Congenital plate-like osteoma cutis of the forehead: an atypical presentation form.

Cutaneous ossifications or osteoma cutis can be found in many syndromes. Primary osteoma cutis, present since birth or the first months of life, in the absence of metabolic disorders or trauma, is found in congenital plate-like osteoma cutis and progressive osseous heteroplasia, coexisting in the latter with deep connective tissue ossifications. This report documents the case of a 7-year-old female with a plate-like cutaneous ossification of the forehead causing aesthetic deformities. Other dermal ossifications in the inguinal and preauricular region, as well as the left hand and a small focus in the extraocular muscles of the left orbit, were also present. These lesions did not show progression, and most of them were present since birth. The lesion of forehead was treated surgically. The lack of progression and the fact that the orbital lesion was solitary still fits the criteria for the diagnosis of plate-like osteoma cutis. Plate-like osteoma cutis and progressive osseous heteroplasia may represent varieties of the same disorder.

[Congenital solid tumors. A thirteen-year review]. / Tumores sólidos congénitos. Revisión de 13 años.

UNLABELLED: Tumors diagnosed during the first month of life are infrequent: 0.5 to 2% of all childhood neoplasms. This is an interesting group of tumors because their type, relative incidence, natural history and response to treatment differ from those seen in older children. AIM: To contribute the experience of our institution in congenital tumors the last 13 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The records of all neonates (< 31 days old) diagnosed with solid tumors since January 1990 to December 2002 have been retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Twenty-seven neonates have been diagnosed with tumors in the last 13 years. Thirteen patients (48%) were prenatally diagnosed. Nine babies were diagnosed at the initial neonatal exam (40% of those diagnosedd after birth). Neuroblastoma was the commonest tumor (10 cases, 37%), of which 4 were stage I, 4 stage IV-S and 2 stage III. There were 8 teratomas (3 sacrocoxigeal, 1 retroperitoneal, 1 in the CNS, 1 orbitary and two oronasal), two hepatic tumors (1 hepatoblastoma, 1 hemangioendothelioma, two CNS tumors, two giant nevus (one on a hamartoma), and one each Wilms tumor, infantile fibrosarcoma and myofibroblastic tumor. Treatment was surgical resection alone in 17 cases (68%) and surgery + chemotherapy in 8 (32%) (5 neuroblastomas, one CNS tumor, one Wilms tumor and one presacral teratoma who developed a yolk sac tumor); 3 patients died (11%): one at surgery, one of tumoural airway obstruction at birth and one with craniopharyngioma. Among the 14 tumors that were initially not malignant, two can be locally agressive, one was an immature teratoma, the giant nevus with hamartoma developed in situ melanoma, the other nevus had meningeal melanosis with hydrocephalus, and one mature presacral teratoma developed a yolk sac tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis of congenital tumors is performed earlier in recent years due to the wide use of prenatal ultrasound. Their natural history is more benign than in other age groups, except for CNS tumors and very large or obstructing tumors. The histological patern is not determinant of the outcome. Complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice, most cases not need adjuvant chemotherapy. We ought to pass this message on to our colleagues in prenatal diagnosis, so parents get reliable information.

[Mesenteric flow in an experimental model of ischaemia-reperfusion in rats]. / Flujo mesentérico en un modelo experimental por isquemia-reperfusión en ratas.

INTRODUCTION: Maintained acute occlusion followed by reperfusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) in a few hours can trigger irreversible bowel damage. The aim of the study was to determine the changes in mesenteric flow measured by colour Doppler Ultrasound and correlating with histological lesions in an experimental model of ischaemia-reperfusion. METHOD AND MATERIAL: Three groups of Sprague-Dawley 17 day-old rats were studied (control, ischemia and reperfusion). The model used was ischaemia-reperfusion over the SMA. Intra-abdominal ultrasound was then performed. The parameters recorded were: Maximum systolic velocity (MSV), pulsatility index (PI), resistance (RI) and systole-diastole (S/D). The histological variables were: intestinal lesion (Wallace/Keenan-Chiu scale), morphometrics (mean villus height [MVH]), and goblet cells. The Spearman (rs) correlation was used. RESULTS: The MSV in the reperfusion group was 74.3 cm/s, the PI 7.33 and S/D 25.75 in the SMA, which were higher than the controls (41.35 cm/s; 3.12 and 12.45, respectively). A direct association (P<.01) was found between MSV, PI and S/D regarding: Wallace/Kennan scoring system (rs = 0.655; rs = 0.593; rs = 0.63) and the Chiu (rs = 0.569; rs = 0.522; rs = 0.47). While the correlation was the reverse (P<.01) when associated with the MVH (rs = -0,495; rs = -0,452; rs = -0,459) and goblet cells of the colon (rs = -0,525; rs = -0,45; rs = -0,518). CONCLUSIONS: The reperfusion phase increased mesenteric flow expressed by the MSV and PI and could significantly predict the potential bowel damage at macroscopic and microscopic level.

