Profilin, a Change in the Paradigm.

Profilin is a protein that is present in all eukaryotic cells and is responsible for cross-reactivity between pollen, latex, and plant foods. It has been classically acknowledged as a minor or nearly irrelevant allergen, although recent data are changing this conception. The objective of this manuscript is to provide a comprehensive review of published data on the role of this ubiquitous allergen in pollen, latex, and plant food allergy. The patterns of recognition of this minor allergen follow a north-south gradient. Although present in all pollens and vegetables, profilin is significantly associated with allergy to grass pollen and to Cucurbitaceae fruits. Heb v 8, the latex profilin, is usually a marker of profilin allergy in plant food-allergic patients, although it has no clinical relevance in latex allergy. Sensitization to profilin jeopardizes the diagnosis of pollen allergy and selection of immunotherapy, and although component-resolved diagnosis can identify its impact, there are no tailored treatments available. In recent years, several new publications have shown how profilin should be taken into account and, under certain circumstances, considered a marker of severity, an allergen capable of inducing respiratory symptoms, and, in its natural purified form, a potential candidate for etiological treatment of food allergy. Current data on profilin strongly support the need for a shift in the previously accepted paradigm for this allergen. More research should be done to assess the real clinical impact of sensitization in specific populations and to develop therapeutic strategies.

Fascitis eosinofílica. A propósito de un caso / Eosinophilic fasciitis. Apropos of a case

La fascitis eosinofílica es un síndrome esclerodermiforme poco frecuente y de etiología desconocida que afecta predominantemente a las extremidades. Se han barajado varias hipótesis sobre su etiología y en algunos casos se ha descrito antecedente traumático. Presentamos un caso de una paciente de 54 años que tras presentar traumatismo sobre las rodillas inicia un cuadro de mialgias, induración cutánea y retracción progresiva de diversas articulaciones iniciado en los miembros inferiores y posteriormente en los miembros superiores y en el tronco. Realizamos el seguimiento de la paciente, mostrando su manejo desde el punto de vista rehabilitador y evolución. La paciente mejoró tanto sus balances articulares como la marcha y el dolor. La fascitis eosinofílica es una enfermedad infrecuente en la que debemos realizar el diagnóstico diferencial con otros síndromes esclerodermiformes. La rehabilitación puede ayudar a reducir y evitar el progreso de las contracturas (AU)

Eosinophilic fasciitis is a rare scleroderma syndrome of unknown cause that predominantly affects the extremities. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain its etiology and there have been reports of some patients with a history of trauma. We present the case of a 54-year-old woman who, after a knee injury, developed myalgia, progressive skin induration and retraction of various joints, starting in the lower limbs and spreading to the upper limbs and trunk. We describe the rehabilitation management and outcome of this patient. The patient showed improvement in both balance, joint pain, and gait. Eosinophilic fasciitis is a rare disease that requires a differential diagnosis with other scleroderma syndromes. Rehabilitation can help reduce and prevent progression of contractures (AU)

Allopregnanolone and puberty: modulatory effect on glutamate and GABA release and expression of 3α-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase in the hypothalamus of female rats.

