Temperature effect on contractile activity of the Ambystoma dumerilii heart previously treated with isoproterenol.

The spontaneous heart rate (HR) and ventricular (V) and atrium (A) tensions (T) were evaluated through isolated organ assays at different temperatures in hearts from Ambystoma dumerilii control and treated with isoproterenol (ISO) [(150 mg/kg i.p. each 24 h, for 3 days)] on days 1, 5, 30 and 90 after ISO. In control hearts, the HR increased and the T decreased when temperature was augmented. One day after ISO the HR (43-24%) and T (50-25%) decreased with respect to control, between 8 and 24 degrees C. Five, 30 and 90 days after ISO, HR showed a gradual recovery with similar effect when the temperature was changed; but the AT increased and VT decreased at temperatures between 8 and 12 degrees C and were only recovered at temperatures above 12 degrees C. Our results indicate that the HR recovers after ISO in A. dumerilii independently of temperature. The recovery of AT and VT is similar to HR at temperatures higher than 12 degrees C and the increases in VT could be compensating the decrease in VT caused by ISO, at temperatures lower than 12 degrees C. The changes in heart contractile activity of A. dumerilii after insult show the thermic plasticity that is observed in ectothermic vertebrates.

Clinical picture of cutaneous leishmaniases due to Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico.

Localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL), known as "chiclero's ulcer" in southeast Mexico, was described by Seidelin in 1912. Since then, the sylvatic region of the Yucatan peninsula has been identified as an endemic focus of LCL. The purpose of the present work was to describe the clinical picture of LCL caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana in the Yucatan peninsula. A total of 136 cases of LCL, based on isolation and characterization of L. (L.) mexicana by isoenzymes and/or monoclonal antibodies, were selected. Some variability of clinical features regarding number, type, size, form, location and time of evolution of the lesions was observed. The most frequently observed presentation was a single, ulcerated, rounded small lesion, located on the ear, with an evolution time of less than three months, with neither cutaneous metastases nor lymphatic nor mucosal involvement. This picture corresponds to previous studies carried out in the same endemic area where an organism of the L. mexicana complex has been incriminated as a major aetiological agent of classical "chiclero's ulcer", confirming that in the Yucatan peninsula LCL due to L. (L.) mexicana when located on the pinna of the ear is a remarkable characteristic.

Use of monoclonal antibodies for the identification of Leishmania spp. isolated from humans and wild rodents in the State of Campeche, Mexico.

The genus Leishmania includes 30 described species which infect a wide variety of mammalian hosts. The precise identification of leishmanial parasites at the species level is very important in order to determine whether an organism, causing the disease in a given area, is of the same biotype as that found in suspected mammalian reservoirs. The objectives of the present study were (1) to identify leishmanial parasites isolated from humans and wild rodents from the State of Campeche, an endemic focus of localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) in southern Mexico, using an indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA) with monoclonal antibodies (Mabs); and (2) to determine if the parasites of the two types of hosts were of the same biotype. All the wild rodents (six Ototylomys phyllotis, eight Oryzomys melanotis, five Peromyscus yucatanicus and two Sigmodon hispidus) and 96% (24/25) of the human isolates were identified as Leishmania (L.) mexicana confirming that this specific LCL focus is a wild zoonosis. The presence of one human isolate of L. (Viannia) braziliensis in the State of Campeche, confirmed the importance of an accurate taxonomic identification at species level.

Response of cutaneous leishmaniasis (chiclero's ulcer) to treatment with meglumine antimoniate in Southeast Mexico.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, known as chiclero's ulcer in southeastern Mexico, is characterized by a predominantly single, painless, ulcerated lesion, without lymphangitis or adenopathy. When located on the ear, it tends to become chronic, causing destruction of the pinna and disfigurement. It is caused predominantly by Leishmania (L.) mexicana. Although pentavalent antimonials (Sb5+) are the mainstay of leishmanial therapy and have been used for more than 50 years, dosage regimens have been repeatedly modified and the best one has not been fully identified. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the response of chiclero's ulcer to treatment with meglumine antimoniate. One hundred five patients were treated with meglumine antimoniate at a daily dose of 1 ampule per day (425 mg of Sb5+) until healing. The lesions healed after a mean of 25 days (range = 5-60 days).

