Results with the Boston Type I keratoprosthesis after Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Purpose: To report the outcomes of implantation of the Boston Type I keratoprosthesis in three patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a severe infection that can lead to significant visual loss.

Observations: Case series reporting three patients with difficult cases of AK that needed multiple corneal transplantations and glaucoma surgeries. All patients were implanted with the Boston Type I keratoprosthesis device.

GLUT1 expression in pediatric adrenocortical tumors: a promising candidate to predict clinical behavior.

Background: Discrimination between benign and malignant tumors is a challenging process in pediatric adrenocortical tumors. New insights in the metabolic profile of pediatric adrenocortical tumors may contribute to this distinction, predict prognosis, as well as identify new molecular targets for therapy. The aim of this work is to characterize the expression of the metabolism-related proteins MCT1, MCT2, MCT4, CD147, CD44, GLUT1 and CAIX in a series of pediatric adrenocortical tumors.

New frontiers in anticoagulation: non vitamin-K oral anticoagulants in stroke prevention.

Non vitamin-K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are direct and specific inhibitors of the coagulation factors IIa (dabigatran) and Xa (apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban) which share many pharmacokinetic properties. However, indications are lacking regarding the use of NOACs during thrombolysis, surgery and bleeding events. Areas covered: In this paper, the authors retrospectively analyzed the relevant literature on the NOACs using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases.

Comparative Study Between Lidocaine Gel 2% and 5% for Ophthalmic Procedures.

Purpose: To compare same-day pain control and safety of 2 different anesthetic gels utilizing 5% and 2% lidocaine gel. Main outcome is to determine whether 5% lidocaine gel is more effective in decreasing pain during conjunctival clamping compared to 2% lidocaine gel 5 and 10 min after gel application.

Methods: This is a prospective, randomized double-blind clinical trial.

Factors affecting willingness to practice medicine in underserved areas: a survey of Argentine medical students.

Introduction: Previous research has explored the effect of motivations, incentives and working conditions on willingness to accept jobs in rural and remote areas. These studies demonstrated that difficult working conditions, low job satisfaction and remuneration, and poor security, predisposed new medical graduates to select cities instead of rural districts. Since Argentina has a critical shortage of health staff in rural and low-income marginal suburban settings, and limited qualitative and quantitative local research has been done to address this issue, the present study was developed to assess the factors associated with the willingness of medical students to work in low-resource underprivileged areas of the country after graduation.

Deltamethrin Resistance Mechanisms in Aedes aegypti Populations from Three French Overseas Territories Worldwide.

Background: Aedes aegypti is a cosmopolite mosquito, vector of arboviruses. The worldwide studies of its insecticide resistance have demonstrated a strong loss of susceptibility to pyrethroids, the major class of insecticide used for vector control. French overseas territories such as French Guiana (South America), Guadeloupe islands (Lesser Antilles) as well as New Caledonia (Pacific Ocean), have encountered such resistance.

Unusual morphology of desmoplastic small round cell tumor from an ascitic fluid in the postchemotherapy setting.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a malignant neoplasm that most often presents in male adolescents as an abdominal mass. Cytological features have been previously described, but only two reports noted post chemotherapy changes on effusions. We report a case of a 15-year-old male with DSRCT status postchemotherapy that presented with ascitis.

Liver Transplant in a Patient under Methylphenidate Therapy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background. Methylphenidate (MPH) is widely used in treating children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Hepatotoxicity is a rare phenomenon; only few cases are described with no liver failure.

Undesirable effects after treatment with dermal fillers.

Background: Soft tissue augmentation is one of the most frequent techniques in cosmetic dermatology. Nowadays, there are a high number of available materials. Nonanimal hyaluronic acid (HA) is one of most useful fillers for lip augmentation and for treating nasolabial folds, marionette lines, and the dynamic wrinkles of the upper face.

[Anesthetic management of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: case reports of four young patients with epilepsy].

Four young patients, including a 7-year-old girl with Aicardi syndrome, an 11-year-old boy with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a 22-year-old man with epilepsy due to childhood encephalitis, and a 17-year-old girl with Rett syndrome, were scheduled to undergo extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) for urolithiasis. Epilepsy in all of the patients was well controlled by medication. Series of ESWL treatment were safely performed under general anesthesia with tracheal intubation.

Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009.

Although specific measurement instruments are necessary to better understand the relationship between features of neighborhoods and health, very few studies have developed instruments to measure neighborhood features in developing countries. The objective of the study was to develop valid and reliable measures of neighborhood context useful in a Latin American urban context, assess their psychometric and ecometric properties, and examine individual and neighborhood-level predictors of these measures. We analyzed data from a multistage household survey (2008-2009) conducted in Belo Horizonte City by the Observatory for Urban Health.

Fas/CD95 promoter polymorphism gene and its relationship with cervical carcinoma.

Objective: Apoptosis is an important fail-safe control in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated carcinogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that the A/G polymorphism at -670 of Fas promoter is associated with an increased risk for cervical cancer, using a matched case-control setting.

Methods: The material in this case-control study consisted of 91 patients with cervical carcinoma and 176 population-based control subjects, recruited between 2002 and 2004; all the ethnic Brazilian women had histologically confirmed cervical carcinoma.

Gender effect on the clinical measurement of swallowing.

Background: Swallowing coordination is affected by cortical and subcortical inputs from the central nervous system. Our hypothesis is that the swallowing dynamics may be influenced by gender.

Aim: To evaluate the influence of gender on water swallowing dynamics.

Estimation of the left ventricular ejection fraction using a novel multiphase, dark-blood, breath-hold MR imaging technique.

Objective: In this paper, we evaluate a recently proposed dual-phase dark-blood MR sequence for estimating the left ventricular ejection fraction, compare Simpson's method of estimation of ejection fraction with a model based on the biplane method, assess the reproducibility of both methods, and finally, test a semiautomated method for contouring the endocardial border.

Subjects And Methods: An MR pulse sequence was implemented to acquire cardiac images in both diastolic and systolic phases within a single breath-hold. A special magnetization preparation scheme rendered blood dark while a segmented acquisition allowed breath-hold scan times.