The hypothalamic release of glutamate and GABA regulates neurosecretory functions that may control the onset of puberty. This release may be influenced by neurosteroids such as allopregnanolone. Using superfusion experiments we examined the role of allopregnanolone on the K(+)-evoked and basal [(3)H]-glutamate and [(3)H]-GABA release from mediobasal hypothalamus and anterior preoptic area in prepubertal, vaginal opening and pubertal (P) rats and evaluated its modulatory effect on GABAA and NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartic acid) receptors. Also, we examined the hypothalamic activity and mRNA expression of 3α-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase (3α-HSOR) - enzyme that synthesizes allopregnanolone - using a spectrophotometric method and RT-PCR, respectively. Allopregnanolone increased both the K(+)-evoked [(3)H]-glutamate and [(3)H]-GABA release in P rats, being the former effect mediated by the modulation of NMDA receptors - as was reverted by Mg(2+) and by the NMDA receptor antagonist AP-7 and the latter by the modulation of NMDA and GABAA receptors - as was reverted by Mg(2+) and the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. The neurosteroid also increased the basal release of [(3)H]-glutamate in VO rats in an effect that was dependent on the modulation of NMDA receptors as was reverted by Mg(2+). On the other hand we show that allopregnanolone reduced the basal release of [(3)H]-GABA in P rats although we cannot elucidate the precise mechanism by which the neurosteroid exerted this latter effect. The enzymatic activity and the mRNA expression of 3α-HSOR were both increased in P rats regarding the other two studied stages of sexual development. These results suggest an important physiological function of allopregnanolone in the hypothalamus of the P rat where it might be involved in the 'fine tuning' of neurosecretory functions related to the biology of reproduction of the female rats.

Procedure to use phosphogypsum industrial waste for mineral CO2 sequestration.

Industrial wet phosphoric acid production in Huelva (SW Spain) has led to the controversial stockpiling of waste phosphogypsum by-products, resulting in the release of significant quantities of toxic impurities in salt marshes in the Tinto river estuary. In the framework of the fight against global climate change and the effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a simple and efficient procedure for CO(2) mineral sequestration is presented in this work, using phosphogypsum waste as a calcium source. Our results demonstrate the high efficiency of portlandite precipitation by phosphogypsum dissolution using an alkaline soda solution. Carbonation experiments performed at ambient pressure and temperature resulted in total conversion of the portlandite into carbonate. The fate of trace elements present in the phosphogypsum waste was also investigated, and trace impurities were found to be completely transferred to the final calcite. We believe that the procedure proposed here should be considered not only as a solution for reducing old stockpiles of phosphogypsum wastes, but also for future phosphoric acid and other gypsum-producing industrial processes, resulting in more sustainable production.

Supervivenica de hepatocitos alogénicos trasplantados en timo, en ausencia de terapia inmunosupresora / Survival o fallogeneic hepatocytes transplanted into thymus, without immunossuprresive therapy

El trasplante hepático constituye actualmente, una realidad clínica en situaciones de fallo hepático. Por otro lado, en el caso de diversos errores congénitos del metabolismo, en los cuales un solo fallo en una reacción de una ruta metabólica, conducea un fallo multiorgánico, la sustitución de un hígado morfológicamente normal parece una medida demasiado agresiva. Por ello, el uso de terapias celulares para el tratamiento de estas entidades está cada vez mas presente. Sin embargo, ambas estrategias terapéuticas se asocian a los efectos derivados de la inmunosupresión. La búsqueda de métodos que eliminen la necesidad de inmunosupresión es uno de los principales objetivos dentro del campode los trasplantes. La inyección intratímica de aloantígenos ha demostrado, en ciertos modelos experimentales, inducir tolerancia inmunológica. Sin embargo, los resultados con el trasplante intratímico de hepatocitos son contradictorios. Por este motivo, el objetivo de nuestro estudio ha sido estudiar el trasplante de hepatocitos en un órgano inmunológicamente privilegiado, como es el timo, donde se puede estudiar la funcionalidad y supervivencia de las células trasplantadas, así como estudiar la hipótesis de que el trasplante intratímico podría inducir un cierto grado de inmunomodulación en las células del sistemainmune. Se realizó trasplante de hepatocitos procedentes de ratas Fisher 344, en timo de ratas Gunn que habían recibido una dosis previa única de ciclosporina A. Después del trasplante, las ratas no recibieron nuevas dosis de ciclosporina, y fueron sacrificadas a diferentes tiempos. Se realizó microscopia óptica y se determinaron los niveles séricos y biliares de bilirrubina. También se estudió la presencia de mRNAs específicos y las poblaciones linfocitarias CD4 y CD8 en timo y sangre. Los datos obtenidos demuestran que los hepatocitos trasplantados sobreviven al menos 6 semanas, en los animales que habían recibido una dosis de ciclosporina A, antes del trasplante (AU)

