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Biomedical subjects

F Guerra

Publications and source records attributed to F Guerra.

139 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Occurrence and clinical profile of the sensitization to Chenopodium in the province of Córdoba (Spain).

The sensitization to pollen from the Amarantaceae and Chenopodiaceae families is responsible for some pollinoses according to various authors. Following an aeropalynological carried out by the Botany Division of our University, we investigated the sensitization to Chenopodium in our pollinic patients in order to establish their clinical patterns. We evaluated 14 variables in Chenopodium-sensitive (CHE +) and nonsensitive (CHE -) patients; the results were analysed by using a computerized statistical programme. Of the 1,000 records reviewed, 38% corresponded to pollinic patients, of whom 8.42% were sensitive to pollen from this family. We found no significant differences between the two groups in the parameters representative of atopic features (e.g. eosinophilia, IgE). However, marked differences were indeed found in the age of appearance of symptoms, frequency of clinical pictures, origin of the patients, duration of the symptoms and evolution upon immunotherapeutic treatment not involving this antigen. These findings endow the sensitization to Chenopodium with special features which should be taken into account in choosing a specific treatment.

Air↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Effect of sodium and potassium on cardiac infarct in rats].

During the induction of myocardial infarction in the rat by isoproterenol, a decrease in the voltage of the T wave in the electrocardiogram is produced, which reflects myocardial ischemia through a previous infusion of a KCl solution; while the perfusion of NaCl increases the voltage of such wave and therefore cardiac ischemia. The values of free Pi in the myocardium increase significantly with the administration of isoproterenol. If KCl has been perfused previously, the figures of free Pi are superior in 155% of those obtained with the perfusion of NaCl. The values of all the energetic phosphates, AMP, ADP and ATP decrease inversely and in a significant way with isoproterenol and the perfusion of NaCl and KCl. The activity of creatine-phosphokinase in the myocardium decreases with isoproterenol, specially with the previous perfusion of KCl Similarly, the activity of the isoenzimes of lactic dehydrogenase L1 and L2 (alpha-HBDH), decreases, which intensifies with previous perfusion of NaCl, but diminishes with KCl. The activity of malicodehydrogenase (MDH) in the myocardium decreases with isoproterenol, even with the previous perfusion of NaCl, but in lesser degree than with KCl.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Study of sensitivity to the pollen of Fraxinus spp. (Oleaceae) in Cordoba, Spain.

The level of ash pollen grains (Fraxinus spp.) detected in the air in the city of Cordoba rarely surpasses the daily average of 8 g/m3 and is always detectable during the winter and the beginning of the spring. This fact, together with the knowledge of the presence of perennial symptoms in patients monosensitive to Olea in this area, allows us to suspect the possibility of cross-reactivity between both taxa. The skin tests carried out on a total of 1500 pollinotic patients with an extract of Fraxinus pollen offer us a global sensitization frequency of 59%. Furthermore, the Fx+ patients generally have a higher frequency of rural origin or they live in the most southerly district of the province. As for the age and sex of the patient, significant differences were found for the age groups between 5-10 years and over 25 but the frequency for both sexes was equal. As for the clinical features, differences in the family and personal antecedents of atopy were not observed, although rhinoconjunctival clinical antecedents seemed to prevail slightly over asthma antecedents. In relation to the duration of the symptoms, the patients presented a long evolution in their symptomatology. The great majority of the patients were polysensitive; only 8% were found to be monosensitive, with unimportant differences in their evolution after immunotherapeutic treatment. On the other hand, 92% of the Fx+ patients presented reactions to Olea pollen (but only 41% of the Fx- patients did), whereas 62% showed sensitivity to Cupressus, marking a strong contrast with the Fx-patients, who all tested negative for Cupressus pollen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Use of ticlopidine in primary care].

