[MEDICINE IN THE LITERARY WORK OF MIGUEL TORCA]. / LA MEDICINA EN LA OBRA DE MIGUEL TORGA.

Miguel Torga (Sao Martinho de Anta 1907 - Coimbra 1995) was one of the most important portuguese writers of the twentieth century. There is such identity between his medical and literary activity that he used to say that "his own hand not only writes but also prescribes". Reading his work, mainly autobiographical, allows us to analyze their vision of medicine, the patient physician relationship and how a doctor lives his own disease. In the first case medicine constitute an essential tool to help nature and, therefore, an instrument that makes hope possible. In the second case indicates that in the patient physician relationship are present sadness, stress, anxiety and a supreme exercise of the human condition which is the anamnesis when the patients open their intimity to the doctor. In the third case Torga's work illustrates how a physician can live his own illness as an advantage, as a judicial sentence or as a possibility. Approaching to the medicine under perspective of Miguel Torga, doctor and writer, will help us to understand medicine in a more human context in which the life of the doctor is not stranger to their patients, or to the nature and the concrete world that both share.

[Tissue engineering of peripheral nerve]. / Ingeniería tisular del nervio periférico.

The use in traumatic peripheral nerve pathology of conduits of different materials to connect the severed nerve ends and facilitate nerve fibers connection has not so far led to very satisfactory results. This paper presents preliminary results on the use of tissue engineering techniques to facilitate nerve regeneration using those conduits. Research carried out by clinical, histological, histochemical and neurophysiological methods shows a higher degree of nerve regeneration regarding the controls when a fibrin-agarose biomaterial is introduced in the conduit and even more when stem cells from the fat of the experimental animal are added to the fibrin-agarose biomaterial. These results could contribute to develop in the future better effective therapeutic results in traumatic peripheral nerve pathology.

[Generation of bioartificial organs. The cornea as a model]. / Generación de organos bioartificiales. La córnea como modelo.

The development of bioartificial organs is a new target in the development of tissue engineering. It consists in the use of stem cells in a decellularized stroma of other organs. In this paper we present our previous experience in the construction of a complete artificial cornea using cell cultures and biomaterials and compare it with the construction of a bioartificial cornea using a decellularized porcine stroma. The results, in building this new type of cornea, showed that 1.5 M NaCl treatment of porcine corneas is able to generate an acellular corneal stroma with adequate histologic and optical properties and that human keratocytes are able to penetrate and spread within this scaffold with proper levels of cell differentiation. In contrast, 0.1% SDS treatment of porcine corneas resulted in high levels of fibril disorganization and poor optical behavior of these corneas.

[Cell therapy with chondrocytes. Evaluation of cell viability in cultures]. / Terapia celular con condrocitos. Evaluación de la viabilidad celular en cultivos.

Autologous chondrocyte implantation is an established method for the treatment of chondral defects. However there is insufficient evidence to say whether cell -based therapy is superior to other treatment strategies in articular cartilage lesions. In this work we have determined cell viability of animal and human condrocytes in several passages to identify the specific cell passage that is more appropiate to be used in tissue engineering. We compare the results using tripan blue, X-Ray electron probe microanalysis and microarrays. When tripan blue is used a high viability--more than 80 %--was observed in all passeges. When it was used X-Ray microanalysis the K/ Na index only showed high viability in some subcultures. Whereas only cell death with ruptured cell membrane are stained with tripan blue, X-ray microanalysis determination detecs cell death before the rupture of the membrane. The gene expression for caspase and chondral differentiation confirm the heterogeneity in cell viability for different cell passages and therefore the possible influence of cell viability in the effectiveness of autologous chondrocyte implantation.

[Artificial endothelial cell. From stem cells to transdifferentiated endothelial cells]. / Célula endotelial artificial. De la célula madre a la célula endotelial transdiferenciada.

