Usefulness of confocal microscopy in distinguishing between basal cell carcinoma and intradermal melanocytic nevus on the face.

The clinical distinction between basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and intradermal melanocytic nevus lesions on the face can be difficult, particularly in young patients or patients with multiple nevi. Dermoscopy is a useful tool for analyzing characteristic dermoscopic features of BCC, such as cartwheel structures, maple leaf-like areas, blue-gray nests and dots, and ulceration. It also reveals arborizing telangiectatic vessels and prominent curved vessels, which are typical of BCC, and comma vessels, which are typical of intradermal melanocytic nevi. It is, however, not always easy to distinguish between these 2 conditions, even when dermoscopy is used. We describe 2 facial lesions that posed a clinical and dermoscopic challenge in two 38-year-old patients; confocal microscopy showed separation between tumor nests and stroma and polarized nuclei, which are confocal microscopy features of basal cell carcinoma.

Genomic comparison of two strains of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis with contrasting pathogenic phenotype.

In a previous study, we evaluated the degree of virulence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) strains isolated from cattle in Argentina in a murine model. This assay allowed us to differentiate between high-virulent MapARG1347 and low-virulent MapARG1543 strains. To corroborate whether the differences in virulence could be attributed to genetic differences between the strains, we performed Whole Genome Sequencing and compared the genomes and gene content between them and determined the differences related to the reference strain MapK10. We found 233 SNPs/INDELS in one or both strains relative to Map K10. The two strains share most of the variations, but we found 15 mutations present in only one of the strains. Considering NS-SNP/INDELS that produced a severe effect in the coding sequence, we focus the analysis on four predicted proteins, putatively related to virulence. Survival of MapARG1347 strain in bMDM was higher than MapARG1543 and was more resistant to acidic pH and H2O2 stresses than MapK10. The genomic differences between the two strains found in genes MAP1203 (a putative peptidoglycan hydrolase), MAP0403 (a putative serine protease) MAP1003c (a member of the PE-PPE family) and MAP4152 (a putative mycofactocin binding protein) could contribute to explain the contrasting phenotype previously observed in mice models.

[Psychopathological disorders and quality of life in patients with brain infarction]. / Trastornos psicopatológicos y calidad de vida en el infarto cerebral.

OBJECTIVES: To study the influence of various factors on the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients who have suffered a brain infarction (BI), with special attention to psychopathological disorders (PD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective observational study on 45 patients admitted due to a BI, evaluated at 4, 12 and 26 weeks of the acute event. Social and demographic data, and medical history were collected; the SF-36 scale was used for the assessment of HRQOL, and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), MMSE, Canadian Neurological Scale, Modified Rankin Scale and other instruments for assessing psychopathological, cognitive, neurological and functional status. A linear regression analysis was performed to identify potential predictors of the SF-36 scores at 26 weeks, introducing, as independent variables, medical and psychiatric history, demographic characteristics and the functional, neuropsychological and psychopathological assessments at 4 weeks. RESULTS: Valid predictive models for all the SF-36 domains were obtained, in which a history of pre-morbid depression, higher scores in the NPI and Rankin Scale, and lowest in the Canadian Neurological Scale were the main predictors of a worse HRQOL in the long term. Psychopathology related caregiver's distress (assessed with the NPI) was associated with a lower score in the social function index. CONCLUSIONS: PDs and functional status were the main determinants of HRQOL in patients with BI.

Nummular headache with trophic changes inside the painful area.

Nummular headache (NH) is a primary disorder characterized by chronic pain that is exclusively felt in a small area of the head surface. We describe five patients with circumscribed head pain and sensory dysfunction consistent with NH, who in addition developed colocalized trophic changes. All of them had a round or oval patch of skin depression (1-2 cm in diameter) inside of the painful area (2-4.5 cm in diameter). Three of them also showed hair loss, reddish colour, and local increased temperature. Skin biopsies were performed in three patients, and were not specific for any particular dermatological disease. Local trophic changes may be a clinical feature of NH. Together with pain and sensory disturbances, they could represent a restricted form of complex regional pain syndrome. This should be taken as a possible evolution of the underlying morbid process of NH.

