Skin problems after a tsunami

BACKGROUND: On December 26, 2004, the biggest earthquake for 40 years, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, triggered a tsunami that pounded the coastal areas of South Asia and East Africa. The effects of the tsunami on skin conditions have not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of the tsunami on skin conditions by evaluating the skin problems of patients presenting at hospitals after the tsunami. METHODS: Between 5 and 25 January 2005, two dermatologists evaluated patients who complained of skin problems at an outpatient clinic and emergency room of a general hospital in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia. RESULTS: The total number of patients that presented during the study period was 235 (131 males and 104 females), and they had a total of 265 skin problems. In terms of age distribution, most subjects were in their fourth decade (23.0%), followed by the third (22.6%) and fifth decade (16.6%). The most prevalent skin problems were infections-infestations (32.5%), followed by eczemas (29.8%) and traumatic skin disorders (29.4%). In males, traumatic skin disorders were most common. The great majority of infection-infestation cases involved superficial fungal infections. Contact dermatitis accounted for three-quarters of eczema cases, and mainly involved the arms (40.0%) and legs (27.1%). The majority of traumatic skin disorders were lacerations, punctures and penetrations, and the feet (44.7%) and hands (18.8%) were most frequently affected. CONCLUSIONS: Unhygienic conditions, exposure to a hazardous environment and contact with various objects during and after the tsunami probably increased the prevalence of infections-infestations, traumatic skin disorders and contact dermatitis. To prevent these problems and associated secondary bacterial infections, health-related education and early medical management are required.     

The multiform and variable patterns of onset of orofacial granulomatosis

BACKGROUND: The recurrent chronic orofacial swelling caused by orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) can cause significant cosmetic and functional problems but can be prevented if the disease is diagnosed early and promptly treated. Although the enlargement of the lips is described to be the most common presenting complaint, the clinical onset of OFG may be characterized by minor associated mucosal and neurological manifestations, making early diagnosis very difficult or, sometimes, merely presumable. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical manifestations of 19 patients with OFG, who were examined at our institution between 1998 and 2002, in order to determine their initial manifestations and presenting symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 10 patients showed classical recurrent enlargement of the lips (six lower; four upper) as presenting symptom. In the other nine patients, OFG onset was characterized by transient unilateral facial nerve palsy (two cases), intraoral manifestations (two cases), recurrent swelling of the periorbital area (two cases), of the chin (one case), of the zygomatic area (one case), and of the cheeks (one case). CONCLUSION: Our data underlined that OFG onset could be frequently characterized by widely variable, multiform, and temporary clinical findings. Involvement of atypical sites of the orofacial region and presence of single minor manifestations may occur as presenting symptoms, often preceding the development of traditional clinical findings.     

Effects of dextromethorphan on regional cerebral blood flow in focal cerebral ischemia

Dextromethorphan (DM), a noncompetitive NMDA antagonist, has been demonstrated to reduce ischemic neuronal damage and edema, but DM's influence on cerebral blood flow has not been extensively studied. In this investigation, it is shown that DM has significant effects on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns in a rabbit model of focal cerebral ischemia. rCBF was measured using radioactive microspheres following a 1 h permanent occlusion of the left internal carotid, anterior cerebral, and middle cerebral arteries in rabbits. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were used to assess the degree of ischemia; only animals where SEPs were completely abolished were used for a frequency distribution analysis of rCBF. It was found that there were significantly more regions with lower flows in animals treated with normal saline (NS) (n = 7) compared to animals treated with DM (n = 7) (p less than 0.05, ipsilateral left side; p less than 0.001, contralateral right side). The frequency distribution medians were 27.5 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (left) and 70.0 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (right) in the NS group vs. 34.5 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (left) and 80.5 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (right) in the DM group. The left and right hemispheric regional means were 29.4 +/- 20 and 74.3 +/- 23 ml 100 g-1 min-1, respectively, in the NS group vs. 34.4 +/- 16 and 91.0 +/- 28 ml 100 g-1 min-1, respectively, in the DM group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Intratemporal vascular tumors: detection with CT and MR imaging

