Double Product and Autonomic Function as Predictors of Quality of Life in Heart Transplant Recipients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Heart rate control by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is impaired in heart transplant (HT) recipients, leading to increased resting heart rate, metabolic demand, and fatigue, which can impair their quality of life (QoL). In this study, we hypothesized the association of hemodynamics and autonomic function as predictors of QoL in HT recipients.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with HT recipients aged ≥ 18 years at ambulatorial accompaniment.

Assessing the negative impact of an aquaculture farm on effluent water quality in Itacuruba, Pernambuco, Brazilian semiarid region.

This study was conducted at a fish farm in Itacuruba, located in the Brazilian semiarid region. Its objective was to quantify the impacts of aquaculture on water quality by comparing effluent and inlet water, particularly in relation to CONAMA Resolution 430 (2011) limits. Regarding the effluent, electrical conductivity, total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen presented values above the limits, other parameters complied with the mentioned legislation.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head in people living with HIV: anatomopathological description and p24 antigen test.

Objective: To examine the presence of HIV in bone tissue of people living with HIV (PLWHIV) with osteonecrosis of femoral head and describe clinical and anatomopathological findings.

Design: This is a case series which included 44 PLWHIV with osteonecrosis of femoral head who underwent total hip arthroplasty.

Methods: Clinical data were obtained through analysis of the patients' medical records.

Experimental osteoarthritis model by means of medial meniscectomy in rats and effects of diacerein administration and hyaluronic acid injection.

Context And Objective: The development of a slow and progressive mechanical model for osteoarthritis is important for correlation with clinical practice, and for evaluating the effects of disease-modifying medications. A mechanical osteoarthritis model was developed to evaluate the effects of intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) injection and oral diacerein administration.

Design And Setting: Experimental study at the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade de São Paulo.

Correlation between the expression of vegf and survival in osteosarcoma.

Objective: To present a series of 50 consecutive patients with non-metastatic extremity osteosarcoma, and attempt to correlate expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein in biopsy tissue to their prognosis regarding overall survival, disease-free survival and local recurrence.

Methods: Fifty cases of non-metastatic osteosarcoma of the extremities treated between 1986 and 2006 at Instituto de Ortopedia e Traumatologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil, were evaluated regarding expression of the VEGF protein. There were 19 females and 31 males.

The effect of simvastatin on the regeneration of surgical cavities in the femurs of rabbits.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a local application of simvastatin gel in repairing bone defects in the femurs of rabbits.

Methods: Two standard surgical cavities were created in the femoral epiphysis of 18 rabbits. In the simvastatin group (SG), the cavities were filled with a collagen sponge soaked in 0.

CD200 has an important role in the differential diagnosis of mature B-cell neoplasms by multiparameter flow cytometry.

Background: Multiparameter flow cytometry is a useful tool for the diagnostic evaluation of mature B-cell neoplasms (MBN). Recently, it has been shown that CD200 may improve the distinction between chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; CD200+) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL; CD200-), but the role of CD200 expression in atypical CLL and other MBN remains to be established.

Methods: To address this issue, we investigated the expression of CD200 in 159 consecutive cases of MBN.

CD200 has an important role in the differential diagnosis of mature B-cell neoplasms by multiparameter flow cytometry.

Background: Multiparameter flow cytometry is a useful tool for the diagnostic evaluation of mature B-cell neoplasms (MBN). Recently, it has been shown that CD200 may improve the distinction between chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; CD200+) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL; CD200-), but the role of CD200 expression in atypical CLL and other MBN remains to be established. Methods: To address this issue, we investigated the expression of CD200 in 159 consecutive cases of MBN.

Effects of an exercise program on blood pressure in patients with treated hypertension and chronic Chagas' heart disease.

Introduction: Previous studies describe an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system in Chagas' disease causing increased sympathetic activity, which could influence the genesis of hypertension. However, patients undergoing regular physical exercise could counteract this condition, considering that exercise causes physiological responses through autonomic and hemodynamic changes that positively affect the cardiovascular system. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of an exercise program on blood pressure in hypertensive patients with chronic Chagas' heart disease.

