[Effect of the administration of rhGM-CSF in a patient with marrow aplasia resistant to immunosuppressive treatment].

The treatment of patients with refractory bone marrow aplasia in whom bone marrow transplant cannot be performed is unsatisfactory. Infections and haemorrhages are the most frequent cause of death in such patients. Human recombinant proteins from haemopoietic growth factors provide new therapeutic possibilities.

[Treatment of multiple myeloma using vincristine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan and prednisone (VCMP). Long-term results in 63 patients].

The results achieved in a series of 63 patients diagnosed of multiple myeloma in one Centre between February 1981 and December 1984 are reported. One patient was in stage IA, 27 in stage II (A, 24; B, 3), and the remaining 35 were in stage III (A, 22; B, 13). The initial therapy consisted of courses of vincristine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan and prednisone combination chemotherapy (VCMP) given every 4th week.

[Idiopathic myelofibrosis: clinical course, survival, and causes of death in a series of 60 patients].

The evolutive patterns, actuarial survival and causes of death of idiopathic myelofibrosis were analysed in a series of 60 patients. The median age of the patients was 64 years; 41 were males and 19 females. In the initial bone-marrow biopsy studies 25 patients were in stage MF/C, 17 in MF/O- and 18 in MF/O+.

[Spinal epidural lymphoma. A study using computed tomography].

We have gone through the computerized tomographies (CT) of four cases of spinal epidural lymphomas (SEL) studied in our department. Paraparesis with a sensitive level was the beginning of the disease three times; sciatic pain with recurrent fever once. A myelography followed by CT was done in the three cases of paraparesis while a non-contrast CT and a contrast-enhanced study was done in the case of sciatic pain.

Scleroderma Associated with Idiopathic Myelofibrosis.

A patient is described who developed scleroderma one and a half years: after the diagnosis of idiopathic myelofibrosis (IM). In addition to suffering from the hematological features characteristic of the osteosclerotic phase of IM, the patient also developed Raynaud's phenomenon, marked distal sclerosis in the hands and painful ulcers on the fingertips, with physical findings consistent with scleroderma and positive anti-nuclear antibodies (fine-speckled pattern). The skin lesions showed a dramatic improvement after prednisone treatment but the patient eventually died of progressive myelofibrosis.

Equine antibodies to Bothrops asper myotoxin II: isolation from polyvalent antivenom and neutralizing ability.

Equine antibodies to B. asper myotoxin II were isolated from polyvalent antivenom by affinity chromatography. Purified antibodies were among the most acidic serum immunoglobulins, migrating between the beta- and alpha 2-globulin regions by zone electrophoresis.

Isolation of basic myotoxins from Bothrops moojeni and Bothrops atrox snake venoms.

Three myotoxins, one from the venom of Bothrops atrox and two from the venom of B. moojeni, were isolated by ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Sephadex C-25. The three toxins are basic proteins with an estimated mol.

Alternaria infection in a patient receiving chemotherapy for lymphoma.

A 60-year-old man receiving chemotherapy for an intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma developed multiple papuloerythematous cutaneous lesions. Alternaria alternata was cultured from the lesions, and hyphae were seen in biopsy specimens. This is an unusual infection, without a well-established treatment, in patients with lymphoma.

South American snake venom proteins antigenically related to Bothrops asper myotoxins.

1. The presence of proteins antigenically related to Bothrops asper myotoxins in various snake venoms, mainly from South America, was investigated by using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. 2.

[Neoplasms associated with chronic lymphatic leukemia. Incidence and characteristics in a series of 232 patients].

The frequency and features of associated neoplastic diseases and their impact on survival were evaluated in a series of 232 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who had been diagnosed during an 18 year period. Thirty-two patients (13.8%) had overall 38 neoplasias, 27 of which were diagnosed after CLL.

[Effect of treatment with recombinant interferon alfa on natural killer activity in patients with chronic type B lymphatic leukemia].

The role played by alpha interferon (alpha-IFN) in the treatment of B-type chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) has been studied by different authors. Despite the inconclusiveness of the results, alpha-IFN seems to be more effective in those patients with low tumour burden (early stages) who have been previously untreated. Although the mechanism of action of alpha-IFN is not wholly understood, it is known that this agent is a strong stimulant of the natural killer lymphocytes (NK).

[Simple refractory anemia. Response to treatment using maturative factors].

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are disorders characterized by a profound impairment of proliferation and maturation of hematopoietic cells. The prognosis is poor owing to the occurrence of severe cytopenia or to the common leukemic transformation of these conditions. At present there is no available effective treatment for patients with MDS.

Radiological diagnosis of inorganic lead poisoning.

A 43-year-old woman had abdominal pain and anemia due to inorganic lead poisoning. Plain abdominal x-ray films showed metallic densities within the lumen of the large bowel. The patient admitted that she used to chew the sheets of metallic lead enclosing wine bottle necks regularly.

Anti-K1 of the IgA class associated with Morganella morganii infection.

An anti-K1 alloantibody developed in a patient infected with Morganella morganii. The serologic behavior and response to dithiothreitol initially suggested that the alloantibody was an IgM. However, flow cytometry and the separation of immunoglobulin classes by serum chromatography revealed that the anti-K1 was constituted solely of IgA.

[Computerized tomography findings in annular pancreas in an adult].

We present a case of annular pancreas in an adult female studied by computerized tomography. CT demonstrated an enlarged pancreatic head in the center of which was visualized the contrast-filled duodenal lumen. We consider these findings to be sufficiently characteristic of annular pancreas to permit differential diagnosis with neoplastic processes of the pancreatic head without having to resort to more invasive diagnostic methods like endoscopic retrograde cholangiography.

[Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and solid neoplasms: is it a causal or a fortuitous association?].

Out of a series of 36 patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML), five cases are reported with the association of this hemopathy to solid neoplasms. In two patients this last was a cutaneous tumour, while the remainders had, respectively, papilloma of the bladder, carcinoma of the sigma, and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. These neoplasms were diagnosed in all cases prior to the discovery of CMML.

Arachnoid cysts with intracystic and subdural haematoma.

Two cases of arachnoid cysts with acute intracystic and subdural haematomas are described. CT examination was performed in both cases, and showed a hyperdense expansion with thinning of the inner table of the skull. The different ways in which subdural haematomas associated with arachnoid cysts may be seen on CT are discussed.

Post-radiation cranial malignant fibrous histiocytoma studied by CT.

A 37-year-old woman presented with a proven case of malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the skull. This is thought to be a rare complication of post-radiation to a chromophobe adenoma which was treated by radiotherapy nine years previously. The radiation dose given to the sella region after the removal of the chromophobe adenoma was 4500 cGy.

Gliomatosis cerebri with formation of a glioblastoma multiform. Study and follow-up by magnetic resonance and computed tomography.

A case of gliomatosis cerebri studied by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is reported. Follow-up by serial CT revealed a right parieto-occipital glioblastoma. Gliomatosis cerebri and multiform glioblastoma were demonstrated by histologic study.

Vertebral arch tuberculosis in two human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive heroin addicts.

We studied two cases of disseminated tuberculosis with vertebral arch involvement in drug addicts seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus. The first patient developed a paraplegia while he was recovering from a meningeal tuberculosis. On the abdominal plain roentgenogram, the right transverse process of L-2 was absent, and a computed tomographic scan revealed destruction of the right vertebral arch together with a collection in the paravertebral area.