Drug delivery systems using sandwich configurations of electrospun poly(lactic acid) nanofiber membranes and ibuprofen.

The primary advantages of electrospun membranes include the ability to obtain very thin fibers that are on the order of magnitude of several nanometers with a considerable superficial area and the possibility for these membranes to be manipulated and processed for many different applications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and quantify the transport mechanisms that control the release of drugs from polymer-based sandwich membranes produced using the electrospinning processes. These electrospun membranes were composed of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) because it is one of the most promising biodegradable polymers due to its mechanical properties, thermoplastic processability and biological properties, such as its biocompatibility and biodegradability.

Interarytenoid osseous bridge after prolonged endotracheal intubation.

Posterior glottic stenosis or interarytenoid fibrous adhesion is uncommon and has sometimes been misdiagnosed as cord paralysis. Laryngoscopy and laryngeal electromyography studies are the two main diagnostic aids. We present the case of a 63-year-old man under endotracheal intubation during 10 days after a cardiac procedure who was evaluated in our department for persistent dysphonia.

[Ramsay Hunt syndrome: our experience].

Introduction: Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS) is a disease caused by the Varicella Zoster virus and characterised by skin rash, peripheral facial palsy and otologic symptoms.

Objective: This was an epidemiological study on the incidence and prognosis of this syndrome.

Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on the patients diagnosed with RHS who were seen in the emergency room between January 1995 and December 2004, and were followed up for more than 6 months.

[Endolymphatic sac tumour as an infrequent cause of Ménière's syndrome].

Endolymphatic sac tumours are uncommon. They have been classified as adenocarcinomas with a low degree of malignancy and no metastases have yet been documented. We report on a female patient with Von Hippel-Lindau disease and Ménière's syndrome suffering from an endolymphatic sac tumour.

[Morphometric study of the mastoid segment of the facial nerve].

Objective: Our study emphasizes the relationship between the temporal bone structures and the mastoid portion of the facial nerve.

Material And Methods: Thirty-two temporal bones taken from adult cadavers of both sexes subjected to tympanoplastic procedure were used to make reference measures of the mastoid portion of the facial nerve. Appropriate instruments were used for measurement and statistic analysis was subsequently performed.