Spinal cord injury and psychological response.

Psychological adjustment and psychopathological morbidity issues during rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury, have been documented in international literature. However, most authors are faced with methodological difficulties, and results are contradictory. In this prospective study, the first to be made in the Portuguese population, a sample of 65 patients being treated in a rehabilitation unit during the years of 1993, 1994 and 1995, was obtained. The authors study the type of psychological response, when it does occur, which personality traits point to less suffering, which coping mechanisms are used by the better adjusted patients and the differences between the scores of paraplegic and quadriplegic patients. Two assessments were made. The following assessment instruments were used: an anamnestic data questionnaire, the SCL-90-R (Derogatis, 1983), the EPI (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1984), the Coping Styles Evaluation Scale (Figueira, 1990). The second assessments were carried out with the SCL-90-R only. The findings indicate that psychopathological scores consistent with depression occurred in 60% of patients if we consider any evaluation. Sleep disturbances, suicide ideation and guilt occurred in the same proportion. In 33% of them, we found persistent depressive scores in the two assessments. The authors find a highly significant positive correlation between psychopathology and neuroticism. On the contrary, the extroversion dimensions of EPI seem to be a good prognosis predictive factor as far as the occurrence of psychopathology is concerned. No differences in the psychopathological response were found concerning the paraplegic-quadriplegic situation.

[Determination of HIV protein 24 in feces of Triatoma infestans fed with blood from AIDS patients]. / Pesquisa da proteína 24 do vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV) nas fezes de triatomíneos alimentados em pacientes com AIDS.

OBJECTIVE: To verify any possibility of the elimination of p24 in feces of Triatoma infestans, p24 being an antigen and one of the markers of HIV infection. The purpose of the study was the evaluation of any risk of contamination by laboratory staff who work with activities related to this particular insect, and also investigate any mechanism that might thus lead to the dissemination of HIV. METHOD: Triatoma infestans were fed with p24-marked blood from 23 AIDS patients. Twenty-four and 48 hours later, their feces were examined in order to verify the presence of the antigen. The search for p24 was performed by means of the immunoenzymatic technique. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: No protein 24 was detected in any of the samples. In accordance with the applied methodology, the purpose of showing that the elimination of p24 does not occur, was obtained. Were this question approached in other ways different results might reveal new information in terms of risks of HIV dissemination.

[Treatment of experimental infection by Strongyloides venezuelensis in rats, with the use of injectable ivermectin and levamisole]. / Tratamento da infecção experimental de ratos por Strongyloides venezuelensis, mediante uso da ivermectina e do levamisol injectáveis.

For the therapy of human strongyloidiasis, are necessary effective drugs to eliminate both larvae and adult worm parasitism, which may also be used by parenteral route, to obviate the particular conditions presented by many patients. A study based on the experimental infection by Strongyloides venezuelensis in rats was done, administering injectable ivermectin or levamisole. Both drugs were shown to be active, when used in single doses of 0.2 to 0.5 mg/kg of ivermectin, or 26 mg/kg for levamisole. Ivermectin was slightly more effective as far as larval stage of the infection is concerned, and the same happened for levamisole for the adult worm stage. Promising perspectives are visualized to improve the therapy of patients with serious disseminated infection by Strongyloides stercoralis.