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Biomedical subjects

A Moreno

Publications and source records attributed to A Moreno.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Disseminated candidiasis in addicts who use brown heroin: report of 83 cases and review.

From November 1983 to April 1990, disseminated candidiasis was diagnosed in 83 heroin addicts at our institution. All patients had consumed brown heroin diluted in fresh lemon juice. Sixty-two (75%) had skin lesions, 41 (49%) had ocular lesions, and 35 (42%) had one or several costochondral tumors. Candida albicans was grown in culture or histopathologically identified in 34 cases (41%). The patients who had only cutaneous lesions were treated with ketoconazole, and they were all cured. The patients with ocular involvement received systemic amphotericin B with or without oral flucytosine; 29 of these patients developed varying degrees of vision loss. The method of treatment of costochondral tumors was not uniform; in 14 cases the lesions were resected. The one patient who died developed endocarditis involving the aortic valve. Cases of pleuropulmonary involvement, spondylitis, and large-joint arthritis have also been described among the 300 cases reported in the reviewed literature. This is a new syndrome of candidal infection in drug addicts who use brown heroin; ocular lesions are the most harmful manifestation, and loss of vision is the major sequela.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Safety and immunogenicity of the synthetic malaria vaccine SPf66 in a large field trial.

In the first field trial with synthetic malaria vaccine SPf66 in a large population naturally exposed to malaria, 9957 persons greater than 1 year old and residing on the Colombian Pacific coast received three doses of the vaccine. To evaluate vaccine safety, clinical observations were made 30 min and 48 h after each immunization. There were no adverse reactions in 95.7% of cases. In the 4.3% of cases with adverse reactions, local induration and erythema were the most frequent. In a randomly selected group of vaccinees, anti-SPf66 antibody titers were measured after the third dose: 93% of the vaccinees raised antibodies to SPf66. Among these, 55% had titers greater than 1:1600. These results demonstrate the safety and immunogenicity of the SPf66 vaccine in a large field trial.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Acetaminophen overdose as a suicidal gesture: a survey of adolescents' knowledge of its potential for toxicity.

Acetaminophen is a popular nonprescription analgesic that is often taken in overdose by adolescents during suicidal gestures. The authors hypothesized that most adolescents are naive about the toxic and lethal potential of acetaminophen in overdose. A one-page, 12-item questionnaire was administered to 169 high school students to evaluate their perceptions and knowledge in this area. Whereas only 22% of the sample underestimated the dose of acetaminophen necessary to cause harm, 40.5% underestimated the potential lethality of acetaminophen in overdose. Moreover, 17% of the sample did not believe one could ingest enough acetaminophen to cause death. The lack of knowledge about acetaminophen's potential dangerousness, its widespread availability, and an absence of early symptoms of hepatotoxicity make this medication highly dangerous to those adolescents who take it in overdose during parasuicidal behavior.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1992

Distribution of Alzheimer's disease amyloid protein precursor in normal human and rat nervous system.

Alzheimer's disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathies (CAA) are clinically heterogeneous diseases, but pathogenically related by the deposition of beta A4-amyloid in the brain in the form of neuritic plaques and/or vascular infiltrates. Antibodies directed against the N-terminal region of the predicted sequence of the beta A4 amyloid protein precursor (APP) were used to investigate the cellular distribution of this protein in the brain of normal humans and rats. We found a widespread presence of APP throughout the nervous tissue, including neurons, blood vessels, meningeal membranes, choroid plexus and ependymal cells. The highest APP immunoreactivity in both species was found in neuronal cell bodies and their processes, and around blood vessels. These findings may account for the clinical, pathological and aetiological differences found among the beta A4-amyloidosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Determination of the immunization schedule for field trials with the synthetic malaria vaccine SPf 66.

