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Biomedical subjects

C Navarro

Publications and source records attributed to C Navarro.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Treatment of neuropathic pain in neurology units. The PREVADOL study].

INTRODUCTION: Neuropathic pain (NPP) is defined as a pain started or caused by an injury to or dysfunction of the nervous system. Its treatment is different to that of nociceptive pain since it does not respond to conventional analgesics or non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. AIM: To describe the treatment being received by patients with NPP in the daily clinical practice of the specialist in neurology. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An observational, epidemiological, cross-sectional study was conducted in 36 neurology units (24 extra-hospital and 12 belonging to hospitals). We collected the clinical data and the treatment administered to the first 20 patients with NPP to visit the neurology units over a period of 20 consecutive working days. RESULTS: Data were collected for a total of 451 patients with NPP. The pharmacological groups most frequently used in patients with NPP attended in neurology units are antiepileptics (71%) and antidepressants (15%). Of these patients, 60% were being treated with a single drug (an antiepileptic agent in 84.5% of cases; antidepressants in 10.3%). Two pharmacological treatments were being received by 23.7%, and 2.3% of patients were given treatment involving three or more pharmacological agents. A total of 30% received non-pharmacological treatments, especially physiotherapy (50.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with NPP attended in neurology units follow first-order pharmacological treatments (antiepileptics or antidepressants). Over half the patients are controlled with monotherapy, usually with an antiepileptic agent. Non-pharmacological treatments (especially physiotherapy) are used in a third of the patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Acquired neuromuscular syndrome in critically ill patients].

AIMS: To analyse the causes and signs of the muscle weakness that critically ill patients develop during their stay in the ICU and to review the literature. DEVELOPMENT: In the early 80s, Bolton reported a mixed axonal polyneuropathy that he called 'polyneuropathy in critically ill patients'. Clinically it was characterised by muscle weakness that varied in intensity and caused quadriplegia and/or the need for assisted ventilation in its severest forms. It is currently considered to be the most common neurological disorder among critically ill patients. Many patients made a complete recovery after a few months or even a year. Running almost parallel to this, he also described 'acute myopathy in intensive care' among asthmatic patients who were hospitalised in the ICU due to exacerbation of their illness. It was later observed how other types of patients also had this myopathy, for instance, those who had undergone a transplant, sepsis or burns. Some authors consider acute myopathy in intensive care to be the primary cause of muscle weakness in the ICU. CONCLUSIONS: On many occasions 'polyneuropathy of critically ill patients' and 'acute myopathy in intensive care' can be differentiated and to do so neurophysiological and, if necessary, muscle biopsy studies are a valuable aid. Although some authors prefer to group these conditions under the name 'polyneuromyopathy', we propose the general term 'acquired neuromuscular syndrome in critically ill patients' -a more descriptive expression that does not presuppose a particular mechanism or a single aetiology.

Critical Illness↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Changes in the human amygdaloid complex due to age].

The normal aging process of the amygdala was studied in 35 human (male) brains. They were selected according the following criteria: 1) neither the clinical history nor the macro and microexamination of the brains should point out alterations of the CNS non age-dependent; 2) time elapsed between decease and brain fixation should be inferior to 16 hours (the mean was 6 hours); 3) age of patients should be uniformly distributed between 14 and 86 years (at least 4 brains per decade). The brains were fixed in buffered formalin (10%) and processed for paraffin embedding. The blocks containing the amygdaloid complex were coronal and serially sectioned (7 microns) and stained alternatively by Nissl, PAS or hemltoxylin-eosin. The changes studied in the amygdaloid complex were: number of neurons and karyometry. The numerical values obtained in this study were statistically analyzed. The neuronal loss ranged between 36 and 47% (p less than 0.001) according the nuclei. The nuclear size followed 3 periods: first (till the age of 45 years) atrophy (between 19 and 39%, p less than 0.01); second phase from 45 to 75 years, hypertrophy (between 13 and 28%, p less than 0.01); and a third phase that showed a slight size reduction of the nuclei.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between gastric levels and antiulcerogenic activity of zinc.