Liver transplantation is currently a clinical reality, and it is well established as a treatment for acute organ failure. On the other hand, in the case of inborn errors of metabolism, in which a single step in a metabolic pathway leads to multiple organ failure, the replacement of a morphologically normal liver would be an aggressive measure. Thus, the use of cell therapy in these diseases is being considered. However, both strategies are associated with the effects derived from immunosuppression. The search for methods resulting in the avoidance of immunosupression is nowadays one of the main objectives within the field of transplantation. Intrathymic alloantigen injection has proved to induce immunological tolerance in certain experimental models. However, the results of intrathymic hepatocyte transplantation are contradictory. For this reason our objective was to study the transplantation of hepatocytes into an immunologically privileged organ such as the thymus, where we could assess the functionality and survival of the transplanted cells, as well as test the hypothesis that the intrathymic transplant could induce a certain immunomodulation in the cells of the immune system. Gunn rats, half of which received a single pre-transplant dose of cyclosporine A, were transplanted into the thymus with hepatocytes from Fisher 344 rats. After the transplant, rats did not receive any further dose of cyclosporine A, and they were sacrificed at different times. Light microscopy, bilirubin levels in both serum and bile, and presence of specific mRNAs were determined. Also, CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte subsets were studied in both thymus and blood. The results demonstrated thattransplanted hepatocytes survive for six weeks in animals which had been given cyclosporine A prior to the transplant (AU)

Espondilodiscitis cervical / Cervical spondylodiscitis

La discitis séptica es un proceso inflamatorio del disco intervertebral que suele extenderse a los cuerpos vertebrales afectando, en ocasiones, al espacio epidural y tejidos blandos paraespinales. Presentamos el caso de un paciente de 57 años que acudió a urgencias por presentar un cuadro de fiebre, odinofagia con dolor y limitación cervical. Se diagnosticó inicialmente de absceso retrofaríngeo, que fue tratado mediante antibióticos y, posteriormente, drenaje quirúrgico. Tras la mejoría clínica inicial, el paciente fue remitido a rehabilitación por persistir el dolor cervical irradiado a la extremidad superior izquierda. En la exploración destacaba la existencia de una movilidad cervical limitada, con dolor a la palpación de C6-C7, así como un balance muscular en bíceps y tríceps de 4-/5. Ante la sospecha de una patología no mecánica se solicitó una resonancia magnética que confirmó la existencia de una espondilodiscitis C5-C6 y C6-C7. Tras descartar un proceso activo mediante analítica y gammagrafía ósea con galio, se indicó tratamiento conservador mediante collar tipo Philadelphia durante 3 meses. La evolución fue satisfactoria y a los 4 meses sólo presentaba discretas molestias a la movilización cervical (AU)

Magnetoterapia en retardos de consolidación / Magnetotherapy in delayed consolidations

La utilización de campos magnéticos con fines terapéuticos ha sido estudiada sobre todo en relación a su efecto de estimulación de la osteogénesis. Existen estudios controlados a doble ciego en los que se ha demostrado su efecto para estimular la formación ósea en retrasos de consolidación de fracturas tibiales. Se presentan dos casos clínicos de pacientes afectos de fracturas de hueso largo que presentaban retardo de consolidación tras ocho meses de tratamiento quirúrgico. Realizaron 36 y 28 sesiones respectivamente de magnetoterapia durante 30 minutos diarios, a una frecuencia de 50 Hz e intensidad de 80 Gauss. En controles posteriores se confirmó radiológicamente la consolidación de ambas fracturas. Se realiza también un comentario de artículos publicados en los que se valoran los resultados del tratamiento con campos magnéticos pulsantes en series de pacientes más largas afectos de retrasos de consolidación y pseudoartrosis, así como una breve explicación de su efecto biológico y posibles efectos nocivos (AU)