Haplotype analysis, regulatory elements and docking simulation of structural models of different AT3 copies in the genus Capsicum.

Capsaicinoids are responsible for the pungency in Capsicum species. These are synthesized by the Capsaicin synthase (CS) encoded by the AT3 gene, which catalyzes the transference of an acyl moiety from a branched-chain fatty acid-CoA ester to the vanillylamine to produce capsaicinoids. Some AT3 gene copies have been identified on the Capsicum genome. The absence of capsaicinoid in some nonpungent accessions is related to mutant AT3 alleles. The differences between CS protein copies can affect the tridimensional structure of the protein and the affinity for its substrates, and this could affect fruit pungency. This study characterized 32 AT3 sequences covering Capsicum pungent and non-pungent accessions. These were clustered in AT3-D1 and AT3-D2 groups and representative sequences were analyzed. Genomic upstream analysis shows different regulatory elements, mainly responsive to light and abiotic stress. AT3-D1 and AT3-D2 gene expression was confirmed in fruit tissues of C. annuum. Amino acid substitutions close to the predictable HXXXD and DFGWG motifs were also identified. AT3 sequences were modeled showing a BAHD acyltransferase structure with two connected domains. A pocket with different shape, size and composition between AT3 models was found inside the protein, with the conserved motif HXXXD exposed to it, and a channel for their accessibility. CS substrates exhibit high interaction energies with the His and Asp conserved residues. AT3 models have different interaction affinities with the (E)-8-methylnon-6-enoyl-CoA, 8-methylnonanoyl-CoA and vanillylamine substrates. These results suggested that AT3-D1 and AT3-D2 sequences encode CS enzymes with different regulatory factors and substratum affinities.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Rhodococcus equi strains isolated from foals in Chile.

Rhodococcus equi is responsible for foal pneumonia worldwide, with a significant economic impact on the production and breeding of horses. In Chile, the first case was reported in 2000, and since then, its incidence has been increasing. Distinctive characteristics of R. equi as an intracellular pathogen in macrophages, emergence of virulence plasmids encoding surface lipoprotein antigens, and appearance of antibiotic resistance against macrolides and rifampicin have significantly complicated the treatment of R. equi pneumonia in foals. Therefore, in vitro susceptibility studies of first-line and newer antibiotics against R. equi are the first step to establishing effective treatments and optimizing new therapeutic options. The aim of the present study is to determine the susceptibility profile of fourteen strains of R. equi isolated from foals in Chile to several antibiotics of the macrolide group including azithromycin, amikacin, tildipirosin and gamithromycin as well as others such as rifampicin, doxycycline and ceftiofur. Identification of R. equi in collected isolates from foals in Chile has been performed by CAMP test and PCR based on detecting of the gene encoding the 16 S rRNA. The presence of genes encoding virulence plasmids was also determined using PCR. Results obtained have demonstrated presence of virulent R. equi strains in Chile. In vitro susceptibility pattern to different antibiotics has shown better results for doxycycline and rifampicin similar to previous studies performed. Current macrolides have been evaluated in order to consider alternative treatment options in a context of emerging resistance to classic macrolides and rifampicin, obtaining better results with gamithromycin (MIC range of 0.125 to 128 mg/ml) than with tildipirosin (MIC range of 16 to 128 mg/ml). An adequate diagnosis of bacterial susceptibility based on antibiograms is necessary to treat the Rhodococcus equi infection in foals.

Monoclonal Antibodies Addressed to Factors of Signalization in Keloid Scars: Opportunities and Areas of Action.

The advance of technology has made possible the use of new techniques within medicine for the treatment of diseases; monoclonal antibodies are a clear example of this. Keloid scars are one of the most difficult pathologies to treat due to the high percentage of recidivism, formed by the growth of a scar with benign fibrous tissue in genetically predisposed individuals, resulting from a process of inflammation and abnormal scarring. Monoclonal antibodies, being a line of treatment that has increased over the years, can show a new frontier in the treatment of them by focusing on the signaling that causes it. We review the literature on the signaling mechanisms of keloid scars and the possible monoclonal approach.

Combined Surgical Approach to Intracranial and Extracranial Hemangiopericytoma: Case Report and Literature Review.

Hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a rare vascular tumor that was first described in 1942 and whose classification and treatment continue to develop. The proper classification for HPC is still under discussion, being considered a solitary fibrous tumor (SFT), classified as an aggressive biological form. The World Health Organization (WHO) has considered it to be part of extrapleural solitary fibrous tumors, however, neuropathologists still consider it to be an HPC when it is found in the central nervous system. We present a case of a patient with HPC of complex localization in the infratemporal fossa and middle floor of the skull base, which confirmed the diagnosis of HPC after resection by the craniofacial approach. Hemangiopericytomas are tumors that can present along with distant metastasis in 23% of cases even after resection. Surgery is the therapeutic basis; however, the still-controversial pathological classification of these vascular tumors and their uncertain biological behavior are the main reasons the ideal treatment continues to be investigated.