Bone marrow trephine biopsy involvement by lymphoma: pattern of involvement and concordance with flow cytometry, in 10 years from a single institution.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the features of bone marrow (BM) biopsy involvement by lymphoma, pattern of infiltration, morphological analysis and flow cytometry were reviewed at all lymphoma patients over a period of 10 years. METHODS/PATIENTS: 413 cases were included in the study if BM biopsy slides were available. Only 356 patients had both BM trephine biopsy and flow cytometry. RESULTS: The most frequent subtype was diffuse large B cell (31.2%), followed by follicular lymphoma (18.9%). The predominant pattern was mixed (nodular-interstitial) (9.2%). Morphological marrow infiltration was found in 138 cases, and flow cytometry identified 117 cases with BM involvement. A concordance between the two methods was detected in 305 cases (85.7%). There was discordance in 51 cases (14.3%): morphology positive/FC negative in 33 cases and morphology negative/FC positive in 18. CONCLUSIONS: Flow cytometry is slightly more useful in detecting involvement when the BM is affected, but this finding is not conclusive.

[Brain abscesses due to Listeria monocytogenes]. / Abscesos cerebrales por Listeria monocytogenes.

INTRODUCTION: Listeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive bacillus which causes sporadic infections in immunocompromised humans, with a special propensity for the central nervous system, in the form of acute, subacute or chronic meningitis, rhombencephalitis or abscesses in the brain or spinal cord. The final diagnosis is established by germ culture in blood or in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Preferred treatment is ampicillin in association with aminoglycosides. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 70-year-old male patient with a history of arterial hypertension and chronic lymphatic leukaemia with no specific treatment, who suffered meningoencephalitis and brain abscesses caused by L. monocytogenes. Symptoms were a 48-hour history of headache and a febrile condition. The CSF showed lymphocytic pleocytosis with hypoglycorrhachia. Magnetic resonance scans of the brain revealed areas of cerebritis and multiple brain abscesses in the right frontal lobe. Specific treatment was established with ampicillin for 13 weeks, associated with gentamicin and vancomycin during the first few weeks, until x-rays showed the lesions to be resolved. CONCLUSIONS: L. monocytogenes infections must be investigated in all patients with cellular immunosuppression who present febrile symptoms. The central nervous system may be the only area of the body infected. Moreover, this site will need studying in patients who present neurological focus data or an alteration in the state of consciousness and bacteraemia due to L. monocytogenes. Establishing suitable treatment as early as possible can improve the prognosis.

[Neurobrucellosis: four case reports]. / Neurobrucelosis: presentación de cuatro casos.

INTRODUCTION: Brucellosis is a form of anthropozoonosis that is found the world over. It has a particularly high incidence rate in Spain, above all in rural areas such as Extremadura, Castile and Leon, Castile-La Mancha and Aragon, largely due to the consumption of non-pasteurised milk and cheese. Neurobrucellosis can be defined as a set of either early or late neurological complications caused by Brucella. It is difficult to determine its frequency, although it oscillates between 2-18% of all cases of brucellosis. CASE REPORTS: We report the cases of four patients diagnosed as having neurobrucellosis. The different presenting clinical symptoms, the complementary explorations, treatment and duration are all described. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical features of neurobrucellosis vary greatly and, in general, tend to be chronic. Many of the laboratory procedures usually employed in the diagnosis of brucellosis frequently give negative results. For these reasons, and because it is a disease that is both treatable and curable, the degree of suspicion must be high, especially in endemic areas, so that an early diagnosis can be made to allow suitable treatment to be established.

Epithelial atypia in gynecomastia induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. A possible pitfall in fine needle aspiration biopsy.

The clinical, cytopathologic and histopathologic features of a case of gynecomastia induced by chemotherapeutic drugs are described. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) smears showed epithelial atypia, and an erroneous cytologic diagnosis of carcinoma was made. Histopathologic study showed gynecomastia with epitheliosis, papillomatosis and atypical ductal hyperplasia. Review of the FNA smears showed the findings to be more typical of a reparative or regenerative process; these findings had been cytologically overinterpreted, partly due to the lack of adequate clinical information submitted with the aspirate. The possible causes of gynecomastia, the induction of epithelial atypia by cytotoxic chemotherapy and the cytologic features whose recognition may prevent false-positive diagnoses in such cases are discussed.

[Hydrocepahlia and subarachnoid cyst due to neurocysticercosis. A new case from rural Extremadura]. / Hidrocefalia y quiste subaracnoideo por neurocisticercosis. Un nuevo caso en una zona rural de Extremadura.