The diagnostic contributions of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging were compared in 12 patients with benign intratemporal vascular tumors (hemangioma or vascular malformation). The tumors included six in the internal acoustic canal and six in the geniculate ganglion region. Clinical and histologic correlations were made. Two of the six patients with tumors in the internal acoustic canal underwent CT, and both required gas cisternography to show the tumor. Five patients in that group underwent MR imaging, and all five studies showed the tumor. All six patients with geniculate ganglion tumors underwent CT. Results in one study were questionable, and five showed the tumor. Five patients in this group underwent MR imaging, but the MR findings were positive in only two cases. MR imaging should therefore be performed before CT in the evaluation of facial nerve dysfunction, as it demonstrated all tumors in the internal acoustic canal and some in the geniculate ganglion region. If MR findings are negative, CT should then be performed to rule out a possible geniculate ganglion lesion.     

Differences in the abilities of human tau isoforms to promote microtubule assembly.

Three isoforms of human tau protein were compared for their abilities to induce microtubule assembly. The three isoforms, tau 3 (tau containing three microtubule-binding domains), tau 4 (tau containing four microtubule-binding domains) and tau 4L (tau containing four microtubule binding domains plus a 58-amino-acid insert near the N-terminus) were expressed in E. coli and purified using ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange, and size exclusion chromatography. All three isoforms induced microtubule assembly at micromolar concentrations and showed similar critical concentrations for assembly of 0.4-0.45 microM. However, tau 4 induced microtubule formation at a rate five- to tenfold faster than either tau 3 or tau 4L. The rate of microtubule elongation seen with tau 4 was twofold greater than with tau 3 or tau 4L, suggesting that the faster rate of microtubule assembly seen with tau 4 was due, at least in part, to faster elongation. Tau 4 induced a greater number of microtubules to form at steady state than did tau 3 or tau 4L. The microtubules generated with each tau isoform had similar steady-state length distributions and were equally susceptible to cold-induced disassembly. These results indicate that the additional microtubule-binding domain in tau 4 enhances microtubule assembly, while the 58-amino-acid insert negates the stimulatory effect of the fourth microtubule-binding domain.     

Cerebrovascular and metabolic perturbations in delayed heavy charged particle radiation injury

Focal heavy charged particle irradiation of the rabbit brain created defined lesions which were observable by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging techniques. The lesions appeared approximately 9-11 months after left partial hemibrain irradiation with 30 Gy (230 MeV/u helium ions), and were restricted to the white matter tracts and deep perithalamic and thalamic regions. 82Rubidium PET and Gadolinium DTPA enhanced NMR imaging were used to detect blood-brain barrier perturbations. 18Fluordeoxyglucose PET studies demonstrated widespread decreases in cerebral glucose uptake in the cortex and thalamus of the irradiated hemisphere. NMR and PET imaging results correlated well with histological findings. Rabbits irradiated with 15 Gy did not demonstrate any abnormalities in the brain with sequential NMR scans through 14 months post-irradiation.     

Preparation and characterization of intelligent core-shell nanoparticles based on poly(D,L-lactide)-g-poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-methacrylic acid).

New thermo-responsive, pH-responsive, and biodegradable nanoparticles comprised of poly(D,L-lactide)-graft-poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) (PLA-g-P(NIPAm-co-MAA)) were developed by grafting biodegradable poly(D,L-lactide) onto N-isopropyl acrylamide and methacrylic acid. A core-shell type nano-structure was formed with a hydrophilic outer shell and a hydrophobic inner core, which exhibited a phase transition temperature above 37 degrees C suitable for biomedical application. Upon heating above the phase transition temperature, PLA-g-P(NIPAm-co-MAA) nanoparticle showed a polarity increase of pyrene in either buffer solution or intra-hepato-carcinoma cells as determined by fluorescence measurement, indicating that the structure of nanoparticles caused leakages from outer shell copolymers aggregation and collapsed. The drug loading level of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) encapsulated in the PLA-g-P(NIPAm-co-MAA) nanoparticles can be as high as 20%. The release of 5-FU from nanoparticles was strongly controlled by the pH in the aqueous solution. Based on these results, PLA-g-P(NIPAm-co-MAA) nanoparticles can be used as a drug carrier for intracellular delivery of anti-cancer drug.