Estudos de casos clínicos oncológicos em caninos e felinos tratados com homeopatia injetável (2005-2007) / Clinical case studies cancer in dogs and cats treated with homeopathy injectable (2005-2007)

Este experimento clínico relata o resultado do tratamento de oito animais com tipos variados de neoplasias que foram tratados com uma combinação de medicamentos homeopáticos injetáveis, Arnica montana, Lachesis muta, thuya occidentalis, Echinacea e o Viscum album - um antineoplásico que estimula o sistema imune - e possuem efeitos citotóxicos, sendo uma alternativa ao tratamento convencional empregado nos animais domestícos. O resultado obtido no decorrer de 12 meses de acompanhamento indica que a medicação estuda auxilia na qualidade de vida demostrando ser uma possibilidade terapêutica auxiliando no controle da evolução da doença neoplásica em cães e gatos.

Estudos de casos clínicos oncológicos em caninos e felinos tratados com homeopatia injetável (2005-2007) / Clinical case studies cancer in dogs and cats treated with homeopathy injectable (2005-2007)

Este experimento clínico relata o resultado do tratamento de oito animais com tipos variados de neoplasias que foram tratados com uma combinação de medicamentos homeopáticos injetáveis, Arnica montana, Lachesis muta, thuya occidentalis, Echinacea e o Viscum album - um antineoplásico que estimula o sistema imune - e possuem efeitos citotóxicos, sendo uma alternativa ao tratamento convencional empregado nos animais domestícos. O resultado obtido no decorrer de 12 meses de acompanhamento indica que a medicação estuda auxilia na qualidade de vida demostrando ser uma possibilidade terapêutica auxiliando no controle da evolução da doença neoplásica em cães e gatos.(AU)

Comparison of two indirect techniques for local delivery of a high dose of an antimicrobial in the distal portion of forelimbs of horses.

OBJECTIVE: To compare isolated limb retrograde venous injection (ILRVI) and isolated limb infusion (ILI) for delivery of amikacin to the synovial fluid of the distal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints and to evaluate the efficacy of use of an Esmarch tourniquet in standing horses. ANIMALS: 6 healthy adult horses. PROCEDURES: Horses were randomly assigned in a crossover design. In ILRVI, the injection consisted of 1 g of amikacin diluted to a total volume of 60 mL administered during a 3-minute period. In ILI, the infusion consisted of 1 g of amikacin diluted to 40 mL administered during a 3-minute period followed by administration of boluses of diluent (82 mL total) to maintain vascular pressure. During ILI, the infusate and blood were circulated from the venous to the arterial circulation in 5-mL aliquots. Synovial fluid and serum samples were obtained to determine maximum amikacin concentrations and tourniquet leakage, respectively. RESULTS: Both techniques yielded synovial concentrations of amikacin > 10 times the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for 90% of isolates (80 microg/mL) and > 10 times the MIC breakpoint (160 microg/mL) of amikacin-susceptible bacteria reported to cause septic arthritis in horses. These values were attained for both joints for both techniques. Esmarch tourniquets prevented detectable loss of amikacin to the systemic circulation for both techniques. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Both techniques reliably achieved synovial fluid concentrations of amikacin consistent with concentration-dependent killing for bacteria commonly encountered in horses with septic arthritis. Esmarch tourniquets were effective for both delivery techniques in standing horses.

