Producción científica de Cuba: una perspectiva desde la obra de dos mujeres académicas

Aimed at studying the visibility of the Cuban scientific production, the publications of both, merit and number academic members of the Biomedical Section and of the Natural and Exact Sciences Section of the Cuban Academy of Science, processed in the Scopus database, were identified. Two women, doctors Rosa María Más Ferreiro and María Guadalupe Guzmán, were not only the most productive ones, but also their works had the best impact. These findings corroborated the role played by women in the Cuban science

CSF/serum quotient graphs for the evaluation of intrathecal C4 synthesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/serum quotient graphs have been used previously to determine local synthesis in brain of immunoglobulins and C₃complement component. The aim of this study was to use the same technique to construct quotient graphs, or Reibergrams, for the beta globulin C₄and to evaluate the method for assessing intrathecal synthesis in neurological disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The constants in the previously-defined Reibergram for immunoglobulin IgA were used to calculate the CSF/serum quotient for C₄. CSF and serum were analyzed for C₄, IgA and albumin from a total of 12 patients with meningoencephalitis caused by encapsulated microorganisms and 10 subjects without infections or inflammatory neurological disease, some of which had dysfunction of the blood-CSF barrier,</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The formula and C₄Reibergram with the constants previously found for IgA, determined the intrathecal C₄synthesis in CSF. The intrathecal C₄fraction in CSF (C₄loc in mg/l) was compared to the C₄-Index (fraction of CSF: serum for C ₄/fraction of CSF: serum for albumin). There was a significant correlation between the two formulae. The CSF/Serum quotient graph was superior for detecting intrathecal synthesis of C₄under variable conditions of blood-CSF barrier permeability.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The C₄Reibergram can be used to quantify the intrathecal synthesis of this component of the complement system in different infectious diseases of the central nervous system and is especially useful for patients with blood-brain barrier dysfunction.</p

Mannose-binding lectin deficiency with eosinophilic meningoencephalitis due to Angiostrongylus cantonensis in children: a case series

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Eosinophilic meningitis, a potentially fatal disease caused by <it>Angiostrongylus cantonensis</it>, is considered an emerging infectious disease.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Three Caucasian boys (aged five-years-old, 10-years-old and six-years-old) with a diagnosis of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis caused by <it>Angiostrongylus cantonensis </it>were studied. Serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgM, IgG, and complements C3c and C4 levels were quantified by using an immunodiffusion technique. Immunoglobulin E in serum was quantified by nephelometry and mannose-binding lectin by time-resolved fluorometry. Mannose-binding lectin deficiency was observed in the three patients. The first patient showed a reduction in the levels of IgA and IgM and an increase in the values of IgE and C4. The second patient showed a reduction in mannose-binding lectin level with increased IgG, C4 and IgE levels, and the third patient showed a decrease in mannose-binding lectin level and increased levels of IgM and complement C3c as well as a low level of C4.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of mannose-binding lectin deficiency associated with <it>Angiostrongylus cantonensis </it>meningoencephalitis in children, and it may contribute to the understanding of the participation of this component of the lectin pathway in the development of the disease.</p