Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Espinosa

Publications and source records attributed to J Espinosa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Serum albumin and other prognostic factors related to response and survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

The standard therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains to be defined. The poor results from chemotherapy have favored the search for prognostic factors that help identify patients more likely to respond. Our objective was to find factors related to response, the duration of response, and overall survival in patients with advanced NSCLC. We reviewed the clinical records of 292 patients with non-operable NSCLC, all of whom had a good performance status and had received chemotherapy. Ninety percent were male and the median age was 59 years. The therapeutic regimens included MACC (methotrexate, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide and CCNU), cisplatin + vindesine or etoposide, MIP (mitomycin, ifosfamide and cisplatin) and MVP (mitomycin, vindesine and cisplatin). In the multivariate analysis, a normal albumin level and the inclusion of cisplatin were related to the achievement of a response (40% if both favorable factors were present). No factors appeared related to the duration of response. The following factors were predictive for survival: weight loss, performance status, lymphocyte count, albumin level, number of metastases and the presence of bone metastases. We conclude that the albumin level identifies a group of patients with advanced NSCLC who are more likely to respond to cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Nonpenetrating trauma to the carotid artery: seven cases and a literature review.

Nonpenetrating carotid trauma is uncommon and frequently missed on initial examination. The cases of seven patients seen over a period of 21 years are presented and 100 cases from the most recent literature are reviewed. Causes and mechanisms of injury, clinical presentation, investigations, management, and outcome are discussed. Causes of injury were three motor vehicle collisions, two falls, one sports injury, and one blow to the face. Clinical presentation was early in four and delayed in three. The earliest symptoms and signs were a change in mental status, headache, unprovoked fall, focal weakness, neglect, and dysphasia. Doppler studies may be useful in screening, but a definitive diagnosis is made with the help of angiography. Two patients were treated surgically; one died, one with delayed symptoms from a pseudoaneurysm recovered completely. Five patients were given anticoagulants; all survived with permanent deficits related to their pretreatment neurologic status. The outcome in 100 recent cases from the literature has improved compared with previous reports. The overall mortality was 12%. The outcome in our seven cases supports recent trends toward a strategy of early anticoagulation and selective surgical treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Morbidity of chronic recording with intracranial depth electrodes in 170 patients.

A consecutive series of 170 patients who have been submitted to intracranial depth electrode recordings is reviewed to assess the overall morbidity of the technique. Most patients had bitemporal and frontal electrodes inserted and were monitored for an average period of 18 days. A surgically amenable focus was found in 85% of the cases. There were 4 cases of infection including 2 cerebral abscesses which required surgical evacuation. One patient with frontal lobe atrophy developed an acute subdural hematoma after electrode implantation. There was no death or neurological deficit in the entire series. Morbidity was encountered mainly in the neuropsychological sphere, several patients having developed transient postictal psychosis after repetitive seizures. Our recording technique has been associated with low surgical morbidity. Patients undergoing depth electrode recordings should be closely monitored to minimize the occurrence of psychotic episodes associated with drug withdrawal and increased seizure frequency.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Anorectal manometry in the newborn].

Anorectal manometry was performed in 32 newborn. There were 18 preterm and 14 fullterm infants, mean ages 6.1 and 7.1 days respectively. The rectoanal inhibitory reflex (RIR) was positive in 31 of the newborn, and the relaxation waves produced by rectal distention were recorded along the anal canal and were directly correlated to intensity of the stimulus. In the remaining patient RIR was negative, due to Hirschsprung's disease, confirmed at surgery. The length of the anal canal was 10.3 +/- 2 mm. in preterm newborn infants and 14.7 +/- 2.9 mm, in fullterm (p < 0.0001). These findings suggests that presence of RIR is independent of the weight, gestational age and birth age of the infant, and that anal canal length is correlated with the weight of the infant. We conclude that anorectal manometry, in the neonatal period, is a simple, reliable and safe method to test anorectal functionality, including the study of Hirschsprung's disease.

