Increased cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of soluble Fas (CD95/Apo-1) in hydrocephalus

BACKGROUND AND AIMS—The ventricular enlargement observed in children with chronically raised intracranial pressure (ICP) causes a secondary loss of brain tissue. In animal studies of hydrocephalus, programmed cell death (apoptosis) has been found as a major mechanism of neuronal injury. One of the regulators of the apoptotic cell death programme is the receptor mediated Fas/Fas ligand interaction.
METHODS—The apoptosis regulating cytokines soluble Fas (sFas) and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) were studied in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 31 hydrocephalic children undergoing shunt surgery for symptomatic hydrocephalus and 18controls.
RESULTS—High concentrations of sFas were observed in children with hydrocephalus (median 252 ng/ml); in controls sFas was below the detection limit (0.5 ng/ml). sFasL was undetectable in all but one sample.
CONCLUSION—High concentrations of sFas in the CSF of children with hydrocephalus suggest intrinsic sFas production, potentially antagonising pressure mediated Fas activation.


Enfisema lobar congênito diagnosticado em paciente adulta Congenital lobar emphysema diagnosed in an adult patient

O enfisema lobar congênito é uma doença na qual as manifestações clínicas, quase sempre, aparecem nos primeiros seis meses de idade. Neste relato, os primeiros sintomas surgiram em uma paciente de 20 anos, quando desenvolveu um pneumotórax espontâneo, acontecimentos esses excepcionais. São revistas as possíveis etiologias dessa malformação congênita pulmonar e são justificadas as razões para a manutenção do tratamento conservador.<br>Congenital lobar emphysema is a disease in which symptoms often begin during the first six months of age. In this report, the authors present the case of a twenty-year-old woman whose symptoms started when she had a spontaneous pneumothorax, an exceptional occurrence. The possible etiologies for that congenital lung malformation and the reasons for the performance of a conservative treatment are discussed