Cockroaches as transport hosts of the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
A Castro
Publications and source records attributed to A Castro.
[Combined subarachnoid and epidural block with a single injection, with a modified Tuohy needle and used in hip surgery].
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate prospectively the advantages and disadvantages of a combined subarachnoid and epidural block with a modified Tuohy needle during hip surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty ASA II-III patients undergoing full hip arthroplasty were studied. The same technique was used with all patients; 2 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (10 mg) was used for the subarachnoid block. Ten ml of 2% lidocaine (200 mg) was injected by epidural catheter into 25 patients (group I); 5 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine (25 mg) was injected into the others (group II). A Tuohy 17 G needle with a Huber point and supplemental orifice for a 26 G intradural needle was used, along with an epidural catheter. The level of difficulty of the technique was evaluated, as were unusual events, the metameric level of sensory block reached, and intraoperative (hypotension, bradycardia or both) and postoperative (head or lower back pain) complications. RESULTS: The level of difficulty was nil in 60% of the cases, average in 26% and high in 14%. The quality of the motor-sensory blockade was excellent and the thoracic level of sensory blockade (mean +/- SD) was 6.2 +/- 1.4 for group I and 8.2 +/- 1.1 for group II. The difference between the two groups was significant (p < 0.05). Hypotension was found in 6% of all patients, bradycardia in 20% and both in 14%, with no significant differences between the two groups. No case of headache was reported and the level of patient satisfaction with the anesthesia was excellent in 92% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: A combined subarachnoid (10 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine) and epidural (200 mg lidocaine or 25 mg bupivacaine) blockade provides an excellent sensory block with few side effects. The technique facilitates epidural treatment of postoperative pain.
Anesthesia, Epidural↗
Age influence in the natural resistance of white rat and mice to the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii.
Groups of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 30 day old rats (Sprague Dawley) and Wistar mice were infected per os with different inocula of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts from an avirulent strain. Infection pattern was followed by determination of survival time, tissue lesions, parasite presence and serology. Although all the animals survived the total experimental period (30 day), there were important differences between both rodents regarding to Toxoplasma natural resistance. Brain cysts, as well as tachyzoites in other organs were regularly present in mice but not in rats. On the other hand, most of the organs from mice presented characteristic T. gondii lesions, while in rats a normal tissues were observed, with the exception of an acute reaction found in the brain of a 15d old animal.
Age Factors↗
Unreliability of echocardiographic and Doppler indexes in the diagnosis of heart transplant acute rejection.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of Doppler echocardiography to diagnose heart transplant acute rejection in both patients submitted to the standard surgical technique (Group A), and to a new technique that preserves the size of the left atrium and leaves the right atrium intact (Group B). METHODS: 122 Doppler echocardiographic studies and endomyocardial biopsies were performed on 27 group A and 11 group B patients. Systolic measurements included left ventricular shortening fraction, left ventricular endsystolic stress and tricuspid ring systolic displacement. Diastolic indexes investigated were left and right ventricle filling and superior vena caval flow parameters. RESULTS: As expected, right atrium was smaller in group B(p < 0.01). In group A, peak early to late mitral flow velocity increased, as did the rejection grade; whereas in group B it decreased. Pericardial effusion was seen more frequently in group B rejectors (> or = 3) than non-rejectors (63% vs 27%, p < 0.01). Right heart pressures (right ventricular end-diastolic and right atrial mean) were slightly higher for group A and B rejector patients (p < 0.05 when comparing right ventricular end-diastolic pressure in rejector to non-rejector group B patients). Left ventricular isovolumic relaxation time was reduced during subsequent rejection episodes in the same patient, but sensitivity of 15% left ventricular isovolumetric relaxation time reduction for rejection > or = 3 diagnosis was only 22% with a specificity of 73%. No significant intrapatient changes were found in other Doppler-derived systolic or diastolic indexes. CONCLUSION: Doppler echocardiography does not diagnose heart transplant acute rejection with enough reliability to avoid endomyocardial biopsies.
Acute Disease↗
[A multivariate analysis approach to antineoplastic and antiviral structure-activity relationships to a series of podophyllotoxins].
In this work, the authors have used technics of multivariate analysis to determine the structure-activity relationships of 46 podophyllotoxin derivatives and analogs studied for their antineoplastic and antiviral activities. The obtained results allow to envisage the possible synthesis of more specific molecules by making modifications in the structure of the model molecular archetype.
Animals↗
[Detection of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in subjects with repeated abortions, perinatal mortality and malformed infants].
The AA. investigated the frequency of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in 426 women with repeated abortions, perinatal mortality and malformed newborns. They showed on the whole a low incidence even if they demonstrated a high incidence (77.7%) of antibodies in women with malformed newborns. The meaning of the observations are briefly discussed.
Abortion, Habitual↗