INTRODUCTION: Neurocystercicosis (NCC) is a disorder caused by the Taenia solium larva. It is the commonest parasitosis of the CNS. In Spain most patients are from countries where the condition is endemic. However, sporadic cases still occur amongst the non immigrant population of rural regions. We report a new case of NCC from the Valle del Jerte in rural Extremadura. CASE REPORT: A 51 year old man presented with intellectual impairment, motor aphasia, apraxia, right hemiparesia and sphincter incontinence for the past six months. On cranial CAT and MR hydorcephalia was seen together with a subarachnoid cyst in the left Sylvan fissure. Serology was positive for cysticercosis in both plasma and CSF. The patient was treated with albendazol after insertion of a ventriculo peritoneal shunt. Three months later there was both clinical and radiological improvement. CONCLUSION: NCC is still a condition which must be included in the differential diagnosis of patients in Spain who present with CNS involvement and cystic lesions on neuro imaging investigations, even when they are not from countries where the disease is endemic. Treatment with albendazol and steroids given after insertion of a ventriculo peritoneal shunt was effective in our patient.

Asymptomatic gallstones and duration of cyclosporine use in kidney transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Cyclosporine (CsA) use has been associated to the development of cholelithiasis in transplant recipients. We herein explored the role of time under CsA on this association in asymptomatic adult kidney transplant recipients (KTR). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 140 KTR with variable post-transplant follow-up (PTFU), and without history of symptomatic biliary disease. Upper abdominal ultrasound was performed in all patients. According to the immunosuppressive schedule, patients were classified in three groups: Azathioprine + prednisone (group 1, n = 37), azathioprine + prednisone < 24 months CsA (group 2, n = 58), or azathioprine + prednisone > or = 24 months CsA (group 3, n = 45). Age at time of ultrasound performance, gender, PTFU, chronic viral liver disease, parity, oral contraceptives, serum lipids, diabetes and body mass index were analyzed concomitantly. RESULTS: Median age was 38, 31, and 36 years in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The male:female ratio in the same groups was 1.5:1, 1:1, and 2:1. Mean PTFU was 130, 48, and 53 months, respectively (p = 0.0001). Gallstones were found in three (8%) group 1 KTR, in nine (16%) group 2 KTR, and in 10 (22%) group 3 KTR (p = 0.214). Adjusting for PTFU, the association between length of CsA and prevalence of lithiasis was significantly stronger among those with longer use of CsA (odds ratio = 6.1, p = 0.046). No significant differences were found among groups in the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: KTR receiving CsA for more than two years show increased prevalence of gallstones.

Utilidad de la microscopía confocal de reflectancia para el diagnóstico in vivo de los sebomatricomas / Usefulness of Reflectance Confocal Microscopy For in Vivo Diagnosis of Sebomatricomas

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[Cutaneous follicular center B-cell lymphoma treated with intralesional rituximab]. / Linfoma cutáneo de células B del centro folicular tratado con rituximab intralesional.

Cutaneous follicular center B-cell lymphomas are indolent tumors characterized by the presence of neoplastic follicular center cells. They contain a mixture of centrocytes with a variable number of centroblasts. The tumor is usually treated by surgery or radiotherapy, although other treatments may be used such as interferon-alpha, chemotherapy, and biological agents (rituximab). Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody that can be administered intravenously or intralesionally. We report the case of a 41-year-old man who consulted for violaceous nodular lesions in the left scapular region and who was diagnosed with cutaneous follicular center B-cell lymphoma after biopsy, laboratory tests, thoracic-abdominal-pelvic computed tomography, abdominal ultrasound, and bone marrow biopsy. It was decided to treat him with 30 mg of intralesional rituximab administered for 1 week (3 times) every month for 4 months. Complete response was obtained. We also review the published cases of cutaneous B-cell lymphoma treated with intralesional rituximab.

[Cutaneous adverse reaction to Bio-Alcamid implant]. / Reacción cutánea tras implante con Bio-Alcamid.

In the last years new and numerous materials for the correction of defects and wrinkles have been developed. One of these materials is Bio-Alcamid, a non reabsorbable gel polymer constituted by meshes of poly-alkyl-imide, without known adverse effects. We report a 34-year-old woman that had Bio-Alcamid implants for acne scars and several months after presented nodular lesions together with a painful inflammatory nodule. The nodule was drained and culture of the purulent material yielded Streptococcus viridans. A cytology and a cellular block of that material showed a granulomatous inflammatory reaction together with a foreign body. The different types of reactions to implants and their pathogenic mechanism are discussed. It is important to know these possible reactions to filler materials given their increasing use and the potential medico-legal consequences.