[Spontaneous resolution of a paraparesis due to a dorsolumbar epidural haematoma associated with subarachnoid anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia using an epidural catheter]. / Resolución espontánea de paraparesia por hematoma epidural dorsolumbar asociado a anestesia subaracnoidea y analgesia postoperatoria mediante catéter epidural.

Spinal epidural haematoma after neuroaxial anaesthesia is a rare but serious complication. Most cases are attributed to anticoagulant therapy or bleeding tendency. It presents as an acute spinal cord compression and usually requires emergency surgical decompression. The interval between the onset of clinical signs and surgical evacuation is very important, influencing the neurological prognosis. We report a case of a spinal epidural haematoma after epidural analgesia in a patient who was treated with low molecular weight heparin for thrombo-prophylaxis in the perioperative period. In some cases, such as the one reported here, good neurological recovery can be achieved with conservative management.

[Mobile applications in alzheimer's disease. A systematic review of the literature]. / Aplicaciones móviles en la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Una revisión sistemática de la literatura.

INTRODUCTION: New treatment options are emerging to treat Alzheimer's disease (AE) within the field of smartphone technologies. OBJECTIVE: To carry out a systematic review of the literature on the use of mobile applications in AE and to review the app markets in order to extract the main apps, with a view to classifying the describing them in the context of AE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic review was carried out from 2000 until 2018 on apps for AE. At the same time, a search for mobile applications was conducted in the main mobile application markets. RESULTS: A total of 294 mobile applications were found, which were classified as follows: 178 with potential utility for AE and 116 with a specific design for AE (73 information apps, 8 assessment apps, 31 treatment apps, 3 information and assessment and one assessment and treatment app). CONCLUSIONS: There are multiple apps with potential utility or a specific design for AE. However, the limited number of scientific articles and their poor quality make it impossible to generalise their use. Consequently, future research is needed by health agencies in the context of AE.

Novel aqueous chitosan-based dispersions as efficient drug delivery systems for topical use. Rheological, textural and release studies.

The use of a novel cross-linked thiolated chitosan (CTS) was investigated as the main component of aqueous dispersions (at 1% and 3% w/v) for topical drug delivery systems. The nonionic theophiline (Th) and the cationic diltiazem(.)HCl (Dt) (at 0.5% w/v concentration) were used as model drugs. All aqueous dispersions behaved as viscoelastic fluids. The CTS 1% dispersions showed predominance of viscous component and low viscosity. However, in the CTS 3% dispersions, both the elastic component and high viscosities prevailed. So, texture parameters improved from CTS 1% to 3% dispersions and CTS 3%-Dt showed greater cohesion and adhesion than CTS 3%-Th, but always below CTS alone. All dispersions showed a Fickian diffusion mechanism. Despite release profiles of both drugs almost fully overlapped at 1% CTS, diffusion coefficients confirmed Dt released faster than Th at 3% CTS. The rheological behavior and the chemical nature of the drugs explained these results.

[Reproducibility of the technique for measuring nitric oxide in exhaled air in healthy subjects]. / Estudio de la reproducibilidad de la técnica de medición de óxido nítrico en aire exhalado en sujetos sanos.

UNLABELLED: Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) has become established as the principal non-invasive marker of airway inflammation. Exhaled NO levels reported in the literature vary greatly, with differences sometimes attributable to measurement technique. OBJECTIVE: To determine the reproducibility of the technique used by our department to measure exhaled NO and to know whether results vary with diet and patient characteristics. METHOD: We studied 20 healthy subjects (10 men and 10 women; mean age 28.21 years). Exhaled NO was measured when the patient was fasting(N1), 30 minutes after intake of vegetables (N2) and 30 minutes after intake of meat/fish (N3). For each measure N1, N2 and N3 we took the average of three consecutive measurements separated by 10 minutes. Exhaled NO was assessed by controlled-flow chemoluminescence after adjusting for trapped air and after generating pressure in the oral cavity that was sufficient to close the soft palate(Eco Physics CLD 77 AM analyzer). RESULTS: The mean concentration was 3.40 1.30 ppb for N1, 4.03 1.00 ppb for N2 and 3.71 1.05 ppb for N3. The differences between measurements were not statistically significant(p > 0.05). Nor were differences between the sets of three measurements significant. The mean concentration was 3.13 0.41 ppb for women and 3.72 0.31 ppb for men (ns). No significant differences were related to body mass index 25 (n = 15) or > 25 (n = 5). CONCLUSIONS: The technique our department uses for measuring exhaled NO is reproducible and differences are unrelated to food intake, sex or body mass index.

[Retinal image analysis to detect lesions associated with diabetic retinopathy]. / Tratamiento digital de retinografías para detectar automáticamente lesiones asociadas con la retinopatía diabética.

PURPOSE: Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision loss in developed countries. Regular diabetic retinal eye screenings are needed to detect early signs of retinopathy, so that appropriate treatments can be rendered to prevent blindness. Digital imaging is becoming available as a means of screening for diabetic retinopathy. However, with the large number of patients undergoing screenings, medical professionals require a tremendous amount of time and effort in order to analyse and diagnose the fundus photographs. Our aim is to develop an automatic algorithm using digital image analysis for detecting these early lesions from retinal images. METHODS: An automatic method to detect hard exudates, a lesion associated with diabetic retinopathy, is proposed. The algorithm is based on their colour, using a statistical classification, and their sharp edges, applying an edge detector, to localise them. RESULTS: A sensitivity of 79.62% with a mean number of 3 false positives per image is obtained in a database of 20 retinal images with variable colour, brightness and quality. It can also be seen that the number of the false negative cases increases when the hard exudates were very close to the vessel tree. CONCLUSION: The long term goal of the project is to automate the screening for diabetic retinopathy with retinal images. We have described the preliminary development of a tool to provide automatic analysis of digital fundus photographs to localise hard exudates. Future work will address the issue of improving the obtained results and also will focus on detecting other lesions.