62 research outputs found
Tratamiento del quilotórax postoperatorio por toracoscopia tras la administración oral de una dieta rica en grasas
Incidence of zygomycosis in transplant recipients
AbstractRecently, a remarkable increase in the incidence of zygomycosis has been reported from institutions in the USA and Europe. The use of voriconazole for the treatment of aspergillosis and, less frequently, the use of echinocandins as empirical treatment for invasive fungal infections are thought to be responsible for the increase. In addition, an increased incidence of this infection has been observed in transplant recipients, including both haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and solid organ transplant (SOT) patients. There are no global surveys on the prevalence or incidence of zygomycosis, but data from individual institutions and countries show that zygomycosis is an emerging infection. The increased incidence of zygomycosis most probably reflects a greater frequency of predisposing factors, such as higher numbers of patients undergoing HSCT and immunosuppressive chemotherapy. In addition, the emergence of rare pathogens as a result of the rise in the use of antifungal therapy against common species can be postulated. Further, the availability of antifungal agents with activity profiles that are more specific for selected fungi increases the necessity of identifying pathogenic fungi; the frequency of Zygomycetes infections may have been underestimated until now because therapeutic decisions did not depend on the precise identification of pathogenic fungi
Esofagectomía transhiatal por vía abierta y vía laparoscópica para el cáncer de esófago: análisis de los márgenes de resección y ganglios linfáticos
Surgical treatment of cancer of the oesophagus is associated with a
high morbidity and mortality. Minimally invasive surgery has been proposed as an
alternative to try to reduce these complications; however, at this time there are
not many studies that evaluate the oncological validity of this method. The
objective of this work is to give a preliminary audit of the results of our
experience in both surgical techniques, with special emphasis on the
oncopathological aspects (resection margins and lymph nodes). MATERIAL AND
METHOD: Between April 2003 and February 2007, 40 patients diagnosed with distal
oesophageal cancer were surgically intervened at Charing Cross Hospital, London,
24 open and 16 by laparoscopy in accordance with the surgeon responsible. Of
these, 50% received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Both groups were homogeneous for
age, sex, ASA, tumour stage and tumour location. In all cases, the pathological
tumour stage (TNM), the tumour distal margin, tumour proximal margin, tumour
circumference and number of resected lymph nodes, were collected in a data base.
RESULTS: The number of resected lymph nodes was similar in both groups; (19 for
open and 18 for laparoscopy). The mean distal tumour margin for the group treated
by open surgery was 4.9 cm compared to 4.3 in the group treated by laparoscopy (p
= 0.578). The mean proximal tumour margin for the group treated by open surgery
was 8.4 cm compared to 4.6 cm in the laparoscopy group (p = 0.004) and tumour
circumference margin was positive in 11 patients (45%) belonging to the open
group compared to 5 patients (33%) in the laparoscopy group (p = 0.519).
CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, laparoscopic surgery for cancer of the oesophagus
appears to show similar initial results to those of open surgery as regards the
number of resected lymph nodes and resection margins
Development of a Multiplex PCR Assay for Genotyping the Fish Pathogen Piscirickettsia salmonis Through Comparative Genomics
Piscirickettsia salmonis is a bacterial pathogen that severely impact the aquaculture in several countries as Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and Chile. It provokes Piscirickettsiosis outbreaks in the marine phase of salmonid farming, resulting in economic losses. The monophyletic genogroup LF-89 and a divergent genogroup EM-90 are responsible for the most severe Piscirickettsiosis outbreaks in Chile. Therefore, the development of methods for quick genotyping of P. salmonis genogroups in field samples is vital for veterinary diagnoses and understanding the population structure of this pathogen. The present study reports the development of a multiplex PCR for genotyping LF-89 and EM-90 genogroups based on comparative genomics of 73 fully sequenced P. salmonis genomes. The results revealed 2,322 sequences shared between 35 LF-89 genomes, 2,280 sequences in the core-genome of 38 EM-90 genomes, and 331 and 534 accessory coding sequences each genogroup, respectively. A total of 1,801 clusters of coding sequences were shared among all tested genomes of P. salmonis (LF-89 and EM-90), with 253 and 291 unique sequences for LF-89 and EM-90 genogroups, respectively. The Multiplex-1 prototype was chosen for reliable genotyping because of differences in annealing temperatures and respective reaction efficiencies. This method also identified the pathogen in field samples infected with LF-89 or EM-90 strains, which is not possible with other methods currently available. Finally, the genome-based multiplex PCR protocol presented in this study is a rapid and affordable alternative to classical sequencing of PCR products and analyzing the length of restriction fragment polymorphisms
