Les metastases meningees solitaires prevalentes

Objectif Intérêt d’avoir une confirmation histologique, en présence d’un processus leptoméningée solitaire dont le diagnostic de méningiome bénin est souvent évoqué en premier. Introduction Les métastases méningées sont observées de plus en plus fréquemment chez les patients connus porteur d’une néoplasie, du fait de l’allongement de la survie des patients et l’amélioration des moyens diagnostiques ; elles représentent environ 8 % des métastases du système nerveux central.Observation Nous rapportons deux observations originales de patients sans histoire néoplasique, opérés pour un processus leptomeningé solitaire dont le diagnostic préopératoire était celui d’un méningiome. L’étude histologique révélait la nature néoplasique métastatique de la lésion, alors que le bilan radiologique a permis de détecter la localisation primitive méconnue. Conclusion et discussion La découverte à l’occasion d’une imagerie cérébrale (TDM et/ou IRM) chez un patient, sans histoire néoplasique, d’une ou plusieurs lésions leptoméningées, pose un problème diagnostique. Lorsque lalocalisation est unique, le diagnostic de méningiome est évoqué en premier ; alors que les lésions inflammatoires et secondaires des hémopathies malignes représentent un diagnostic différentiel lorsque les lésions sont diffuses. Seront discutées à lumière de ces observations et d’une revue de la littérature, les aspects physiopathologiques, cliniques, paracliniques, thérapeutiques et évolutifs de cette pathologie

Transient mutism after anterior transcallosal approach

Postoperative mutism is an infrequent complication of brain surgery. We report a third ventricular astrocytoma in a 16-year-old boy. The tumor was totally removed via anterior transcallosal approach. The operation was uneventful. On the second postoperative day he became mute. He could follow verbal commands, and write and read. Histopathological examination revealed a pilocystic astrocytoma. Four days postoperatively, he began to say simple words, and two weeks later he could talk normally. The possible cause and pathophysiological mechanism of mutism in the lesions of this region are discussed in this paperKey words: Mutism; Third ventricle; Corpus callosum; Transcallosal approac

Colorimetric characterization and classification of the virgin olive oil from the spanish-moroccan mediterranean area

Se han realizado medidas por reflexión del color de 200 muestras de aceite de oliva virgen de las zonas de producción sur de España y zona norte de Marruecos. También se han realizado medidas del grado de acidez de los mismos y se emplea el análisis cluster para el estudio de su clasificación. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que, en general, los aceites marroquíes presentan con respecto a los españoles, tonalidades más verdosas (hº medio de 87,3º frente a 85,1º) y son menos saturados (C* medio de 91,7 frente a 105,3). Por otra parte, el grado de acidez difiere notablemente para ambas zonas geográficas, con valores medios de 0,31 para los aceites españoles y 2,87 para los marroquíes. A partir de estas medidas experimentales el análisis cluster muestra que, es posible clasificar los aceites de oliva según su zona geográfica de producción (hispano-marroquí), en función del grado de acidez ó del ángulo de tono.Colour measurements by reflection of 200 virgin olive oil samples from the southern zone of Spain and the northern one of Morocco were made. Acidity measurements of these oils were made as well, and a cluster analysis was employed for their classification. Results show that, generally, Moroccan oils present a hue more greenish (hº average of 87.3º) than the Spanish ones (85.1º), and those are less saturated (C* average of 91.7 and 105.3, respectively). On the other hand, acidity is remarkably different for these two geographic zones, having average values of 0.31 for Spanish oils and 2.87 for Moroccan ones. From these experimental measurements, the cluster analysis shows that it is possible to classify these oils according to their geographic production zones (Spanish-Moroccan area) depending on the acidity or the hue angle.Esta trabajo ha sido realizado gracias al Proyecto 17PRO/00 financiado por la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI)

Sleep spindles may predict response to cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia

Background While cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia constitutes the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, only few reports have investigated how sleep architecture relates to response to this treatment. In this pilot study, we aimed at determining whether sleep spindle density at pre-treatment predicts treatment response to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Methods Twenty-four participants with chronic primary insomnia took part in a 6-week cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia performed in groups of 4 to 6 participants. Treatment response was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Insomnia Severity Index measured at pre- and post-treatment and at 3- and 12-months follow-up assessments. Secondary outcome measures were extracted from sleep diaries over seven days and one overnight polysomnography, obtained at pre- and post-treatment. Spindle density during stages N2-N3 sleep was extracted from polysomnography at pre-treatment. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis assessed whether sleep spindle density predicted response to cognitive behavioral therapy. Results After adjusting for age, sex and education level, lower spindle density at pre-treatment predicted poorer response over the 12-months follow-up, as reflected by smaller reduction in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index over time. Reduced spindle density also predicted lower improvements in sleep diary sleep efficiency and wake after sleep onset immediately after treatment. There were no significant associations between spindle density and changes in the Insomnia Severity Index or polysomnography variables over time. Conclusion These preliminary results suggest that inter-individual differences in sleep spindle density in insomnia may represent an endogenous biomarker predicting responsiveness to cognitive behavioral therapy. Insomnia with altered spindle activity might constitute an insomnia subtype characterized by a neurophysiological vulnerability to sleep disruption associated with impaired responsiveness to cognitive behavioral therapy

Barium Titanate Nanoparticles: Highly Cytocompatible Dispersions in Glycol-chitosan and Doxorubicin Complexes for Cancer Therapy

In the latest years, innovative nanomaterials have attracted a dramatic and exponentially increasing interest, in particular for their potential applications in the biomedical field. In this paper, we reported our findings on the cytocompatibility of barium titanate nanoparticles (BTNPs), an extremely interesting ceramic material. A rational and systematic study of BTNP cytocompatibility was performed, using a dispersion method based on a non-covalent binding to glycol-chitosan, which demonstrated the optimal cytocompatibility of this nanomaterial even at high concentration (100 μg/ml). Moreover, we showed that the efficiency of doxorubicin, a widely used chemotherapy drug, is highly enhanced following the complexation with BTNPs. Our results suggest that innovative ceramic nanomaterials such as BTNPs can be realistically exploited as alternative cellular nanovectors