Hepatic trauma (90 consecutive cases treated in 9 years

90 consecutive hepatic traumatisms at the Hospital de Navarra are presented over a period of 9 years, excluding those which did not overcome the initial reanimation phase and those diagnosed as necropsy. The etiology is presented (76 closed and 14 open), the degree of lesion, associated intra and extra-abdominal lesions plus the results (12.2% mortality) and causes of death related to the degree of lesion and associated lesion. Finally, our casuistics and results are compared with those appearing in the existing bibliography on the subject.     

Changes in sensory function and force production in adults with type II diabetes

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship among sensory function, disease severity, and upper extremity force production in adults with type II diabetes (T2D) as compared with healthy age‐ and gender‐matched controls. Methods: Ten adults with T2D and 10 healthy age‐ and gender‐matched control subjects underwent a battery of sensory and motor function evaluations. Data on disease severity and duration were also collected. Results: The T2D group exhibited sensory deficits and altered force production as compared with healthy controls. Sensory function correlated with disease severity, as did signal predictability of kinetic output during submaximal force production tasks. Maximal force production tasks were associated with altered output in T2D, but these data did not correlate with disease severity or sensory dysfunction. Conclusions: Some, not all, motor performance deficits in T2D are associated with sensory dysfunction. Mechanisms responsible for these changes in adult‐onset T2D are described. Muscle Nerve 50: 984–990, 2014     

Adherence to Antidepressant Therapies in Patients with Depressive Disorders Attending an Outpatient Clinic in a Public Mental Health Hospital,Antioquia, Colombia in 2017

Psychiatric Quarterly - To evaluate the level of adherence to antidepressant therapies and associated factors in patients with depressive disorders. a cross-sectional analytical study was conducted...     

Upregulated phospholipase D2 expression and activity is related to the metastatic properties of melanoma

The incidence rates of melanoma have increased steadily in recent decades and nearly 25% of the patients diagnosed with early-stage melanoma will eventually develop metastasis, for which there is currently no fully effective treatment. The link between phospholipases and tumors has been studied extensively, particularly in breast and colon cancers. With the aim of finding new biomarkers and therapeutic options for melanoma, the expression of different phospholipases was assessed in 17 distinct cell lines in the present study, demonstrating that phospholipase D2 (PLD2) is upregulated in metastatic melanoma as compared to normal skin melanocytes. These results were corroborated by immunofluorescence and lipase activity assays. Upregulation of PLD2 expression and increased lipase activity were observed in metastatic melanoma relative to normal skin melanocytes. So far, the implication of PLD2 activity in melanoma malignancies has remained elusive. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to demonstrate that the overexpression of PLD2 enhances lipase activity, and its effect to increase the proliferation, migration and invasion capacity of melanoma cells was assessed with XTT and Transwell assays. In addition, silencing of PLD2 in melanoma cells reduced the metastatic potential of these cells. The present study provided evidence that PLD2 is involved in melanoma malignancy and in particular, in its metastatic potential, and established a basis for future studies evaluating PLD2 blockade as a therapeutic strategy to manage this condition.     

Pseudohermaphroditism due to XY gonadal absence syndrome.

A 21-year-old phenotypic female with a 46,XY chromosome complement and gonadal absence was studied. Basal levels of plasma immunoreactive luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, and oestradiol were measured. Pituitary sensitivity and reserve was evaluated by the exogenous administration of synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone. The episodic release of gonadotrophins was assessed by measuring plasma LH and FSH in plasma samples obtained at 20-minute intervals for a 4-hour period. Endocrine gonadal function was evaluated by a stimulation test with human chorionic gonadotrophin for 3 days. The results showed: a) persistently raised plasma levels of both LH and FSH; b) a pulsatile pattern of release of both gonadotrophins and a normal pituitary response to the synthetic hypothalamic decapeptide; and c) extremely low levels of circulating testosterone and oestradiol with a lack of response to the HCG stimulus. A careful exploratory laparotomy revealed absence of uterus, Fallopian tubes, the Mullerian portion of the vagina, and gonads. No Wolffian derivatives were found. A dissociation of testosterone and the so-called Jost substance effects during early sexual development may explain the findings in this unusual abnormality. The term 'XY gonadal absence syndrome' including five types of variants to designate this condition is proposed.     

Olfactory dysfunction in hereditary ataxia and basal ganglia disorders

In the present study the olfactory system of hereditary ataxia patients was tested using the smell identification test. Two previous findings suggested a possible olfactory impairment in these patients. First, an olfactory dysfunction has been found in different neurodegenerative diseases, and second, human functional imaging has shown cerebellar activation during olfaction. As an initial approach to determine if cerebellar ataxia impairs the olfactory process, cerebellar ataxia patients, along with basal ganglia patients, were tested. The results show an olfactory deficit in both basal ganglia and hereditary ataxia patients. Further exploration of the olfactory capacities in hereditary ataxia is necessary to elucidate the specific nature of the deficits.