17 research outputs found
Reproductive medicine in northwest Argentina: traditional and institutional systems
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The state of conservation of the traditional cultures of Northwest Argentina is variable and somewhat problematic but to a lesser or a greater extent all the peoples are related to an hegemonic culture. We present a case study carried out in the rural communities of the Yungas biome (Salta) where the extent of isolation varies as does the type of access to public health services. The use of medicinal plants in the area is ordinary and widely spread.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data can be organized in two categories, as medical systems public records (for the regional hospital at Los Toldos), and as ethnobotanical sets. A total of 59 surveys to 40 interviewees were undertaken using a semi structured questionnaire. We present an analysis of the relative importance of the medicinal herbs used in reproductive medicine considering the plants used in the traditional medical system and the factors that can affect the relationship between formal medicine and patients. We further analized how the degree of accessibility to the local hospital influences the diversity of use of plant species used to assist deliveries and to decrease infant mortality in children minor than one year of age.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In reproductive medicine, 13 ailments and/or different physiological states are locally identified and treated. Local population uses 108 ethnospecies for this kind of illnesses. According to the local conception the hot/cold imbalance could be the principal cause for reproductive illnesses; pregnancy may have natural or supernatural origin, post partum and menstruation involve similar sanitary risks, and neonatal care has a strong magic connotation. In relation with the formal medicine, the more accessible is the health center the more women assist to it. We have not found a relation between accessibility and infant mortality.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the local reproductive medicine, most of the practices are concerned with the hot/cold balance. According to their importance the factors involved are: the family medicine, the midwife, and the formal doctors. Plants have an important role; however there is a lack of total agreement among the families who use them. Reluctance to institutional deliveries may be due to the weak relationship between patients and doctors, and the lack of logistic assistance to delivering mothers coming from far away locations.</p
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Posterior cruciate ligament: MR imaging.
The authors reviewed 610 consecutive magnetic resonance (MR) examinations of patients with suspected internal derangements of the knee, paying special attention to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The normal PCL shows a low MR signal intensity and an arcuate shape. An accessory anterior or posterior meniscofemoral ligament was identified in 58.5% of examinations. Among 202 patients who underwent arthroscopy or arthrotomy, MR imaging depicted 11 PCL injuries: eight complete or incomplete ligament disruptions and three avulsions. All were confirmed by means of arthroscopy or arthrotomy. MR findings of PCL injury were anatomic disruption, increased signal intensity in the ligament, and redundancy of an avulsed ligament. Of the 11 PCL injuries, four were not detected at initial clinical examination. In none of the 202 patients in whom arthroscopy or surgery was performed was an abnormal PCL identified in the presence of a normal MR examination. MR imaging is a reliable method for the detection of PCL injuries
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Magnetic resonance imaging of the posterior cruciate ligament. Clinical use to improve diagnostic accuracy.
This study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance image scanning in detecting posterior cruciate ligament injury, and to determine those clinical situations where it can add the most useful information. A retrospective study was conducted on 201 patients who underwent surgery after magnetic resonance scanning of their knees. Two additional patients who did not have surgery but had clinical findings grossly positive for posterior cruciate ligament injury were included in the analysis of magnetic resonance imaging accuracy. In all, there were 190 intact and 13 torn posterior cruciate ligaments. In a review of the clinical findings in the 11 patients with surgically documented tears, we found that all 11 had positive magnetic resonance scans. In 4 of the 11, magnetic resonance imaging provided especially useful information regarding the status of the ligament. For the 190 normal ligaments, there were no false-positive scans; for the 13 torn ligaments, there were no false-negative scans. Therefore, specificity and sensitivity estimates for this group were both 100%. Magnetic resonance imaging proved to be an accurate modality for evaluating the integrity of the posterior cruciate ligament. If used in the proper setting, it can provide useful information for diagnosing posterior cruciate ligament injuries
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A case of juxta-articular myxoma of the knee.