Effects of an exercise program on the functional capacity of patients with chronic Chagas' heart disease, evaluated by cardiopulmonary testing.

Introduction: Despite all efforts to restrict its transmission, Chagas' disease remains a severe public health problem in Latin America, affecting 8-12 million individuals. Chronic Chagas' heart disease, the chief factor in the high mortality rate associated with the illness, affects more than half a million Brazilians. Its evolution may result in severe heart failure associated with loss of functional capacity and quality of life, with important social and medical/labor consequences.

Histological study of fresh versus frozen semitendinous muscle tendon allografts.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to histologically analyze allografts from cadaveric semitendinous muscle after cryopreservation at -80 degrees C in comparison to a control group kept at only -4 degrees C to test the hypothesis that the histological characteristics of the tissue are maintained when the tendons are kept at lower temperatures.

Methods: In a tissue bank, 10 semitendinous tendons from 10 cadavers were frozen at -80 degress C as a storage method for tissue preservation. They were kept frozen for 40 days, and then a histological study was carried out.

Primary malignancy in giant cell tumor: a case report.

Context: Primary malignancy in giant cell tumor (PMGCT) is rare. It is defined as a high-grade sarcoma originating in a giant cell tumor (GCT) and seems to behave less aggressively than its secondary counterpart does.

Case Report: This report presents the case of a 39-year-old female with pain in her left shoulder for one month.

Prognostic factors and expression of MDM2 in patients with primary extremity liposarcoma.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate MDM2 (murine double minute 2) protein expression and evaluate its relationship with some anatomical and pathological aspects, aiming also to identify prognostic factors concerning local recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival and overall survival in patients with primary liposarcomas of the extremities.

Materials And Methods: Of 50 patients with primary liposarcomas of the extremities admitted to a Reference Service, between 1968 and 2004, 25 were enrolled in the study, following eligibility and exclusion criteria.

Results: The adverse factors that influenced the risk for local recurrence in the univariant analysis included male sex (P = 0.

Classical osteoblastoma, atypical osteoblastoma, and osteosarcoma: a comparative study based on clinical, histological, and biological parameters.

Objective: To investigate the biological behavior of classical and atypical osteoblastomas in comparison to osteosarcomas.

Methods: Based on histological parameters, 30 osteoblastomas were subclassified as classical osteoblastomas (23/30) or atypical osteoblastoma (high cellularity, prominent blue osteoid, and epithelioid osteoblasts--7/30). Comparative immunohistochemical and clinical analysis was performed in 17 cases of patients with high-grade osteosarcoma.

Comparative study of cryopreserved bone tissue and tissue preserved in a 98% glycerol solution.

Objective: To compare the bone graft cryopreservation method (at -80 degrees C) with a preservation method using a 98% glycerol solution at room temperature (10 degrees C-35 degrees C), by testing the antibacterial and fungal effects of 98% glycerol and comparatively analyzing the observed histological changes resulting from the use of both methods.

Method: This study was of 30 samples of trabecular bone tissue from 10 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. Each femoral head provided 3 samples that were randomized into 3 groups, namely, the control group, the cryopreserved group, and the group preserved in a 98% glycerol at room temperature for 1 year.

Spinal cord regeneration: the action of neurotrophin-3 in spinal cord injury in rats.

Objective: For many years, it was believed that medullary regeneration could not occur, although currently there are many trials using neurotrophic factors, stem cells, fetal medulla grafts, peripheral nerve grafts, and antibodies against myelin-associated proteins that demonstrate the existence of the possibility of spinal cord regeneration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the action of neurotrophin-3, a novel neurotrophic factor.

Methods: The New York University impactor, a standardized device for delivery of spinal cord injuries was used on 33 rats, which were divided into 2 groups: a control group receiving distilled water intraperitoneally and a treatment group receiving neurotrophin-3 intraperitoneally.