The synthetic malaria vaccine SPf 66 has been shown to be safe, immunogenic and effective in trials performed with controlled groups naturally and experimentally exposed to the disease. In order to continue the trials in open populations, it was necessary to standardize the vaccination characteristics. We have performed four field trials with soldier volunteers with the aim, among others, of defining the number of doses required, the intervals between applications, the protein concentration, and the adjuvant to be used. In these trials, the vaccinated individuals' immune responses were evaluated by assaying anti-SPf 66 antibody titres, in vitro growth inhibition of the P. falciparum parasite, and the vaccinees' capacity to recognize P. falciparum native proteins. From these results we conclude that the best vaccination schedule, for adults, is three doses administered subcutaneously on days 0, 30 and 180, each containing 2 mg of the synthetic polymerized petide SPf 66 adsorbed to alum hydroxide.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1992

Angiotropic malignant melanoma. Report of two cases.

Two cases of malignant melanoma are described that showed focal perineural invasion and exhibited striking tropism for small and medium-sized vessels, primarily veins. The melanoma cells proliferated within the vessel walls, expanding and replacing the muscle layer but sparing the endothelia. Intravascular invasion was not seen. Immunohistochemical studies confirmed the pattern of growth within vessel walls and the integrity of their endothelia. In one of the cases, similar vascular tropism was encountered in a capsular vein from a regional lymph node. We propose the term "angiotropic malignant melanoma" for this phenomenon and suggest that angiotropism may be a rare mechanism for melanoma spread and progression.

Actins↗
PubMed1992

Resistance of Peptostreptococcus spp. to macrolides and lincosamides: inducible and constitutive phenotypes.

The activities of erythromycin and clindamycin against 350 Peptostreptococcus strains were studied during a 5-year period (1986 to 1991). In 5.1% of the Peptostreptococcus strains, which presented dissociated resistance (clindamycin MIC, less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml; erythromycin MIC, greater than 8 micrograms/ml), evidence of inducible macrolide-lincosamide resistance was shown. A total of 17.7% of the strains presented a constitutive phenotype; the clindamycin and erythromycin MICs for these strains were greater than 8 micrograms/ml.

Clindamycin↗
PubMed1992

Evidence of the occurrence of calcitonin cells in the ultimobranchial follicle of the rat postnatal thyroid.

A study on thyroid glands of Wistar rats of ages ranging from 1 to 120 days was carried out. The glands were serially sectioned and stained for calcitonin using the peroxidase antiperoxidase method. All the thyroids contained ultimobranchial follicles (UBF) located partially embedded among the usual follicles but in a 5-day-old rat this structure showed an unusual position in the interstitium of connective tissue between the cartilage of the trachea and the thyroid gland. We have observed in the wall of that UBF the presence not only of resting C cells but also mitotic figures of C cells. Furthermore, on the opposite side of the same UBF an active area of formation of thyroid follicles was found. These observations provided the first evidence of the contribution of the UBF in the formation of C cells during the postnatal life of the rat. Furthermore, it is suggested that some C cells may share a common origin with ultimobranchially derived follicular cells.

Aging↗
PubMed1992

Mitotic activity of the endocrine cells in rat thyroid glands during postnatal life.

This paper presents the results of investigations into the mitotic rates of thyroid endocrine cells in normal postnatal rats, aged 1-120 days. Our study revealed considerable age-dependent shifts in the mean mitotic activity of follicular cells and C-cells. The maximum indices of endocrine cell renewal were reached during the first 10 days of life, decreasing gradually and significantly until 25 days. At 1 month, there was a significant recuperation of the division rate for both cell types, which declined in the adult rat. These results mean that the proliferation of C-cells and follicular cells is inversely proportional to age. The preferential zone of localization of mitoses of both cell types is the central region of the thyroid lobe. The present paper provides new evidence for the postnatal origin of C-cells and follicular cells from the preexisting endocrine cells.

Aging↗
PubMed1992

T cell responses to repeat and non-repeat regions of the circumsporozoite protein detected in volunteers immunized with Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites.

