Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Arias

Publications and source records attributed to M Arias.

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

[Topiramate therapy in patients with refractory epilepsy].

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to examine the result of administrating topiramate (TPM) to patients with epilepsy that is refractory to treatment with two or more antiepileptic agents. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 50 patients were evaluated, 90% of which had partial seizures (simple partial, complex partial and partial with secondary generalisation) and the remaining 10% suffered from generalised seizures. The most frequent aetiology was that which corresponded to the symptoms (52% of the cases). 98% of the patients were treated with two or three drugs. TPM was added with a dosage interval between 75 and 550 mg and follow-up visits were carried out throughout a period of nine months. RESULTS: 12 patients remained seizure-free for at least the first three months of the study; in 20 patients the number of seizures decreased by 50% or more; in 14 patients no changes were observed, and in the other four there was an increase in the number of seizures. The best results were obtained in cases of seizures with an idiopathic aetiology, while complex partial seizures offered the worst results. We also analysed the factors that might exert an influence on the different degrees of response. CONCLUSIONS: TPM was effective in all kinds of seizures. 24% of the patients became seizure free, and the total percentage of respondents rose to 64%. No patients dropped out of the study because of intolerance to the drugs.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Experience in the treatment of multiple sclerosis with interferon beta in Galicia].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the experience in daily clinical practice of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) treatment in relapsing-remitting (RR) and secondary progressive (SP) multiple sclerosis (MS) in Galicia (Spain). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with RR-MS and SP-MS treated with IFN-beta1a and 1b between 1995 and December/2000, analyzing demographic and clinical data. RESULTS: 313 patients were included, with a mean age of 38.2 years. A total of 296 patients (94.6%) were clinically defined MS and 17 (5.4%) were laboratory supported (Poser criteria); 84.6% of the patients were RR and 15.4% were SP. The mean duration of the disease prior to treatment was 7.06 years. Betaferon was used in 52.4% patients (115 RR-MS and 47 SP-MS), Avonex in 26% and Rebif in 21.6%. Relapse rate was reduced in 68.8% for the RR-MS for Betaferon-treated patients, 73.3% for Avonex treated and 35.7% for Rebif-treated patients. Betaferon reduced relapse rate in 50% for SP-MS. The global EDSS remained stable during IFN-beta treatment. During treatment, 33% of Betaferon, 60.5% of Avonex and 54.5% of Rebif-treated patients remained relapse-free. Treatment was suspended in 12.9% of Betaferon, 6.2% of Avonex, and 3% Rebif-treated patients. The most frequent causes of treatment suspension were increase in disability and in relapse count. CONCLUSIONS: The present study supports the benefits of IFN-beta treatment in RR MS and SP MS in daily clinical practice, with reduction in relapses count and incapacity, good over-all tolerance and low incidence of serious adverse side-effects.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Rapidly progressing dementia as the presenting symptom of Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia: findings from magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in Bing Neel syndrome].

CASE REPORT: A 68 year old male with no relevant clinical history was admitted to hospital because of symptoms of cognitive impairment (attentional deficit, short term memory disorders and behavioural disorders), accompanied by apraxia of gait and rectal and urinary incontinence. Results of a general clinical exploration were normal. In the MRI study of the brain numerous areas of hypersignal were observed in different arterial territories, which stood out in the T2, FLAIR and, above all, in diffusion weighted sequences. Analytical studies showed hypergammaglobulinemia with monoclonal IgM k and a bone marrow biopsy revealed infiltration by plasmatic cells. Bing Neel syndrome was diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: We underline this exceptional form of presentation of Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia and highlight the findings of diffusion weighted MRI, which suggested multiple infarcts for which a neoplastic vascular obstruction mechanism similar to that involved in malignant angioendotheliomatosis is posited.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Headache and fainting as initial symptoms of syringomyelia associated to Arnold-Chiari and facial angiomatous nevus].

INTRODUCTION: Syringomyelia and Arnold-Chiari malformation are two dysraphism that often appear together. Clinical manifestations are diverse although some patients remain asymptomatic for years. Syncope, supposedly due to a dysfunction of medulla baroceptors and spinal cord intermediolateral horn, is uncommon, particularly as the initial symptom. CASE REPORT: 34 year old woman, with a facial angiomatous nevus, presented with two episodes of headache followed by syncope; neurological examination was apparently normal. MRI showed mild supratentorial hydrocephalus, Arnold-Chiari malformation and cervical syringomyelia, with no vascular anomalies. CONCLUSION: This case, which shares some features with Sturge-Weber syndrome and PHACE syndrome, enhances the importance of the search for anomalies in patients with paroxistical symptoms and cutaneous lesions.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lack of effect of rapamycin in anti-CCP antibody production in a rheumatoid arthritis kidney allograft recipient.