Chagas cardiomyopathy in the context of the chronic disease transition.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Chagas disease have migrated to cities, where obesity, hypertension and other cardiac risk factors are common. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The study included adult patients evaluated by the cardiology service in a public hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Data included risk factors for T. cruzi infection, medical history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and contact 9 months after initial data collection to ascertain mortality. Serology and PCR for Trypanosoma cruzi were performed. Of 394 participants, 251 (64%) had confirmed T. cruzi infection by serology. Among seropositive participants, 109 (43%) had positive results by conventional PCR; of these, 89 (82%) also had positive results by real time PCR. There was a high prevalence of hypertension (64%) and overweight (body mass index [BMI] >25; 67%), with no difference by T. cruzi infection status. Nearly 60% of symptomatic congestive heart failure was attributed to Chagas cardiomyopathy; mortality was also higher for seropositive than seronegative patients (p = 0.05). In multivariable models, longer residence in an endemic province, residence in a rural area and poor housing conditions were associated with T. cruzi infection. Male sex, increasing age and poor housing were independent predictors of Chagas cardiomyopathy severity. Males and participants with BMI

Candidiasis sistémica en la UCI neonatal del Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia / Sistematic candidiasis in the neonatology ICU of the Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia

Objetivos: Determinar las características generales y clínicas del recién nacido que desarrolla Candidiasis Sistémica, conocer la incidencia y letalidad de la Candidiasis Sistémica en la UCI neonatal del HNCH y conocer los esquemas terapéuticos que recibió esta población. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo de serie de casos. Se revisó las historias clínicas de los pacientes hospitalizados en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos neonatales del HNCH entre enero de 1997 y diciembre del 2001. Resultados: La incidencia fue de 23.1 por cada 1,000 ingresos a UCI. 78.26 por ciento eran pretérminos. Diez pacientes presentaron plaquetopenia. Los procedimientos invasivos en común fueron ventilación mecánica, flebotomía, onfaloclisis y nutrición paraesternal. Los pacientes recibieron más de dos antibióticos y por más de siete días en promedio. Los 23 pacientes recibieron fluconazol y diez de ellos lo iniciaron empíricamente. La letalidad fue de 30.43 por ciento. Conclusiones: La población consta básicamente de pretérminos y de bajo peso al nacer. En la mayoría de casos no se pudo tipificar la especie de Candida. La ventilación mecánica, la flebotomía, la onfaloclisis y la nutrición parenteral son posibles factores de riesgo comunes a esta población. El uso de diferentes cursos de antibióticos es frecuente en esta población. Fluconazol es una alternativa como terapia antifúngica en recién nacidos.

Autotransplantation of human carotid body cell aggregates for treatment of Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we assessed the feasibility of autotransplantation of carotid body (CB) cell aggregates into the striatum for the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: Six patients with advanced PD underwent bilateral autotransplantation of CB cell aggregates into the striatum. They were evaluated clinically preoperatively and for 18 months after surgery according to the recommendations of the Core Assessment Program for Intracerebral Transplantation. RESULTS: No major complications or adverse events resulted from the cell implantation or surgical procedures. During the course of the study, there was no significant aggravation of dyskinesia or decline in cognitive function in any of the patients. Five of the six patients who underwent transplantation manifested a measurable degree of clinical improvement evidenced by standardized clinical rating scales for PD. A decrease in the blinded Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III in the "off" state, the main measure of transplant efficacy in our study, was found to be maximal (between 26 and 74%) at 6 months after surgery. At 1 year, clear reductions in the blinded Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III were maintained in three patients (24, 38, and 52%, respectively). Modest improvement was seen in two patients (13 and 17%), and the sole patient who showed no improvement had the most fibrosis in the CB. The age of the patient and the state of the CB tissue were adversely correlated with clinical improvement after CB autotransplantation. CONCLUSION: This pilot study indicates that CB autograft transplantation is a relatively simple, safe, and viable therapeutical approach for the treatment of patients with advanced PD. More studies are needed to optimize the procedure and to assess its general applicability for the treatment of patients with PD.

Clinical Comparison of Dexketoprofen Trometamol and Dipyrone in Postoperative Dental Pain.

