[Prospective study of cytomegalovirus infection in liver transplant recipients].

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, risk factors and response to treatment of CMV infection in liver transplant recipients.

Methods: Fifty-nine adult patients who underwent a liver transplant in our hospital were prospectively studied.

[Cytomegaloviruses in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of immunocompromised patients: microbiological results and clinical significance].

We have evaluated the microbiologic output and clinical significance of the detection of cytomegalovirus in 111 bronchoalveolar lavage specimens from immunosuppressed patients with pneumonitis. The samples were simultaneously processed by conventional tube culture and the rapid shell-vial centrifugation culture assay. Cytomegalovirus was recovered from 30 specimens (27%).

Low predictive value of polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of cytomegalovirus disease in liver transplant recipients.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and viral culture techniques were prospectively compared for the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in blood samples from 24 liver transplant recipients. Nine patients had one or more episodes of viremia, seven of which were clinically symptomatic infections. All samples in which CMV was isolated by culture were positive by the PCR.

[Evaluation of the effect of the dilution of urine on the toxicity and isolation of cytomegalovirus using the rapid shell-vial centrifugation culture technique].

Working with highly passaged MRC-5 fibroblast monolayers in a shell-vial culture-centrifugation assay for rapid detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV), a direct toxic effect of the urine on the monolayer was observed in as many as 44% of cases when vials were inoculated with undiluted specimens. This toxicity was reduced to only 6% by inoculation of shell-vials with samples diluted 1:1 with viral transport medium. The recovery of CMV in shell-vials was not significantly affected by the dilution factor, since five cases detected in conventional culture in tubes and not in vials were compensated by seven cases detected in vials and not in tubes.

Longitudinal study of bone metabolism after ethanol withdrawal in alcoholic patients.

The pathogenesis of osteopenia in chronic alcoholism remains unclear, and many ethanol-related abnormalities have been advocated to explain bone loss. A direct inhibitory effect of ethanol on osteoblast function was suggested by in vivo and in vitro studies. We measured biochemical markers of bone turnover in 12 alcoholic men before and during a 2 week period of alcohol withdrawal, and we compared the results with those obtained in 15 nonalcoholic men.

Population, labour force and unemployment in Andalusia: prospects for 1993.

"This paper is concerned with forecasting population, employment, labour force and unemployment in Andalusia [Spain] to 1993. For this purpose, a block-recursive demoeconomic model is presented. The demographic submodel is based on the component-cohort method of forecasting population by age and sex.

Prognostic factors for survival and tumor control in cervical lymph node metastases from head and neck cancer. A multivariate study of 492 cases.

A multivariate analysis was carried out in 492 patients with metastatic neck disease from squamous cell carcinoma to determine the influence of clinical and therapeutic factors on survival, local and regional control, and distant metastases. After radiation treatment with radical intent, recurrence at the primary site was the most frequent site of treatment failure (20% of cases), followed by distant metastases (14% of the cases), whereas isolated neck recurrences occurred in only 7% of the patients. The most significant factors influencing survival were primary tumor site, node fixation, N-stage, T-stage, and number of lymphatic chains.

[The prevalence of risk factors for coronary arteriosclerosis in the urban areas of the Argentine Patagonia. A multicenter study].

It is important to know the prevalence of risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis in the urban south area of Argentina in order to implement the prevention of this disease. In 330 males and 322 females of Viedma and Cipolletti (Province of Rio Negro), and Comodoro Rivadavia (Province of Chubut), we determined total cholesterol (CT), triglycerides (TG), HDL cholesterol (CHDL), LDL cholesterol (CLDL), uric acid (AcU), systolic pressure (PS), diastolic pressure (PD), cigarette smokers (Cig), and body mass index (BMI). Laboratories were coordinated as to methodology and quality control.

[Adenovirus infections in an emergency department].

We have reviewed 108 emergency ward reports of patients with adenoviral positive cultures in "Doce de Octubre" Hospital in Madrid. Our aim was to know the most frequent symptoms of the infection so that identification and treatment could be managed more efficiently in our department. Cellular cultures were negative for other viruses such as CMV, enterovirus and herpesvirus.

Biosynthesis of bacterial glycogen. Mutagenesis of a catalytic site residue of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from Escherichia coli.

Site-directed mutagenesis was used to explore the role of Lys-195 in ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from Escherichia coli. This residue, which is conserved in every bacterial and plant source sequenced to date, was originally identified as a potential catalytic site residue by covalent modification studies. Mutation of Lys-195 to glutamine produces an enzyme whose Km for glucose 1-phosphate is 600-fold greater than that measured for the wild-type enzyme.

