A new efficient method for 3D registration using human brain atlases

In this article a new efficient method in deformable brain atlases is proposed. To achieve this goal we use the composition of two applications, an affine transformation and other one. In this second application we have used three different approaches. One approach that has been used and two new approaches. We use a set of points to be identified both in brain atlas and in patient's brain for registration. The three approach present an advantage: the mathematical solution obtained makes it to be very fast, almost immediate. Several results have been obtained and they have been classified as very satisfactory by the neurosurgeons that have tested our system.

Integrated control of acaricide-resistant Boophilus microplus populations on grazing cattle in Mexico using vaccination with Gavac and amidine treatments

Throughout most of the twentieth century, tick infestations on cattle have been controlled with chemical acaricides, typically administered by dipping or spraying. This approach can cause environmental and residue problems and has created a high incidence of acaricide resistance within tick populations in the field. Recently we developed a vaccine against Boophilus microplus employing a recombinant Bm86 antigen preparation (Gavac), (Heber Biotec S.A., Havana, Cuba) which has been shown to induce a protective response in vaccinated animals. Here we show for the first time under field conditions a near 100% control of B. microplus populations resistant to pyrethroids and organophosphates, by an integrated system employing vaccination with Gavac and amidine treatments. This method effectively controls tick infestations while reducing the number of chemical acaricide treatments and consequently the rise of B. microplus populations resistant to chemical acaricides.

Use of recombinant interferon gamma in pediatric patients with advanced juvenile chronic arthritis

Recombinant interferon (IFN) gamma was used in 10 patients, 6 to 15 years old, with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) for 5 to 11 years, resistant or with severe side effects to other treatments. Six patients had systemic JCA and 4 started as pauciarticular. Three of the latter became polyarticular. Treatment schedule was 50,000 IU-kg daily for 4 weeks, then 3 times per week for 3 months and twice a week up to 2 years. Eight cases had favourable clinical response. Prolonged steroid regime could be suspended in 7/8 cases who previously received it. Two patients with systemic JCA did not respond to IFN treatment. Side effects were fever (9), headache (8), chills (6), distal cyanosis, hypotension, leukopenia and myalgia (2), and vomiting (1). All were mild or moderate. IFN gamma was more tolerable than other drugs and seems to be beneficial for patients with JCA resistant to other treatments.

Aneurysm reinforcement in the anterior circulation

BACKGROUND

Aneurysms are primarily treated with surgical clipping. Unclippable aneurysms are at risk of recurrent bleeding similar to the natural history of ruptured aneurysms. Aneurysm reinforcement with muslin and ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate may provide a safe and useful alternative to reduce the rebleeding rate in those aneurysms found to be unclippable at surgical exploration.

METHODS

We examined a population of 19 patients with aneurysms treated by reinforcement with muslin and ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate. One patient was lost to follow-up. Patients had a mean follow-up of 60 months. The yearly risk of rebleeding was calculated and compared to the natural history of the disease.

RESULTS

Most of the aneurysms were located in the middle cerebral artery or the anterior communicating artery. The two main causes for reinforcement were a wide base aneurysm or the presence of arterial branches originating from or intimately adherent to the dome. Those patients with aneurysms in which reinforcement was used as the primary and only treatment had a risk of rebleeding of 2.95% per year. The group of patients with ruptured aneurysms in which the reinforcement was used to supplement a clip had no rebleeding. When all the patients with ruptured aneurysms are combined, there is a risk of rebleeding of 1.94% per year. Unruptured aneurysms treated with reinforcement had not shown hemorrhage. No complications related to the use of muslin or ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate were found in this study.

CONCLUSION

The reinforcement with muslin and ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate provides some protection in patients with aneurysms for which direct clipping cannot be done and in those clipped cases in which there is a residual neck or dome. This protection is inferior to clipping, but reduces the risk of rebleeding during the first 6 months after the initial hemorrhage. A longer follow-up is needed to determine if it provides better protection for late rebleeding than the natural history of ruptured aneurysms.

NADPH-diaphorase activity and vasopressin in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus following adrenalectomy

In order to investigate novel neuroendocrine functions of the nitric oxide synthesizing enzyme a combined histochemical and immunocytochemical study focused on the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus was conducted to check a possible influence of bilateral adrenalectomy on three different neuronal populations, NADPH diaphorase (ND)-positive, vasopressin (VP)-immunoreactive and neurons expressing both markers. In the adrenalectomized animals, a slight increase (P > 0.05) of the number of ND magnocellular neurons was detected, whereas no changes were observed in the ND-parvicellular population and in the neurons showing coexistence (magno- and parvicellular) (P > 0.05). By contrast, following bilateral adrenalectomy, a significant increase (P < 0.05) in the VP-parvicellular population (anterior, medial and periventricular subdivisions) was detected, which was reversed when the animals received daily doses of corticosterone. These results suggest that nitric oxide is not closely related to the hypothalamic regulation of the adenocorticotropin secretion exerted by the paraventricular nucleus.

[Prostatic syndrome as presentation form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]

Description of one case of a 66 years old patient who developed prostatic syndrome with obstructive renal insufficiency. The ultrasound study showed the existence of a large prostatic mass diagnosed by means of a biopsy as a non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The thoraco-abdominal computerized tomography ruled out the presence of distant adenopathy while bone marrow biopsy did not show lymphoma infiltration. Subsequently, the patient was given polichemotherapy following a CHOP scheme. After 6 cycles, a second CT was performed that showed disappearance of the previously described prostatic mass. Chlorambucil was given as maintenance therapy. The patient remains asymptomatic and disease-free nine months after discontinuing the polichemotherapy.

A clinical evaluation of trichomoniasis in San Jose, Costa Rica using the InPouch TV test

OBJECTIVE

to determine the prevalence of trichomoniasis in San Jose, Costa Rica, comparing two methods, the InPouch TV test and the saline wet mount.

METHODS

One hundred symptomatic and asymptomatic female patients at two hospitals and at a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic were evaluated. Vaginal discharge was the most prevalent genitourinary abnormality among symptomatic patients. The patients were between 18 and 70 years old. Fifty-seven were from the STD clinic, 43 from the two hospitals. A saline wet mount and a culture were taken from each patient. The culture employed a new procedure for diagnosis of trichomonads, the InPouch TV test (BioMed Diagnostics, San Jose, CA).

RESULTS

Thirteen of the 100 patients were culture positive, two of whom were wet mount positive. No wet mount positives were culture negative. Eleven of the positive tests were from the STD clinic and two were from the hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this initial epidemiologic study indicate a prevalence of 19% for trichomoniasis in the STD clinic population and 4.6% in the hospitals group. Trichomonas vaginalis was not diagnosed by laboratory methods prior to this study. The InPouch TV test has a selective fungicidal and bactericidal, enriched proteose-peptone medium which provides a sensitivity of 4 organisms per ml and a 1 year shelf life at room temperature. This in vitro culture test demonstrated unique capabilities as a transport and culture medium. Its procedure offers simplicity in application and an excellent visualisation of trichomonads.