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Biomedical subjects

E Alonso

Publications and source records attributed to E Alonso.

104 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of acute intermittent porphyria in a Mexican psychiatric population.

BACKGROUND: Acute intermittent porphyria is a hereditary error of porphyrin metabolism in which the main metabolic defect is caused by a decrease in porphobilinogen deaminase activity. Previous work has demonstrated a higher prevalence of acute intermittent porphyria in the psychiatric patient population than in the general population. The goal of this study was evaluate 300 psychiatric patients and 150 control subjects to detect acute intermittent porphyria by measurement of porphobilinogen (PBG) deaminase activity in blood. METHODS: Screening for porphobilinogen deaminase activity was carried out by fluorometric measurement of porphyrins synthesized during 1 h in blood and the measurement of delta-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen in urine. RESULTS: We found two psychiatric patients, one male and one female, with decreased porphobilinogen deaminase activity. When the families of these patients were studied, one brother was found to have an abnormality. Among controls, a woman was found to have the abnormality and her father was found to have typical features of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a prevalence of porphyria in Mexican psychiatric patients similar to controls, and that measurement of PBG deaminase activity is a good tool for defining acute intermittent porphyria carriers.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Baker's asthma in a child.

BACKGROUND: baker's asthma is a well-known occupational lung disease which usually develops in adults. We report the case of a two years old boy who suffered from asthma, urticaria and atopic dermatitis for twelve months, whose symptoms were associated to visits to his grandfather's bakery. METHODS AND RESULTS: skin prick tests (SPT) were made to dust mites, moulds, flours, alfa-amylase and egg. It was also determined total IgE and specific IgE antibodies to alfa-amylase and flours. Subsequently, a challenge test was carried out with wheat flour. The SPTs were positive to flours, alfa-amylase and egg. The determination of specific IgE antibodies showed 2.64 kU/L to wheat, 0.79 kU/L to glyadin and 2.98 kU/L to alfa-amylase. The patient developed asthma and rhinitis after manipulating wheat flour for 10 min. CONCLUSIONS: we demonstrated a type I hypersensitivity to wheat flour and alfa-amylase in a two years old child by SPT, specific IgE antibodies and challenge test. This case in the childhood equivalent of occupational baker's asthma.

Angioedema↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lead and cadmium exposure from contaminated soil among residents of a farm area near an industrial site.

In this study, the authors determined the degree of lead and cadmium exposure in a population that resided in an area with contaminated soil. The extent of exposure from soil pollution was also assessed. Lead and cadmium concentrations in blood of children and adults who resided in the contaminated area were measured, and cadmium concentration in urine of adults was also determined. An adult control group was recruited from a nonpolluted area. The mean blood lead level in adults who resided in the polluted area was 9.8 microg/dl, compared with a mean level of 6.8 microg/dl in controls (p = .004). Urinary cadmium levels were well below the level associated with onset of symptoms, but the differences between levels in residents of the contaminated area (0.54 microg/gm creatinine) and levels in the controls (0.37 microg/gm creatinine) indicated that life-long cadmium exposure had been higher among the residents of the contaminated area (p = .086). The mean blood lead level and mean blood cadmium level in children were 5.2 microg/dl (maximum = 7.90 microg/dl) and 0.10 microg/l, respectively. Lead in soil accounted in large part for the differences in blood lead levels in children; however, blood cadmium levels were not associated with soil cadmium levels, but, rather, with consumption of home-grown vegetables.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Blood lead levels in 2- to 3-year-old children in the Greater Bilbao Area (Basque Country, Spain): relation to dust and water lead levels.

The objectives of this study were to determine blood lead levels in 2-y-old children in the Greater Bilbao Area (Basque Country, Spain) and to compare those levels with the lead content of different media (i.e., house dust, park dust and soil, and water) in the child's environment. Between May and September of 1992, 138 children, aged 2 to 3 y, were studied. All children were attended by pediatricians within the public health-care network, and their parents volunteered for the study. A venous blood sample was drawn from each child and was analyzed for lead level, and the parents answered a questionnaire that addressed the socioeconomic background and habits of the children. The environment was investigated in 42 cases. Blood lead levels exceeded 15 micrograms/dl in 2% of the children, and 14% of the children had levels that exceeded 10 micrograms/dl (geometric mean = 5.7 micrograms/dl [4.7-6.7 micrograms/dl]. Blood lead levels were higher among (a) children whose mothers worked outside the home, (b) children whose fathers had only a primary-level education, and (c) children who lived in houses constructed prior to 1950. The geometrical averages of lead in house dust, park soil, and park dust were 595, 299, and 136 micrograms/g, respectively. Statistically significant linear correlation was found between blood lead level and lead content in park dust, a finding that explained a 9% variation in blood lead level; a subgroup of these children was also found to have a strong linear association between blood lead and lead content in house dust.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Subclinical attention changes in transient ischemic attacks in the vertebrobasilar region].

INTRODUCTION: A significant number of patients who have had cerebrovascular illness apparently recover their former abilities completely but return to normal life with subtle cognitive deficits which may affect their daily lives. Such is the situation of patients with transitory ischemic accidents who present with sustained, undiagnosed attention deficits. OBJECTIVES: To identify subclinical alterations due to attention deficits in patients with transitory ischemic accidents, and to contribute to the study of the physiopathological mechanisms involved in the integration of this function. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We examined 44 persons, divided into three groups for this study: one group had vertebro-basilar transitory ischemic accidents, a second group had supratentorial infarct and a third was healthy. All were given a specially designed computerized test of continuous work to evaluate the sustained attention component. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the transitory ischemic accidents and healthy groups, regarding the variables including correct answers, omissions and indications of attention. This was not seen with the variables involving reaction time and number of errors. This demonstrated the existence of attention disorders involving omission in the group of patients with transitory ischemic accidents. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the hypothesis that in the vertebro-basilar region there are important mechanisms involved in the process of sustained attention.

Acute Disease↗