[Eosinophilia and Strongyloides stercoralis infestation: case report] / Eosinofilia e infestazione da Strongyloides stercoralis: caso clinico.

Authors report about a case of Strongyloides stercoralis infestation. The patient, a 65-year old man, presented with a clinical history of eosinophilia but without symptomatology. Several stool specimen showed the presence of rhabditiform larvae of S. stercoralis and after therapy the patient had a normalization of the white blood ceIls count. The authors wish to point out the importance of the diagnosis because a change in immune status may convert a previously asymptomatic infection to hyperinfection.

[Port malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum a case report]. / Malaria portuale da Plasmodium falciparum: descrizione di un caso clinico.

A case of unusual transmission by Plasmodium falciparum malaria is reported. The patient, had not been travelling outside North-West of Italy for the previous 6 months, he was not drug abuser. He had spent the last two months prior his admission, partly in his home town, an urban area in the region of Piemonte, and partly in a resort area on the Ligurian sea. Neither place has ever been associated with unusual malaria transmission. The possible transmission way is through a live vector imported from endemic area in a port terminal near a resort area.

[Insulin response to food in obese women]. / Risposta insulinica al pasto in donne obese.

The effects of two standard meals (meal A: 20 g proteins, 20 g lipids, 80 g maltodextrin; meal B: meal A plus 52 g lipids) on insulin and C-peptide secretion and on plasma levels of glucose and free fatty acids (FFA) was studied in 12 obese women separated into two groups according to the onset of obesity. One group (n = 6) developed into obesity after puberty (OP), the other (n = 6) became obese after pregnancy (OG). Meals A.--In OP women, the maximum insulin response was reached at 30 min after meal (141.8 +/- 14.2 microU/ml) and insulinaemia fell to the basal values at 180 min; in OG women the insulin response was linear in the interval 30-150 min after meal. The maximum secretion of C-peptide occurred between 30 min and 90 min in OP and between 60 min and 120 min in OG; the secretion rate was similar in the two groups. Blood glucose levels returned to the basal values at 120 min after meal in OP and at 180 min in OG. FFA levels significantly decreased after meal in both groups (p less than 0.01 vs basal values). Meal B.--Insulin secretion was decreased at 30 min after meal in OP and at 150 min in OG and the levels of C-peptide was not modified in both groups. The glycaemic response was unchanged in OP, but was lower in OG women (p less than 0.02). These results show that OP women present stronger and more rapid insulin response to meals than the OG women; this conclusion is supported by the analysis of the secretion of C-peptide. Blood glucose levels return to basal values faster in OP than in OG women. The blood level of FFA after the standard meals A and B are normal both in OP and OG women.

[Cerebral cysticercosis: report of a case and review of the literature]. / Cisticercosi cerebrale: descrizione di un caso e revisione della letteratura.

A case of cysticercosis with scattered calcifications has been reported; this, owing to the rarity of cases brought to our notice with certainty, is considered a medical curiosity. The case is subjected to analysis by us and we review the literature pertaining to such cases.