The relationship between the absorption of an organic zinc salt, zinc acexamate, and its antiulcerogenic activity in a model of cold-restraint stress was studied. Serum and gastric levels of zinc, as well as its antiulcerogenic effect, were determined after oral or intravenous administration of zinc acexamate. Cytochemical and X-ray microanalysis techniques were also applied. In the rats subjected to cold-restraint stress, gastric levels of zinc correlated with the antiulcerogenic effect observed after administration of zinc acexamate. However, it was not possible to establish a relationship between serum levels and the pharmacologic effect of zinc. Our results in animals subjected to regular diet indicate that the antiulcerogenic effect exhibited by zinc compounds could be associated with the presence of zinc at different levels of gastric tissue.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Penicillin allergy: in vivo and in vitro diagnostic methods.

Hypersensitivity to beta lactams, especially that mediated by IgE or IgG4, is the most frequent complaint of adverse drug reactions. There are multiple studies dedicated at establishing a method that can permit us to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, but from these studies one deduces that the difficulty lies in the lack of a test with a 100% reliability. In the present study we evaluate the correlation between the different methods. For this we selected 16 children, composed of 8 males and 8 females, whose ages ranged between 2 years 7 months and 9 years 8 months, and who had a reaction to penicillin G via parenteral. The following tests were done on them: Skin tests with a major determinant antigen (constant composition and molecular weight), with minor determinants. Human basophil degranulation test (modified Leynadier technique). Mathov's progressive controlled provocation test, which we considered the most reliable. Only in eight cases a diagnosis of penicillin allergy was arrived at. The correlation between the different tests were: Mathov - HBDT 93.75%; Mathov - PPL 93.75% and PPL - HBDT 87.5%.

Angioedema↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Aspirin-induced asthma in children.

Since Cooke first described bronchospasm induced by acetyl salicylic acid in asthmatic patients in 1919, numerous studies have been done with the objective of understanding the pathology, treatment and incidence of aspirin-induced asthma. The incidence is difficult to establish but according to two recent studies, the percentage in the infantile asthmatic population was estimated at 13% and 28%. This prevalence is greater than that suspected at first and reveals the necessity of reviewing this problem. In this study we present 4 pediatric patients, 2 atopics and 2 non-atopics affected with aspirin-induced asthma. A detailed clinical history, oral provocation test to acetyl salicylic acid, other non-steroid anti-inflammatory analgesics and additives was performed. The oral provocation test with acetyl salicylic acid was positive in all 4 cases. The oral provocation with non-steroid anti-inflammatory analgesics and other additives was negative in 2 patients. In the remaining 2 patients, one demonstrated sensitivity only to tartrazine and the other to tartrazine, red coccine, mefenamic acid and benorylate. In conclusion, aspirin-induced asthma is not infrequent in infancy. Therefore, it is important to bear it always in mind and to diagnose it through oral provocation besides looking for possible cross reactions.

Aspirin↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Acetyl salicylic acid induced-urticaria and/or angioedema in atopic children.

From the report of Hirschberg, only 3 years after aspirin synthesis, there have been numerous works dedicated to showing the different types of adverse reactions found following aspirin administration. However, there are few publications on the process of urticaria and/or acute angioedema induced by ASA and few reported cases were found in children. Thus, we present 6 atopic children with urticaria and/or angioedema related with ASA. A carefully detailed history, oral provocation with ASA, oral provocation with other NSAI and HBDT with ASA were done to all of them. The oral provocation with ASA was positive in 5 of the 6 cases. The provocations with the rest of the NSAI and tartrazine and sodium benzoate were negative in all of the patients. The HBDT was positive in 5 of the cases. In conclusion, we insist that aspirin intolerance is not infrequent in infancy and it is not rare to see urticaria and or angioedema, in spite of the fact that asthmatics, atopics or non atopics, usually present as bronchospasm. We also believe that the HBDT can be a method of diagnosis used in these cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Complications on two cases of peritoneal dialysis (authors transl)].

Two newborns with abdominal perforation during peritoneal dialysis are presented. The first probably before dialysis and the second iatrogenic. Both needed surgical intervention. Incidence in children in comparation with adults is discussed. Severe clinic complications of both patients that needed complete parenteral nutrition, mechanic ventilation and treatment of Candida sepsis are comented. Both survived without sequels in spite of severe complications.

