Congenital factor VII deficiency in a patient with an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

A patient with congenital factor VII deficiency underwent surgery for an inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm. No references in the literature have been found on the management of this coagulation defect in patients who require vascular surgery. We present one such case, with special reference to the perioperative management of factor VII replacement therapy.

Patterns of nucleotide change in mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes and the phylogeny of piranhas.

The patterns and rates of nucleotide substitution in mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes are described and applied in a phylogenetic analysis of fishes of the subfamily Serrasalminae (Teleostei, Characiformes, Characidae). Fragments of 345 bp of the 12S and 535 bp of the 16S genes were sequenced for 37 taxa representing all but three genera in the subfamily. Secondary-structure models based on comparative sequence analysis were derived to characterize the pattern of change among paired and unpaired nucleotides, forming stem and loop regions, respectively.

Comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder and personality disorders. A Brazilian controlled study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of personality disorders (PDs) in 40 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (DSM-III-R criteria) from the Medical School of Botucatu (UNESP), São Paulo, Brazil. It is a case-control study. Patients were 24 women and 16 men, 16-68 years old, referred to our outpatient psychiatric service for treatment.

Hepatic infarction in a pregnant patient with the 'primary' antiphospholipid syndrome.

We describe a patient with previous venous thrombosis while using oral contraceptives and recurrent pregnancy loss, who presented with massive hepatic infarction in the last trimester of the fourth gestation. Thrombocytopenia, the lupus anticoagulant (LA) and the anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) were detected and a diagnosis of a 'primary' antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) was made. The clinical and histological manifestations and the differential diagnosis, especially with DIC and pre-eclampsia, are discussed.

Karyotype evolution in Curimatidae (Teleostei, Characiformes) from the Amazon region. II. Centric fissions in the genus Potamorhina.

Using cytogenetic analysis following Giemsa staining, nucleolar organizer region (NOR) staining, and C-banding, three distinct karyotypes in three species of curimatids belonging to the fish genus Potamorhina were identified: 2n = 54/44 M + 10 SM (P. pristigaster), 2n = 56/52 M + 2 SM + 2 ST (P. latior), and 2n = 102/2 M + 2 SM + 98 A (P.

Selective deep hypothermia of the spinal cord prevents paraplegia after aortic cross-clamping in the dog model.

We tested, in the dog, the hypothesis that selective deep hypothermia (19 degrees to 12 degrees C) of the spinal cord protects it from the ischemia that follows double aortic cross-clamping. The extracorporal perfusion system consisted of heat exchanger and a pump, infusing saline solution at 5 degrees C into the subarachnoid space (L-6) and draining it through the cisterna magna. After 30 minutes this system cools a normally perfused spinal cord to a stable temperature gradient of 13 degrees C (inflow) to 18 degrees C (outflow).

Effect of cutaneous cell-mediated immune response to rIFN gamma on Mycobacterium leprae viability in the lesions of lepromatous leprosy.

1. Studies were carried out to determine the effect of intra-dermal injections of recombinant human interferon-gamma (rIFN gamma) on the viability of Mycobacterium leprae. Twenty-three untreated and 4 treated multibacillary patients, 12 with lepromatous leprosy (LL) and 15 with borderline lepromatous leprosy (BL), were selected for intradermal administration of rIFN gamma or PPD.

Direct surgery on the aorto-iliac area. Prostheses--endarterectomy?

Of the 365 surgical techniques performed on the aorto-iliac area in 354 patients, 448 extremities were revascularized by means of the insertion of a prosthesis as a by-pass, and 165 by thromboendarterectomy (TEA), either global or ilio-femoral. The patency rate at five years was 83% for prostheses, and 72% for TEAs, studied as a whole, or 75% for global TEAs, and 60% for ilio-femoral, once they had been individually analysed. The analysis of these results proves that the patency of the ravascularized aorto-iliac area depends more on the associated pathology in the femoro-popliteal distal area, than on the surgical technique that has been applied.