Synovial sarcoma of the extremities: prognostic factors for 20 nonmetastatic cases and a new histologic grading system with prognostic significance.

Purpose: To evaluate 20 cases of nonmetastatic synovial sarcoma of the extremities regarding prognostic factors, and to propose a histologic grading system with prognostic significance.

Methods: The cases of 20 patients (14 females and 6 males) with nonmetastatic synovial sarcomas of the extremities treated between 1985 and 1998, were retrospectively evaluated regarding prognostic factors. A histologic grading system with prognostic significance is proposed.

Experimental study of the action of COX-2 selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and traditional anti-inflammatory drugs in bone regeneration.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the effects of traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that are selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors in the process of bone regeneration in a rat model.

Materials And Methods: Forty-four Wistar strain rats were subjected to osteotomy of the right femur and randomly divided into 3 groups according to the drug to be given (diclofenac, rofecoxib, or placebo). Each group was divided into 2 subgroups according to the time to euthanasia after the surgery.

Oncologic progression of bone plasmacytomas to multiple myeloma.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical aspects, diagnoses, prognostic factors, and percent progression of plasmacytoma to multiple myeloma.

Materials And Methods: 103 medical records of patients suspected of plasmacytoma were surveyed covering the period between 1950 and 1998, and 30 were selected for analysis. Patients were classified into 2 groups: patients who did (n = 17) and did not (n = 13) progress to multiple myeloma.

Results of the Brazilian Osteosarcoma Treatment Group Studies III and IV: prognostic factors and impact on survival.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of chemotherapy and surgery on the outcome of osteosarcoma (OS) of the extremities and to identify prognostic factors in Brazilian patients.

Patients And Methods: A total of 225 patients with metastatic and nonmetastatic OS of the extremities were enrolled and assessed in two consecutive studies designed and implemented by the Brazilian Osteosarcoma Treatment Group.

Results: The 5-year survival and event-free survival rates for the 209 assessable patients were 50.

Functional and radiographic evaluation of 214 aggressive benign bone lesions treated with curettage, cauterization, and cementation: 24 years of follow-up.

Purpose: Treatment with curettage, cauterization, and methylmethacrylate of aggressive benign bone lesions is a method now widely accepted in most orthopedic oncology centers. However, one of the controversies regarding this technique is the possible complications that may arise from the use of methylmethacrylate, which has caused some authors to remove it 2 years after the surgery and replace it with bone graft. The objective of this paper is to present a functional and radiographic evaluation of 214 patients presenting with aggressive benign bone lesions treated with curettage, cauterization, and methylmethacrylate from 1974 to 1998, with some of them having 24 years of follow-up.

Relationship between surgical procedure and outcome for patients with grade I chondrosarcomas.

Purpose: To evaluate the oncological outcome of patients with grade I chondrosarcomas according to the type of surgical treatment performed, since there is still controversy regarding the need for aggressive resections to reach a successful outcome.

Materials And Methods: The records of 23 patients with grade I chondrosarcomas were reviewed. The mean age was 38.

A qualitative study of compact bone microstructure and nuclear short tandem repeat obtained from femur of human remains found on the ground and exhumed 3 years after death.

Forensic identification of human remains is composed of anthropological study of race, sex, age, etc. By using these traditional methods, inconclusive or nonidentified cases could be subjected to DNA analysis. However, in spite of advances in human identification techniques, especially by PCR-amplified DNA, some limitations that affect the ability of obtaining DNA from human remains still persist.

Parosteal osteosarcoma with myocardial metastasis 13 years after follow-up.

Purpose: To report the case of a woman with a diagnosis of grade II (low grade) parosteal osteosarcoma with the occurrence of myocardial metastasis 13 years after resection, and to present a review of the existing literature on the subject.

Methods: Description of the case and review of the literature.

Conclusion: The review leads to the conclusion that the occurrence of metastasis from parosteal osteosarcoma can occur in up to 38% of the cases, in spite of its relatively low aggressiveness.