectious diseases, in particular septicaemia from Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are the most severe and frequent complications for the immunosuppressive therapy of pemphigus. Infection by Nocardia asteroides in subjects with pemphigus vulgaris is rare. We report the sixth case found of such an association; the subject died of disseminated nocardiosis while receiving steroids and immunosuppressive drugs, 4 years after being diagnosed with chronic pemphigus vulgaris.

Distribution of HLA class II alleles among Spanish patients with pemphigus vulgaris.

Twenty-six unrelated Spanish Caucasian individuals affected by pemphigus vulgaris (PV) were HLA typed and frequencies compared with those of 200 ethnically matched healthy controls. Twenty-three out of 26 patients were HLA-DR4. The frequency of HLA-DR14 was also increased (31%; controls: 4%). Of the 23 patients positive for HLA-DR4, 21 carried the DRB1*0402 allele. Therefore, the frequency of HLA-DRB1*0402 among patients was 81% (4% in controls; P=4.7x10(-27), OR=100.8). Interestingly, HLA-DR13, a frequent HLA-DR specificity in the Spanish general population (27%), was absent among the PV patients (P=0.009; Pc=0.1; OR=0.05). Taking together these data, we can conclude that, in the Spanish population, PV is preferentially and strongly associated with HLA-DRB1*0402, whereas DRB1*13 seems to confer a protective effect in our population.

M-plasty in the treatment of carcinomas located on the interglabellar region.

One of the main tasks of current cutaneous surgery is to completely eliminate the tumor while avoiding unnecessary normal tissue extirpation. This is especially important when removing facial tumors close to the external canthus, mouth angles and perialar regions. In all these areas we advise fusiform excision but with distal M-plasty in the nearest angle so as to avoid angle retraction. The same is true for mediofrontal tumors, as this often causes a drawing together of the eyebrows. We have reviewed all mediofrontal excisions carried out during the last six years. M-plasty following fusiform excision was always performed in the interglabellar area. The good results achieved allow us to recommend this technique in this location.

Lichenoid drug eruption following the Blaschko lines.

Eruptions similar to those of lichen planus (LP) are associated with systemic diseases or have been induced by many drugs. Linear lesions as a Koebner effect are frequently found in LP but isolated long, narrow, linear lesions, which may extend the whole length of the limb, are rare though rather more common in childhood. Some cases of zonal or zosteriform LP have been described in the literature. We describe a case of LP with a linear distribution following the Blaschko embryologic lines induced by nicergoline in a 65-year-old woman with a 6-month history of a pruritic eruption of erythematoviolaceous papules on the left breast, trunk and upper limb, with histological features of LP It would be the first case of linear LP associated with drugs.

[Mucopurulent cervicitis at a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases]. / Cervicitis mucopurulenta en una clínica de ETS.

In a series of 1,011 women seen in the Diagnosis Center of Sexually Transmitted Diseases of the Faculty of Medicine of Seville, we study the prevalence of cervical infections caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis and also mucopurulent cervicitis (CMP), these last diagnosed by the presence of more than 10 polymorphonuclear leukocytes x 1,000 magnification in Gram stain of secretion or endocervical mucopus. We calculate the predictive value that the diagnosis of the CMP had in detecting cervical infection by chlamydia and gonococcus. N. gonorrhoeae was isolated in 56 patients (5.5%), C. trachomatis in 83 (8.2%) and both in 15 (1.5%). In all, 154 women presented cervical infections, which correlates to a prevalence of 15.2%. CMP was diagnosed in 267 patients and, of these, 43.4% had cervical infection accused by N. gonorrhoeae and/or C. trachomatis. The diagnosis criteria of CMP used as predictors of cervical infection, had a sensibility of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.82, with a positive predictive value of 0.42.

Follow-up of vermilionectomies: evaluation of the technique.

Vermilionectomy is a straightforward technique that provides excellent results, not only in the treatment of solar cheilitis, but also as a prophylactic measure for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lower lip. Well-planned and well-executed, this operation is considered to have no postoperative complications. However, our 12-month follow-up of 52 postvermilionectomy patients revealed interesting features with regard to the contraction of the lip scar, sensitive, functional, and cosmetic disorders, and the prophylactic role of vermilionectomy on SCC of the lip.

[Nevus comedonicus]. / Nevus comedoniano.

Comedo naevus of which there are few cases in the literature are undoubtedly frequent, and pass unnoticed, as they are easily confused with furunculosis. A recent observation of a case in the Department of Medical-Surgical Dermatology and Venereology, in the Faculty of Medicine of Seville University has allowed us to review the genetic, clinical, histological and therapeutic aspects.

[Chondroid syringoma. Clinico-pathologic aspects]. / Siringoma condroide. Aspectos clínico-patológicos.

Following the observation of a case of Chondroid Syringoma which corresponded to the clinical-histological requisites of Hirsch and Helwig, we review the bibliography and insist on the possibility of reaching a clinical diagnosis predicting even the benign of malign character of the neoformation due to its location.