The design of a malarial vaccine based on the circumsporozoite (CS) protein, a major surface antigen of the sporozoite stage of the malaria parasite, requires the identification of T and B cell epitopes for inclusion in recombinant or synthetic vaccine candidates. We have investigated the specificity and function of a series of T cell clones, derived from volunteers immunized with Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites, in an effort to identify relevant epitopes in the immune response to the pre-erythrocytic stages of the parasite. CD4+ T cell clones were obtained which specifically recognized a repetitive epitope located in the 5' repeat region of the CS protein. This epitope, when conjugated to the 3' repeat region in a synthetic MAPs construct, induced high titers of antisporozoite antibodies in C57BL mice. A second T cell epitope, which mapped to aa 326-345 of the carboxy terminal, was recognized by lytic, as well as non-lytic, CD4+ T cells derived from the sporozoite-immunized volunteers. The demonstration of CD4+ CTL in the human volunteers, and the recent studies in the rodent model (Renia et al., 1991; Tsuji et al., 1990), suggest that CS-specific CD4+ T cells, in addition to their indirect role as helper cells in the induction of antibody and CD8+ effector cells, may also play a direct role in protection against sporozoite challenge by targeting EEF within the liver.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Adenomyoepithelioma of the breast. A report of two cases.

We describe two cases of adenomyoepithelioma of the breast. The two tumors reported herein were well-circumscribed lesions that showed ducts lined by inner epithelial and outer myoepithelial cells and solid areas made up of fasciculated spindle myoepithelial cells. This dual differentiation was corroborated by immunohistochemical studies and electron microscopy.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Lupus vulgaris. Clinical, histopathologic, and bacteriologic study of 10 cases.

BACKGROUND: Lupus vulgaris (LV) represents the most common form of cutaneous tuberculosis in Europe. However, recent reports from European countries are few and usually limited to isolated cases. OBJECTIVE: We report the clinical, histopathologic, and bacteriologic data in 10 patients with LV. METHODS: The diagnosis of LV was made according to a combination of clinical, histologic, and bacteriologic criteria. In each case a biopsy specimen was obtained for histopathologic study and mycobacteriologic culture. All but one patient received a 9-month course of combined antituberculous therapy. RESULTS: Five patients had evidence of either previous or simultaneous tuberculous foci other than LV. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from cutaneous lesions in five cases. The histologic study revealed a variable granulomatous reaction, including tuberculoid granulomas, sarcoidlike granulomas, and a "mixed" granulomatous reaction. CONCLUSION: Although different mechanisms could be implicated in the development of LV, an association with visceral tuberculosis is not infrequent. Combined antituberculous therapy should be the treatment of choice in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Treatment with interferon gamma versus interferons alfa and gamma in children with chronic hepatitis B.

Thirty-five children with chronic hepatitis B were randomly assigned to three groups: group 1 (n = 12), untreated; group 2 (n = 11), treated with 1 million units of interferon gamma per square meter of body surface (MU/m2), three times a week for 24 weeks; and group 3 (n = 12), treated with interferon alfa at a dose of 5 MU/m2, three times a week for 12 weeks followed by 1 MU/m2 of interferon gamma with the same schedule. At the end of the treatment (6th month), hepatitis B virus DNA was negative in 16.5% of the control group, in 9% of the children treated with interferon gamma, and in 16.5% of those treated with interferons alfa and gamma. No child had lost the hepatitis B e antigen by this time. No basal differences in the serum hepatitis B virus DNA concentration among the groups were observed. At follow-up (15th month), viral genome was negative in 25% of the untreated children, in 36% of the group treated with interferon gamma, and in 41.5% of the children who had received interferons alfa and gamma. Hepatitis B e antigen was negative in 25% of the children who belonged to groups 1 and 3 and in 27% of the children treated with interferon gamma only. These data suggest that interferon gamma does not have a powerful antiviral effect on chronic hepatitis B in children. However, it is well tolerated.

Adolescent↗