Comparison between cetirizine and terfenadine: time-response study.

Six young healthy volunteers were used as experimental models to study the efficacy of cetirizine 10 mg and terfenadine 60 mg with regard to the onset of action and duration of the peripheral antihistaminic effect (cutaneous activity). For this purpose, 10 micrograms of histamine were used administered as intradermal injection at the internal border of the forearm at times 0', 30', 60', 90', 120', 180', 240', 360', 480' and 24 h after the intake of the drug, with a minimum interval of 7 days between one drug and the other. The inhibition of the cutaneous activity of histamine was assessed by planimetry of the papule transferred to adhesive paper.

Fertility and histology after rabbit ovarian wedge resection with CO2 laser or electrocautery using posterior reconstruction with nylon or polyglactin sutures.

In an experimental study in rabbits, the CO2 laser and electrocautery were compared in performing microsurgical ovarian wedge resection; polyglactin and nylon sutures were compared for ovarian reconstruction. Histologic reaction, adhesion formation, and functional parameters (number of corpora lutea, number of pregnancies, nidation index) were evaluated 30 and 90 days postoperatively. Thirty days after surgery, the tissue inflammatory response was very similar in the four groups; fibrosis was not detected.

[Substance P: immuno-allergic implications].

Substance P is a decapeptide which forms part of the group known as neuropeptides, that is, peptides released by some neurones such as the slow-conducting C fibres and the rapid-conducting A-delta fibres. These neurones belong to the category of non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerves (NANC), which perform their action through a mechanism known as "axonic reflex". This mechanism is an antidromic stimulation which produces a secretion of neuropeptides, especially substance P.

[An appendicular villous adenoma].

Villous adenomas of the vermiform appendix are uncommon. Their malignant potential is unknown and their treatment is controversial. Because of a reported association between adenomas of the appendix and other gastrointestinal neoplasms, long-term surveillance is recommended.

Minitracheostomy in elective surgery of the larynx: an alternative to formal tracheostomy.

A patient scheduled for surgical removal of a giant polyp of the larynx, and in whom difficult orotracheal intubation was anticipated in the preoperative visit, was managed successfully with a minitracheostomy performed with a Mini-Trach II kit. The ventilation achieved was adequate throughout the procedure. Thus, conventional tracheostomy was avoided.

[Hemoperitoneum caused by spontaneous rupture of hepatocarcinoma. Apropos of 8 cases].

Spontaneous rupture of hepatoma is very rare in our means. We present 8 cases collected in our hospital. The treatment performed was direct hemostasis and packing of the bleeding area in 4 patients, ligature of the hepatic artery in two other patients and finally an hepatectomy in the remaining two.

Evaluation of practical chromatographic procedures for identification of clinical isolates of mycobacteria.

After experimental conditions were established, 366 strains of mycobacteria belonging to 23 different species were studied for fatty acids, secondary alcohols, and mycolic acid cleavage products by capillary gas-liquid chromatography. Additionally, the mycolic acid pattern was studied by thin-layer chromatography. Capillary gas-liquid chromatography allowed direct identification of the following Mycobacterium spp.

[Thrombolytic efficacy of a Lys-plasminogen-urokinase combination: studies in experimental animals and humans].

During animal experimental phase, lis-pg combined with UK produced a thrombolysis of about a 62.5%. This effect is accompanied by an important fibrinolytic system activation, a decrease in fibrinogen levels (0.

[Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery: diagnosis by two-dimensional Doppler color].

A case of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCA) is presented. The noninvasive diagnosis was made by 2D-color flow Doppler. Application of this technique may alleviate the necessity for angiography in patients with ALCA.

A novel mycolic acid in a Mycobacterium sp. from the environment.

