Cervical cancer and herpes simplex virus type 2: case-control studies in Spain and Colombia, with special reference to immunoglobulin-G sub-classes.

Two case-control studies, including 449 histologically confirmed cases of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) III and 425 controls, and 2 studies on invasive cervical cancer, involving 316 histologically confirmed cases and 330 population controls, were conducted in Colombia and Spain to assess the role of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in cervical neoplasia. Antibodies to this virus were also measured in the sera of 931 husbands of cases and controls. A serological assay using type-specific antigens, glycoprotein C for type I (gC-I) and glycoprotein G for type 2 (gG-2) was employed.

Food consumption in relation to bodyweight in captive snakes.

The weekly food consumption of 25 captive snakes of nine species fed on freshly killed laboratory mice was measured for periods of three to eight weeks. Their ad libitum intake was found to vary in proportion to their initial body weight (w) raised to an exponent close to and not significantly different from 0.75 (mean [SE] 0.

Selective in vivo accumulation of N-acetyl-4-S-cysteaminylphenol in B16F10 murine melanoma and enhancement of its in vitro and in vivo antimelanoma effect by combination of buthionine sulfoximine.

In order to develop a new chemotherapeutic agent based on exploitation of the specific metabolic pathway of malignant melanoma, a phenolic thioether, N-acetyl-4-S-cysteaminylphenol (NA-CAP), the substrate of melanin-forming enzyme, tyrosinase was developed. Our previous in vivo studies have clearly shown that this compound has a significant and selective melanocytotoxicity and antimelanoma effect. This study further examined the specificity of the antimelanoma effect of NA-CAP through the study of biodistribution and accumulation of NA-CAP in B16F10 melanoma-bearing mice.

Sexually transmitted agents and cervical neoplasia in Colombia and Spain.

Case-control studies of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia grade III (CIN III) and of invasive cervical cancer were carried out in Spain and Colombia to assess the relationship between cervical cancer and 6 common sexually transmitted agents (STAs). The CIN-III studies included 525 cases and 512 controls matched for age and for the place of recruitment; the invasive-cancer studies included 373 histologically confirmed cases of squamous-cell carcinoma and 387 age-stratified controls selected randomly from the populations that generated the cases. Antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum, herpes simplex virus type II (HSV-2) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were tested in 88% of the women.

[Human papilloma virus in the etiology of cervicouterine cancer].

The objectives of this study were to confirm the hypothesis that invasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix and the precursors of that condition are most often caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infections, and to determine whether or not other risk factors are involved in the neoplastic process. For this purpose, four concurrent case-control studies were carried out. Two included cases of invasive cervical cancer and population-based controls.

Risk factors for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III/carcinoma in situ in Spain and Colombia.

A case-control study of 525 histologically confirmed cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III and 512 controls was done in Spain and Colombia to assess the role of various risk factors taking into account the effect of human papillomavirus (HPV). The presence of HPV DNA, assessed by a polymerase chain reaction-based method, was the strongest risk factor identified. In Spain the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) (numbers in parentheses) were 56.

Human papillomavirus and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III/carcinoma in situ: a case-control study in Spain and Colombia.

A case-control study of 525 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III (CIN III) and 512 controls was conducted in Spain and Colombia between 1985 and 1988 to assess the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the etiology of CIN III. HPV DNA in cytological scrapes from the cervix was assessed by Virapap and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the L1 consensus primers. A subsample of 268 specimens was also tested for HPV DNA using Southern hybridization.

Analysis of myocardial oedema by magnetic resonance imaging early after coronary artery occlusion with or without reperfusion.

Objective: The aim was to analyse the relationship between magnetic resonance (MR) imaging parameters and myocardial water content early after coronary occlusion with or without reperfusion.

Methods: 21 pigs were used. After 78 min of coronary occlusion (n = 7) or 48 min of coronary occlusion and 30 min of reperfusion (n = 14) the heart was excised.

Development and characterization of an ergometer to study the bioenergetics of the human quadriceps muscle by 31P NMR spectroscopy inside a standard MR scanner.

A description is given of an ergometer made of nonmagnetic materials which fits into a standard whole body MR magnet. T2-weighted images show that exercise is highly specific for quadriceps muscles. The ergometer permits the noninvasive study of T2-related changes in the proton images of the leg as well as changes occurring in muscle bioenergetics during exercise and recovery.

Breast cancer screening for women younger than 40.

The charts of 661 women aged 15 to 39 revealed that almost 50% of teenage patients had had breast screening examinations. Most of the physicians and residents involved began performing and teaching breast examination to patients in their teens. Concerned that it might do more harm than good, the Canadian guidelines do not advocate early screening.

Synthesis and H2-antagonist properties of some 1,2,5-thiadiazole-1-oxide derivatives.

