Emergence and rapid spread of carbapenem resistance during a large and sustained hospital outbreak of multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

Beginning in 1992, a sustained outbreak of multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections was noted in our 1,000-bed hospital in Barcelona, Spain, resulting in considerable overuse of imipenem, to which the organisms were uniformly susceptible. In January 1997, carbapenem-resistant (CR) A. baumannii strains emerged and rapidly disseminated in the intensive care units (ICUs), prompting us to conduct a prospective investigation.

F(2)-isoprostanes mediate high glucose-induced TGF-beta synthesis and glomerular proteinuria in experimental type I diabetes.

Background: The recently discovered arachidonic acid derivatives, isoprostanes, are increased in pathological conditions associated with oxidative stress, such as diabetes. No role has yet been described for isoprostanes during the development of diabetic nephropathy. Cell culture in high ambient glucose has been used as a model in elucidating cellular mechanisms underlying diabetic nephropathy.

Nutritional status of young female elite gymnasts.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of a group of 10 young female elite gymnasts aged 13-17 years, who do a physical exercise of 48 h/wk. Assessment included dietary intake for 7 days, body mass index, ideal body weight, and skinfold thickness. In addition, the number of total leukocytes, total lymphocytes and lymphocyte subsets CD2, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19 and CD56 were counted.

Reciprocal regulation of LTA(4) hydrolase expression in human monocytes by gamma-interferon and interleukins 4 and 13: potential relevance to leukotriene regulation in glomerular disease.

Background/aims: Leukotriene A(4) (LTA(4)) hydrolase catalyzes the final step in the synthesis of leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)). TH-1- and TH-2-derived cytokines may regulate LTB(4) synthesis by monocytes through their actions on the expression of LTA(4) hydrolase.

Methods: Freshly isolated monocytes were incubated with pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines for 36 h.

A novel approach for the virtual screening and rational design of anticancer compounds.

A topological substructural approach to molecular design (TOSS-MODE) has been introduced for the selection and design of anticancer compounds. A quantitative model that discriminates anticancer compounds from the inactive ones in a training series was obtained. This model permits the correct classification of 91.

Disruption of the fibroblast growth factor-2 gene results in decreased bone mass and bone formation.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), an important modulator of cartilage and bone growth and differentiation, is expressed and regulated in osteoblastic cells. To investigate the role of FGF-2 in bone, we examined mice with a disruption of the Fgf2 gene. Measurement of trabecular bone architecture of the femoral metaphysis of Fgf2(+/+) and Fgf2(-/-) adult mice by micro-CT revealed that the platelike trabecular structures were markedly reduced and many of the connecting rods of trabecular bone were lost in the Fgf2(-/-) mice.

Candida infection of cerebrospinal fluid shunt devices: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Use of CSF shunt devices is a common practice in neurosurgery, and infection of the shunt is the most frequent complication. In spite of the fact that bacteria are the most widely implicated pathogens, reports of fungal infections, especially due to Candida sp., have increased in recent years.

15-Lipoxygenase in glomerular inflammation.

Glomerulonephritis is a significant factor fueling the rapid increase in the population of patients with end-stage renal disease. Novel therapeutic strategies targeting specific mechanisms of glomerular destruction are the most reasonable approaches to arrest ongoing injury. In this review, we summarize some of our results obtained in our effort to characterize the role of 15-lipoxygenase activation as one of the mechansisms operative during the early, prefibrotic stage of glomerular immune injury.

[Follow-up in lung transplant by the study of the pulmonary epithelial permeability and the pulmonary scintigraphies of ventilation and perfusion: preliminary results].

Introduction: Acute rejection is the most common complication in lung transplantation.

Objective: This work aimed to assess the contribution of pulmonary clearance of radioaerosols and relative pulmonary perfusion to diagnose acute rejection in lung transplantation.

Material And Method: We have designed a prospective study and present the results obtained for the preliminary phase.

[Effect of the diet on the nutritional status of ballerinas: immunologic markers].

