Migration and health in the European Union.

The paper gives a brief overview of a wide spectrum of health issues and problems, ranging from communicable disease to mental health and family formation, which affect migrants and host countries.

Characterization of calcineurin in human neutrophils. Inhibitory effect of hydrogen peroxide on its enzyme activity and on NF-kappaB DNA binding.

We describe here a specific calcineurin activity in neutrophil lysates, which is dependent on Ca2+, inhibited by trifluoroperazine, and insensitive to okadaic acid. Immunoblotting experiments using a specific antiserum recognized both the A and B chains of calcineurin. Neutrophils treated with cyclosporin A or FK 506 showed a dose-dependent inhibition of calcineurin activity.

[Analysis of the changes observed in the sleep EEG recording of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy].

Objective: The initial phases and transitional periods of sleep facilitate electroclinical manifestations of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). The period at the time of waking is identified in the different phases of sleep by cyclic electrophysiological oscillations, which in turn are synchronous with the spike-and-wave or multiple spike-and-wave activity of the electric crises seen in JME and other epileptic syndromes. This observation supports the theory of an alternating cyclical pattern (ACP) as the trigger of these discharges.

[Identification of 2 allelic mutations of the gene of the phosphodiesterase beta subunit in a Spanish family with recessive autosomic retinitis pigmentosa].

Background: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited eye disorders that affect photoreceptor and pigment epithelial function. Mutations in different genes involved in the phototransduction process have been described in patients with autosomal recessive RP.

Patients And Methods: We examined the gene coding the beta subunit of the phosphodiesterase (PDEB) in a ARRP family with two affected sisters.

Sublethal effects of repeated intraperitoneal cadmium injections on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Acute and chronic effects of cadmium have been widely described for different aquatic organisms and exposure routes. However, there is clearly a lack of information on the potential of cadmium to cause genotoxic effects. This work presents genotoxic and nongenotoxic parameters analyzed in cadmium-exposed rainbow trout.

[The Pro347Leu mutation of the rhodopsin gene in a Spanish family with autosomal dominant pigmentary retinosis].

We present a Spanish family affected with autosomal dominant pigmentary retinosis in which we have identified the mutation responsible for the disease (Pro347Leu) within the rhodopsin (RHO) gene. Complete ophthalmological and electrophysiological studies were performed in 14 members of this family. The molecular study, performed by SSCP analysis of the 5 exon and the promotor region of the rhodopsin gene, direct sequentiation and restriction analysis with the enzyme Mspl, showed a C-->T change in the second base of 347 codon of RHO gene.

p53 transactivation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat is blocked by PD 144795, a calcineurin-inhibitor with anti-HIV properties.

Previous reports have indicated that benzothiophenes exhibit broad anti-inflammatory properties and inhibit human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) replication. We show that the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA) and benzothiophene-2-carboxamide, 5-methoxy-3-(1-methyl ethoxy)-1-oxide (PD 144795) block the induction of p53 and NF-kappaB binding to the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) by the T cell receptor activator phytohemagglutinin. CsA and PD 144795 also inhibit the induction by phytohemagglutinin of the transcription mediated by an HIV-1 LTR fragment containing the p53 and NF-kappaB sites.

A newly synthesized molecule derived from ruthenium cation, with antitumour activity, activates NADPH oxidase in human neutrophils.

To determine the nature of the mechanism by which certain derived ruthenium (Ru) complexes induce regression in tumour growth, we have investigated the possibility that this mechanism was associated with an increase of superoxide anion (O2-. production by phagocytic cells, which are usually found in tumour nodes. Here we present evidence that a newly synthesized complex, Ru3+-propylene-1, 2-diaminotetra-acetic acid (Ru-PDTA), derived from Ru and the sequestering ligand (PDTA), specifically stimulates O2-.

Development of an essential drugs list for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Part of the impact of the war in ex-Yugoslavia and especially Bosnia and Herzegovina was to limit the supply of therapeutic drugs they had used before the war. The difficulties encountered made the health care system temporarily dependent on humanitarian assistance agencies which applied the concept of essential drugs; and, after initial difficulties, national health staff adapted to the need to prescribe from a very limited range of drugs. Meanwhile, national drug policy and procurement and prescribing practices were reviewed by working groups and a national List of Essential Drugs was drawn up by national experts with international support.

