[Transverse myelopathy and systemic lupus erythematosus. Report of a case and review of the literature]. / Mielopatia transversa e lupus eritematoso sistêmico. Registro de um caso e revisão da literatura.

A case of transverse myelopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus with subacute onset and fatal course is reported. A review of the literature is done and clinical, laboratorial, therapeutics and pathological aspects are discussed. The authors call attention to the poor results of therapy and discuss the participation of immunological factors leaving to demyelination which are, aside the classical vascular involvement, the probable mechanisms in the neurological manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus. The authors believe that, in their case, such a demyelinative mechanism was responsible for the clinical picture, although a necroscopic examination was not allowed.

Concentrations of fluoride in wines from the Canary Islands.

Potentiometry using an ion-selective electrode has widely been used for determining fluoride because of its simplicity and rapidity. The concentration of fluoride was determined (Gran's method) in 70 wines from the main wine-producing regions of the Canary Islands. The mean concentration of fluoride in wines from a region with a high concentration of fluoride in drinking waters was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those mean concentrations obtained in the remaining wines. Non-important differences were found among the types of wine analysed. However, the fluoride concentrations of all the Canarian wines analysed here did not present a risk for the public health.