Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Vela

Publications and source records attributed to L Vela.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Chorea and contraceptives: case report with pet study and review of the literature.

Chorea is a well-recognized but rare complication of oral contraceptive use. A 27-year-old woman developed right hemichorea while taking an oral contraceptive (OC). No other causes of chorea were found. A positron emission tomography (PET) study with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose demonstrated a dense focus of increased glucose metabolism involving the body of the left caudate nucleus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a PET study in a patient with OC-induced chorea in the absence of systemic lupus erythematosus or antiphospholipid antibodies.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Numular headache: a coin-shaped cephalgia.

Numular headache is a chronic, mild to moderate, pressurelike pain in a circumscribed cranial area of approximately 2 to 6 cm in diameter. Pain usually is limited to the parietal region, although it may appear in any cranial site. It is a benign process of usually unknown origin.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Objective assessment of autonomic signs during triggered first division trigeminal neuralgia.

A total of 26 episodes of V-1 trigeminal neuralgia attacks have been recorded in two female patients. Autonomic phenomena were assessed according to a semiquantitative scale. Attacks lasted 17 +/- 5 s. Mild lacrimation without conjunctival hyperaemia, rhinorrhea or ptosis was observed, even in relatively long lasting episodes. This is in clear contradiction with SUNCT (shortlasting, unilateral, neuralgiform headache with conjunctival injection, tearing and rhinorrhea) attacks that are always dramatically accompanied by both lacrimation and conjunctival injection of the symptomatic side from the very onset of symptoms. Carbamazepine provided complete and sustained relief of symptoms in both patients. Herein we will show differential autonomic features of V-1 trigeminal neuralgia vs. SUNCT that will both aid the clinician to distinguish both syndromes and stress that both entities are nosologicaly different.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Monoubiquitination is sufficient to signal internalization of the maltose transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Monoubiquitination of the 12-transmembrane segment (12-TMS) Saccharomyces cerevisiae maltose transporter promoted the maximal internalization rate of this protein. This modification is similar to that of the 7-TMS alpha-factor receptor but different from that of the 12-TMS uracil and general amino acid permeases. This result shows that binding of ubiquitin-Lys63 chains is not required for maximal internalization of all 12-TMS-containing proteins.

Endocytosis↗
PubMed2000

CALINX (California Information Exchange): a multi-stakeholder statewide initiative to improve healthcare information flows.

Given the diffusion of responsibilities for gathering and reporting healthcare information in a managed care environment, California stakeholders are taking concrete steps to break the deadlock on data and information flows that has characterized the industry for some time. The California Information Exchange (CALINX) was established to facilitate the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards in California and to create trust for data exchange between trading partners, without which data exchange still will not occur. Strategic directions are set by the chief executives of key associations and organizations representing purchasers, plans, providers, and consumers. Multi-stakeholder workgroups have produced detailed data guidelines for the HIPAA standards along with rules for exchange of key data sets between trading partners. These rules address frequency, timeliness, and accuracy of data submission. Both the data guidelines and the rules have been tested in live demonstration projects, and the results of these projects have been reported to substantiate the business case for implementation. Further incentives are being built into contracts between purchasers and plans, and between plans and providers. CALINX is currently promoting widespread adoption of the data guidelines and rules for exchange with all members of the industry.

California↗
PubMed1999

The PDQ-39 Spanish version: reliability and correlation with the short-form health survey (SF-36).

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: The Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) was the first specific instrument for evaluation of the "health-related quality of life" (QoL) in Parkinson's disease patients. The PDQ-39 has been subjected to adaptation to Spanish language and culture (PDQ-39 Spanish version, PDQ-39SV) and this version has been validated in aspects of internal consistency and construct validity. The present study assess the test-retest reliability and the convergent validity of the PDQ-39SV with a generic QoL instrument (SF-36). RESULTS: Most of the PDQ-39 dimensions showed an adequate consistency-Cronbach's alpha > 0.7 for six dimensions. As a whole, test-retest reliability resulted satisfactory. Two dimensions-activities of daily living and emotional well-being- showed a low grade significant difference (paired Student t-test, p < 0.05) due to improvement in the second survey (at 10 to 14 days from the first one) perhaps related to adjustments of the treatment at the first visit. A strong association (Spearman r, p < 0.001), indicative of convergent validity, was obtained for the PDQ-39 dimensions and the relevant SF-36 scales, as well as for the physical and mental component summary scores of the SF-36. CONCLUSIONS: Taking into account these results and previous studies, it is concluded that the PDQ-39 SV is a reliable measure that has construct validity.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Multiple sclerosis in Móstoles, central Spain.

