Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Oliveros

Publications and source records attributed to A Oliveros.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Intracerebral calcifications in childhood lymphoblastic leukemia. A new iatrogenic disease?

A 3-year-old child diagnosed as having acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL), developed meningeal leukemia 36 months after the onset of the disease. He was twice subjected to cranial irradiation plus intrathecal methotrexate (i.t. MTX). Skull radiology showed bilateral gyriform calcification of both cerebral hemispheres. Hematological relapse was first detected 5 years after diagnosis and the child died 5 months later. The most striking findings of a right frontal lobe biopsy and the postmortem examination were wide calcium deposits located in the cortex and in the adjacent white matter. Intense demyelination as well as areas of neuron poverty were apparent in the necropsy but in the biopsy specimen. The possible interrelationship between such deposition and cranial irradiation and/or i.t. MTX suggests a new iatrogenic disorder.

Brain↗

[Electro-clinical and neuroimaging studies in epilepsy in elderly patients].

INTRODUCTION: Due to the aging population in developed countries, epidemiological studies show an increasing tendency to the prevalence of epilepsy in the elderly. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During 54 months, we have studied the electroclinical and neuroimaging features in outpatients older than 60, with active epilepsy. Every patient was interviewed by one of the authors. Then, we have reviewed the medical records about the clinical features, EEG and neuroimaging (NI) studies and seizures frequency (SF) outcome. Differences in crude proportions were assessed by chi 2 test for independence by 2 x 2 tables. RESULTS: The study was been performed in 78 patients with 70.3 +/- 7.3 years of mean age at review. Partial seizures were significantly related with an higher SF at onset and, in the series of complex partial seizures was more frequent a temporal EEG topography. There was predominance of men, NI abnormal, symptomatic etiology and SF at onset > or = 1 by day in that patients who started their epilepsy after 60 years. A 51.3% was seizures-free in the last year and in 80% the SF was improved a 50% or more from the beginning. CONCLUSION: A significantly greater percentage of patients remained with seizures in four cases: in those with a SF at onset greater than 1 every day, in those suffering complex partial seizures, in women and in patients with temporal EEG topography.

Aged↗

[Cerebral ischemia and epilepsy].

INTRODUCTION: We review the characteristics and evolution of epileptic crises (EC) related to non-hemorrhagic ictus. Patients and methods. Since June 1994 we have studied patients with EC both at the time of the ictus (acute symptomatic crises, ASC) and later (remote symptomatic crises RSC). One hundred and fifteen fulfilled the criteria and were followed-up until recurrence of EC, death or the end of the study (30.06.98). There were 66 men and 49 women (average age at the time of ictus = 67.4 +/- 12 years). RESULTS: Ninety one patients had RSC; reversible ischemic neurological deficit (DNIR) (50%), atherothrombotic pathology (58.5%) and anterior territory (70%) predominated. There was a similar proportion of partial and generalized crises (51.5% compared with 48.5%). Fifteen patients had presented with ASC. Thirty-nine patients presented with ASC, with predominance of established ictus (48.5%), atherothrombotic pathology (56.5%), anterior territory (82%) and generalized crises (59%). There was recurrence in 50.5% of those with RSC (follow-up 18.5 +/- 24 months). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: there was a predominance of ASC in patients with established ictus and RSC in the case of DNIR. In cases of abnormal EEG there was a greater proportion of patients with a history of ASC. In patients over 60 years old, CSR was commoner. In those with atherothrombosis there was a predominance of one crisis and in patients with embolisms two or more crises. There were more recurrences in patients with no previous history of ASC (p = 0.001), those with all the anterior territory affected (p = 0.002), those < 59 years old (p = 0.01), those previously untreated (p = 0.04) and those with abnormal EEG (p = 0.03). There was an increased RR in the abnormal EEG, involvement of the entire anterior territory and age < 59 years. Multivariate analysis showed that the probability of recurrence increased 1.23 times when there was a previous history of ASC; 14.73 times if the EEG was abnormal, and 18.12 times when both these factors were present.