A series of 1,2,5-thiadiazole-1-oxide derivatives has been synthesized and studied for its H2-antagonist properties. These derivatives can be considered derived from classical H2-antagonists in which the structure was deeply modified in order to evidence the minimal structural requirements for the activity. It was found that it is sufficient to have the 1,2,5-thiadiazole-1-oxide ring substituted with an alkylamino moiety and with an aliphatic chain linked to the hydroxy or ether group to achieve compounds as active as cimetidine.

Risk factors for cervical cancer in Colombia and Spain.

A population-based case-control study of cervical cancer was conducted in Spain and Colombia to assess the relationship between cervical cancer and exposure to human papillomavirus (HPV), selected aspects of sexual and reproductive behaviour, use of oral contraceptives, screening practices and smoking. The study included 436 cases of histologically confirmed squamous-cell carcinoma and 387 age-stratified controls randomly selected from the general population that generated the cases. The presence of HPV DNA in cervical scrapes was assessed by PCR-based methods and was the strongest risk factor (OR = 23.

The causal link between human papillomavirus and invasive cervical cancer: a population-based case-control study in Colombia and Spain.

To evaluate the association between human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, we performed a population-based case-control study in Columbia and Spain, the former country having an incidence rate of cervical cancer about 8 times higher than the latter. It included 436 cases of histologically confirmed invasive cervical cancer and 387 randomly selected population controls. Information on demographic variables, sexual behaviour and other risk factors was obtained by interview.

Comparison of ViraPap, Southern hybridization, and polymerase chain reaction methods for human papillomavirus identification in an epidemiological investigation of cervical cancer.

In order to provide a reliable diagnosis for the presence and type of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in a case-control study of cervical cancer in Colombia and Spain, 926 cervical scrapes from female subjects were examined by ViraPap (VP) and Southern hybridization (SH), and 510 of these (263 cases and 247 controls) were also tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the HPV L1 consensus primers. HPV DNA prevalence was much higher in cases than in controls by each of the three tests. There was complete agreement between the results of the three tests for 64.

Biological significance of iron-related magnetic resonance imaging changes in the brain.

Iron, an essential element for basic cellular metabolism, regularly accumulates in certain brain areas in normal subjects and in patients with certain diseases. Magnetic resonance imaging can depict iron deposition, offering a singular opportunity to correlate the regional iron content with the functional status of the human brain in vivo. We studied the relationship between age and the iron-related signal loss on T2-weighted images in basal ganglia, and observed a strongly significant signal decrease in the globus pallidus at the age of brain development (first two decades of life), but we found no such decrease in later years.

Furan and thiophene analogues of omeprazole.

Synthesis and structure of some analogs of the omeprazole containing furan and thiophene rings are reported. Their effects on the basal and the histamine-stimulated secretion were evaluated on the isolated rat stomach.

Clinical and instrumental evaluation of the family of a patient with arrhythmogenic right ventricle dysplasia.

Unlabelled: The aim of the present study is a clinical and instrumental evaluation of the family of a patient with arrhythmogenic right ventricle dysplasia (ARVD), initially complicated by recurrent ventricular tachycardia and later by congestive cardiac failure. Because the probability of familial involvement is very high in those cases described in the literature, the authors evaluated the patient's 3 children: 2 daughters, twenty-four and twenty years old, respectively, and a twenty-one-year-old son; his niece, thirty-one years old; and her sons three and eight years old. The authors did not evaluate his fifty-six-year-old sister, because she was affected by rheumatic mitral valve disease.

Castleman's disease associated with pemphigus vulgaris.

Castleman's disease is a rare, benign, lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown cause. The hyaline-vascular type is frequently associated with a localized mediastinal mass. The plasma-cell type is associated with constitutional symptoms, multicentric lymph node involvement, lymphoma development, and autoimmune disease-like laboratory abnormalities such as elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anemia, and thrombocytopenia.

[A simplified method for estimating mitral valve area by Doppler].

Based upon geometrical considerations we have developed a new method for estimation of valve area in patients with mitral stenosis. A special ruler enables us to read the valve area from the Doppler record. We prove that our new method is more precise and rapid than original Hatle's procedure.

Electrocardiographic changes in chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infected Cebus apella monkeys.

Purpose: To evaluate electrocardiographic data of Cebus apella monkeys with Chagas' disease.

Material And Methods: 53 Cebus apella monkeys (juvenile and adult of both sexes) were used: 35 as a control group and 18 inoculated four-five years ago with 3 different Trypanosoma cruzi strains (CA1, n = 10; Colombian, n = 4; Tulahuen, n = 4).

Results: The normal electrocardiogram (ECG) showed differences with that of man, a) high cardiac rate; b) presence of "pulmonary p" wave without pulmonary pathology.

[Therapeutic indications in herpes zoster].

Fifty-two patients with acute Herpes Zoster were divided into two groups and treated respectively as follows: 25 received i.v. acyclovir and 27 received s.