Contribution of obesity to hepatitis C-related fibrosis progression.

Objective: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) disease progression is variable. Identification of factors predictive of rapid progression is an important goal for improving patient management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive role of several variables, including some that are etiologically related to the nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) syndrome such us obesity, in fibrosis progression in both patients with elevated and normal transaminase levels.

Action hand dystonia after cortical parietal infarction.

A 46-year-old patient with a pure left cortical infarct affecting mainly the gyrus postcentralis developed action dystonia in the right hand. Mechanisms involved in the genesis of focal secondary dystonia are discussed with emphasis on abnormal cortical sensory processing.

[Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with unilateral onset: clinical profile and neuroimaging].

The usual clinical profile of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is that of subacute dementia and intractable myoclonus. Occasionally, some cases present peculiar clinical features. We report on a case of CJD with an unilateral onset showing remarkable neuroimaging features.

Association of the 3467C>T mutation (T1156M) in the von Willebrand's factor gene with dominant type 1 von Willebrand's disease.

Type 1 is the most frequent form of von Willebrand's disease, which is characterized by a quantitative partial deficiency of von Willebrand's factor. At present, only two mutations located in the D3 domain (C1149R, C1130F) have been reported to cause the classic type 1 variant. The 3467C>T transition that predicts the T1156M amino acid change was detected in seven patients from one family and was not found in 110 normal alleles screened.

[Neuroimaging study with morphometric analysis of hereditary and idiopathic ataxia].

Background: Hereditary and idiopathic ataxias are neurodegenerative disorders affecting diverse neuronal systems, particularly the cerebellum and its tracts. They are currently classified according to clinical and genetic criteria. Neuroimaging is a useful tool to help diagnosis but studies using quantitative methodology are scarce.

New mutations in exon 28 of the von Willebrand factor gene detected in patients with different types of von Willebrand's disease.

Background And Objectives: von Willebrand's disease (vWD), the most common hereditary bleeding disorder in humans, is caused by qualitative and/or quantitative deficiencies of von Willebrand factor, and can manifest itself under several different phenotypes. Most of the molecular defects have been detected in qualitative variants involving exon 28 of the vWF gene. Patients from four unrelated families with different types of vWD were included in the mutation screening of this region.

[Lung transplantation and hemophilia. Preoperative considerations].

Lung transplantation is indicated in certain patients with terminal pulmonary disease. We report a case in which a single lung (left) was transplanted to a 16-year-old girl with hemophilia B; she also suffered idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and had a history of malnutrition, osteoporosis, severe scoliosis, hepatitis C positivity and recurrent bilateral pneumothorax. Treatment with pure factor IX was started the moment the donor lung was available and was continued for 37 days after surgery.

Clinical outcome in adult onset idiopathic or paraneoplastic opsoclonus-myoclonus.

We analysed a series of 24 adult patients with idiopathic (10 cases) and paraneoplastic (14 cases) opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) to ascertain possible differences in clinical course and response to immunotherapies between both groups. Associated tumours were small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) (nine patients), non-SCLC (one patient), breast carcinoma (two patients), gastric adenocarcinoma (one patient) and kidney carcinoma (one patient). Patients with paraneoplastic OMS were older [median age: 66 years versus 40 years (P = 0.

Q1311X: a novel nonsense mutation of putative ancient origin in the von Willebrand factor gene.

Type 3 von Willebrand disease, a recessive autosomally inherited bleeding disorder, refers to complete deficiency of von Willebrand factor (VWF). The novel Q1311X mutation was detected in the homozygous state in four Spanish patients from two apparently unrelated families of gypsy origin. The lack of specific amplification of platelet VWF cDNA from two of the patients indicates reduced levels of mutated gene expression.

Polyradiculoneuritis after botulinum toxin therapy for cervical dystonia.

A 40-year-old man with cervical dystonia developed an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuritis after botulinum toxin type A treatment. Some cases of idiopathic brachial plexopathy and polyradiculoneuritis have been reported to date. Although a causal relationship is not firmly established, the clinical temporal profile suggests a pathogenic relationship.

Natural history of clinically compensated hepatitis C virus-related graft cirrhosis after liver transplantation.

The natural history of clinically compensated hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis after liver transplantation is unknown. This information is relevant to transplant centers to improve the management of these patients and decide the optimal timing for retransplantation. The aims of the study were (1) to describe the natural history of patients with HCV-cirrhosis transplants in a center with annual liver biopsies, and (2) to determine predictors for clinical decompensation, retransplantation, and mortality rates.

Genotype and phenotype analysis of Friedreich's ataxia compound heterozygous patients.

Friedreich's ataxia is caused by mutations in the FRDA gene that encodes frataxin, a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein. Most patients are homozygous for the expansion of a GAA triplet repeat within the FRDA gene, but a few patients show compound heterozygosity for a point mutation and the GAA-repeat expansion. We analyzed DNA samples from a cohort of 241 patients with autosomal recessive or isolated spinocerebellar ataxia for the GAA triplet expansion.