Acute Disease↗

[Early presentation of crises and the development of epilepsy in cerebral intra-parenchymatous hemorrhage].

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of a total of 283 patients with spontaneous or hypertensive cerebral intraparenchymatous hemorrhage, 18 (6.3%), with no previous epilepsy, had crises whilst being followed-up for a period of between 2 and 7 years. In 14 cases the hematoma was lobar and 4 involved the basal ganglia or thalamus. In 8 cases (2.8% of all hemorrhage), these crises occurred during the first 24 hours, or as a first symptom of intraparenchymatous hemorrhage. One patient presented with status epilepticus with generalized crises and two had subentrant secondarily generalized partial crises at the time of the ictus. Treatment with anti-epileptic drugs was started in 13 patients. Twelve patients (4.2% of the hemorrhages) developed symptomatic epilepsy with partial crises with or without secondary generalization. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The maximum rate of recurrence was four crises per year. However, in one patient, reduction of the dose of medication led to the appearance of status epilepticus. Patients with crises of late onset developed epilepsy more often than those who had early crises. In those with crises there was a predominance of bilobular involvement with participation of the parietal lobe and extension of the hematoma or oedema to the cerebral cortex.

Adult↗

[Overall treatment of vascular epilepsy].

Cerebrovascular disease has different acute, ischemic and hemorrhagic presentations and may be associated with epileptic crises during the acute phase, or a later epileptic syndrome may develop. Status epilepticus is an infrequent complication which may appear at any time during the course of the illness, sometimes as the first and only sign of epilepsy. The risk of acute crises or of an epileptic syndrome varies depending on the nature of the vascular accident: its occurrence is more likely in hemorrhagic lesions and in those involving the cerebral cortex. The acute crises may be treated with benzodiazepines or with fast acting antiepileptic drugs; parenteral administration may sometimes be necessary. The need for prolonged prophylactic antiepileptic treatment is still under discussion, since there is no evidence that this prevents later development of an epileptic syndrome. The management of status epilepticus is the same whatever the etiology, although one has to take account of the risk of side-effects related to the age and general health of the patient. When deciding on treatment for vascular epilepsy consideration should be given not only to which drugs are to be used, but also their pharmacokinetic characteristics and interactions with any treatment required by the patient for coexisting conditions such as arterial hypertension, heart failure, anticoagulation, diabetes, etc.

Acute Disease↗

[Peripheral neuropathy in systemic lupus erythematosus].

INTRODUCTION: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the connective tissue disorder in which neuropsychiatric complications are most often seen. The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy varies from 5 to 27% depending on the series of cases described, with subclinical forms being most frequent. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of subclinical peripheral neuropathy in a group of patients with SLE, define their characteristics, and investigate any possible associations with clinico analytical parameters of the disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS. 32 patients with SLE were diagnosed in an Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic and followed up for at least a year. They were studied prospectively and consecutively by clinical examination, laboratory test and neurophysiological studies (electroneurogram). RESULTS: Neurophysiological study showed peripheral neuropathy to be present in 50% of the patients, who were mainly asymptomatic (75%) and found to be normal on neurological examination (81.2%). The most frequent type of neuropathy was polyneuropathy (37.5%) which was predominantly axonal symmetrical and sensomotor followed by isolated mono neuropathy (6.2%) and multiple mononeuritis (6.2%). No clinical or analytical parameter was significantly associated with the development of peripheral neuropathy. CONCLUSIONS: The considerable frequency of subclinical peripheral neuropathy in patients with SLE and the absence of associated clinical or analytical parameters makes it necessary to carry out neurophysiological studies in these patients to detect its presence and establish the precise extent of the disorder.

Adolescent↗

[Primary adenocarcinoma of the duodenum: a report of 2 cases and a review of the world literature].

We presented two cases of adenocarcinoma of the duodenum diagnosed at the Gastroenterology Unit of the General Hospital of Lidice Dr. Jesús Yerena and reviewed retrospectively the pathology cases from 1980-1990. We review the world literature and found that the most common clinical presentation was as obstructive type. In our cases perforation and jaundice were the presentation.

Adenocarcinoma↗