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Biomedical subjects

M Castillo

Publications and source records attributed to M Castillo.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Effect of dietary coconut oil on lipoprotein composition of young chick (Gallus domesticus).

1. The composition of HDL, the major lipoprotein fraction from chick serum, drastically changed after 2 weeks of coconut oil feeding. Total cholesterol and triacylglycerols significantly increased following dietary 10 or 20% coconut oil supplementation. 2. Changes in LDL composition were less profound, cholesterol being the only component that increased by coconut oil supplementation (10 or 20%). 3. IDL proteins were the only components that increased following the same dietary treatment (20%). 4. VLDL cholesterol and proteins also increased after 1-2 weeks of 20% coconut oil supplementation to the diet. 5. Of total lipoproteins, the cholesterol content strongly increased after dietary treatment, while triacylglycerols did not change significantly.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Diagnosis of disease of the common carotid artery bifurcation: CT angiography vs catheter angiography.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective study was to compare CT angiography with conventional catheter angiography for imaging the bifurcation of the common carotid artery in patients with signs and symptoms of atherosclerotic disease. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Ten symptomatic patients (20 bifurcations of the common carotid artery) underwent contrast-enhanced spiral CT of the neck. The images were preprocessed and postprocessed by using a commercially available volume-rendering technique and a maximum-intensity-projection algorithm. All patients subsequently underwent conventional catheter angiography. RESULTS: CT angiographic findings matched those on conventional angiograms in only 50% of cases. Two nearly occluded internal carotid arteries were missed with CT angiography. Four internal carotid arteries were interpreted as occluded on the basis of CT angiograms but were shown as patent on catheter angiograms. Of five severe stenoses shown by CT angiography, only two were confirmed by conventional angiography. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that CT angiography as used in this study cannot replace catheter angiography. With CT angiography, both overestimation and underestimation of stenoses occur.

Angiography↗
PubMed1993

[Ureteroscopy. Our results and complications].

From November, 1987 to December, 1990, 399 cases of ureteral calculi were treated by rigid ureteroscopy (URS). Our success and complication rates are presented. Of these, 99 (25%) had a calculus in the pelvis (78/99), iliac (15/99) or lumbar (6/99) ureter, and 300 (75%) had Sandstrasse in the distal ureter. The cases with Sandstrasse were submitted to ureteroscopy within the first 48-72 hours to remove the ureteral obstruction, prevent hydronephrosis or sepsis and to expedite treatment. If symptomatic, obstructive and/or 7 mm or more in diameter, a nephrostomy tube was placed first whenever there was sepsis [23/300 (7%) of those with Sandstrasse and 3/99 (3%) of those with a ureteral calculus] or marked dilatation of the renal cavities [29/300 (9%) and 6/99 (6%), respectively]. The success rate was 93% for the cases with Sandstrasse versus 85% for those with a ureteral calculus, and the complication rates were 5.7% versus 9%, respectively. The foregoing results confirm the high success rate and scant morbidity of ureteroscopy in the treatment of ureteral calculus and Sandstrasse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Breakfast omission and cognitive performance of normal, wasted and stunted schoolchildren.

This study focuses on the effects of breakfast omission on cognitive performance. We studied 279 children from low socioeconomic level background ranging in age from 8 years 7 months to 10 years 11 months, categorized nutritionally as: normal, wasted or stunted. Evaluation comprised three cognitive tasks designed to be applied with a microcomputer. Assessment took place in their natural setting, after a mean of 14 h of overnight fasting, some having received a standard breakfast at random while the remaining children continued a fasting situation. We found no consistent association between study condition and performance in short-term visual memory, problem solving and attention tasks in any of the three nutritional groups. Stunted children showed significantly lower scores in the attention test irrespective of having received breakfast or not. These results suggest that given a motivating short-term task and maintaining routine conditions, missing breakfast does not affect the accuracy of the cognitive performance of children. Nutritionally affected children did not show a particular vulnerability to the fasting condition, but did show a specific cognitive deficit.

Attention↗
PubMed1992

Surgery vs chemotherapy plus surgery for carcinoma of the head and neck.

We reviewed the results of standard therapy (surgery +/- radiation therapy) in 66 patients with advanced resectable head and neck cancer treated between 1984 and 1988 and compared them with a "historical" group of similar resectable patients treated between 1978 and 1984, by induction chemotherapy followed by standard therapy. The median disease-free survival of patients treated by surgery was 18 months, whereas it had not been reached in those receiving chemotherapy. When 2-year disease-free survival was compared according to stage and site, patients receiving chemotherapy fared better. The recurrence rate of all patients receiving chemotherapy was less than half of those receiving standard treatment only. A higher percentage of patients receiving chemotherapy survived their original tumor, only to die of second malignancies, most of these occurring elsewhere in the aerodigestive tract.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed1992

Infratemporal alveolar soft part sarcoma: CT, MRI and angiographic findings.

The imaging features of a rare alveolar soft part sarcoma found in a 44-year-old female are presented. Although the tumor showed hypervascularity by angiography, CT and MRI suggested slow growth. Despite this relatively benign appearance, alveolar soft part sarcoma is one of the most malignant sarcomas.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Congenital primary cerebral angiosarcoma: CT, US, and MR findings.

Congenital primary intracranial angiosarcoma (CAS) is an exceptionally rare tumor. To our knowledge the imaging features of intracranial angiosarcomas have only been briefly mentioned in the neuropathologic literature. To our knowledge, only one case of CAS has been reported. We present a case of a pathologically proven CAS found in a neonate.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1992

MR imaging of diplomyelia.

