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Biomedical subjects

A Malet

Publications and source records attributed to A Malet.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

[A descriptive epidemiological study of ulcerative colitis in a community hospital (1985-1989)].

BACKGROUND: The incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC) shows a marked geographical variation. It is high in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries, while in Mediterranean countries the available data on its epidemiological features are few. Spain is not an exception. METHODS: The new cases of UC diagnosed during the period 1985-1989 in the Hospital de Sabadell (a reference center of an area with a markedly industrial population of 343924) were retrospectively evaluated. The definitive diagnosis of UC required a negative fecal microbiological study and findings in colonoscopy and biopsy consistent with UC. RESULTS: During the study period 68 new cases of UC were diagnosed, representing a mean yearly incidence of 3.95/10(5) population, and 5.26/10(5) considering only the adult population (age greater than 14 years). No significant differences were found (p greater than 0.05) in the sex and age distributions, although the male/female ratio was 1.06. In 84% of cases UC was limited to the rectum and/or distal colon, with a low frequency of pancolonic forms (5%). In 70% of patients UC was classified as a low severity disease. CONCLUSIONS: Although the estimation of incidence only from hospital cases underestimates the true incidence, and also considering the limitation of comparing results of studies from several time periods, the incidence of UC in our area is the highest one reported to the present time in Spain and Southern Europe. Nevertheless, it is lower than that in most Northern European countries.

Adolescent

Allergic contact dermatitis from 3-(aminomethyl)-pyridyl salicylate.

2 patients with acute allergic contact dermatitis from 3-(aminomethyl)-pyridyl salicylate are described. Both patients were females with histories of urticaria and showed cross-sensitization to substances of the para group. Clinical manifestations included eczema, angioedema and respiratory effects. In 1 patient, airborne elicitation was suspected. A lymphocyte transformation test confirmed the allergy, with an extremely high response index. 35 normal controls were negative.

Aminopyridines

Treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis with cetirizine.

A study was made of 30 patients with perennial extrinsic rhinitis sensitized only to dust mites who were treated with cetirizine for 15 days, at a dose of 10 mg/24 hours. The following parameters were evaluated in each patient on day -1 before initiating treatment and on day 15: histamine 1/100 prick-test, Dermatohophagoides pteronyssinus prick-test, physical examination, assessment of nasal edema and rhinorrhea by anterior rhinoscopy, and of the degree of nasal obstruction by active anterior rhinomanometry. Each patient was given a form for daily clinical self-evaluation of the following subjective symptoms: sneezing, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, and nasal itchiness. The occurrence of side effects was evaluated. Cetirizine reduced significantly the area of the histamine and D. pteronyssinus papules elicited by prick-test. Clinical symptoms decreased significantly, with sneezing, nasal itchiness and rhinorrhea being greatly relieved, and nasal obstruction, evaluated by means of active anterior rhinomanometry performed before and after 15 days of treatment, being less alleviated. There was scant incidence of side effects in patients treated with cetirizine.

Adolescent

[Occupational hypersensitivity to spiramycin. Report of a case].

A case report of occupational hypersensitivity to Spiramycin. Rhinoconjunctivitis and spasmodic cough are reported in a 34 year-old female handling spiramycin powder in a pharmaceutical factory. The symptoms appeared within the first few hours of coming into contact with the drug and continued for several hours after leaving her place of work. The patient had no personal case history of atopy. Results for prick-test with extracts using a concentration of 1/100 (w/v) were positive, as were results por intradermical tests with a solution using a concentration of 1/10.000 (w/v). The diagnostic was confirmed with the application of a nasal provocation test. Our criteria to determine positivity to this test was according to Bachman (1) and the European Committee of Rhinomanometry. On our suggestion the patient was transferred to another section of the pharmaceutical company whereupon all symptoms disappeared immediately and no further allergic reactions to drugs were registered. This case suggest that reactions to a chemical product may involve immunological mechanisms.

Adult

[The histamine liberation test as a diagnostic parameter and its possible modification following specific immunotherapy].

It is generally accepted that the allergic reaction depends on the levels of specific IgE, on the concentration of blocking antibodies and on the capacity of the basophils to release mediators. The fact that in the histamine release test (HRT) all of the elements intervening in an allergic reaction (antigens, IgE, basophils and mononuclear cells of a lymphoid origin) have been found, has led some authors to consider it as the most suitable method of "in vitro" diagnosis. This is a reflection of what biologically occurs "in vivo". Furthermore, the HRT can be used as a control parameter following immunotherapy, permitting us not only to quantify the level of blocking antibodies but also to study the possible presence of a control mechanism of histamine release. Accordingly, in a group of 50 patients with extrinsic asthma we carried out a HRT, skin tests (prick test) and Rast with house dust, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae. In another group comprising 74 subjects with extrinsic allergic asthma (45 with perennial allergic rhinitis) we performed a HRT with aeroallergens. This group was subjected to immunotherapy (dust with mites) for a year. Following this treatment another HRT was carried out with house dust, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae. With regard to our results in the first group we obtained 80% agreement in the HRT/prick test/Rast for house dust and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and 78% agreement for Dermatophagoides farinae.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent

Diagnosis of allergy to peach. A comparative study of "in vivo" and "in vitro" techniques.

In our particular Mediterranean region, extensive plantations of peach trees (prunus persica) give rise to processes of peach hypersensitivity. This datum together with the scarcity of literature and the use of disparate methods of diagnosis prompted us to select the peach as an example of hypersensitivity to a fruit, and to examine the clinical symptoms, skin tests, specific IgE antibodies (RASTR) and histamine release in a group of 25 patients with peach allergy. The results showed a good concordance between clinical history and skin tests (78%) and between RASTR (82%) and histamine release (74%) when comparison was made with the clinical history. The concordance between skin tests and RASTR histamine release was 94%. On the application of a statistical study to the different data collected, and on analysing all the concordances and possible combinations between "in vivo" and "in vitro" tests, the skin tests were not found to be superior to the RASTR (p less than 0.001) or to the histamine release test (p less than 0.001), in terms of peach allergy diagnosis. Both the RASTR and the histamine release test were found to be equally valid (p less than 0.001) in "in vitro" peach diagnosis. These findings demonstrate the perfect and complete diagnosis of peach allergy with the methodology used.

Adult

[Immunologic parameters in chronic urticaria].

Urticaria and angioedema are common disorders that affect approximately 1/5 of the population at some stage in their lives. Although the clinical diagnosis of this disorder is made without difficulty, its etiology and pathogenesis remain obscure. Extensive clinical studies and the application of different laboratory techniques seldom manage to detect the etiology of chronic urticaria or determine its supposed pathogenic mechanism. Thus, a large number of causal agents have been held responsible for the symptoms of chronic urticaria and/or chronic urticaria and angioedema and for the variety of immunologic and nonimmunologic factors involved in its pathogenesis. The controversial laboratory findings in this type of patients prompted us to undertake this study on 48 subjects with chronic urticaria and/or angioedema. We studied the levels of serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM and IgE), the haemolytic activity of the complement (CH50), the levels of the complement components (C1 inhibitor, C3 and C4), the possible presence of circulating immune complexes and the percentages of the T lymphoid subpopulations (using OKT3, OKT4 and OKT8 markers) and the B population. The results obtained showed an alteration of the complement (CH50) and of some of its components (C3 and C4) as well as of the cytotoxic/suppressor lymphocyte subpopulation (OKT8).

Adult