A biomechanical comparison of headless tapered variable pitch and AO cortical bone screws for fixation of a simulated slab fracture in equine third carpal bones.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the mechanical shear strengths and stiffnesses obtained from in vitro testing of a simulated complete third carpal bone (C3) frontal plane radial facet slab fracture (osteotomy) stabilized with either a 4/5 Acutrak (AT) compression screw or a 4.5-mm AO cortical bone (AO) screw inserted in lag fashion. Drilling, tapping, and screw insertion torques, forces, and times also were compared between AT and AO implants. STUDY DESIGN: In vitro biomechanical assessment of site preparation, screw insertion, and shear failure test variables of bone screw stabilized simulated C3 slab fracture in paired cadaveric equine carpi. SAMPLE POPULATION: Eight pairs of cadaveric equine C3 without orthopedic abnormalities. METHODS: Standardized simulated C3 slab fractures were repaired with either AO or AT screws (AO/C3 and AT/C3 groups, respectively). Drilling, tapping, and screw insertion torques, forces, and times were measured with a materials testing machine for each screw type. Repaired specimens were tested in axially oriented shear until failure. Paired Students t-tests were used to assess differences between site preparation, screw insertion, and shear testing variables. Significance was set at P <.05. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in bone fragment measurements of the standardized simulated C3 slab fractures created for AO or AT screws. There were no significant differences for mean and maximum drilling torques; however, the tapered AT drill had greater maximum drilling force compared with the 3.2-mm and 4.5-mm AO drill bits. Mean insertion torque and force measured from the self-tapping AT screw were not significantly different compared with the 4.5-mm AO tap. There were no significant differences in maximum screw torque among constructs. Total procedure time was significantly longer for the AT group (5.8 +/- 1.6 minutes) compared with the AO group (2.9 +/- 1.1 minutes; P =.001). AT stabilized specimens had significantly greater mean +/- SD initial shear stiffness (3.64 +/- 1.08 kN/mm) than AO specimens (1.64 +/- 0.73 kN/mm; P =.005). All other shear mechanical testing variables were not statistically different among screw types. CONCLUSION: The 4/5 Acutrak insertion technique was accurate and safe, and the AT screw effectively stabilized simulated equine C3 frontal plane slab fractures. When tested in shear, this screw type was mechanically comparable to the 4.5-mm AO screw; however, AT constructs had greater initial shear stiffness. Initial shear stiffness was likely an indirect measure of interfragmentary compression, and thus may indicate that the AT screw provides a more rigid fixation for frontal plane C3 slab fractures in horses. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Considering the comparable mechanical behavior, greater initial shear stiffness for AT screw stabilized C3 slab fracture fragments, the ability to accurately insert the screw with the aid of a guide pin, and the potential for less persistent soft tissue irritation with the headless screw design, the 4/5 tapered AT screw is an attractive alternative for repair of C3 slab fractures in horses.

Prediction of impact forces for shock-cushioning elastomer-pad design.

We measure the impact forces and deflections resulting from drop tests of a mass with a flat impact surface onto flat pads of various elastomeric materials, and show that the forces can be predicted quantitatively with no adjustable parameters by using a theory whose only inputs are the linear viscoelastic characteristics of the material, measured in small-amplitude oscillatory deformations. The theory, which models the elastomer as a nonlinear neo-Hookean material, is accurate for several elastomeric solids including polyurethanes, polynorbornene, and poly-vinyl-chlorides (PVCs), over a wide range of impact velocities, masses, temperatures and pad thicknesses. The application in mind is the rational design of shock-cushioning pads and components in footwear and in portable equipment.

Correçäo da geometria do ventrículo esquerdo com prótese semi-rígida de pericárdio bovino / Correction of the left ventricle geometry with semi rigid bovine pericardial prosthesis

Os aneurismas ventriculares sao graves complicaçoes dos infartos miocárdicos, levando a diminuiçao da funçao ventricular e elevaçao da morbi-mortalidade. A correçao cirúrgica proposta por COOLEY, em 1958, mudou a evoluçao desta complicaçao. JATENE, em 1985, contribuiu mundialmente com a Reconstruçao Geométrica do Ventrículo Esquerdo, mostrando resultados funcionais superiores e baixa mortalidade. Modificando a técnica de reconstruçao geomética, utilizamos uma prótese semi-rígida de pericárdio bovino duplo com anel de implantaçao de Dacron, do qual se projeta uma aba, também de pericárdio bovino. Apresentada com diâmetros de 19 a 27 mm, conta com um aro radiopaco para identificaçao radiológica. Abrindo-se o aneurisma, a área de transiçao entre o tecido contrátil e a zona fibrótica é delimitada. Sao passados pontos separados em U invertido de poliéster 2-0 com almofadas de Teflon em toda a circunferência de transiçao. Com medidor próprio, avalia-se o colo original a partir do qual o aneurisma se dilatou, estabelecendo-se o diâmetro adequado da prótese. Entao os pontos sao passados no anel de Dacron, reduzindo o colo do aneurisma ao diâmetro do anel, dando ao ventrículo a sua forma original, sem perda de tecido nobre. A sutura contínua da aba de pericárdio bovino, que se projeta do anel, com o tecido fibroso restante complementa a hemostasia. De 16 pacientes submetidos a técnica, ll foram estudados através da "Definiçao das 100 Cordas de Encurtamento". A média da fraçao de ejeçao (Dodge/Kennedy n = O,55 a O,81) pré-operatória foi de O,37 e de O,53 no pós-operatório, aumentando em 43 por cento a funçao ventricular, com boa evoluçao clínica pós-operatória.

Immunologic characterization and specificity of three monoclonal antibodies against the 58-kilodalton protein of Legionella pneumophila.

Three monoclonal antibodies against the Legionella pneumophila 58-kDa protein were produced. By using immunoblot analysis, the percentages of reactivity against 47 serogroups of Legionella representing 29 species were determined to be 80.9, 87.2, and 95.6 for monoclonal antibodies GB5BE8, GB5AF6, and CA4AF5, respectively. Specificities obtained from testing 63 heterologous organisms representing 22 genera and 46 species were 90.7, 92.2, and 95.3% for monoclonal antibodies GB5BE8, GB5AF6, and CA4AF5, respectively. No single heterologous strain was reactive with all three monoclonal antibodies. These monoclonal antibodies successfully identified all 10 clinical isolates of Legionella examined in a dot blot assay and should be excellent reagents for use in genuswide diagnostic immunoassays.