We present an unusual case of duplication of the fifth lumbar vertebra and sacrum in a 6-year-old boy. The spinal cord was also duplicated and tethered by bone spurs bilaterally. The imaging features and the embryological basis of diplomyelia are discussed.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1992

Congenital lymphangiectatic elephantiasis.

A case of a child with a rare giant congenital cavernous lymphangioma giving rise to elephantiasis of the left lower extremity is presented. Plain radiographs revealed underlying bone lesions and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging accurately defined extension of the process into the pelvis and retroperitoneum.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Accessibility to primary health care centers: experience and evaluation of an appointment system program.

Appropriate access to health care is one of the components of Primary Health Care (PHC) and it can be a good quality indicator. We present in this paper the results of 1 year of follow-up of an appointment system applied in 29 PHC centers in the Balearic Islands, Spain; the program was set up by the National Institute of Health. Telephonic appointment proportion increased from the first weeks, stabilizing at about 70%. The number of calls that it is necessary to make in order to get an appointment at peak time is now 1.5 and only 1 throughout the rest of the day. To determine changes in the waiting time and visit time, and the user opinion of the system, an enquiry was made to a sample of patients 1 month before, and 1 month, 6 months and 1 year after the program started. The waiting time is now less than 15 min for most of the people interviewed, in contrast with the previous situation when the waiting time was more than 30 min. The visit time is longer now and more than two thirds of the people think that care is better or much better than prior to the start of the program. These results have been verified in the waiting room (11.2 min mean waiting time and 7.2 min mean visit time). We conclude that we have achieved the goals of the appointment system program in all the centers covered by our department.

Appointments and Schedules↗
PubMed1991

Effect of phenylalanine derivatives on the main regulatory enzymes of hepatic cholesterogenesis.

Phenylalanine, phenylpyruvate and phenylacetate produced a considerable inhibition of chick liver mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate decarboxylase while mevalonate kinase and mevalonate 5-phosphate kinase were not significantly affected. Phenolic derivatives of phenylalanine produced a similar inhibition of decarboxylase activity than that found in the presence of phenyl metabolites. The degree of inhibition was progressive with increasing concentrations of inhibitors (1.25-5.00 mM). Simultaneous supplementation of different metabolites in conditions similar to those in experimental phenylketonuria (0.25 mM each) produced a clear inhibition of liver decarboxylase and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the in vitro inhibition of both liver regulatory enzymes of cholesterogenesis in phenylketonuria-like conditions. Our results show a lower inhibition of decarboxylase than that of reductase but suggest an important regulatory role of decarboxylase in cholesterol synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Subpopulations of CD8+ cytotoxic T cell precursors collaborate in the absence of conventional CD4+ helper T cells.

Four different subpopulations (Ly6Cneg, Ly6Clow, Ly6Cint, and Ly6Chi) of CD8+ T cells were arbitrarily defined on the basis of differential expression of Ly6C Ag. By combining the processes of electronic cell sorting and automated cell deposition, small numbers of respective CD8+ T cell subpopulations were directly deposited into tissue culture wells in which mitogen-stimulated responses were studied. Anti-CD3-stimulated proliferation and IL-2 production were the strongest by Ly6Cneg/Ly6Clow T cells, moderate for Ly6Cint T cells, and highly deficient for Ly6Chi T cells. The level of IL-2 production for Ly6Cneg CD8+ T cells was comparable to that of conventional CD4+ Th cells. Allogeneic stimulator cells elicited a strong cytotoxic response by Ly6Cneg + low but not Ly6Chi CD8+ T cells in the absence of added lymphokines. When IL-2 was supplied in excess, anti-CD3 induced comparable levels of cell proliferation and cytotoxic activity in Ly6Cneg, Ly6Clow, Ly6Cint, and Ly6Chi CD8+ T cells whereas alloantigen stimulated an approximate fivefold higher cytotoxic response by Ly6Chi than Ly6Cneg + low CD8+ T cells. Stimulation of co-cultures of B10 (CD8b) Ly6Cneg + low and congenic B10.CD8a Ly6Chi CD8+ T cells in the absence of added lymphokines, followed by selective elimination of activated CD8.1+ (CD8.2+) T cells by anti-CD8.1 (anti-CD8.2) + C treatment, allowed the demonstration that help provided by Ly6Cneg + low T cells can be effectively used by both Ly6Cneg + low and Ly6Chi T cells in anti-CD3 and alloantigen induced proliferative and cytotoxic responses, respectively.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Multiple inversion recovery reduces static tissue signal in angiograms.

Spin label angiography compares two images by subtraction. The first is obtained after blood in one region is labeled by inversion and flows into a region of interest. Labeling is not used for the second image, so only labeled blood remains in the final angiogram after subtraction. This subtraction is never perfect, but with starting images containing less static tissue signal, the remaining background can be reduced. This can be achieved by observing at the zero crossing following an inversion. Multiple inversions allow one to null the signal from tissues with differing T1 simultaneously. We present equations and sample calculations for inversion times and demonstrate the resistance to subject motions (peristalsis, breathing, speaking) resulting from two inversions. Adequate suppression of static tissue signal allows one to dispense with labeling and subtraction, halving the minimum time needed to acquire an image.

Blood Vessels↗