OBJECTIVES: To find the reasons for prescription of Ticlopidine, which acts against the aggregation of platelets and is catalogued as "with hospital diagnosis", and to evaluate the criteria for its correct use and whether it is actually used in Spain to treat authorised symptoms. DESIGN: A descriptive, crossover and retrospective study. SETTING: Primary Care districts in the catchment area of the Virgen del Rocío hospital in Sevilla. PATIENTS: Those who requested permits for Ticlopidine prescriptions, documented by the clinical report. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The following data were recorded from the clinical reports presented when the Ticlopidine prescription permits were requested: patient's identification, diagnosis, pharmaceutical speciality, dosage, length of treatment and recommendation of haematological check-ups. Out of 407 reports available, the diagnosis corresponded to one of the authorised symptoms in 50.6% of cases. In a third of the patients the recommended dose was half that endorsed by the published clinical trials. Only in 2.7% of cases was mention made of the desirability of having haematological check-ups to forestall possible adverse reactions. The possibility of a counter-indication to Acetylsalicylic acid was only rarely mentioned. CONCLUSIONS: Ticlopidine is recommended in 50% of cases for symptoms for which it is not authorised in our country: moreover, in 35% of cases, at doses lower than those established as effective. The information given by the doctor who initiates the treatment is usually insufficient. There is a need to reassess whether cataloguing a medicine as "with hospital diagnosis" aids its rational use.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of preseasonal treatment with allergenic extracts of Olea europaea pollen administered sublingually.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot clinical trial we evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of immunotherapy (IT) with an extract of the pollen of the tree Olea europaea administered sublingually. The parameters tested were symptom score, dose-response bioassay of skin prick test and specific IgE and IgG, and the absolute value at a single serum dilution of each IgG subclass. Fifteen patients allergic to this pollen with symptomatology of rhinitis and/or rhinoconjunctivitis were randomly allocated to the placebo group (6 patients) or to the extract group (9 patients). Immunotherapy was administered in a short preseasonal period of time, practically no side effects being recorded. The group of patients treated with extract presented a slightly lower incidence (0.05 < p < 0.1) of nasal symptoms of sneezing and obstruction, and, more importantly, developed less dyspnea (p < 0.05) than the group treated with placebo, suggesting that IT can act as prophylaxis for the development of bronchial symptoms. No differences were observed in the immunological determinations. Differences in skin tests between the two groups displayed a slight significance (0.05 < p < 0.1) at the end of the trial; hence, a higher concentration of the allergen was needed in the group treated with extract to induce the same wheal as in the placebo group. In both groups the size of the wheal showed a time-dependent variation, which was dependent on the time of the year and independent of the type of treatment received, indicating a significant modification in the in vivo skin response to allergen challenge, demonstrated by a shift in the kinetics of allergen-ligand binding (slope) and in the magnitude of the measured response (intercept).

Administration, Sublingual↗
PubMedDate not supplied

In vivo evaluation of cellular immunity in different phases of contact dermatitis.

Contact dermatitis is a delayed hypersensitivity reaction involving the skin as shock organ. In a delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction to contact with an antigen, the afferent, central and efferent phases of the immune reaction remain untouched and the individual concerned has a nonspecific inflammatory response capacity. Hence, delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity tests and the dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) test are of great use in evaluating this type of reaction. This prompted us to evaluate the in vivo response of patients suffering from contact dermatitis, as studies on this topic have been focused on animal experimentation or in vitro techniques. We chose 30 patients with contact dermatitis and studied them at three different stages, namely, when the patients showed the typical clinical signs (acute phase), when the lesions had subsided (intercrisis phase) and when the signs had recurred (acute outbreak). We subjected them to delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity tests and the DNCB test. Both techniques revealed a decrease in the response in the intercrisis phase with respect to the other two phases and to a control group.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Study of lymphocyte subpopulations at different stages of contact dermatitis.

