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Biomedical subjects

C Muñoz

Publications and source records attributed to C Muñoz.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

[Comparative study of the eradication of Helicobacter pylori: ranitidine bismuth citrate versus omeprazole plus two antibiotics for seven days].

AIMS: To compare the efficacy of ranitidine bismuth citrate (RB) combined with two antibiotics during seven days in comparison with OCA-7 for treatment of Helicobacter pylori. METHODS: In a randomized clinical trial 200, consecutive patients infected by Helicobacter pylori were studied prospectively. One of two regimens was given for 7 days; OCA-7 (omeprazole 20 mg b.i.d., amoxycillin 1 gr b.i.d., clarithromycin 500 mg b.i.d.) or RBCA (RB 400 b.i.d., amoxicillin 1 gr b.i.d., clarithromycin 500 mg b.i.d.). Eradication was defined as a negative breath test one month after therapy. RESULTS: 112 male and 88 female with a mean age of 48 years (range 18-82). 100 patients were randomized to OCA-7 and 100 patients to RBCA-7. Overall 186 patients completed the treatment. Intention to-treat eradication was in the group OCA-7 of 72% and 73% in group RBCA-7. Per-protocol eradication was in the group OCA-7 of 78% and 77% in group RBCA-7 (p = 0.3). Five patients in the group OCA-7 and nine in the group RBCA-7, had side effects, three of these patients did not complete therapy by diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: RB with two antibiotics is as effective and safe as OCA-7 for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes among the hemodialysis population in the province of Alicante].

UNLABELLED: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes are irregularly distributed among the different geographic area and groups at risk. OBJECTIVE: To study the different HCV genotypes and subtypes of hemodialyzed patients from Alicante. METHODS: We studied 640 patients on haemodialysis (HD) and we determined the RNA-HCV and the genotypes in the 120 patients with antibodies against HCV (HCV-Ab). We compared the results with the genotypes of 1,370 patients from other groups at risk in the same geographic area. RESULTS: RNA-HCV was not found in the serum in 15% (18/120) of the patients on HD who were HCV-Ab positive. Prevalence of the different genotypes in the 102 patients with positive viral RNA was the following: 1b: 56.8% (58/102), 1a: 19.6% (20/102), 3: 17% (17/102), 2a-2c: 1.9 (2/102), 2b: 0.9% (1/102) 4: 2.9 (3/102), 5: 0.9% (1/102). In conclusion, the genotype 1b was the most frequent in the patients studied in all these areas, and was the same as in the rest of the country. This genotype has been associated with the most severe hepatic disease and poor response to treatment, affecting the prognosis of these patients. The most frequent genotypes in HD in Alicante were 1b, 3 and 1a. HCV genotypes distribution among the HD units was not uniform in the different geographic areas. HCV genotypes distribution in the HD population is similar to other groups at risk from the same geographic area.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence of Haemophilus influenzae carriers in the Catalan preschool population. Working Group on Invasive Disease Caused by Haemophilus influenzae.

This study was designed to determine the prevalence of healthy Haemophilus influenzae carriers in a random sample of the preschool population in Catalonia. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected and cultured on chocolate agar supplemented with 260 microg/ml of bacitracin. Four hundred two of the 734 (54.8%) children studied were detected as Haemophilus influenzae carriers: 7 (0.9%) carried serotype b, 14 (1.9%) serotype e, 6 (0.8%) serotype f, and 375 (51%) carried nontypable strains. The results show that, although the prevalence of Haemophilus influenzae carriers is similar to figures reported from other countries, the prevalence of Haemophillus influenzae serotype b carriers is lower and corresponds with the low incidence of invasive disease observed in the Catalan community.

Carrier State↗
PubMed2000

Neuroblastoma and bronchogenic cyst: a rare association.

A few of the known associations between paediatric cancer and congenital anomalies are attributable to contiguous-gene syndromes. Neuroblastoma (NB) has been linked with an excess of gastrointestinal malformations, but there is a significant scarcity of associated respiratory anomalies. We report on two children having an abdominal NB and a bronchogenic cyst diagnosed simultaneously and in different order of appearance. Both masses were removed in separated procedures, taking into account the priority and the time sequence of chemotherapy. Literature is reviewed, checking that the genetic basis for this association is supported by speculations about the oncogene RON.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed2000

Neisseria meningitidis: evolution of penicillin resistance and phenotype in a children's hospital in Barcelona, Spain.

UNLABELLED: Neisseria meningitidis is the most prevalent micro-organism involved in paediatric bacterial meningitis in the Barcelona area in children over 3 mo of age and it is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Spain. A total of 498 strains of N. meningitidis, obtained between the years 1986 and 1997 from children with sepsis and/or meningitis, were characterized according to their serogroup and penicillin resistance; their distribution in serotypes and subtypes was studied from 1990. A decreasing tendency in the number of annual isolates was observed in this period. Most isolates belonged to serogroups B (403 strains) and C (77 strains). Serogroup C accounted for 1.8% of the strains in 1986 and 57.1% in 1997. The most prevalent phenotype between 1990 and 1996 was B:4:P1.15. but C:2b:P1.2,5 was the most prevalent in 1997. Overall penicillin-resistance rates ranged from 9.1% in 1986 (when a non-susceptible strain was isolated for the first time in the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain) to 71.4% in 1997, and it was more common among strains belonging to serogroup C (52% of resistant strains) than to serogroup B (22.1 % of resistant strains). The penicillin-resistance level was low, MIC always < or = 0.5 microg/ml. The present increase in N. meningitidis group C isolates, mainly C:2b:P1.2,5, and the availability of preventive measures for this highly pathological and resistant phenotype, argues strongly for the establishment of an epidemiological monitoring system. Detection of penicillin resistance should be standardized worldwide in order to unify data from all laboratories. CONCLUSION: A shift between serogroups B and C is observed in Barcelona from 1986 to 1997, as well as a rapid distribution of decreased penicillin susceptibility.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Antibiotic resistance trends in enteropathogenic bacteria isolated in 1985-1987 and 1995-1998 in Barcelona.