OBJECTIVES: Until relatively recently southern Europe was regarded as having a medium to low multiple sclerosis prevalence, of about 20 or less per 100,000. However, recent studies in Sardinia, Sicily, continental Italy, Cyprus and Spain have yielded higher MS prevalence rates, between 32 and 102.6 per 100,000. We present the results of a prevalence study of MS in the municipality of M6stoles, central Spain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To ascertain the prevalence of multiple sclerosis in M6stoles (195,979 inhabitants), an intensive study was undertaken using several sources of information. We used the Poser criteria in diagnosis. RESULTS: There were 85 patients (53 women and 32 men) classified as definite or probable, prevalence 43.4/100,000 (95% CI, 34.7 to 53.7). The incidence rate was 3.8/100,000/year (95% CI, 2.7 to 5.3) in the last 5 years. Mean age on prevalence day was 38.8+/-10.9 years. Mean age at onset was 31.7+/-9.3 years. Mean interval between initial symptoms and diagnosis was 1.7 years. Mean duration of disease was 7.6+/-6.1 years. Overall, 70.6% had a relapsing-remitting course, 18.8% had a primary progressive and 10.5% had a secondary progressive. Mean EDSS score was 2.7+/-1.9. CONCLUSION: The M6stoles study confirms the conclusions of previous smaller population studies that Spain is a moderately high or medium MS risk zone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Senile chorea: a multicenter prospective study.

Senile chorea (SC) is characterized by the presence of late onset, generalized chorea with no family history and no dementia. It is unclear whether it is a distinct clinical entity or represents late onset Huntington's disease (HD) with an undetected family history. In order to clarify this issue, we carried out a prospective, multicenter study of suspected cases of SC. Since 1994 we identified six cases that met clinical criteria for SC. Their study included routine lab tests, cerebral MRI, neuropsychological assessment, and lastly gene IT15 analysis. An abnormal expansion of the (CAG)n repeat was found in three patients. Although there were no criteria for dementia, most neuropsychological tests revealed mild to moderate deficits, particularly in visuospatial and prefrontal tasks, m all six patients, those that were finally diagnosed as having late onset "sporadic" HD, but also in patients that finally had SC. This study provides further evidence on the existence of SC; however, the distinction from late onset "sporadic" HD seems not to be possible on clinical grounds unless a genetic study is carried out. Some cases of suspected "SC" have late onset "sporadic" HD.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed1997

Respiratory chain enzyme activities in isolated mitochondria of lymphocytes from patients with Alzheimer's disease.

We studied respiratory chain enzyme activities in lymphocyte mitochondria from 33 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and from 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The respiratory chain enzyme activities did not differ significantly between patients and controls. No patient showed any value for respiratory chain enzyme levels below normal range. Values for activities of complexes in the AD group did not correlate with age at onset or duration of the disease. Our finding of normal mitochondrial function in lymphocyte mitochondria suggests that this tissue cannot be used to demonstrate the involvement of oxidative phosphorylation in AD and, thus, to develop a diagnostic test for AD.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

[Stereotactic surgery in Parkinson's disease].

Stereotactic surgery for Parkinson's disease (PD) has regained interest due to the recently described hyperactivity of the subthalamic-pallidal pathway. Many patients suffering from complications associated with the chronic use of levodopa may benefit from surgical treatments. There are different surgical targets and techniques (ablative and deep brain stimulation). The choice of one particular target and technique relies on the clinical symptoms of the patient. The risk/benefit ratio of surgery is related to the careful selection of patients and the technical accuracy. Intraoperative microrecording is considered the best method to avoid side effects and partial results. A series of patient's selection and follow-up assessment criteria are proposed.

Follow-Up Studies↗
PubMed1995

[Intracranial hypotension and sixth cranial nerve palsy].

The sixth cranial nerves may be involved in rare cases of post-puncture syndrome after lumbar anesthesia as well as in cases of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. We present 3 cases of spontaneous intracranial hypotension with unilateral or bilateral sixth nerve palsy.

Abducens Nerve↗