Construction of efficient substitutes of human tissues is strongly dependent on the availability of an adequate source of viable and functional cells. In this work, we have analyzed the transdifferentiation capabilities of Human Wharton's jelly stem cells (HWJSC) into transdifferentiated endothelial-like cells (Tr-ELC) in order to establish the potential usefulness of these cells in vascular tissue engineering. Our results show that artificial endothelial cells became more polygonal and less proliferative than Wharton stem cells. In addition, the marker of mesenchymal undifferentiation CD9 is downregulated in artificial endothelial cells, suggesting that these cells can be in the process of adult differentiation. Besides, microarray analyses revealed that some genes with a role in defining the endothelial phenotype and structure are upregulated (CDH5, ICAM2 and PECAM1), although a number of genes related to relevant endothelial cell functions (CD36, ECE2, VWF, THBD, PGI2, and ACE) did not change or were only partially induced. All this implies that Wharton stem cells are able to efficiently transdifferentiate into artificial endothelial cells at the phenotypical level following a hierarchical pattern of gene activation, with an earlier induction of morphological and phenotypical genes.

Histología., embriología e ingeniería tisular bucodental

Histología, embriología e ingeniería tisular bucodental. Métodos y técnicas de estudio en histología e ingeniería tisular bucodental. Embriología general humana. Histología general humana. Embriología especial bucomaxilofacial. Embriología dental (odontogénesis). Cavidad bucal. Glándulas salivales. Complejo articular temporomandibular (CATM). Complejo dentino-pulpar I: pulpa dental. Complejo dentino-pulpar II: dentina. Esmalte. Periodoncio de protección: encía y unión dentogingival. Periodoncio de inserción: cemento, ligamento periodontal y hueso alveolar. Erupción dentaria. Dientes primarios

Histología., embriología e ingeniería tisular bucodental

Histología, embriología e ingeniería tisular bucodental. Métodos y técnicas de estudio en histología e ingeniería tisular bucodental. Embriología general humana. Histología general humana. Embriología especial bucomaxilofacial. Embriología dental (odontogénesis). Cavidad bucal. Glándulas salivales. Complejo articular temporomandibular (CATM). Complejo dentino-pulpar I: pulpa dental. Complejo dentino-pulpar II: dentina. Esmalte. Periodoncio de protección: encía y unión dentogingival. Periodoncio de inserción: cemento, ligamento periodontal y hueso alveolar. Erupción dentaria. Dientes primarios

[Artificial cornea, cell culture and tissue engineering]. / Córnea artificial. cultivos celulares e ingeniería tisular.

The cornea, the fibrous transparent layer of the eye ball, is becoming a target of tissue engineering research because of the scarcity of donors. We report our experience in developing a mechanism to build a full-thickness corneal substitute using cell culture and protocols of tissue engineering. Isolation of keratocytes, epithelial and endothelial cells was accomplished by culturing denuded corneal stroma, limbal explant and enzymatically detached endothelium. Each type of cell was cultured in selective medium. Microanalytical quality control of cell viability was carried out. A multilayered cornea construct was built by sequential deposition of endothelium, keratocytes immersed a gel of human fibrin and epithelium in a manner that reproduce the normal histological structure.

Objetivos conceptuales y metodológicos de la investigación histológica / Conceptual and methodological objectives in histological research

El artículo define los objetivos de la histología humana necesarios para describir, con instrumentos y técnicas amplificantes, el cuerpo humano en los distintos estados de salud y la nueva orientación de la histología vinculada a la ingeniería tisular. Dichos objetivos, conceptuales y metodológicos, deben estar presentes en los profesionales sanitarios que quieran abordar cualquier protocolo de investigación médica en el que este preséntela investigación histológica (AU)

This article defines human histology objectives in order to describe, through instruments and amplification techniques, the human body in state of health and the new histology orientation linked to tissue engineering. These conceptual and methodological objectives should be known by health professionals who want to deal any biomedical research protocol in the histology research area (AU)

[Mitochondrial apoptosis]. / Apoptosis mitocondrial.