Unlabelled: Athletes have special nutritional needs that will vary with sex, age, body composition and most importantly by the type, intensity, frequency and duration of the physical exercise. However the diet of certain groups of athletes such as ballet dancers is inadequate due to overly restrictive habits as a consequence of their obsession with losing or maintaining a low body weight that reflects an aesthetic preference for thinness. Physical exercise implies energy expenditure and thus, an increase in the energy intake is required to avoid possible situations of malnutrition.

[Effects of treatment with OKT3 on brain perfusion in a heart transplant patient with SPET with 99mTc-HMPAO].

A heart transplant patient treated with OKT3 developed a severe headache which worsened and was accompanied by a sudden decrease in the patient's consciousness level and aphasia when the treatment course was completed. CT was performed and was normal. SPET imaging with 99mTc-HMPAO of cerebral blood flow done 16 hours later revealed multiple and clear focal defects in the blood flow.

Transfection of rat kidney with human 15-lipoxygenase suppresses inflammation and preserves function in experimental glomerulonephritis.

The human 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) gene was transfected into rat kidneys in vivo via intra-renal arterial injection. Three days later, acute (passive) or accelerated forms of antiglomerular basement membrane antibody-mediated glomerulonephritis were induced in transfected and nontransfected or sham-transfected controls. Studies of glomerular functions (filtration and protein excretion) and ex vivo glomerular leukotriene B(4) biosynthesis at 3 hr, and up to 4 days, after induction of nephritis revealed preservation or normalization of these parameters in transfected kidneys that expressed human 15-LO mRNA and mature protein, but not in contralateral control kidneys or sham-transfected animals.

Löfgren's syndrome revisited: a study of 186 patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical features, the results of noninvasive tests and biopsies, and the outcome of patients with Löfgren's syndrome.

Subjects And Methods: Patients diagnosed as having Löfgren's syndrome at a university hospital in Barcelona, Spain, from 1974 to 1996, were prospectively followed. Löfgren's syndrome was defined as the association of erythema nodosum or periarticular ankle inflammation with unilateral or bilateral hilar or right paratracheal lymphadenopathy.

Free-radical-generated F2-isoprostane stimulates cell proliferation and endothelin-1 expression on endothelial cells.

Background: Free-radical-generated F2-isoprostane stimulates DNA synthesis and endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression on endothelial cells. 8-Iso-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-iso-PGF2alpha) is a member of the recently discovered family of prostanoids, the F2-isoprostanes, produced in vivo by cyclooxygenase-independent, free-radical-catalyzed lipid peroxidation. The goal of our study is to establish the effect of isoprostane on ET-1 production by endothelial cells, as well to determine the receptors responsible for these effects.

[Hypertriglyceridemia during active intercurrent infections in HIV-infected patients].

Background: Many reports have confirmed that hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is more common in HIV-infected patients than in the general population, but the relationship between HTG and clinical conditions have not been well established. This work analyzes the relationships between CD4+ cell count, HTG and the presence of active intercurrent infections in patients hospitalized for HIV infection.

Methods: Blood specimens from hospitalized HIV-infected patients and healthy controls without HIV infection were analyzed.

[Localization by bone SPET of osteoid osteoma in the vertebral lamina].

The combined use of bone SPET and CT was a good approach for diagnosing an osteoid osteoma of spine in a 16-year-old young woman with a history of several months of back pain. Pain was increased at night and relieved by aspirin intake. Plain films of the spine only revealed a scoliosis.

Coronary artery occlusion and myocardial infarction: a seldom encountered complication of blunt chest trauma.

Myocardial infarction is a rare complication that can occur after blunt chest trauma. The authors describe a 30-year-old man who experienced a fatal anterolateral myocardial infarction after chest trauma in a motorcycle accident. The electrocardiogram and creatine phosphokinase-MB isoenzymes levels suggested myocardial necrosis.

[Empirical anti-toxoplasma therapy in cerebral AIDS and Chagas disease. Presentation of 2 cases, review of the literature and proposal of an algorithm].

Trypanosoma cruzi is the responsible agent of Chagas disease and is endemic in extended areas of South and Central America. There are many previous reports indicating that T. cruzi frequently involves the central nervous system in AIDS patients.