Predictors of Mechanical Ventilation in Guillain-Barré Syndrome with Axonal Subtypes.

Background: The early clinical predictors of respiratory failure in Latin Americans with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have scarcely been studied. This is of particular importance since Latin America has a high frequency of axonal GBS variants that may imply a worse prognosis.

Methods: We studied 86 Mexican patients with GBS admitted to the , a referral center of Mexico City, to describe predictors of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).

WNK3 and WNK4 exhibit opposite sensitivity with respect to cell volume and intracellular chloride concentration.

Cation-coupled chloride cotransporters (CCC) play a role in modulating intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl]) and cell volume. Cell shrinkage and cell swelling are accompanied by an increase or decrease in [Cl], respectively. Cell shrinkage and a decrease in [Cl] increase the activity of NKCCs (Na-K-Cl cotransporters: NKCC1, NKCC2, and Na-Cl) and inhibit the activity of KCCs (K-Cl cotransporters: KCC1 to KCC4), wheras cell swelling and an increase in [Cl] activate KCCs and inhibit NKCCs; thus, it is unlikely that the same kinase is responsible for both effects.

Pulmonary Vasoreactivity and Phenotypes in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Associated to Connective Tissue Diseases.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal complication in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD).

Objective: The objective of the study was to study the prognostic value of the acute pulmonary vasoreactivity test with inhaled iloprost and its association with clinical deterioration in a tertiary care academic medical center.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study of patients with CTD and the diagnosis of PAH established by right heart catheterization.

Biopsy-proven renal involvement and prognosis in 13 hispanic patients with primary Sjögren syndrome.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe a case series of 13 Hispanic patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) and biopsy-proven renal involvement.

Methods: We describe the clinical, serological and histological characteristics as well as the prognosis in a group of patients with pSS and biopsy-proven renal involvement, treated in 2 referral nephrology units in Mexico City.

Results: Thirteen patients with pSS underwent kidney biopsy (KB) over a period of 27 years.

Electrolyte and Acid-Base Disturbances in End-Stage Liver Disease: A Physiopathological Approach.

Electrolyte and acid-base disturbances are frequent in patients with end-stage liver disease; the underlying physiopathological mechanisms are often complex and represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to the physician. Usually, these disorders do not develop in compensated cirrhotic patients, but with the onset of the classic complications of cirrhosis such as ascites, renal failure, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and variceal bleeding, multiple electrolyte, and acid-base disturbances emerge. Hyponatremia parallels ascites formation and is a well-known trigger of hepatic encephalopathy; its management in this particular population poses a risky challenge due to the high susceptibility of cirrhotic patients to osmotic demyelination.

Mesenteric schwannoma: an unusual cause of abdominal mass.

Schwannomas (or neurilemmomas) are slow-growing mesenchymal neoplasms of the peripheral nerve sheath that may arise at almost any anatomical site. Mesentery schwannoma is extremely rare, with less than ten previously described cases. We present the case of a 38-year-old woman with arterial hypertension and chronic kidney disease with an abdominal painless mass of two years duration and an inconclusive pre-operative clinical diagnosis; she was successfully treated by complete surgical resection of the mass.

Increased phosphorylation of the renal Na+-Cl- cotransporter in male kidney transplant recipient patients with hypertension: a prospective cohort.

Evidence in rodents suggests that tacrolimus-induced posttransplant hypertension is due to upregulation of the thiazide-sensitive Na+-Cl- cotransporter NCC. Here, we analyzed whether a similar mechanism is involved in posttransplant hypertension in humans. From January 2013 to June 2014, all adult kidney transplant recipients receiving a kidney allograft were enrolled in a prospective cohort study.

Sarcoidosis: a single hospital-based study in a 24-year period.

Background: Clinical presentation of sarcoidosis varies according to race and geographical area. We describe the clinical spectrum and outcome of sarcoidosis in Mexican patients compared with other populations.

Methods: We reviewed the medical charts of 21 patients with sarcoidosis seen at a referral hospital in 1989-2012; organ involvement was assessed using the ACCESS instrument.

Diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: An update.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies leading to high mortality rates in the general population; in cirrhotic patients, it is the primary cause of death. The diagnosis is usually delayed in spite of at-risk population screening recommendations, i.e.

Factors associated with mortality and infections in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.

Objective: To evaluate factors associated with mortality and infections in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH).

Methods: A retrospective chart review was carried out for medical admissions of patients with a diagnosis of SLE and DAH in 9 hospitals. Clinical and laboratory data were recorded for each patient at DAH diagnosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma arising in a telangiectatic hepatocellular adenoma.

Telangiectatic hepatocellular adenoma is a rare, recently recognized subtype of benign liver tumor that may very rarely undergo transformation into hepatocellular carcinoma. We report an unusual case of a 75-year-old woman with no history of oral contraceptive use that underwent malignant transformation of a telangiectactic hepatocellular adenoma. No risk factors for adenoma development were identified in this otherwise healthy woman.