Silver staining methods, when selective, yield a high-contrast and high-resolution image in optical microscopy. A classical method for silver impregnation of mitochondria has been applied to liver tissue and reveals a marked heterogeneity among mitochondria in single cells. This heterogeneity can be detected in the optical microscope but is even more evident at the ultrastructural level. The differences in staining intensity may reflect different stages in the mitochondrial life cycle. The most lightly stained mitochondria and the unstained mitochondria also observed with Electron microscopy may represent the earliest phase of the mitochondrial life cycle. On the other hand, the progressively darker staining and final appearance of shrunken mitochondria may reflect the autodissolution process of these organelles. Such a process of mitochondrial apoptosis might make sense as a preventive pathway for elimination of damaged mitochondria before cytC or other proapoptotic factors could be liberated. This method reveals a marker of mitochondrial age.

[Financing sources in urologic clinical research]. / Fuentes de financiación en la investigación clínica urológica.

One of the most important challenges of research in the health sciences is to approximate basic, clinical, and epidemiological research, and to convert hospitals and outpatient clinics in nuclei of vanguard and innovation in this field. It is not possible to develop quality research without a quality clinical practice and vice versa. Because of this, all investment efforts made in this field will always be actions that, immediately or on the long-term, will finally result in an improvement in the quality of patient care for the citizens, and in greater development impulse and transfer of great amount of technology and innovation that is inexorably emerging in this field. Next there is a summary of the National Plan of Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation 2000-2003 and the role of the Institute of Health Carlos III in the promotion of the health science's research in Spain.

Fuentes de financiación en la investigación clínica urológica / Financing sources in clinical research in urology

Uno de los retos más importantes de la investigación sanitaria en la actualidad es aproximar la investigación básica, clínica y epidemiológica y convertir a los Hospitales y Centros de Salud en núcleos de vanguardia e innovación en este campo. No es posible desarrollar una investigación de calidad sin una práctica médica de calidad, y viceversa. Es por esto por lo que todos los esfuerzos de inversión que se hagan en este ámbito serán siempre acciones que, con carácter inmediato o a más largo plazo, acaben finalmente proyectándose en una mejora de la calidad asistencial de los ciudadanos y en un mayor impulso al desarrollo y la transferencia de la mucha e innovadora tecnología que inexorablemente surge en este campo. A continuación se resume el Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica 2000-2003 y el papel del Instituto de Salud Carlos III en el fomento de la investigación sanitaria en España. (AU)

Histología y embriología bucodental

Prólogo a la segunda edición. Prólogo a la primera edición. Introducción al estudio de la histología y la embriología bucodental. Embriología general humana. Embriología especial bucomaxilofacial. Embriología dentaria (odontogénesis). Cavidad bucal. Glándulas salivales. Complejo articular temporomandibular (CATM). Complejo dentino-pulpar: pulpa dental. Complejo dentino-pulpar: dentina. Esmalte. Periodoncio de protección: encía y unión dentogingival. Periodoncio de inserción: cemento, ligamento periodontal y hueso alveolar. Erupción dentaria. Dientes primarios. Respuestas a las situaciones problemáticas

Histología y embriología bucodental

Prólogo a la segunda edición. Prólogo a la primera edición. Introducción al estudio de la histología y la embriología bucodental. Embriología general humana. Embriología especial bucomaxilofacial. Embriología dentaria (odontogénesis). Cavidad bucal. Glándulas salivales. Complejo articular temporomandibular (CATM). Complejo dentino-pulpar: pulpa dental. Complejo dentino-pulpar: dentina. Esmalte. Periodoncio de protección: encía y unión dentogingival. Periodoncio de inserción: cemento, ligamento periodontal y hueso alveolar. Erupción dentaria. Dientes primarios. Respuestas a las situaciones problemáticas