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Biomedical subjects

A Paz

Publications and source records attributed to A Paz.

62 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

[Melanoma (Hutchinson's lentigo maligna) having spontaneous regression. A case of immunologic importance].

I. A brief description is given of the general aspects of skin melanomas, including some personal observations. II. Immunologic facts are mentioned demonstrating: A) The existence of specific circulating antibodies demonstrated by immunofluorescence techniques, by the useful action of blood from patients with duly controlled melanoma injected into other melanoma patients, and by the verification that blood serum from a melanoma patient inhibits cultures thereof. B) As regards cell-mediated immunity, this is normal when a melanoma cure is obtained, and abnormal when no cure takes place. C) There exist melanoma remissions in patients treated with specific or non-specific (BCG) antigens. Spontaneous regression has also been observed in some melanomas. III. A case is presented: a) with spontaneous regression of facial malignant lentigo; b) manifestation of a cervical lymph node metastasis after the primitive tumor had subsided; c) low-degree cell-mediated immunity recuperated spontaneously in an exaggerated manner after radical neck dissection in which none of the lymph nodes proved metastatic; d) manifestation of herpes zoster while the patient presented her best immunologic index; and 2) 11 years' survival since the melanoma made its appearance, and more than 2 years (up to March 1979) since the manifestation of the lymph node metastases.

Aged↗

Histologic and biochemical identification and characterization of an elastin in cartilage.

Histochemical and chemical techniques have been used to identify, isolate and characterize elastin from certain bovine cartilages. The results strongly suggest that in addition to fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells, chondroblasts also synthesize elastin. Some of the possible functions of elastin in elastic cartilages are discussed and the possiblity of a new type of elastin perhaps unique to cartilage is suggested.

Amino Acids↗

Psychiatric problems in returning travelers: features and associations.

BACKGROUND: Travelers may return from the tropics with psychological problems. The literature regarding features and associations of these psychological problems is limited. METHODS: Case histories of 15 consecutive returning travelers seen at our psychiatric service during the last 8 years. RESULTS: The median age of this group was 25 years, 10 were males, and the length of trip ranged from 10 days to 8.5 months. None of these travelers had prior psychopathology. The most common presentation was anxiety (with or without depression, n = 11), 3 suffered from acute psychosis, and 1 had pure depression. Eight of the travelers have used illicit drugs, which in 5 cases probably served as a trigger. Antimalarials may have played a role in 3 travelers. Six travelers needed antidepressants and supportive therapy, 3 neuroleptics, and 1 psychotherapy. These treatments lasted for 6 months and over in 6 of the travelers. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric problems among travelers to the tropics are multifarious in nature, multifactorial, have a strong relation to drug abuse, and may require a long and intensive therapy. Travelers should be better educated about the risks of using illicit drugs.

Adult↗

Lymph node revealing solution: a new method for lymph node sampling: results in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Staging of gastric carcinoma depends on exact lymph node status. However, very small nodes are not easily found as they are obscured by the surrounding adipose tissue. The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the usefulness of a Olymph node revealing solutionO (LNRS) in gastric cancer. The perigastric adipose tissue of ten OproblematicO cases of gastric carcinoma, in which <10 lymph nodes were found using the traditional method, was immersed in LNRS for 6-12 h. Subsequently, the lymph nodes stood out as white chalky nodules. They were excised and processed routinely. The traditional method yielded a total of 30 lymph nodes with a mean size of 6.69 +/- 3.43 mm. The LNRS revealed 89 additional nodes with a mean size of 3.03 +/- 3.43 mm, which was significantly smaller. The Node (N) stage was changed in four cases from Nx to N0, in one case from N1 to N2, and in one case from N0 to N2. LNRS seems to be the technique of choice for staging of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma in whom <10 lymph nodes were found with the traditional method and accurate staging was not possible.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Nucleolar organizer regions in conjunctival nevi and melanomata.

The objective of this study was to compare the argyrophil nucleolar organizer region (Ag-NOR) counts of conjunctival nevi and melanomata and to compare the efficacy of this method in their differential diagnosis. Nine histologically diagnosed conjunctival nevi and three conjunctival malignant melanomas were studied. Representative sections were stained using the AgNOR technique. Fifty cells of each melanocytic lesion were randomly selected without knowing their histologic diagnosis. The AgNORs were visualized at a magnification of x1000. They consisted of clusters >1 micron in diameter and of satellites <1 micron in diameter, which were counted and recorded for each cell separately. The mean AgNOR count for the nevi was 1.12 clusters and 1.72 satellites per cell, while the count for the melanomas was 1.6 clusters and 6.8 satellites per cell. These results are statistically significant. There was no overlap between the number of AgNOR clusters and satellites in conjunctival nevi and melanomas, indicating that the AgNOR count might be a useful tool in distinguishing benign from malignant conjunctival melanocytic lesions.

Adolescent↗