Recovery of infectious human immunodeficiency virus from cells treated with 1% paraformaldehyde.

Fixation and preservation of cells with 1% paraformaldehyde is a common practice in laboratories performing flow cytometric analysis of cells from persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Previous studies indicated that 1% paraformaldehyde effectively inactivates cell-free HIV. In this study, we tested the inactivation capacity of 1% paraformaldehyde on a cell line chronically infected with HIV and human peripheral blood lymphocytes acutely infected with the virus. We found a significant decrease in the infectious titer of the cells after treatment with 1% paraformaldehyde. However, we did not find total inactivation of the specimens treated for up to 18 h.

Specificity and association constants of 33 monoclonal antibodies to human IgA epitopes.

We used an immunofluorescent sequential-saturation-of-antibody assay and an interactive computer program for Scatchard analysis to determine association constants (Ka) of 33 murine monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) specific for human IgA epitopes. Ka ranged from 0.37 to 690 x 10(7) liters per mole (an approximate 1900-fold difference). Specificity was validated with a panel of 18 highly purified IgA1 and IgA2 myeloma proteins and secretory IgA using an immunofluorometric assay. Western blots of bacterial IgA protease digests were used to locate the epitopes of IgA specific Mabs in either the Fab, Fc, or hinge region. Mabs specific for unique epitopes on secretory IgA or free secretory component (FSC) were produced and evaluated.

Terapêutica antifibrinolítica nos aneurismas intracranianos: estudo comparativo / Antifibrinolytic therapy for patients wits intracranial aneurysms: a comparative study

Os autores analisam 120 pacientes portadores de aneurisma intracraniano que foram tratados no período de janeiro de 1980 a dezembro de 1987. Os pacientes foram divididos em 2 grupos. No primeiro ficaram 80 pacientes que utilizaram, no pré-operatório, o ácido epsilon-aminocapróico e no segundo grupo os 40 pacientes restantes que näo fizeram uso deste fármaco. ªo primeiro grupo registramos 17,5% de vasoespasmo, sendo que, destes, 50% evoluiu para o óbito. Já no segundo grupo, 15% apresentou vasoespasmo com uma taxa de mortalidade de 16,6%. A taxa de ressangramento foi de 10% e 17,5% respectivamente e näo houve diferença estatística na taxa de mortalidade. Com estes dados, concluimos ser preferível evitar o uso de antifibrinolítico

Mucocele do seio esfenoidal / Sphenoid sinus mucocele

Os autores apresentam 2 casos de mucocele do seio esfenoidal simulando tumor hipofisário. Esta é uma afecçäo rara e, por vezes, é dificil diferenciá-la de outras doenças desta regiäo. Discutiremos neste artigo alguns aspectos clínicos, radiológicos e terapêuticos

Serial determinations of HIV-1 titers in HIV-infected homosexual men: association of rising titers with CD4 T cell depletion and progression to AIDS.

Lymphocyte subset enumerations, antibody titers to specific proteins of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and measurement of infectious HIV titers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were performed on serial blood specimens from 15 HIV-infected homosexual men with chronic lymphadenopathy syndrome (LAS); 6 of these men have subsequently progressed to AIDS (progressors), and 9 have remained clinically stable (nonprogressors). For the earliest samples studied, no test distinguished those who would progress to AIDS from those who have not. The two groups diverged significantly about 1 year before AIDS diagnosis in the progressor group. Virus titers rose in progressors but remained relatively stable in nonprogressors. CD4 T cells and the CD4 T cell subset, 4B4, declined more rapidly in progressors than in nonprogressors. HIV antibody titers tended to decline in progressors, but the differences were significant only for antibody and to the pol-encoded proteins, p51/65, and the gag-encoded polyprotein, p55. Before the onset of clinical AIDS, progressors are distinguished from nonprogressors by markedly different rates of CD4 cell depletion and virus replication, but the elements that control these dynamics remain to be defined.

Affinity purification and characterization of Shiga-like toxin II and production of toxin-specific monoclonal antibodies.