Trends in resistance to antimicrobial agents used for therapy have been evaluated with 3,797 enteropathogenic bacteria, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, and Yersinia, between 1985-1987 and 1995-1998. The greater increase in the rate of resistance was observed in Campylobacter jejuni for quinolones (from 1 to 82%) and tetracycline (from 23 to 72%) and in gastroenteric salmonellae for ampicillin (from 8 to 44%), chloramphenicol (from 1.7 to 26%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and nalidixic acid (from less than 0.5 to 11%). Multidrug resistance was detected in several Salmonella serotypes. In the 1995-1998 period, 76% of Shigella strains were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 43% were resistant to ampicillin, and 39% were resistant to chloramphenicol. Seventy-two percent of Yersinia enterocolitica O3 strains were resistant to streptomycin, 45% were resistant to sulfonamides, 28% were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and 20% were resistant to chloramphenicol.

Campylobacter↗
PubMed2000

Oxygen activation during oxidation of methoxyhydroquinones by laccase from Pleurotus eryngii.

Oxygen activation during oxidation of the lignin-derived hydroquinones 2-methoxy-1,4-benzohydroquinone (MBQH(2)) and 2, 6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzohydroquinone (DBQH(2)) by laccase from Pleurotus eryngii was examined. Laccase oxidized DBQH(2) more efficiently than it oxidized MBQH(2); both the affinity and maximal velocity of oxidation were higher for DBQH(2) than for MBQH(2). Autoxidation of the semiquinones produced by laccase led to the activation of oxygen, producing superoxide anion radicals (Q(*-) + O(2) <--> Q + O(2)(*-)). As this reaction is reversible, its existence was first noted in studies of the effect of systems consuming and producing O(2)(*-) on quinone formation rates. Then, the production of H(2)O(2) in laccase reactions, as a consequence of O(2)(*-) dismutation, confirmed that semiquinones autoxidized. The highest H(2)O(2) levels were obtained with DBQH(2), indicating that DBQ(*-) autoxidized to a greater extent than did MBQ(*-). Besides undergoing autoxidation, semiquinones were found to be transformed into quinones via dismutation and laccase oxidation. Two ways of favoring semiquinone autoxidation over dismutation and laccase oxidation were increasing the rate of O(2)(*-) consumption with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and recycling of quinones with diaphorase (a reductase catalyzing the divalent reduction of quinones). These two strategies made the laccase reaction conditions more natural, since O(2)(*-), besides undergoing dismutation, reacts with Mn(2+), Fe(3+), and aromatic radicals. In addition, quinones are continuously reduced by the mycelium of white-rot fungi. The presence of SOD in laccase reactions increased the extent of autoxidation of 100 microM concentrations of MBQ(*-) and DBQ(*-) from 4.5 to 30.6% and from 19.6 to 40.0%, respectively. With diaphorase, the extent of MBQ(*-) autoxidation rose to 13.8% and that of DBQ(*-) increased to 39.9%.

Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1999

Rotavirus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize overlapping epitopes in the amino-terminal region of the VP7 glycoprotein.

Rotavirus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) play an important role in the resolution of rotavirus infection. The outer capsid glycoprotein, VP7, elicits a class I MHC-restricted CTL response. Vaccinia virus recombinants expressing the VP7 genes from simian rotavirus SA11 (serotype G3) and from the RF strain of bovine rotavirus (serotype G6) were used to analyze the CTL activity to this antigen in BALB/c (H-2(d)) and C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) mice neonatally infected with homologous and heterologous rotaviruses. A vaccinia virus recombinant expressing the first amino-terminal 88 amino acids of VP7 was constructed and used to search for cross-reactive CTL against this region of the protein. By using synthetic Kb, Db, and Kd motif-fitting peptides two overlapping CTL epitopes have been identified located in the first hydrophobic domain (H1) of VP7. Splenocytes obtained from rotavirus SA11-infected C57BL/6 mice induced the strongest CTL response against target cells sensitized with a peptide containing a Kb-restricted CTL epitope (amino acids 8-16). A second Kd-restricted epitope (residues 5-13) was recognized by splenocytes derived from rotavirus-infected BALB/c mice. These findings reveal the existence of CTL epitopes in the H1 signal sequence of the VP7 glycoprotein that coexist with a CTL epitope (residues 31-40) previously described within the H2 region.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

[Haemophilus influenzae type b invasive disease in Catalonia (1996)].

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to find out the incidence and characteristics of H. influenzae type b invasive disease (HibID) in Catalonia, Spain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An active surveillance of H. influenzae isolated from normally sterile sites was carried out during 1996. Microbiology laboratories of hospitals of Catalonia were periodically contacted by telephone. The serotype of all the strains was studied. RESULTS: The incidence of H. influenzae invasive disease (HIID) was 7.1 per 100,000 in children under 5 years and 1.0 per 100,000 in those over 5 years. The incidence of serotype b was 6.4 per 100,000 children under 5 years and 0.2 above this age. Only three strains belonged to types other than b (d, e and f). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of HIbID is uncommon in Catalonia, lower than that registered in the prevaccine era in other countries and regions of the same geographical area.

Adolescent↗