Diaphragmatic mass caused by .

A 52-year-old man was evaluated in our outpatient facility because of a thoracic mass for one month. A needle biopsy of the chest mass was performed and microbiological culture showed growth of . Three months after starting antimicrobial therapy, acute phase reactants normalized, and chest CT showed a progressive reduction in the size of the phlegmon.

[Rapid diagnosis units or immediate health care clinics in internal medicine. Analysis of the first six months of operation in Palencia (Spain)].

The extraordinary development experienced by Primary Care and medical specialties has not always been matched by better organisation of the health system. Waiting lists, the proportion of inappropriate stays and admissions, or absence of real mechanisms that enable to discriminate the severe cases from the banal in patients on the waiting list are situations that illustrate the above. Thus, the need arises to promote continuity of care between the two levels of care (Primary and Hospital) and improve patient care, most especially for those suspected of serious illness.

Serum uric acid levels in multiple sclerosis patients inversely correlate with disability.

Uric acid (UA) is an endogenous antioxidant. Some studies have described that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have lower serum UA levels than controls, although it has not been established whether UA is primarily deficient, or secondarily reduced due to its scavenging activity. UA has also been proposed as an indicator of disease activity.

Influence of APOE gene polymorphisms on interferon-beta treatment response in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Clinical trials with interferon beta in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have demonstrated a reduction in the relapse rate. Nevertheless, not all patients respond to this treatment, although there is no consensus regarding the definition of response to therapy. The reasons for this failure are not known but genetic factors probably influence this, as has been previously shown with Interleukin 10 or Interferon gamma polymorphisms.