Shiga-like toxin (SLT-II) was purified to apparent homogeneity from Escherichia coli K-12 strain NM522 containing the cloned toxin genes on recombinant plasmid pEB1. Purification was accomplished by a series of column chromatography techniques: anion-exchange, chromatofocusing, cation-exchange, and monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the pure toxin showed that SLT-II consisted of A and B subunits with apparent molecular weights of 32,000 and 10,200 +/- 800, respectively. A band of molecular weight 25,000 was also observed after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and identified as the A1 subunit by Western immunoblot analysis with toxin-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The pI of the purified toxin was 5.2. Approximately 1 pg of pure SLT-II, but was not neutralized by polyclonal antibodies or MAbs to SLT-I. Five hybridomas against SLT-II were produced (BC5 BB12, DC1 EH5, EA5 BA3, ED5 DF3, and GB6 BA4). Culture supernatant fluids containing MAbs from these hybridomas did not neutralize the cytotoxicity of SLT-I or Shiga toxin. Western blot analysis showed that two MAbs (MAb DC1 EH5 and MAb GB6 BA4) recognized the A and A1 subunits of SLT-II and three MAbs (MAb BC5 BB12, MAb EA5 BA3, and MAb ED5 DF3) recognized the B subunit of SLT-II. MAb BC5 BB12 was used to prepare an affinity column for toxin purification.

Production of monoclonal antibodies to Naegleria fowleri, agent of primary amebic meningoencephalitis.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to Naegleria fowleri, the etiologic agent of primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), have been produced and used as probes to identify N. fowleri amebae in brain sections of patients who died of that disease. These MAbs were characterized for their specificity by the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIF), dot immunobinding assay (DIBA), and enzyme-linked immunotransfer blot technique (EITB). The MAbs reacted intensely with all strains of N. fowleri tested originating from different geographic areas in the IIF and DIBA tests, but showed no reactivity with four other species of Naegleria, N. gruberi, N. jadini, N. lovaniensis, and N. australiensis, or a strain of Acanthamoeba castellanii. In the EITB assay the MAbs reacted with the antigens of N. fowleri and produced intensely staining bands at the 160-, 104-, 93-, and 66-kilodalton (kDa) regions and several minor bands at the 30- and 50-kDa regions. The MAbs also reacted with the antigens of N. lovaniensis and produced a darkly staining band at 160 kDa and a diffusely staining band at 116 kDa, indicating that these antigens were shared by the two species. The MAbs, however, showed no reactivity with N. jadini and N. gruberi in the EITB assay.

Antibody response to human immunodeficiency virus in homosexual men. Relation of antibody specificity, titer, and isotype to clinical status, severity of immunodeficiency, and disease progression.

The titers and isotypes of antibodies to specific proteins of the human immunodeficiency virus were determined by Western blot analysis of sera from 107 homosexual men. Antibody titers were generally lower in sera from patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and in sera from men whose condition subsequently progressed to AIDS than in sera from men who had not progressed to AIDS. We found no evidence of isotypic prominence or restriction of the antibody response. In multivariate analysis, lower levels of CD4 helper cells were most highly associated with progression to AIDS. Lower antibody titers to the envelope protein gp110, the core protein p24, and the reverse transcriptase enzyme p51/65 were also predictive of progression to AIDS independent of their association with CD4 cell levels. These data suggest that differences in antibody levels are not simply a consequence of severe immunodeficiency but may be markers for control of infection.

Trombose traumática da artéria carótida interna cervical / Traumatic thrombosis of the internal carotid artery

A artéria carótida interna pode ser lesada na regiäo cervical por contusöes diretas no pescoço, ou por estiramento sobre as massas laterais do atlas e axis, quando o pescoço é hiperextendido, seguindo-se rotaçäo e desvio lateral da cabeça, contralateral ao lado do trauma. O diagnóstico deve ser feito antes que ocorra trombose total, pois assim a reparaçäo cirúrgica pode ser realizada, evitando graves seqüelas neurológicas ou a morte. Nesta nossa casuística de 6 pacientes, 2 se apresentaram com hemiparesias, 1 com ataque isquêmico transitório, 2 com sinais neurológicos graves e 1 faleceu. Todos os casos foram diagnosticados por arteriografia cerebral. A cirurgia foi realizada em 3 pacientes, com sucesso em 2

Immunoassay for IgG rheumatoid factor with a murine monoclonal anti-Fd antibody.

Conventional radioimmunoassays for IgG rheumatoid factors (RF) detect the binding of IgG RF (or their F(ab')2 fragments) to solid-phase human IgG Fc fragments or rabbit IgG. Binding is detected with a radiolabeled antibody that is IgG-specific but is nonreactive with human Fc (i.e., an alpha-Fd reagent) or with rabbit IgG. Anti-Fd reagents are quite laborious to produce. We developed a murine monoclonal alpha-Fd antibody, confirmed its specificity, and compared it with conventional rabbit alpha-Fd in the IgG RF radioimmunoassay. We also adapted the assay to an enzyme-linked assay with both human Fc and rabbit IgG as antigen. We compared the four assay methods with each other and examined their relationship to certain clinical and laboratory features of rheumatoid arthritis.