Asistencia española a los planes nacionales dedrogas de los países del este de Europa / Spanish assistance to the national plan on drugs of the European eastern countries

Objetivo: el objetivo de los programas de hermanamiento que a continuación se presentan, consiste en facilitar un apoyo práctico y funcional a las administraciones e instituciones de los países candidatos a la adhesión a la Unión Europea, acorde a las necesidades de cada país, Material y Método: la Comisión Europea pone a disposición de los programas de hermanamiento los fondos PHARE, destinados a financiar las acciones que permitirán que las administraciones de los países del este alcancen el acervo europeo. La propuesta española, a cargo de la Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas, se materializará a través de la actuación de expertos españoles que realizarán misiones puntuales en los cinco países candidatos. Asimismo, con el fin de asegurar el seguimiento y la coordinación de cada proyecto, un experto a largo plazo establecerá su residencia en cada país hermanado. Resultados: aunque cada país exige una atención individualizada, los siguientes resultados previsibles son comunes en los cinco proyectos: a) creación o fortalecimiento de una Comisión Nacional sobre Drogas; b) implantación o mejora de un Observatorio Nacional, y c) diseño y redacción de una Estrategia Nacional. Conclusiones: los programas de hermanamiento se muestran como un instrumento útil para facilitar un apoyo práctico y funcional a las administraciones e instituciones de los países candidatos a la adhesión a la Unión Europea (AU)

Effect of SR49059, an orally active V1a vasopressin receptor antagonist, in the prevention of dysmenorrhoea.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect of SR49059 when given shortly before the onset of menstruation as a preventative treatment of dysmenorrhoea. DESIGN: A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial in complete block design (three periods, three treatments). SETTING: A clinical research organisation in Paris, France. PARTICIPANTS: Women aged 18-35 years suffering from primary dysmenorrhoea. INTERVENTIONS: In each of three menstrual cycles, women reported to the study centre and were given a daily dose of either placebo, 100 mg or 300 mg SR49059 from a minimum of 4 hours up to a maximum of three days before the onset of bleeding and/or menstrual pain. If this did not control the pain, women were allowed once a day to take a second dose of study treatment providing that at least 4 hours had passed since the first drug intake. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intensity of menstrual pain recorded by means of a visual analogue scale. Rating of symptoms of dysmenorrhoea (mainly back and pelvic pain) in relation to functional capacity (Sultan score). Self-assessment of menstrual blood loss in a menstrual diary record. RESULTS: Analysis of intensity of menstrual pain, as recorded by visual analogue scale and Sultan pain score (back and pelvic pain) during the first 24 hours of dysmenorrhoea, showed a dose-related effect of SR49059. The 300 mg dose of SR49059 was significantly more effective than placebo. Similarly, a dose-related effect of SR49059 was shown on total Sultan score. SR49059 was well tolerated and no significant effect on the bleeding pattern was noted. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed for the first time a therapeutic effect of an orally active vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist in the prevention of dysmenorrhoea. Further studies are required to examine effect mechanisms and determine effective doses.

Investigation of intraoperative brain deformation using a 1.5-T interventional MR system: preliminary results.

All image-guided neurosurgical systems that we are aware of assume that the head and its contents behave as a rigid body. It is important to measure intraoperative brain deformation (brain shift) to provide some indication of the application accuracy of image-guided surgical systems, and also to provide data to develop and validate nonrigid registration algorithms to correct for such deformation. We are collecting data from patients undergoing neurosurgery in a high-field (1.5 T) interventional magnetic resonance (MR) scanner. High-contrast and high-resolution gradient-echo MR image volumes are collected immediately prior to surgery, during surgery, and at the end of surgery, with the patient intubated and lying on the operating table in the operative position. In this paper we report initial results from six patients: one freehand biopsy, one stereotactic functional procedure, and four resections. We investigate intraoperative brain deformation by examining threshold boundary overlays and difference images and by measuring ventricular volume. We also present preliminary results obtained using a nonrigid registration algorithm to quantify deformation. We found that some cases had much greater deformation than others, and also that, regardless of the procedure, there was very little deformation of the midline, the tentorium, the hemisphere contralateral to the procedure, and ipsilateral structures except those that are within 1 cm of the lesion or are gravitationally above the surgical site.