Female↗
PubMed1993

Soft tissue sarcomas: thirteen years experience in the service of medical oncology of a general hospital.

Thirty-seven patients with soft tissue sarcomas were treated between 1981 and 1990. All of them were operated. Thirteen patients with marginal resection received adjuvant radiotherapy. Radiotherapy decreased the rate of local relapses. Sixteen patients received adjuvant chemotherapy with ifosfamide-epirubicin and four of them had a recurrence. Twenty-one patients did not receive chemotherapy and 13 of them relapsed. Adjuvant chemotherapy improved the disease-free survival during the first year, but not benefit appeared in long-term disease-free survival and overall survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Influence of tobacco on laryngeal carcinoma in Spain.

Spain is one of the countries with the highest incidence of laryngeal cancer in the world. Many risk factors have been linked to this neoplasm, such as tobacco, alcohol and occupation. In order to evaluate the effect of tobacco, a case-control study was performed. Cases included 85 patients with cancer of the larynx diagnosed in La Paz, Madrid, between 1983 and 1988, whereas a sample of 170 patients from the same hospital was used as control. Our study revealed that tobacco was significantly associated with laryngeal cancer. Filter-tipped cigarette was shown to be a risk factor as well as consumption of non-filtered cigarettes at first followed by consumption of filter-tipped cigarettes. An association was found between laryngeal cancer and smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day, as well as between cancer of the larynx and being in the habit of smoking for more than 15 years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Effect of temperature on the adenylate cyclase activity of Mytilus galloprovincialis mantle tissue.

1. The basal and NaF-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities of Mytilus galloprovincialis mantle tissue were studied at different temperatures. 2. There are no significant differences in the Km for ATP at 13 degrees C and 20 degrees C in both basal and NaF-stimulated conditions. 3. NaF increases the Vmax of the enzyme (5-fold) and decreases about 50% the Km for ATP at both temperatures assayed. 4. Activation energy of the enzyme reaction is 33.4 kJ/mol. K in basal conditions and 29.4 kJ/mol. K when NaF is present. The Q10, at saturating substrate concentrations, is approximately 1.5 and this value is constant in the temperature range studied, 10-30 degrees C. 5. The adenylate cyclase starts being inactivated from 30 degrees C. The enzyme shows greater sensitivity to denaturalization by temperature in NaF-stimulated than in basal conditions.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1991

Near-hanging injury: two case studies and an overview.

Near-hanging injuries result in respiratory, cardiac, neurologic, metabolic, and psychiatric problems. A patient surviving an attempted hanging can arrive at the emergency department in a comatose state, as documented in case 1, or in a conscious but disoriented state, as in case 2. Severe neurologic deficits are often reversible in cases of near-hanging. Regardless of initial findings, aggressive treatment of near-hanging victims should be initiated.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Normal pressure hydrocephalus].

We studied the clinical records of 18 patients (11 female and 7 male), from 42-83 years old (average 66.1) who were operated for Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus. The etiology was idiopathic in 9 (50%), post-subarachnoid hemorrhage in 6 patients (33.3%), post-cerebral trauma in 2 (11.1%) and post-meningitis in 1. The patients were divided in 4 categories according to their symptoms, as follows: Group A: 9 patients (50%) with dementia, ataxia and incontinence. Group B: 1 patient (5.6%) with dementia-ataxia. Group C: 4 patients (22.2%) with ataxia and incontinence. Group D: 4 patients (22.2%) with ataxia only. 6 patients had a ventriculo peritoneal shunt, and 12 had a ventriculo-atrial shunt placed. All received a Hakim valve of low, medium or high pressure, according to the pre-op ventricular pressure. According to Stein and Langfitt scale for recovery 12 patients (66%) improved and 6 (33.3%) did not change. None was worse. There were no complications.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Rapid determination of beta-aminoisobutyric acid by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

For the determination of beta-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA) in urine samples in which the beta-alanine concentrations are higher than those of BAIBA, the resolution between these two amino acids, separated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography on an octadecylsilane column, was optimized. The chromatographic analysis included precolumn derivatization of amino acids with o-phthalaldehyde, followed by a 15-min isocratic elution and detection at 340 nm. Because of its simplicity, this method should be useful for monitoring urinary excretion of BAIBA.

