Microbacterias en inmigrantes (sector III de Zaragoza: evolución de resistencia de m ycobactgerium tuberculosis y relación epidemiológica / No disponible

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Enfermedad pulmonar por M. Kansasii: Análisis de 33 casos / No disponible

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Early detection of neurophysiological abnormalities in infection by human immunodeficiency virus.

The human immunodeficiency virus causes serious, progressive and irreversible deterioration of the immunocompetence system and of the nervous system, so neurological pathology in infected patients is frequent (30-40%), affecting both the central and the peripheral nervous systems. There are different clinical and laboratory indicators of bad prognosis, considering the important neurotropism of the virus. This study attempts to evaluate which neurophysiological parameters are altered during the initial phases of infection by HIV. A total of 46 individuals were studied, 30 seronegative and 16 seropositive in stage A of the CDC-93 classification. Motor and sensory conduction studies were carried out on all of them on the upper and lower extremities, as well as visual, somatosensory and auditory evoked potentials and endogenous potentials, mainly P300. The analysis of the neurophysiological parameters evaluated in our series, showed alterations of the conduction velocity of the sural nerve, latency of N1 of the SSEP of median and posterior tibial nerves and P300 in the initial phases of the infection even in the absence of clinical symptomatology.

Serum proteolytic activities and antiproteases in human colorectal carcinoma.

Some proteolytic enzymes, trypsin, cathepsin B, cathepsin D, collagenase, elastase and their inhibitors, API and AMG, in serum of patients with colorectal carcinoma have been evaluated. Twenty patients belonged to stage B of colorectal carcinoma, twenty two patients to stage D (Astler and Coller classification) and a control group of thirty healthy volunteers were evaluated. Except in cathepsin D, patients exhibit higher enzymatic activities than healthy subjects, and both groups have all the proteolytic activities assayed in serum. Patients with disseminated disease have increased cathepsin B and collagenase levels, with a decrease of trypsin activity, showing an increment in API and AMG in sera. However, only the API values were significantly higher in patients with metastases. The coexistence of proteolytic activities in human sera together with their inhibitors is considered as well as the origin of these, tumoral and/or reactive, increments. Cathepsin B levels are raised in colorectal neoplasms and contribute to the destruction of the extracellular matrix and the proliferation of tumoral cells. There is evidence that a relation between collagenase like activity and tumor invasiveness exists. Cathepsin B and collagenase increases agree with the tumoral mass. On the other hand, trypsin decrease in metastatic carcinoma is probably related to the increment of their inhibitors, API and AMG, acute phase reactant proteins.

Respiratory cryptosporidiosis: case series and review of the literature.

Five case of intestinal cryptosporidiosis with pulmonary involvement in patients with AIDS are reported. The diagnosis was based on the recognition of acid-fast oocysts in sputum or aspirated bronchial material and stool specimens. Coughing and excess secretions were present in all cases. Four patients had other associated pulmonary pathogens: two Mycobacterium tuberculosis, one Mycobacterium fortuitum and one Cytomegalovirus + Pneumocystis carinii; all of them had a previous (three cases) or simultaneous (one case) diagnosis of intestinal cryptosporidiosis, presenting with diarrhoea and vomiting. In the fifth patient Cryptosporidium was the only pulmonary pathogen found in a bronchial aspirate, and the onset of diarrhoea was 1 month after respiratory detection. Fifty-seven cases of respiratory cryptosporidiosis have been reported since 1980. In 17 of them, no other pathogen was found. Diarrhoea was present in 77% of the patients, cough in 77%, dyspnea in 58%, expectoration in 54%, fever in 45%, thoracic pain in 33%.

Bisoprolol vs. chlorthalidone: a randomized, double-blind, comparative study in arterial hypertension.

The antihypertensive effect and tolerance of bisoprolol and chlorthalidone were evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial during 4 weeks of treatment. A total of46 patients, aged 18-65 years, were initially included; 41 patients presenting with a diastolic blood pressure between 95 and 120 mm Hg at the end of a previous placebo period completed the trial. They were randomly allocated to two groups: 22 patients were treated with bisoprolol 10 mg o.d., and 19 patients with chlorthalidone 50 mg o.d. Both treatments induced a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001). No difference in antihypertensive efficacy was found between the two treatments after 4 weeks. However, with chlorthalidone, significant changes were found with regard to serum potassium (decrease; p < 0.001) and uric acid (increase: p < 0.05) and the incidence of clinical side effects was higher in the chlorthalidone group (37%) in comparison to the patients treated with bisoprolol (13%).

[Detection of the degree of activity of ulcerative colitis. Behavior of serum alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor and alpha 2-macroglobulin]. / Detección del grado de actividad de la colitis ulcerosa. Comportamiento de alfa 1-proteinasa inhibidor y alfa 2-macroglobulina séricas.

The study of two proteins, acute phase reactants, alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor and alpha 2-macroglobulin, has demonstrated their utility in the diagnosis of the activity of ulcerative colitis. Alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor presented serum increases parallel to the degree of activity, permitting differentiation of asymptomatic, mild, moderate and severe phases of the disease. Increases in alpha 2-macroglobulin coincided with less-intense phases of the disease. The possible biological basis of this different behavior is discussed, as well as its potential inclusion among the biological tests currently used in clinical practice.

[Haptoglobin in the biological diagnosis of gastric cancer (author's transl)]. / La haptoglobina en el diagnóstico biológico del cáncer gástrico.

Serum haptoglobin has been determined in a series of 69 patients with metastatic and non-metastatic gastric cancer. In both circumstances a marked increase of haptoglobin levels in comparison to the results in the control group was observed. A significant decrease was noticed in the presence of liver metastasis. Total alpha 2-globulin levels were also high in this patients, but a significant decrease was not observed in cases with liver metastasis. There was no parallelism between the values of haptoglobin and total alpha 2-globulins. The usefulness of these results in the diagnosis and prognosis of gastric cancer is stressed. Radial immunodiffusion using immunoserum anti-haptoglobin 1-1 is the technique of choice.