Autoimmune diseases may lead to end-stage renal disease and, as a consequence, kidney transplantation. Classical immunosuppressive drugs, such as cyclosporine or corticosteroids, are well-established therapies for both transplantation and autoimmune diseases. Rapamycin is a new immunosuppressant useful for allograft transplantation and with a promising future for autoimmune diseases, although it has not been extensively studied in humans. Here the case of a patient diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who received a renal allograft is reported. She was started on prednisolone, azathioprine and cyclosporine immunosuppression and changed to rapamycin instead of cyclosporine 4 years after transplantation, because of chronic allograft nephropathy. At present, the patient has a functioning graft. However, the arthritis symptoms reappeared after the change in immunosuppressant. Titers of RA-specific anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides antibodies increased whereas rheumatoid factor titers decreased. This case report suggests that rapamycin used for kidney transplantation might have a different influence on the spectrum of RA autoantibodies.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[CT vs MRI in the diagnosis of acute stroke].

70 patients who had suffered an acute stroke (52 ischaemic and 18 haemorrhagic) were studied with CT and MR, performing both techniques during the first week of disease and correlating the findings with the clinical data. MR proved superior in the detection of ischaemic infarcts, specially those in the posterior territory and with a small size; it was also superior to CT in the detection of leukoaraiosis and the demonstration of vascular obstructions. CT failed to detect a small brain stem haemorrhage secondary to bleeding of a cavernoma, while its performance was similar to that of MR in the remaining cases. In all patients with intracerebral haemorrhages, including two who were examined on the first day, an area of increased density was evidenced in the T1 sequences. It is concluded that CT, due to its greater availability and easiness of performance, must be maintained as first choice in acute stroke in order to differentiate haemorrhage from ischaemia, while MR may provide additional information in selected cases.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cervicodorsal diastematomyelia in an adult].

A 44-year-old male had paraparesis which had began at age 20 years; a cleft spinal cord (diastematomyelia) was discovered at cervicodorsal level. The patient had nevus and hypertrichosis in the skin overlying the dysraphic spinal cord malformation. Both computer-assisted myelography and magnetic resonance scan showed the spinal cord segmentation and other associated disorders: bone spicula projecting between the 2 cordal halves, vertebral fusion defect and syringomyelic cavity. We emphasize the rarity of this abnormality in a so high spinal cord level and the onset of symptoms at adult age.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cell-mediated immunity in healthy and uremic adults assessed by in vivo and in vitro techniques. Validation of delayed hypersensitivity skin testing.

Cell-mediated immunocompetence was assessed in 16 healthy and 10 uremic subjects by "in vivo" and "in vitro" techniques, simultaneously. PHA-induced lymphocyte transformation, Multitest and classical skin testing with a panel of 7 antigens have been used. Similar cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) results were obtained when using either Multitest or the classical panel, both in healthy subjects (R = 0.66) and in uremic patients (R = 0.61). The results were the same for both the total scores and the number of positive responses per subject. The two DTH methods were of similar accuracy in the evaluation of normal DTH responses and hypoergy in both populations but the sensitivity in detecting anergy among the uremics was higher for the classical panel (80%) than for Multitest (60%). However, no method proved to be more prone to classify a healthy subject as anergic. Anergy was more frequent among uremic patients both with Multitest (60%) and the conventional panel (80%) but was unusual among healthy controls (6.3% and 7.1%, respectively) (p less than 0.0001 for both). Depressed DTH reactivity in uremia was correlated with longer blood transfusion-free intervals (p less than 0.05) and influenced by the duration of haemodyalisis and the number of blood transfusions. Similar CMI impairment rates were found in uremic patients with Multitest (76.9%), the classical panel (63.8%) and "in vitro" techniques (63.7%). Therefore, cutaneous DTH testing proved to be a useful mean of evaluating CMI. Moreover, the high cost and technical complexity of "in vitro" techniques are major drawbacks against their use and strenghthen the role of DTH skin testing as a useful clinical tool to measure CMI.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