Acute Kidney Injury↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk factors for progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasm grade III to invasive cervical cancer.

Data from four case-control studies on invasive cervical cancer and on cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III (CIN III) that were concurrently conducted in Spain and Colombia were used to look for factors that might favor the progression from CIN III to the invasive stage. These studies were compared in two ways; a case-case comparison and an estimation of the ratio of odds ratios with the use of of special logistic regression model that took into account the different design of each study and possible confounding factors. Variables studied were human papillomavirus status, viral load, viral types, sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases, reproductive patterns, oral contraceptives, and smoking. Both CIN III and invasive cervical cancer have a very similar profile of risk factors and none of them was different in a consistent way to suggest a role in the progression from CIN III to invasive cervical cancer. Some methodological problems such as cohort-specific differences and some selection biases could be adjusted for with a careful statistical analysis. Other problems derived from the cross-sectional nature of the design are unavoidable and should be considered in the interpretation of the results.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Human papillomavirus and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III/carcinoma in situ: a case-control study in Spain and Colombia.

A case-control study of 525 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III (CIN III) and 512 controls was conducted in Spain and Colombia between 1985 and 1988 to assess the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the etiology of CIN III. HPV DNA in cytological scrapes from the cervix was assessed by Virapap and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the L1 consensus primers. A subsample of 268 specimens was also tested for HPV DNA using Southern hybridization. In Spain, the PCR-based prevalences of HPV DNA were 70.7% among cases and 4.7% among controls. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (numbers in parentheses) for HPV DNA were 56.9 (24.8-130.6). In Columbia HPV DNA was detected by PCR in 63.2% of the cases and in 10.5% of the controls. The OR was 15.5 (8.2-29.4). The estimated fractions of CIN III attributable to HPV were 72.4% in Spain and 60.3% in Colombia. HPV 16 was the predominant viral type and showed the strongest association with CIN III; in Spain the OR was 295.5 (44.8-1946.4) and in Colombia the OR was 27.1 (10.6-69.5). HPV DNA of unknown type was frequent in HPV-positive cases (18.3% in Spain and 38.0% in Colombia) and controls (66.7% in Spain and 47.4% in Colombia). The comparison of results from Virapap and PCR indicated that PCR is the method of choice for epidemiological studies. These data strongly support the hypothesis of the viral origin of CIN III, the common etiology of CIN III and invasive cervical cancer, and the causal nature of the association between HPV and CIN III.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Selective cytotoxicity of L-glutamic acid gamma-monohydroxamate (GAH) for melanoma tumor cells.

We have previously shown that L-glutamic acid gamma-monohydroxamate (GAH) exhibits an antitumor activity, both in vitro and in vivo. In this report we explore the selective cytotoxicity of GAH in vitro by comparing the survival of tumor and normal cells. GAH exerts an irreversible delayed effect with tumoral cells and a reversible effect with normal cells: after a short incubation time of 6 hrs in the presence of 1.2 mM GAH and after removal of the drug, the survival of N Ter Dau and MRC5 cells was identical reaching about 85% after 24 hrs of culture. But, after another 48 hrs of culture, MRC5 cells recovered 100% cell survival while with N Ter Dau cells the survival decreased to 65%. A longer exposure time to GAH (18 hrs) and an additional 54 hrs of culture after removal of GAH led to 50 +/- 10% of cell survival with normal cells but only 25 +/- 10% with tumor cells. Using a long-term clonogenic assay, we showed that the 25% N Ter Dau cells surviving at 72 hrs after GAH treatment led mainly to abortive colonies (17% +/- 3%) with only 2.3 +/- 0.9% of surviving colonies. Such a difference does not exist for normal cells. Cell cycle analysis of tumor and normal cells treated with GAH (18 hrs, 1,2 mM) has shown that the drug prevents both cell type from cycling from G1 to S phase. However, the two cell types started to cycle again after removal of GAH but a delay of 24 hrs was observed for tumoral cells compared to normal cells.

Animals↗