Aminoisobutyric Acids↗
PubMed1990

K-channel blocking drugs induce histamine release and 45Ca uptake in isolated mast cells.

Histamine secretion and 45Ca uptake processes were studied in mast cells treated with four K+ channel blocking drugs in physiological saline and in media containing different ionic concentrations. Quinine, 4-aminopyridine and sparteine were effective as histamine-releasing agents when mast cells were incubated in physiologic saline solution. The dose-response profile obtained was in the range of 0.1-0.5 mM for quinine, 1-10 for 4-aminopyridine and 0.5-5 mM for sparteine and did not show significant differences between purified and unpurified mast cells. By contrast, tetraethylammonium (1-100 mM) did not induce histamine release. The presence of high K+ or Rb+ concentrations in the medium (Tris-K+ or Tris-Rb+, both at 150 mM) displaced the profile obtained to the right in cells stimulated with 4-aminopyridine or sparteine, but abolished histamine release induced by quinine. Additionally, all three K+ channel blockers increased 45Ca uptake in mast cells. The exact mechanism of the action of K+ channel blockers on mast cells is unknown. However, the fact that the drugs used were effective as histamine-releasing and 45Ca uptake promoters suggests both that mast cells might be endowed with a K+ channel activity and that the blockade of this should open certain calcium channels, leading to elevated intracellular Ca2+ levels which in turn activate mast cell secretion.

4-Aminopyridine↗
PubMed1990

Ca2+ activates glycogenolysis in isolated mantle storage cells of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk.

Glycogenolytic activity (GA) in isolated mantle storage cells (MSC) from Mytilus galloprovincialis was studied, while glycogen and free-glucose content, as well as glucose released from cells were tested. In the period studied (November-December), the glucose releasing activity measured can be considered as an output of GA. In both, whole cells system (WCS) and crude cell-free system (CFS), a non-stimulated GA was detected. In WCS, dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) stimulated glycogenolysis, while epinephrine, norepinephrine and isoproterenol did not show any effect. Furthermore, mellitin and the Ca(2+)-ionophore, A23187, had a stimulating effect on the GA. In CFS, the absence of Ca2+ ions was a sufficient condition to depress GA. These and other findings suggest that: 1) GA in MSC may be stimulated by dopamine and 5-HT and not by adrenergic agonists; 2) cytosolyc Ca2+ signalling may have become an absolute requirement for activation of the glycogenolytic cascade in MSC; 3) a rapid high-affinity glucose transport may occur in these cells.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1990

Nutrient storage cells isolation from mantle tissue of Mytilus galloprovincialis: glucose release and glycogen content.

A method for obtaining isolated mantle nutrient storage cells and purifying vesicular (VC) and adipogranular (ADG) cells from mantle tissue of Mytilus galloprovincialis is reported. Tissue digestion is partly mechanical (stirring) and partly enzymatic (collagenase + dispase). Purification is carried out through continuous and discontinuous Percoll gradients. VC appears in fraction 3 (d = 1.05-1.08 g/ml) and ADG in fraction 2 (d = 1.09 g/ml). Intracellular glycogen and free-glucose content in September-April period is studied. When glycogen is detectable it is always accompanied by intracellular free-glucose pool in a concentration relationship glycogen/glucose 10:1. Furthermore, a glucose releasing activity elicited by the Ca2(+)-ionophore A23187 was found in isolated cells, which reproduce the former behaviour found with mantle tissue fragments in our laboratory.

Animals↗