Relation between personality dimensions and symptomatology of depression in skin cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Environmental psychological factors such as mood states can modify and trigger an organic response; depressive disorder is considered a risk factor for oncological development, leading to alterations both in the genesis and in the progression of the disease. Some authors have identified that personality relates to mood since a high score in neuroticism is associated with intense and long-lasting emotions of stress and therefore with the development of depressive behaviors. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between personality and depression in skin cancer patients. METHODS: A total of forty-seven clinically and histopathologically diagnosed patients were scheduled for an hour-long interview, during which they provided informed consent and sociodemographic information. The psychological questionnaires applied were the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the clinical questionnaire for the diagnosis of the depressive syndrome. RESULTS: The patient's mean age was 66.5 years (SD ± 12.4) and the majority were diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma (70.2%). The frequency of anxious/depressive symptoms was 42.5%, with an increase in depression scores in the female gender (p < 0.001). Furthermore, a difference was found in the neuroticism dimension related to gender, with higher values in women (p = 0.002). Depressive symptomatologic portraits were correlated with the dimensions of neuroticism (p < 0.001, r = 0.705), psychoticism (p = 0.003, r = 0.422) and lying (p = 0.028, r = - 0.321). CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that personality dimensions are related to the presence of anxiety/depressive symptomatology in patients with skin cancer, especially in the female gender. Highlighting the need for future research that delves into the implications at the psychological level, the quality of life, and the biological mechanisms that link personality and depressive symptoms in the development and evolution of skin cancer.

[Anesthesia and management of recovery for severely burned pediatric patients]. / Anestesia y reanimación del gran quemado pediátrico.

The incidence of burns in children is high. Their severity and high mortality rate, coupled with the complexity of the pathophysiological mechanisms involved mean that burns must be treated exhaustively as soon after injury as possible. The airway must be managed and fluid started in the first hours to preserve vital organ function. Avoiding hypothermia, ischemic infection, and toxicity arising from dead tissue will be other priorities. Placing skin grafts over lesions will be the final stage of surgical treatment. All of these processes will involve management of pain as well as provision of the psychological support these children will need to overcome physical and psychological sequelae and allow them to take up social activities after recovery.

[General anesthesia by infusion of remifentanil for debridement and grafting of large burns in 3 pediatric patients]. / Anestesia general con perfusión de remifentanilo para desbridamiento e injerto a tres grandes quemados pediátricos.

Three 13-year-olds with burns on 30%, 70%, and 75% of their body surface areas and with related respiratory tract lesions underwent multiple surgical interventions for debridement, graft placement, and topical treatments. Balanced general anesthesia was provided with sevoflurane and an infusion of remifentanil and cisatracurium. Each patient underwent 41 procedures over a period of 6 months. All interventions were carried out without complications other than the difficulty of establishing an access to veins and monitoring because of the scarcity of intact surfaces. Remifentanil is an effective analgesic for meeting the needs of patients with severe burns. The combination of remifentanil, sevoflurane, and cisatracurium provides good hemodynamic stability and is very appropriate for patients who must undergo a large number of surgical interventions.

Tatuajes en la línea media lumbar y anestesia epidural / Tattoos along the spine and epidural anesthesia

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Age-related effect of dietary nucleotides on liver nucleic acid content in rats.

We have addressed the question of whether dietary nucleotides contribute to the liver nucleic acid pool and whether this contribution is related to age. Two experiments were performed in rats of 1 months, 3 months and 17 months of age. In the first, rats were fed a nucleotide-free diet or the same diet, but supplemented with nucleotides for 3 and 10 days. In the second experiment, rats were starved for 3 days. Liver RNA decreased by 10-day deprivation of dietary nucleotides and starvation in young and adult rats but not in the old. Liver DNA decreased by starvation in adult and old rats but not in the young, whereas nucleotide deprivation had no effect. These results, demonstrating that dietary nucleotide deprivation causes an effect on liver RNA pool similar to the effect of starvation, indicate that dietary nucleotides contribute to the liver RNA pool, this influence being related to age.

Morphological changes in hepatocytes of rats deprived of dietary nucleotides.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of dietary nucleotides on liver morphology. Adult rats were fed for 21 d on a nucleotide-containing diet or the same diet free of nucleotides. Liver sections were examined by light and transmission electron microscopy, as well as for nucleic acid and protein contents. Morphometric analysis was performed for different variables. Deprivation of dietary nucleotides resulted in a reduction in hepatocyte nuclear and nucleolar areas as well as in nuclear chromatin condensation. In addition, the rough endoplasmic reticulum was reduced, as were ribosome association and abundance, whereas fat accumulated. These findings portray dietary nucleotides as required nutrients for the liver under normal physiological conditions and suggest that an inadequate supply of nucleotides for a certain period of time has transient negative effects on liver ultrastructure and function.

Deprivation of dietary nucleotides decreases protein synthesis in the liver and small intestine in rats.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Dietary nucleotides are reported to influence the growth and functioning of the liver and small intestine. The aim of this study was to examine the mechanism by which nucleotides exert their effects in these tissues by assessing protein synthesis activity and related parameters in the presence or absence of dietary nucleotides. METHODS: Rats were fed a purified diet with or without nucleotides for 10 days. Fractional protein synthesis rate, RNA and DNA concentrations, polysome size distribution, and number of ribosomes were assessed. RESULTS: Fractional protein synthesis rates of the liver and small intestine were lower in the nucleotide-deprived group than in the control group. In the liver, RNA concentration was also lower in the nucleotide-deprived group, but values in the small intestine were similar in the two groups. In the liver, deprivation of nucleotides resulted in a reduction in the number of ribosomes and in polysome breakdown. Protein and DNA concentrations did not vary in the liver; however, the concentration of DNA was lower in the small intestine of the nucleotide-deprived group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary nucleotides can modulate protein synthesis in the liver and small intestine as a result of tissue-specific nucleic acid changes.

Deprivation of dietary nucleotides results in a transient decrease in acid-soluble nucleotides and RNA concentration in rat liver.

This study examines the contribution of dietary nucleotides to liver nucleotide pools in rats. Liver acid-soluble nucleotides, DNA and RNA concentrations were monitored in two groups of rats fed either a diet supplemented with nucleotides or a diet free of nucleotides for 3 wk. Significantly lower concentrations of ATP, ADP, GTP and CDP as well as of RNA were found after 1 wk in the rats fed a nucleotide-free diet compared with those fed the nucleotide-supplemented diet; concentrations remained lower after 2 wk except for ATP and ADP. No changes over time were observed in the rats fed the nucleotide-supplemented diet. Between wk 2 and 3 an increase in both acid-soluble nucleotides and RNA was observed in the rats fed the nucleotide-free diet, reaching the values found in the rats fed the nucleotide-supplemented diet. These findings, which indicate that dietary nucleotides are utilized at least in part by the liver to maintain the cell nucleotide pools and that diets devoid of nucleotides affect hepatic nucleotide metabolism and RNA, support the hypothesis that liver nucleotide metabolism is modulated by the availability of dietary nucleotides.