Contact dermatitis has traditionally been regarded as a T-lymphocyte-mediated delayed hypersensitivity reaction. This has led authors to focus their studies of this affection on establishing the role played by lymphocytes and the different lymphocyte subpopulations in its pathophysiology. However, as most of the research conducted on contact dermatitis has so far been carried out on experimental animals, we believed it of interest to study the potential alterations to the immune system involved in contact dermatitis in humans. For this purpose, we chose 30 patients suffering from contact dermatitis in whom we studied the blood levels of total lymphocytes, as well as those of CD3, CD4 and CD8, and the CD4/CD8 ratio. These parameters were determined at three clinical stages, namely, the clinical stage (acute phase), a period when the symptoms had subsided (intercrisis phase) and another when the lesions recurred (acute outbreak). The aim of this work was to study the changes in these lymphocyte subpopulations in each of the stages. We also studied a control group consisting of 30 healthy subjects in order to contrast the results obtained. We found no significant differences among the results obtained at the three stages. However, they did differ from those obtained for the control group: the patients had lower CD4 and CD8 levels than their healthy counterparts, the differences only being significant in the acute phase.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Linear monitoring of patients sensitive to Olea and grass pollens treated with immunotherapy based on glutaraldehyde-modified (allergoid) extracts.

Extracts modified with glutaraldehyde (allergoid) have been offered to allergologists for immunotherapy in the last few years as supposedly clinically effective agents that diminish undesirable side-effects (allergenicity vs. immunogenicity). In order to acquire experience in the use of this therapeutic resource, we monitored a group of patients with pollinosis sensitive to Olea, grass pollens or both, who suffered from seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis (SRC) or rhinoconjunctivitis and seasonal asthma (RCSA) and were administered allergoid treatments standardized in biological units (HEP). The patients were monitored by determination of specific IgE and IgG4, endpoint prick tests and conjunctival provocation tests (CPT) with two types of antigen: Lolium perenne and Olea europaea. Measurements were made at baseline (T1), when the maximal tolerated dose had been given (T2) and 1 year after the treatment was started (T3). According to our results, this type of extract is tolerated quite well and causes no alterations in specific IgG4 or IgE levels. On the other hand, it features significantly decreased allergen-specific skin reactivity and increased response thresholds to the CPT (p < 0.01). A high correlation between skin and conjunctival provocation tests was observed at some stages (r = 0.79, p < 0.01).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sensitivity to Cupressus: allergenic significance in Córdoba (Spain).

The detection of high levels of Cupressaceae pollen concentration in the air from January to April for several years in our area prompted analysis of the incidence and allergenic significance of sensitivity to this pollen. Furthermore, this is the highest winter-blooming taxa in the city of Córdoba. Skin prick tests were carried out over a one-year period on 1532 patients suffering from respiratory disorders (asthma and/or rhinoconjunctivitis). A total of 42 variables were studied in Cupressus-positive and Cupressus-negative patients; the data obtained were analyzed using a statistical software package. Sensitivity to Cupressus was found in 13% of all outpatients attending the unit, 18% of patients with respiratory disorders and 35% of patients with pollinosis. No significant differences were found between Cupressus-positive (C+) and Cupressus-negative (C-) patients with regard to mean age, sex, patient environment (i.e., rural, semi-rural, urban), personal or family history of atopy, clinical symptoms or evolution after immunotherapy (which did not include this antigen). More C+ patients were found in the higher age brackets (over 25 years old; p < 0.05); C+ patients showed greater duration (p < 0.05) and slower development (p < 0.05) of symptoms, and were also found to be more sensitive to other pollens (p < 0.001). All the Cupressus-sensitive patients also reacted positively to Olea and Fraxinus, compared to 77% and 51% in the two Cupressus-negative groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Adenomatoid hyperplasia of the minor salivary glands. Report of a clinical case].

The authors describe a case of adenomatoid hyperplasia of a minor salivary gland. On the basis of the literature, they discuss the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects and dwell upon the value of the histologic examination as the only way to achieve a correct diagnosis, because the lesion cannot be clinically discriminated from the tumoral lesions.

Adenoma↗