Altitudinal and seasonal changes of phenolic compounds in Buxus sempervirens leaves and cuticles.

The variation in the leaf content of phenolic compounds has been related to the UV-B changes of the environment in which plants grow. In this context, we aimed to investigate: a) whether the seasonal and altitudinal changes in the content of phenolic compounds of Buxus sempervirens L. leaves and cuticles could be related to the natural fluctuations in UV-B levels and b) the possible use of specific phenolic compounds as biomarkers of ambient UV-B levels. To achieve these goals we sampled, every three months during one year, leaves of B. sempervirens along an altitudinal gradient. At the lowest and the highest altitudes, we also conducted a UV-exclusion experiment to discern whether the observed changes could be attributed to the natural variation in UV-B. Results show that total phenolic content of leaves was lower in June than in the other sampling dates, which suggests a leaf ontogenic rather than a UV-B effect on the leaf content of these compounds. Regarding the elevational gradient, the overall amount of phenolic acids and neolignan of entire leaves increased with altitude while the total amount of flavonoids in leaf cuticles decreased. However, the lack of a significant effect of our UV-exclusion treatment on the content of these compounds suggests that the observed variations along the altitudinal gradient would respond to other factors rather than to UV-B. Concomitantly, we did not find any phenolic compound in leaves or cuticles of B. sempervirens that could be considered as a biomarker of ambient UV-B levels.

Bronchial perforation and bronchoesophageal fistulas: tuberculous origin in children.

A case of bronchial perforation and two cases of bronchoesophageal fistula of tuberculous oritin are presented. The lesions were radiologically identified by bronchography in one patient and esophagography in the other two. One patient with bronchoesophageal fistula died. His lesion had been erroneously considered to be congenital. At surgery, widespread pulmonary tuberculosis was found. The other two patients responded to antituberculous chemotherapy. In one of them, a follow-up barium esophagogram showed a large esophageal diverticulum located where a previous fistulous opening had closed.

Nutritional factors and gastric cancer in Spain.

A case-control study on diet and gastric cancer, carried out in selected areas of four regions of Spain (Aragon, Castile, Catalonia, and Galicia) in 1988 and 1989, included 354 cases of histologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma and 354 controls matched by age, sex, and area of residence. Cases and controls were selected from 15 hospitals, representing most of the hospital facilities in the study areas. Usual diet was estimated by means of a dietary history questionnaire administered by interview. An increased risk of gastric cancer was observed for high consumption of exogenous nitrosamines (odds ratio = 2.1 for the highest quartile of consumption versus the lowest; p for linear trend = 0.007), nitrites, fat, and cholesterol. However, in a multivariate regression model, the effect of fat and cholesterol disappeared. An inverse association with the risk for gastric cancer was seen for high intake of fiber, vitamin C, folate, carotene, and nitrates. High consumption of vitamin C seemed to neutralize the increased risk related to simultaneous consumption of nitrosamines. For histologic type, the authors found no meaningful differences in the effect of most of the nutrients between intestinal and diffuse cancers. Their findings are consistent with previously reported results about the protective effect of fruit and vegetables and the increased risk associated with foods that are important sources of nitrites and preformed nitrosamines.

Revision del tratamiento del ureterocele en el recien nacido y lactante / Ureterocele in the newborn: review of its treatment

Once pacientes entre 3 dias y 7 meses de edad, 8 afectos de ureterocele ectopico y 3 ureterocele ectopico correspondian a un sistema doble y uno a un sistema simple. Los 3 ureteroceles intravesicales correspondieron a sistemas simples. Del total, seis casos presentaron patologia asociada ipsi y/o contralateral. Luego de la descomprension, la unidad afecta mejoro en todos los pacientes. El control demostro la mejoriaen 2 de los casos de sistema simple, apareciendo funcion solo en un uno de los sistemas dobles previamente incluidos. La ureterohidronefrosis de los hemirriñones inferiores homo y contralateral y los reflujos preexistentes mejoraron. Aparecio reflujo en el ureterocele y hemirriñon tributario en 3 casos y en el hemirriñon inferior en uno. En dos pacientes constituye el tratamiento definitivo, los beneficios obtenidos mediante la descomprension, compensan los riesgos de un posible reflujo iatroganico