[Cryptococcus neoformans meningoencephalitis among apparently immunocompetent patients: description of two cases].

Cryptococcus neoformans is a ubiquitous fungal pathogen which causes human disease ranging from asymptomatic colonization of the lungs, to severe pneumonia, mediastinitis, meningitis or generalized infection. Although cryptococcal infection shows notably opportunistic features, it is sometimes also found among apparently immunocompetent individuals, with an extremely adverse outcome in the case of SNC involvement. Therefore, when faced with a presumed healthy person with anamnestic, clinical, CSF and instrumental findings consistent with chronic meningitis/meningoencephalitis, we must also consider cryptococcosis as a possible cause of disease.

Use of vascularized iliac crest with internal oblique muscle flap for mandible reconstruction.

In the last decade, immediate reconstruction of maxillary bones following extensive trauma, large oncological defects, or late effects of radiation therapy has proved to be a reliable morpho-functional reconstruction technique. Use of the vascularized iliac crest with an internal oblique flap has become our flap of choice for mandible reconstruction when there is no need for overlying facial skin or oral sphincter reconstruction, and for bone segments within 6-15 cm of length. The advantages of this composite bone flap are the large and resizable bone stock available, the quality of bone transferred with an optimal height, depth, and contour of bone to maintain a good facial profile, and the possibility to reconstruct properly the oral lining, with a portion of the internal oblique muscle flap raised with the same pedicle that epithelializes during the healing stages.

A study of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma incidence in central Brooklyn.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), a rare outcome of infection with human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-I), is endemic in central Brooklyn, which has a large Caribbean migrant population. Previous studies have suggested that HTLV-I prevalence in central Brooklyn may be similar to that recorded in the Caribbean islands. We established a pilot 1-year surveillance program to identify cases of ATL in 7 of 10 hospitals serving the residents of 18 zip codes of central Brooklyn with a combined population of 1,184,670.

[Hepatic abscesses caused by Streptococcus intermedius].

Pyogenic abscess of the liver is uncommon child's pathology. The authors briefly describe a clinical picture characterized by beginning of an hepatic abscess dues to a germ that is not usually pathogen for men. It is often a mouth saprophyte.

[A statistical epidemiological study of cranio-maxillofacial trauma in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region].

Data corresponding to 17,247 subjects, admitted in Hospital of Friuli Venezia Giulia region, were analyzed in the period between 1984/2/28 and 1993/2/27. All data were selected for for diagnosis, sex, aetiology, age, diagnosis's priority, days of stay in Hospital and locality where the patients live. The results showed 69.

Mild sialoadenitis: a common finding in patients with hepatitis C virus infection.

Background: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease of presumed viral origin; sialoadenitis has been reported to occur in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods: Lip biopsy specimens were graded in 32 consecutive patients with either HCV-related chronic liver disease or SS.

Results: Seventeen of 22 HCV-positive patients had sialoadenitis, although generally mild (15 of 17, grades I-II).

An enhanced surveillance program for adult T-cell leukemia in central Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATL) study was developed to estimate the incidence of the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated ATL in the Crown Heights/Bedford Stuyvesant community. This central Brooklyn black community is an area which has already been shown in earlier reports to be endemic for HTLV-I-associated ATL. Surveillance has been conducted at seven area hospitals that serve this community, with surveillance already completed at five hospitals.

[Anti-endomysium antibodies: a new marker for the diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease].

Coeliac disease is the most frequent cause of chronic diarrhea (1:1000 children) in Italy. It often has atypical symptoms, so a sensitive and specific test is needed that can both simplify the ESPGAM criteria and monitor compliance of patients to their gluten free diet. The AEmA (anti endomysium antibody), found by Chorzelsky in 1984, appears to be a very sensitive and specific screening test in the diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD).

[Juvenile osteomyelitis and osteopetrosis. A case report].

A case of mandibular osteomyelitis in a child affected by osteopetrosis is presented. Systemic antibiotic therapy was ineffective and surgery was required to obtain a partial control of infection.

Ultrastructural findings on the interface between hydroxylapatite and oral tissues.

Two patients were treated with surgical implantation of synthetic, granular, nonporous hydroxylapatite to correct bone defects around dental implants. Ultrastructural examination of biopsy specimens taken several months later showed that the hydroxylapatite material was encapsulated mostly by fibrous connective tissue, without any signs of active inflammation. Osteoid and mature bone were also present in many areas.

[Taste changes in diabetics. Clinico-experimental study].

A preliminary research was carried out, comparing taste sensitivity of 33 healthy subjects and 120 diabetics patients, either with complications or not. After this, a further analysis of the results was done, collecting the patients into more numerous groups. A significant decrease of the sensitivity for some tastes in some oral areas was attested, as regards diabetics with vascular and neurologic complications.

[Taste sensitivity in diabetic patients].

Taste sensitivity of 33 healthy subjects and 120 diabetic patients, either suffering from complication or not, was compared. Diabetic patients showed statistically significative reduction of sensitiveness for some tastes in some oral zones. Taste decrease looks to be related more to vascular of diabetes, than to neurologic ones.

Another Italian family with mandibuloacral dysplasia: why does it seem more frequent in Italy?

We describe three patients (one female and two males in a sibship of 11) with mandibuloacral dysplasia. Only eight families have been reported previously, and of these, four were of Italian origin. The phenotypic spectrum of the condition is delineated and its variability is stressed.