Acute pericarditis as the initial manifestation in Still's disease in an adult

Almost 90% of primary acute pericarditis are idiopathic. Between specifics forms, a very low percentage of cases are due to chronic rheumatic diseases. A case of adult Still's disease (juvenile chronic rheumatoid arthritis) with acute pericarditis being the first clinical manifestation (besides fever and general syndrome) is presented. Therapy with oral prednisone was rapidly effective, and pericardial effusion resolved after 3 weeks of treatment, as echocardiography showed.     

3D Reconstruction of Tomographic Images Applied to Largely Spaced Slices

This paper presents a full reconstruction process of magnetic resonance images. The first step is to bring the acquired data from the frequency domain, using a Fast Fourier Transform algorithm. A Tomographic Image Interpolation is then used to transform a sequence of tomographic slices in an isotropic volume data set, a process also called 3D Reconstruction. This work describes an automatic method whose interpolation stage is based on a previous matching stage using Delaunay Triangulation. The reconstruction approach uses an extrapolation procedure that permits appropriate treatment of the boundaries of the object under analysis.     

Involvement of central dopamine and D1 receptors in stress-induced colonic motor alterations in rats.

The role of central versus peripheral influence of dopamine (DA) in the genesis of emotional stress (ES) induced by fear to receive electric footshocks on colonic motility was evaluated in rats equipped with implanted electrodes on the proximal colon. In control rats, the frequency of colonic spike bursts increased from 7.5 +/- 1.9 to 16.0 +/- 2.1 per 10 min when the rats were placed in a test box where they had previously received electric footshocks. This increase induced by ES was significantly p less than 0.05, reduced by previous ICV or IP administration of (+)SCH 23390 (a D1 receptor antagonist) at doses of 10 and 100 micrograms/Kg, respectively. Although sulpiride (a D2 antagonist) injected ICV or IP at similar doses had no effect on the ES-induced increase in the frequency of colonic spike bursts. DA (100 micrograms/kg), and the selective D1 (SKF 38383) or D2 (quinpirole) receptor agonist injected ICV at a dose of 5 micrograms/kg also increased significantly by 48.7, 54.8, and 68.7%, respectively, the colonic spike burst frequency whereas they are inactive when injected IP at similar and higher doses. These results suggest that, in rats, (a) emotional stress stimulates colonic motility through the stimulation of dopaminergic neurons involving D1 receptors and (b) exogenous activation of central D1 and D2 receptors similarly stimulate colonic motility by increasing the occurrence of colonic spike bursts.     

-2-Hydroxyglutaric acid inhibits mitochondrial creatine kinase activity from cerebellum of developing rats

L-2-Hydroxyglutaric acid (LGA) is the biochemical hallmark of patients affected by the neurometabolic disorder known as L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (LHGA). Although this disorder is predominantly characterized by severe neurological findings and pronounced cerebellum atrophy, the neurotoxic mechanisms of brain injury are virtually unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effect of LGA, at 0.25-5mM concentrations, on total creatine kinase (tCK) activity from cerebellum, cerebral cortex, cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle homogenates of 30-day-old Wistar rats. CK activity was measured also in the cytosolic (Cy-CK) and mitochondrial (Mi-CK) fractions from cerebellum. We verified that tCK activity was significantly inhibited by LGA in the cerebellum, but not in cerebral cortex, cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle. Furthermore, CK activity from the mitochondrial fraction was inhibited by LGA, whereas that from the cytosolic fraction of cerebellum was not affected by the acid. Kinetic studies revealed that the inhibitory effect of LGA on Mi-CK was non-competitive in relation to phosphocreatine. Finally, we verified that the inhibitory effect of LGA on tCK was fully prevented by pre-incubation of the homogenates with reduced glutathione (GSH), suggesting that this inhibition is possibly mediated by oxidation of essential thiol groups of the enzyme. Considering the importance of creatine kinase activity for energy homeostasis, our results suggest that the selective inhibition of this enzyme activity by increased levels of LGA could be possibly related to the cerebellar degeneration characteristically found in patients affected by L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria.     

Digitalis poisoning from medicinal herbs. Two different mechanisms of production]

Two cases of digitalis toxicity due to uncontrolled ingestion of medicinal herbs are presented. The first of them was caused by oleander (Nerium oleander); digoxinemia levels were very high in this patient (4.44 ng/l), who presented many brady- and tachyarrhythmias. These arrhythmias disappeared when digoxinemia returned to normal values. The second patient had atrial fibrillation with slow ventricular rate, severe hypokalemia (2.1 mEq/l) and normal digoxinemia levels. He was taking medicinal herbs for a cold, with sorbitol between its components. Sorbitol may be similar to mannitol and glycerol (osmotic diuretic drugs) when taken at high doses. Uncontrolled ingestion of medicinal herbs is not safe, and severe poisoning can occur.     

Dietary Patterns During Pregnancy and Their Association with Gestational Weight Gain and Anthropometric Measurements at Birth

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Dietary patterns can influence maternal and child health outcomes. The study aims to characterize dietary patterns during pregnancy as well as to identify their...     

Multiprogrammable pacemakers. Complications. Nursing care

This paper deals with the study of 927 patients of both sexes, with multiprogramable pacemakers implanted during 1987-1988 period, at the "Comandante Manuel Fajardo" Teaching Hospital and the Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery. Complications accounted for 14.9% and the most frequent were, in decreasing order, as follows: sepsis of the pocket (46.7%), hematoma of the pocket, increased threshold and, in a lower percentage, aseptic necrosis (5.7%). Emphasis is made in the role of the nurse in front of a patient with pacemaker and of the different complications presented.