A fast-growing, non-photochromogenic mycobacterium isolated from the environment exhibited, on thin-layer chromatograms, a characteristic pattern of mycolates composed of unsaturated mycolates and also an unknown more polar component. Spectroscopic analysis and chemical degradation showed that this latter component was a novel mycolic acid containing a methoxy group at the omega-1 position (instead of omega-17 and omega-18 in known methoxymycolates), and two double bonds in the long mero aldehyde chain (instead of one as in known mycolates with additional oxygenated groups).

[Value of parenteral nutrition in total gastrectomy for cancer. A prospective study].

A prospective study is presented in which the impact of total parenteral nutrition (TNP) was analyzed in a group of 27 patients that underwent total gastrectomy due to gastric carcinoma (TGGC). Patients were randomly divided into two groups: Group I was formed by 15 patients and was treated systematically with TPN during the immediate postoperative period (POTPN). Group II was formed by 12 patients who were treated with conventional serum therapy during the immediate postoperative period.

[Electrocoagulation in cancer of the rectum].

Twenty-six patients were treated by electrocoagulation of rectal adenocarcinoma between 1975 and 1985 at Santa Cruz y San Pablo Hospital, out of a total of 410 patients operated on for cancer, that is, 6.34% of the total number of cases. Eight cases were excluded from this review because of insufficient data.

[Thyroid metastasis of renal carcinoma].

Clinical detection of thyroideal metastasis of renal carcinoma is very rare; diagnosis of this type of metastasis is usually done at post-mortem examination. A case of thyroideal metastasis six years after nephrectomy due to renal carcinoma is presented. The slow evolution and good prognosis following surgical exercises justify an active therapy.

[Ethical problems of medial technology].

Ethical problems are constantly arising in medical practice, especially in connection with the use of cutting-edge technology for diagnosis and treatment. The high cost of these resources means that they have to be used selectively, and at that point decisions are made about who should and should not get to use them. In recent years there have been increasing charges of improper use of these new technologies, coupled with increasing discussion of the costs and the benefits.

[Nutritional status and cephalic duodenopancreatectomy in neoplasm treatment].

Usually, nutritional status of patients with neoplasia is poor. This is an important factor when the radical resection of the tumor implies aggressive surgery, and it has a clear influence on postoperative morbidity and mortality. From 1979 to 1988, 33 cephalic duodenopancreatectomies for carcinoma of the ampullary region have been carried out in the Servicio de Cirugía Digestiva, hospital "Santa Cruz y San Pablo".

Nasal mucociliary clearance in patients with nasal polyposis.

We have studied 30 patients (13 males and 17 females) with nasal polyposis, measuring the nasal mucociliary clearance using the saccharin test. The results have been compared with those obtained in a control group of 20 healthy subjects. The values obtained in the group with nasal polyposis (mean +/- SD = 31.

[Subcutaneous nodules and sensitivity to aluminum in patients undergoing hyposensitivity immunotherapy].

Hypersensitivity reactions to aluminium are very rate. Sensitization has been reported to occur during continuous application of aluminium-containing antiperspirants or by aluminium adjuvants in vaccines and hyposensitization immunotherapy. We report 5 patients who developed persistent and itching subcutaneous nodules following immunotherapy.

Ethical problems of medical technology.

The high cost of new diagnostic and treatment technologies means that they have to be used selectively, and at that point decisions must be made about who should get to use them. In recent years there have been increasing charges of improper use of these new technologies, coupled with increasing discussion of their costs and benefits. Unfortunately, the use of such technology tends to spread indiscriminately and so add indiscriminately to health care costs.

Development of receptors for insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I in head and brain of chick embryos: autoradiographic localization.

In whole brain of chick embryos insulin receptors are highest at the end of embryonic development, while insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) receptors dominate in the early stages. These studies provided evidence for developmental regulation of both types of receptors, but they did not provide information on possible differences between brain regions at each developmental stage or within one region at different embryonic ages. We have now localized the specific binding of [125I]insulin and [125I]IGF-I in sections of head and brain using autoradiography and computer-assisted densitometric analysis.