Molecular features in a biphenotypic small cell sarcoma with neuroectodermal and muscle differentiation
We report a case of a 13-year-old girl with soft tissue sarcoma of the hand,
which showed muscle and neuroectodermal immunophenotypes. Molecular studies were
performed on RNA collected from fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and
peripheral blood samples by nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain
reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern blot analysis. This biphenotypic tumor showed
simultaneous expression of EWS-FLI1 and PAX3-FKHR transcripts, specific of Ewing
family tumors and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, respectively. Although childhood
sarcomas with simultaneous muscle and neural differentiation have been described
to have EWS-FLI1 transcripts, there are no reports of tumors with both
transcripts. Cytological specimens are a good source of RNA for molecular
studie
Cross-Disciplinarity in the Advance of Antarctic Ecosystem Research
The biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate variability of the Antarctic continent, and the Southern Ocean are major components of the whole Earth system. Antarctic ecosystems are driven more strongly by the physical environment than many other marine and terrestrial ecosystems. As a consequence, to understand ecological functioning, cross-disciplinary studies are especially important in Antarctic research. The conceptual study presented here is based on a workshop initiated by the Research Programme Antarctic Thresholds - Ecosystem Resilience and Adaption of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, which focused on challenges in identifying and applying cross-disciplinary approaches in the Antarctic. Novel ideas, and first steps in their implementation, were clustered into eight themes, ranging from scale problems, risk maps, organism and ecosystem responses to multiple environmental changes, to evolutionary processes. Scaling models and data across different spatial and temporal scales were identified as an overarching challenge. Approaches to bridge gaps in the research programmes included multi-disciplinary monitoring, linking biomolecular findings and simulated physical environments, as well as integrative ecological modelling. New strategies in academic education are proposed. The results of advanced cross-disciplinary approaches can contribute significantly to our knowledge of ecosystem functioning, the consequences of climate change, and to global assessments that ultimately benefit humankind
Tracing of temporo-entorhinal connections in the human brain: cognitively impaired argyrophilic grain disease cases show dendritic alterations but no axonal disconnection of temporo-entorhinal association neurons
Argyrophilic grain disease (AGD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is often associated with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related pathology. The development of dementia in AGD is associated with the extent of coexisting AD-related pathology. Therefore, the question arises whether the degenerative changes in the neuronal network of demented AGD-patients represent a distinct pattern or show similar changes of disconnection as considered for AD. We were able to apply DiI-tracing in two human autopsy cases with mild AD-related pathology (controls), in one AD-patient, in one non-demented patient with advanced AD-related pathology, and in three cognitively impaired AGD-patients. DiI-crystals were injected into the entorhinal cortex. Pyramidal neurons of layers III and V of the adjacent temporal neocortex (area 35) were retrogradely marked with the tracer and analyzed. The AD case did not exhibit any retrogradely labeled neurons in the temporal neocortex. In the non-demented case with advanced AD-related pathology, the number of traced neurons was reduced as compared to that in the two controls and in the three AGD cases. In contrast, all three cognitively impaired AGD cases exhibited labeled pyramidal neurons in area 35 in an almost similar number as in the controls. However, alterations in the dendritic tree were observed in the AGD cases. These results show the existence of temporo-entorhinal connections in the adult human brain similar to those reported in animal models. Furthermore, the present study based on seven cases is the first attempt to study changes in the neuronal network in a human tauopathy with targeted axonal tracing techniques. Our findings in three cognitively impaired AGD cases suggest that AGD-related dementia constitutes a distinct disorder with a characteristic pattern of degeneration in the neuronal network
Use of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents in stable outpatients with coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation. International CLARIFY registry
A sex difference and no effect of ApoE type on the amount of cytoskeletal alterations in the nucleus basalis of Meynert in Alzheimer’s disease
A systematic review on the accumulation of prophylactic dosages of low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) in patients with renal insufficiency
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