Medicina
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Adhesion molecules are membrane receptors that mediate several functions related to cell traffic, cell-cell interactions, and cell-matrix contact. There are three important groups associated to cardiovascular disease: integrins, selectins, and the immunoglobulin superfamily. ⋯ Serologic titer of these molecules has diagnostic and predictive value on diverse cardiovascular diseases. This review focuses on the functions of adhesins and discusses various therapeutic possibilities based on their recognition.
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Case Reports
[New epidemiologic and molecular evidence of person to person transmission of hantavirus Andes Sout].
After the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) outbreak occurred in Southern Argentina (Patagonia) in 1996, a new mechanism of hantavirus spread was described for Andes virus (AND): person-to-person transmission. Since then, this mode of transmission has been limited to the endemic area of AND Sout lineage. We report here an HPS case, patient A, with residence in Buenos Aires Province, whose unique epidemiological risk factor was to have shared a trip to Southern Argentina with an already ill person, later confirmed as an HPS case (patient I). ⋯ The viral lineage characterized was AND Sout, being the same strain in the three cases. The clinical picture of patient A showed profound compromise, with gastrointestinal symptoms, with no clinical evidence of pulmonary involvement. In this work we present new evidence supporting person-to-person transmission for AND Sout lineage, where there was an only contact with the index case, occasional, prolonged and non-repeated, established out of the endemic area for AND Sout lineage.
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The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) represents 7.7% of the intensive care population, and is associated with great morbidity and mortality (58%). Frequently, the mortality can be attributed to more than one cause. ⋯ In this article the role of steroids in the ARDS is evaluated by analysis of the available literature. We conclude that steroids are useful in a subgroup of patients with unresolving ARDS, after ruling out an active infection or after treatment with antibiotics.
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The following review article focuses on chemoprevention clinical trials of breast cancer. To date, SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) have been the most studied drugs. Four randomized trials with tamoxifen vs. placebo have been performed and two with raloxifene are being carried out. ⋯ Moreover, the real impact on mortality that these therapies could have is still unknown. This article includes a revision of trials that evaluated the relationship between daily vitamin intake and breast cancer. A follow up of these trials will give us answers about which patients will benefit from chemoprevention therapies.