Two-parameter mobile phase optimization for the simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of dopamine, serotonin and related compounds in microdissected rat brain nuclei.

A new high-pressure liquid chromatography method with electrochemical detection is described that allows the simultaneous determination of dopamine, serotonin, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 5-hydroxytryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in microdissected nuclei from individual rat brains. No sample pre-treatment steps are required. Resolution and analysis time were optimized by a simple limited optimization procedure, involving two-parameter factorial design.

Juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula and diverticula of the colon: is there a general "gastrointestinal diverticular disease"?

Both juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula and colon diverticula are acquired lesions, the pathogenesis of which is believed to involve the influence of high intraluminal pressure on loci minoris resistentiae in the gastrointestinal wall. We wanted to investigate whether juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula and colon diverticula occur independently, or whether they are part of a hypothetical general "gastrointestinal diverticular disease". 239 patients with juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula were identified in 2231 patients undergoing ERCP.

[The Fuenlabrada's study: tobacco as cardiovascular risk factor in children and adolescents].

Smoking habits were studied in 1,274 healthy adolescents of both sexes, aged 10 to 18 years, of Fuenlabrada, Madrid. It was known by personal interview. 30% of the population were smokers.

[The Fuenlabrada study: relationship between anthropometric variables and cardiovascular risk factors].

Anthropometric variables were studied in 2,153 healthy children, 1,115 males and 1,038 females, aged 0 to 18 years, of the Fuenlabrada population, Madrid. Height was measured by an anthropometer and weight by a weighting scale. Tricipital and subscapular skinfold thickness were measured by Holtain caliper.

Juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula: association with biliary stone disease.

In order to explore the relationship between duodenal diverticula and biliary stone disease, we reviewed 2231 endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography procedures. We found at least one juxtapapillary diverticulum per 239 patients (10.8%).

Conjunctival intraepithelial and invasive squamous cell carcinomas treated with strontium-90.

Twenty-seven patients with malignant epithelial tumors of the conjunctiva were treated between 1967 and 1987. Histological diagnosis was intraepithelial epithelioma in 15 cases (56%) and squamous cell carcinoma in 12 (44%). All patients were treated with a strontium-90 source on cup-shaped applicators of different sizes according to the extension of the tumor.

[The Fuenlabrada study: arterial pressure in children and adolescents].

Blood pressure was studied in 2,153 healthy children of both sexes, from 0 to 18 years of age; 1,115 were males and 1,038 females. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured in the sitting position by the auscultatory method on the right arm with a mercury sphygmomanometer using an appropriate cuff size. Systolic blood pressure was measured on the first sound and diastolic blood pressure in the fourth phase of Korotkoff.

Hypoglycemic activity of several seaweed extracts.

The hypoglycemic activity of several seaweed extracts on rabbits was studied. Ethanol extracts of Laminaria ochroleuca, Saccorhiza polyschides and Fucus vesiculosus were administered orally to normal animals and their effects on glycemia and triglyceridemia evaluated. Crude polysaccharides and protein solutions from Himanthalia elongata and Codium tomentosum were also assayed.

[The Fuenlabrada study: a familial aggregation of ischemic cardiopathy and cardiovascular risk factors].

Unlabelled: Familial aggregation of coronary heart disease (CHD) and coronary risk factors (CRF) were evaluated by clinical history in adult relatives of children surveyed for CRF. Population was divided into two groups: Group I included 2,153 children without parental history of CHD. Group II included 266 children of 112 families with parental history of early CHD (before 56 years).

[The Fuenlabrada study: lipids and lipoproteins in children and adolescents].

Lipids and lipoproteins were studied in 2,153 healthy children, of both sexes, aged 0 to 18 years old, of Fuenlabrada, Madrid, population. We determined: Total Cholesterol (TC) and Triglycerides (TG) by automatized enzymatic techniques. C-HDL by precipitation method.

[Cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents in Fuenlabrada: objectives, features of the population, design, participation, equipment, laboratory technics, and quality control].

Fuenlabrada is at the present time the most industrialized town placed at the south are of Madrid. This population has some peculiar attractive characteristics from the epidemiologic point of view. Perhaps the most important is that the majority of its inhabitants are immigrant from other depressed rural areas of the country, with a low socio-economic and cultural level.