Pancreas divisum. Correlation between anatomical abnormalities and bile precipitation in the gallbladder in seven patients

Pancreas divisum is a genetic defect associated with recurrent acute pancreatitis due to insufficient drainage of the accessory pancreatic duct. Seven young patients diagnosed with pancreatic divisum and thickening of the gallbladder bile as shown on magnetic resonance cholangio-pancreatography without pancreatic ductal changes underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. During the mean follow-up of 32 months no episode of pancreatitis was reported. There is an association between PD and higher concentration of bile in the gallbladder. Cholecystectomy can be considered curative in patients with PD in the absence of indications for major surgery

Palestina e Israel en el nuevo contexto interno e internacional

Este número es el resultado del I Congreso de Cultura de Paz, titulado Palestina e Israel en el nuevo contexto interno e internacional, organizado por el Instituto de Estudios Internacionales y Europeos “Francisco de Vitoria” de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid y UNESCO-Getafe, y celebrado en el Campus de Getafe de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid los días 14, 15 y 16 de noviembre de 2011.Contiene: Presentación / Irina Bokova. -- La autodeterminación del pueblo palestino: la clave para la solución de los conflictos / Cástor Miguel Díaz Barrado. -- El reconocimiento de Palestina como estado por UNESCO y por Naciones Unidas / Félix Vacas Fernández. -- Las elecciones generales en Israel, enero 2013: perspectivas e influencia en el conflicto árabe-israelí / Manuel Fernández Gómez. -- Las conflictivas relaciones de Siria e Israel en el ajedrez del Próximo Oriente / Romualdo Bermejo García; Eugenia López-Jacoiste Díaz. -- Israel-Irán. Supervivencia y liderazgo / José María Grande Urquijo. -- El conflicto árabe-israelí en el escenario libanés / Juan Manuel González Hernández. -- Del concepto religioso en el conflicto palestino-israelí / Manuel González Hernández. -- La educación como mecanismo de resolución de conflictos: lecciones de Irlanda del Norte para el conflicto palestino-israelí / Oscar Celador Angón

Salinomycin and Other Ionophores as a New Class of Antimalarial Drugs with Transmission-Blocking Activity

The drug target profile proposed by the Medicines for Malaria Venture for a malaria elimination/eradication policy focuses on molecules active on both asexual and sexual stages of Plasmodium, thus with both curative and transmission-blocking activities. The aim of the present work was to investigate whether the class of monovalent ionophores, which includes drugs used in veterinary medicine and that were recently proposed as human anticancer agents, meets these requirements. The activity of salinomycin, monensin, and nigericin on Plasmodium falciparum asexual and sexual erythrocytic stages and on the development of the Plasmodium berghei and P. falciparum mosquito stages is reported here. Gametocytogenesis of the P. falciparum strain 3D7 was induced in vitro, and gametocytes at stage II and III or stage IV and V of development were treated for different lengths of time with the ionophores and their viability measured with the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) assay. The monovalent ionophores efficiently killed both asexual parasites and gametocytes with a nanomolar 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50). Salinomycin showed a fast speed of kill compared to that of standard drugs, and the potency was higher on stage IV and V than on stage II and III gametocytes. The ionophores inhibited ookinete development and subsequent oocyst formation in the mosquito midgut, confirming their transmission-blocking activity. Potential toxicity due to hemolysis was excluded, since only infected and not normal erythrocytes were damaged by ionophores. Our data strongly support the downstream exploration of monovalent ionophores for repositioning as new antimalarial and transmission-blocking leads

Nocardiosi: a proposito di tre casi

We describe three case reports of nocardiosis occurred at the AO “Ospedale Civile di Vimercate”,Vimercate (Milano) from 2001 to 2003. The patients discussed are paradigmatic of some predisposing conditions. Case 1 was a kidney transplanted patient, and immunosuppression is a well-known jatrogenous underlying condition. Case 2 is paradigmatic of a systemic infection presented with predominant symptoms of CNS involvement: diabetes was a unique debilitating factor, and his activity as smith could represent a professional risk factor, because of the increased possibility to inhale dust. Case 3 represent an absolutely uncommon way of contamination in an immunocompetent woman receiving at home an i.m. therapy. In all cases chemosensitivity testing showed sensitivity to imipenem, amikacin, cotrimoxazole.Antibiotic therapy was started with a combination of intravenous Imipenem plus Amikacin.The treatment was prolonged for two months and then was prescribed cotrimoxazole for eight months

Shigella flexneri-induced vaginitis in a prepubertal children: description of a case

In prepuberal girls vulvo-vaginitis are caused by germs of intestinal origin,mycetes, Gardnerella vaginalis, protozoa. Shigella is an uncommon agent able to induce valvovaginitis in children. We report the case of a 7-year-old girl with chronic vulvo-vaginitis caused by S. flexneri. Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing revealed that S. flexnery was sensible to cefotaxime, amoxicillin, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, but resistant to amikacin, cefazolin, gentamycin, ampicillin and tetracycline. A treatment with ciprofloxacin brought to a rapid resolution of all symptoms. At the follows up at 3 and 6 months the patient did not report symptoms of infection or articular cartilage abnormality; microbiological evaluations were also negative. Even if it is a single case report and other clinical trial may be performed in order to validate this hypothesis,we speculate that in patient with vulvo-vaginal infection living in environment with low hygiene care, a carefully microbiological evaluation of uncommon agents may be performed