Isoenzyme characterization of Leishmania isolated from human cases with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis from the State of Campeche, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

Seventy-five isolates from the State of Campeche, Mexico, an area endemic for localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL), were characterized by isoenzyme markers (glucose phosphate isomerase, mannose phospate isomerase, nucleoside hydrolase, phosphoglucomutase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase). Seventy (93.3%) were identified as Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana and 5 (6.7%) as L. (Viannia) braziliensis. This is the first report of authochthonus human LCL caused by L. (V.) braziliensis in the State of Campeche, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

[Maternal mortality at the Hospital de Ginecobstetricia del Centro Médico de Occidente, IMSS. Review of 5 years]. / Mortalidad materna en el Hospital de Ginecobstetricia del Centro Médico de Occidente, IMSS. Revisión de 5 años.

This study was carried out in order to know the mortality rate and related factors at Hospital de Ginecobstetricia, Centro Médico de Occidente, and to analyze the problem and to propose solutions. The files and reports of the Maternal Mortality Committee, regarding 74 deaths in a five year period, were reviewed. The definitions and classification criteria proposed by tha International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, were used. The average maternal death rate was 8.01 per 10,000 births. The main death causes were: hemorrhage, systemic hypertension, probable pulmonary thromboembolism and sepsis. Direct obstetrical deaths, were 82.4%; predictable deaths, 66.2%, and deaths on hospital arrival, 39.1%. There was professional liability in 66.2%, and hospital liability in 25.6%. These and other data, were analyzed and possible strategies to diminish maternal mortality, were proposed.

[Subcapsular hepatic hematoma in severe postpartum pre-eclampsia. Presentation of a case]. / Hematoma hepático subcapsular en preclampsia severa postparto. Presentación de un caso.

One of the known complications of the patient with preeclamptic or eclamptic disease is the subcapsular hepatic hematoma, caused mainly by the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation. When such hematoma ruptures to the abdominal cavity mortality is high. Nevertheless, there are reports of survival, depending on a prompt and accurate diagnosis and a prompt surgical approach. In this article, a case of a patient with a postpartum severe pre-eclampsia is presented. She was diagnosed as a HELLP syndrome complicated by a disseminated intravascular coagulation and a subcapsular hepatic hematoma by clinic and supported by lab and confirmed by ultrasound, who had a satisfactory outcome.

[Acute fatty liver in pregnancy. Presentation of a case]. / Hígado graso agudo del embarazo. Presentación de un caso.

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is not a very frequent disease, of unknown etiology mainly present in the 3rd trimester of the pregnancy. Early diagnosis and treatment including interruption of pregnancy (delivery or caesarean section) had been the key for decreasing fetal-maternal morbidity-mortality in recent years. This paper analyzes a clinical report of a 30 years old woman suffering AFLP histologically confirmed admitted to our hospital two weeks after illness started and who died because of secondary complications which did not respond to management probably because it was too late.

Cimetidina en el tratamiento del sangramiento digestivo alto / Cimetidine in the treatment of upper digestive bleeding

Presentamos 2 grupos de pacientes sometidos a tratamiento convencional más cimetidina, para comparar los resultados obtenidos con cada tratamiento en cuanto a curas, fracasos y mortalidad, y la relación existente entre éstos y otras variables como estancia, edad, sexo, cuantía y causa de sangramiento, y tratamiento quirúrgico. Se concluye que no existen diferencias sustanciales entre ambos tratamientos, salvo en lo que se refiere a que la cimetidina es significativamente superior cuando el sangramiento digestivo alto es causado por úlcera péptica no originada por estrés(AU)