A total of 125 outpatients with moderate to severe pain after surgical removal of one impacted third molar were randomly assigned to receive dexketoprofen trometamol 12.5 or 25 mg or dipyrone 575 mg. For first-dose assessments, patients rated their pain intensity and its relief at regular intervals. From 60 min post dose to the end of the 6-h observation period, both doses of dexketoprofen trometamol had higher pain relief scores than dipyrone: Between 3 and 6 h the differences were statistically significant. In addition, peak measures (PIDmax and PARmax ) were statistically superior after both doses of dexketoprofen trometamol compared to dipyrone. The overall efficacy assessed at the end of the first-dose phase was rated as good or excellent by 90%, 83.3%, and 70% of patients receiving dexketoprofen trometamol 25 mg, dexketoprofen trometamol 12.5 mg, and dipyrone, respectively. The number of patients who required remedication during the 6-h period was significantly lower in both dexketoprofen groups. Repeated-dose data were also obtained. No significant differences were found in the efficacy after repeated doses, the number of doses taken, or the mean time elapsed between doses. The overall efficacy at the end of the repeated-dose phase was rated as good or excellent by 84.2%, 66.7%, and 70% of patients receiving dexketoprofen trometamol 25 mg, dexketoprofen trometamol 12.5 mg, and dipyrone, respectively. The frequency of adverse events was similar for all treatments and no serious adverse events were reported during the study.

Recidiva de linfoma no Hodgkin de grado intermedio de malignidad: análisis de dos casos / Recidiva of linfoma not hodgkin of intermediate degree of malignidad: analysis of two cases

Presenta dos casos de recidivas de linfoma no Hodgkin de grado intermedio de malignidad, de presentación incial en el anillo de Waldeyer, sometidos a tratamiento quimioterápico. Se discute sobre la localización de la recidiva y la agresividad de la misma.

Carcinoma mamario: manejo en pacientes con ganglios negativos / Mammary carcinoma: handling in patients with negative ganglia

Expone que el cáncer de mama con ganglios axilares negativos se ha considerado de buen pronóstico, razón por lo que se ha excluido de ensayos clínicos adyuvantes, sin embargo a pesar de su buen pronóstico, aproximadamente el 30xciento presenta recidivas locales o a distancia en un plazo de 10 años, por lo cual las investigaciones han estado dirigidas a identificar pacientes de alto riesgo como, tumores de más de 2 cmts, receptores estrogénicos negativos, edad, proliferación celular y más recientemente la amplificación del HER-2/neu, factor de crecimiento epidérmico R-GFE, ERB-b-2/, estos pacientes se podrían beneficiar de un tratamiento sistémico quimio u hormoterápico. Del análisis de una serie de estudio podemos concluir que el beneficio actual no se expresa en un aumento de la sobrevida global. El problema clínico más importante está en seleccionar pacientes candidatos para el tratamiento adyuvante y al momento parecen beneficiarse las pacientes de alto riesgo, sin embargo la indicación de una terapia sistemática adyuvante de rutina es aún controversial, pues un elevado porcentaje de pacientes podrían ser considerados curados únicamente con el tratamiento loco-regional adecuado y no existe aún criterio decisional definido con variables pronósticas que permitan seleccionar con seguridad a los pacientes con alto riesgo de recidiva...

Valoración clinica del tratamiento oncologico

La metodología clínica en oncología tiene hoy en día una gran utilidad especialmente porque es un instrumento que permite valorar la efectividad de los diversos tratamientos que actualmente se dispone, su importancia es mayor pues ayuda a definir conductas terapeuticas en una especialidad medica que cada día esta sometida a nuevos cambios, El conocimiento de esta rama de oncología es un deber para todo oncologo moderno y la obligación de revisar casuisticas, efectividad de tratamientos, morbimortalidad de los mismos, tasas de sobrevida, le permiten al medico tener una visión global sobre la enfermedad y singular sobre cada paciente, pudiendo adoptar una conducta medica y etica correcta.

Análisis de 28 casos de sarcomas óseos servicio de oncología Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín

Ocho mil historias clínicas fueron revisadas en el Servicio de Oncología del Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín entre los años 7/70 a 7/92, encontrándose 28 casos de sarcomas óseos que representan el 0.35 por ciento de todos los casos oncológicos y el 25 por ciento de los sarcomas en general. La presentación por grupos de edad fue mayor entre 40 y 50 años, (rango 9 a 47 años) con una incidencia anual de 1.3 casos por año, la relaciónhombre mujer fue de 2.5/1 (71.5 por ciento vs 28.5 por ciento). Los sitios más frecuentes de presentación fueron: extremidades (39 por ciento), región sacroiliaca (25 por ciento), cabeza y cuello (21 por ciento) y parilla costal (15 por ciento). Los tipos histológicos más comunes representaron el osteosarcoma (32.1 por ciento) y el condrosarcoma (25 por ciento), no se presentaron casos de sarcoma de Ewing ni sarcoma de Paget. El 28 por ciento de pacientes abandonaron o no aceptaron tratamiento; la sobrevida global a 5 años fue del 28 por ciento siendo del 16 por ciento (19 casos) para aquellos casos que no fueron tratados con quimioterapia preoperatoria y del 50 por ciento para los pacientes tratados con quimioterapia neoadyuvante. Los hallazgos del presente estudio son similares a los reportados por otras casuísticas, la edad de presentación y la presentación clínica probablemente se deben al tipo de población estudiada. Un tratamiento oncológico oportuno y adecuado mejora las probabilidades de curación y sobrevida.