[A study of various scales of fatigue and impact on the quality of life among patients with multiple sclerosis].

Objectives: To explore fatigue in multiple sclerosis and evaluate the specificity of three fatigue scales in this condition: the fatigue severity scale, the specific fatigue scale and the fatigue impact scale.

Material And Methods: We sent out 60 questionnaires with the three scales and the quality of life scale, the Nottingham Health Profile, to patients with multiple sclerosis as clinically defined by Poser's criteria. Answers were received to 58 questionnaires and the data correlated by Sperman's correlation and the Student t test, with demographic variables (age, age of onset and sex) and clinical variables (clinical form, time the disease was present, period of time since the previous episode and Kurtzke scale (EDSS).

[Axonal involvement in multiple sclerosis. Current concepts].

Introduction: Axon pathology in multiple sclerosis is an emerging concept, not because it is unknown but because it has been forgotten. However, clinical, functional and pathological aspects have clearly shown that it is damaged at a very early stage in development of the plaque of demyelination. There is sufficient clinical, radiological and pathological evidence to permit definition of axonal damage as the central element of the pathology and clinical features of multiple sclerosis.

[The professional burnout syndrome in resident physicians in hospital medical specialties].

Background: To evaluate the existence of burnout among medicine residents of hospitality specialties, and the relationship with sundry factors.

Methods: A transversal study was made among internal medicine residents of La Fe Hospital with more than one year in their job. For this purpose two questionnaires were used: a) the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a general questionnaire about social, demographic, residency, laborer and economic factors.

Neurologic complications associated with hepatitis C virus infection.

A series of nine patients with neurologic complications of hepatitis C virus infection is reported. Seven patients presented a combination of chronic sensory polyneuropathy, multineuropathy, and encephalopathy related to cryoglobulinemia. The noncryoglobulinemic symptoms consisted of an anterior optic neuropathy and a restless legs syndrome with small-fiber neuropathy.

Chronic myeloid leukemia with expression of ALL-type BCR/ABL transcript: a case-report and review of the literature.

CML with exclusive expression of ALL-type bcr/abl has only been rarely described. In some cases, the presence of this fusion gene has been associated to a differentiated subtype of CML that share some features with CMML, while in another case this molecular hallmark has been associated to a bad prognosis of the disease with a blast phase as clinical presentation or an early transformation to blast phase. We report a case of a 30-year-old woman who was diagnosed of CML in chronic phase in May 1989.

The evolution of kidney transplantation in Spain. Role of the nurse.

This paper provides an overview of the role of the nurse in kidney transplantation with a particular emphasis on Spanish units. The evolution of the care of kidney transplant patients has tended towards a holistic approach, with the nurse being responsible for the integral care of the patient during the entire hospitalisation period. Nursing care covers the full range of functions, including education, outpatient clinic, continuous care, evaluation of care, and preparation for discharge.

[A critical review of the current pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and possible future trends].

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disorder in which the pathogenesis is not clearly understood, but where the disability caused and its progression determine the seriousness of the condition. At present, inflammation due to T lymphocytes is thought to be the cause of the clinical features and resulting disability. The main feature is demyelination, but it has not been possible to show by immunology studies, neuroimaging studies or therapeutic trials that the binomial inflammation-demyelination correlates with the disability.

Early onset cerebellar ataxia and preservation of tendon reflexes: clinical phenotypes associated with GAA trinucleotide repeat expanded and non-expanded genotypes.

The aim of this study was to determine phenotypie characteristics of patients with early onset cerebellar ataxia (EOCA) with preserved tendon reflexes. The series comprises 25 patients, representing 10% of all ataxic patients who have been genetically studied in our laboratory since 1990. There were 11 males and 14 females.

Genetics of the SCA6 gene in a large family segregating an autosomal dominant "pure" cerebellar ataxia.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6) is an autosomal dominant cerebellar degeneration caused by the expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat in the CACNA1A gene. Mutations in patients are characterised by expanded alleles of between 21 and 30 repeat units and by extreme gonadal stability when transmitted from parents to children. We have investigated the SCA6 mutation in a large Spanish kindred in which previously reported spinocerebellar SCA genes and loci had been excluded.

[Analysis of long-term results of thymectomy in control of myasthenia gravis].

Objective And Methods: We studied 77 patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) in whom thymectomy had been done between 1968 and 1992. The mean follow-up period was 7.3 years.

Circadian variation in acute ischemic stroke: a hospital-based study.

Background And Purpose: We investigated circadian rhythm in ischemic stroke onset and its subtypes, differentiating between first-ever stroke and recurrent stroke.

Methods: A consecutive series of 1223 patients with ischemic stroke was admitted at 2 reference hospitals; the time of onset of symptoms was obtained, differentiating between onset while asleep and awake. We compared circadian rhythm between stroke types and between first-ever and recurrent stroke.