Medicina
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Dyskeratosis congenita is a rare inheritable disease which causes peculiar dermatological features and bone marrow failure with an increased risk of severe infections and neoplasia. Actinomyces spp. is part of the oral cavity flora. Invasive infections are mostly seen in immunocompromised hosts. We report a case of a rare central nervous infection and an underling inheritable disease.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver tumor. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is an endocrine disruptor and a liver tumor promoter. Deregulation of thyroid hormone (TH) homeostasis may play a significant role in early neoplastic transformation. ⋯ Exogenous T3 treatment prevent HCB induced molecular alterations related to hepatocyte proliferation whereas T4 did not have any effect. These effects were prevented by using a TGF-β1 receptor II inhibitor. Results suggest that alteration of TH homeostasis, through D1 function, play a key role in hepatocyte proliferation and that TGF-β1-SMAD pathway is involved in this process confirming their role in early neoplastic transformation in HCC.
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Hyperhidrosis is a disorder consisting of excessive sweating through the different body sweat glands, which produces a negative impact socially and in work-related activities in those that suffer this condition. There are primary and secondary forms. The primary form is a benign condition with excessive sweating mainly in palms, soles of feet, axillae and face. ⋯ The average admission time was 1.1 days. As an undesired effect, compensatory sweating occurred in 53 cases and postoperative complications in 18 cases. We conclude this is a safe technique, that diminishes sweating significantly, improving patient's quality of life.
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Respiratory infection is one of the most frequent diagnoses associated with high mortality. Living in a nursing home could be a predictive risk factor for mortality. The objective was to study the characteristics of patients with respiratory infection according to whether they came from their home or nursing homes, and to analyze whether their origin is a risk factor for mortality. ⋯ Those coming from nursing homes had a higher mortality rate, 37%, than those who lived in their own home, 19.3% (p = 0.005). In the multivariate analysis, the prognostic factors for mortality were a higher level of urea at admission (OR = 2.33, IC 95% = 1.06-5.11) and the non-prescription of oxygen at discharge (OR = 2.96, IC 95% = 1.29-6.82). In conclusion, a higher percentage of mortality is observed in patients coming from nursing homes, however further research is needed to clarify whether living in a residence for elderly can be considered an independent risk factor for mortality.
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Proposapnosia is a type of visual agnosia characterized by the inability to recognize people's faces. There are basically two variants, apperceptive and associative. The "Tortoni effect" is a phenomenon described by Bekinschtein et al a few years ago in waiters from Buenos Aires, who used this tool to remember the orders of each member of a table. ⋯ Acquired prosopagnosia due to focal lesions in the temporo-occipital region, generally bilateral and right, and less frequently left, is a rare condition. The strategy used in the "Tortoni effect" was one of the initial manifestations of the condition in our patient. Carrying out an ecological neuropsychological test that considers this strategy could be useful in the screening and early detection of this entity.