[Ashy dermatosis. Review of the literature and report of a case].

The authors make a review of the epidemiologic, etiopathogenic, clinical, laboratory and therapeutic aspects of ashy dermatosis, described in 1957 by Ramírez in El Salvador, of which more than 150 cases have been described up to now in different continents. The disease is exclusively cutaneous, presents peculiar clinical features with a lichenoid tissue reaction, and has no specific treatment or known etiology. The authors report a case in a Brasilian man, followed up for three years.

[Malignant histiocytosis. Apropos of a case].

The authors report a case of malignant histiocytosis occurring in a 39 year old female patient who presented an ulcerated cutaneous lesion which was the only clinical manifestation for one year and then widespread systemic involvement took place and death ensued. They emphasize the rarity of the condition and point out that erythrophagocytosis in the histopathological examination may be a valuable finding for the diagnosis of malignant histiocytosis.

[Correlation of skin tests and the production of gamma-interferon in leprosy patients].

The responsiveness of 25 leprosy patients to an in vitro correlate of cell-mediated immunity to M. leprae antigen, (the production of Y-IFN by peripheral blood mononuclear cells) was compared to their response to skin tests routinely used to evaluate cell-mediated immunity to a number of antigens including M. leprae.

Cellular responses to the intradermal injection of recombinant human gamma-interferon in lepromatous leprosy patients.

The local response to a single intradermal injection of 10 micrograms recombinant gamma-interferon (rIFN gamma) has been studied in 17 patients with lepromatous leprosy. Of these, 2 patients additionally received two intradermal injections of 10 micrograms rIFN gamma at another site. The results were compared with those of 3 patients who received three injections of the same dose at a single site in an earlier study.

Cord serum gamma glutamyltransferase in newborns.

This article reports correlations among gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), fetal haemoglobin (fH), alpha-fetoprotein, 5'-nucleotidase, ceruloplasmin, and direct, indirect, and total bilirubin in the serum of blood taken from the umbilical cords of 128 newborns delivered after 37-42 weeks of gestation. GGT was significantly correlated with alpha-fetoprotein, but not with direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, total bilirubin, fH, or %fH. Neither fH nor %fH were correlated with alpha-fetoprotein, but there was highly significant negative correlation between both fH and %fH on the one hand, and gestational age and weight at birth on the other.

Embolization of the mesenteric arteries: surgical treatment in twenty-three consecutive cases.

Twenty-three patients with acute embolization of the superior mesenteric artery are presented. Twenty-one of them presented with sudden abdominal pain but no other remarkable physical findings. One had diffuse abdominal pain while one did not have any abdominal pain.

Reversal of abnormal dexamethasone suppression test in alcoholics abstinent for four weeks.

Fourteen of 64 alcoholic inpatients (22%) showed a nonsuppression postdexamethasone response when tested between the second and fifth days of admission. No association with alterations of hepatic enzymes (GGT, SGOT, SGPT) was observed. At retest (in the fourth week of abstinence), no abnormal response to the Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) was detected.

[Endoscopy in megaesophagus. Prospective study of 600 cases].

From 1977 to 1984 six-hundred non selected patients with megaesophagus were prospectively examined through 722 endoscopies. 347 (57.8%) were men and 253 (42.

Lack of agreement between the salivary flow and finger-sweat print methods for the determination of the anticholinergic effects of antidepressant drugs.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the extent of salivary flow and finger sweating after single acute oral doses of mianserin (30 mg), amitryptiline (75 mg), imipramine (75 mg) and maprotiline (75 mg) and placebo in healthy volunteers in a double-blind assay. Maprotiline and mianserin were less active in reducing salivary flow but were more active than amitryptiline and imipramine in reducing finger sweating. The lack of association between these methods for the measurement of the anticholinergic effect of antidepressant drugs is analyzed in terms of possible mechanisms for the control of palmar sweating.