This 9-year-old girl presented with a painful mass in the posterolateral aspect of her right knee. Excisional biopsy of the mass revealed a juxta-articular myxoma. The differential diagnosis for such an intra- or periarticular mass should include meniscal cyst, parameniscal cyst, ganglion cyst, juxta-articular myxoma, focal nodular PVNS, and desmoid tumor. Current imaging techniques do not allow differentiation between these benign lesions and low grade myxoid-containing sarcoma
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A case of juxta-articular myxoma of the knee.
This 9-year-old girl presented with a painful mass in the posterolateral aspect of her right knee. Excisional biopsy of the mass revealed a juxta-articular myxoma. The differential diagnosis for such an intra- or periarticular mass should include meniscal cyst, parameniscal cyst, ganglion cyst, juxta-articular myxoma, focal nodular PVNS, and desmoid tumor. Current imaging techniques do not allow differentiation between these benign lesions and low grade myxoid-containing sarcoma
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Posterior cruciate ligament: MR imaging.
The authors reviewed 610 consecutive magnetic resonance (MR) examinations of patients with suspected internal derangements of the knee, paying special attention to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The normal PCL shows a low MR signal intensity and an arcuate shape. An accessory anterior or posterior meniscofemoral ligament was identified in 58.5% of examinations. Among 202 patients who underwent arthroscopy or arthrotomy, MR imaging depicted 11 PCL injuries: eight complete or incomplete ligament disruptions and three avulsions. All were confirmed by means of arthroscopy or arthrotomy. MR findings of PCL injury were anatomic disruption, increased signal intensity in the ligament, and redundancy of an avulsed ligament. Of the 11 PCL injuries, four were not detected at initial clinical examination. In none of the 202 patients in whom arthroscopy or surgery was performed was an abnormal PCL identified in the presence of a normal MR examination. MR imaging is a reliable method for the detection of PCL injuries
Recommended from our members
Magnetic resonance imaging of the posterior cruciate ligament. Clinical use to improve diagnostic accuracy.
This study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance image scanning in detecting posterior cruciate ligament injury, and to determine those clinical situations where it can add the most useful information. A retrospective study was conducted on 201 patients who underwent surgery after magnetic resonance scanning of their knees. Two additional patients who did not have surgery but had clinical findings grossly positive for posterior cruciate ligament injury were included in the analysis of magnetic resonance imaging accuracy. In all, there were 190 intact and 13 torn posterior cruciate ligaments. In a review of the clinical findings in the 11 patients with surgically documented tears, we found that all 11 had positive magnetic resonance scans. In 4 of the 11, magnetic resonance imaging provided especially useful information regarding the status of the ligament. For the 190 normal ligaments, there were no false-positive scans; for the 13 torn ligaments, there were no false-negative scans. Therefore, specificity and sensitivity estimates for this group were both 100%. Magnetic resonance imaging proved to be an accurate modality for evaluating the integrity of the posterior cruciate ligament. If used in the proper setting, it can provide useful information for diagnosing posterior cruciate ligament injuries
A bovine low molecular weight bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) fraction.
A low MW bone morphogenetic protein fraction (BMP) is quantitatively extracted from bovine bone matrix by an inorganic-organic CaCl2-urea solvent mixture and fractionated by ion exchange and gel chromatography. The BMP fraction induces differentiation of perivascular mesenchymal type cells into cartilage and bone inside the mouse's thigh, outside of double walled diffusion chamber, in muscle pouches in the rabbit anterior abdominal wall, and in 0.8 cm trephine defects in the rat's skull. Bovine BMP may consist of electrophoretic components ranging from 12 K to 30 K in MW. The main components correspond to a MW of 23 K, 18 K and 12 K when they are compared with the mobilities of standard proteins. Because it was invariably present in all of the fractions with osteoinductive activity, circumstantial evidence leads to a 17 to 18 K component for a BMP. The possibility of a diameter monomer system for BMP activity also warrants consideration. The polypeptide portion constitutes only about 80% to 85% of the dry weight of the mixture of the three electrophoretic components, and suggests that the BMP fraction contains glycoproteins. Characteristically, glycoproteins migrate anomalously on SDS gels and create doubt about whether the major bands represent true MW. Nevertheless, the data clearly point to the low MW protein fractions for the direction of future work on BMP