[Concurrence of short and long lasting episodes of nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia in an epileptic patient].

We report the case of a patient with nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia (NPD) meeting not only the diagnostic criteria described by Lugaresi et al. in 1981, but also presenting with features suggestive of underlying epilepsy as well as other differences from the diagnostic criteria originally described for NPD, such as short- and long-lasting episodes and poor response to antiepileptic drugs. The case we describe suggests a different entity, one that is unrelated to epilepsy or true NPD.

G106R rhodopsin mutation is also present in Spanish ADRP patients.

A large family affected with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP) with a sectorial phenotype showed a previously described (G to A) mutation in the rhodopsin gene resulting in the substitution of a glycine residue by an arginine in codon 106 of rhodopsin. This mutation shows some unusual characteristics, such as initial pathology of the inferior retina, superior visual field with normal disc and retinal vessels, and ERG findings that show a modest reduction in both cone and rod amplitudes with normal implicit times. The Gly 106 Arg mutation has been previously reported in American and British patients.

Enhancement of Antigen-specific functional responses by neutrophils from allergic patients.

It has been demonstrated that neutrophils from healthy donors or from patients with inflammatory disorders can bind immunoglobulin (Ig) E proteins through binding to Mac-2/epsilon bp. Functional responses to allergens were assessed by measuring the respiratory burst and intracellular Ca2+ levels, and binding of allergens to neutrophils was assessed by flow cytometry analysis and fluorescence microscopy. In this article, we demonstrate that neutrophils sensitized to specific allergens (from allergic patients), but not from healthy donors, are sensitive to allergens of the same type as those that produce clinical allergic symptoms.

A nursing approach: towards the integral health care of renal patients.

In February 1993, after several multicentre meetings held together with nephrologists, the decision was taken to create the Peritoneal Dialysis Nursing Group for the Central Area; having as its primary purpose the provision of integrated medical care to renal patients.

[Identification of Arg-135-Leu mutation in the rhodopsin gene in a family with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa].

Mutations in the rhodopsin gene have been sought in a family with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Screening for mutations in the rhodopsin gene was carried out by polimerase chain reaction and denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis. Direct DNA sequencing was performed for the characterization of punctual mutations.

Women and migration: a public health issue.

The need to migrate is usually a function of the complex interaction of economic, social, familial and political factors. Among the most important, however, are the denial of access to education, employment, goods and services and the lack of respect for basic human rights. Because in many societies women are marginalized from these rights, migration to more economically and educationally open societies can often help improve their personal situation and their professional opportunities.

Retinitis pigmentosa in Spain. The Spanish Multicentric and Multidisciplinary Group for Research into Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a term commonly given to a group of inherited and progressive disorders which affect the photoreceptors of the retina. As part of an ongoing research programme throughout Spain, clinical, epidemiological, and genetic studies have been carried out on these diseases. Here, we report the relative frequencies of the different genetic types in 503 non-syndromic and 89 syndromic RP families of Spanish origin.

Kinetics of copper and nitrite in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): The isolated perfused head preparation as alternative to in vivo assays.

Isolated perfused preparations permit the use of physiological routes of exposure for the study of mechanisms of toxicity under conditions where the architecture remains intact and the potential influences of other organs are eliminated. The perfusion of gills in the isolated head preparation has been used extensively in aquatic toxicology. Quantitative comparisons between in vivo systems and this preparation are required for the extrapolation of results.

Effects of Waterborne Copper, Cyanide, Ammonia, and Nitrite on Stress Parameters and Changes in Susceptibility to Saprolegniosis in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

The effects of toxic exposures on the susceptibility of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to saprolegniosis were evaluated. Fish were exposed to sublethal concentrations of copper (0.25 mg/liter), cyanide (0.

A point mutation in the RDS-peripherin gene in a Spanish family with central areolar choroidal dystrophy.

The RDS-peripherin gene encodes a photoreceptor-specific protein that is localized in the outer segment disc membranes of both rods and cones. We screened a Spanish family with central areolar choroidal dystrophy for mutations in candidate genes. A base substitution was identified in the RDS-peripherin gene of one patient and DNA sequencing revealed a C-to-T transition in codon 172, arginine being substituted by tryptophan.