Minerva medica
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Diacereine (DAR) is a new anti-arthrosis drug with an unusual action mechanism. Once it was found that, unlike existing FANS, DAR has no effect on prostaglandin synthesis, it was thought interesting to assess its clinical tolerability on two groups of patients. The first was a group of high risk patients with arthrosis or arthritis. ⋯ The drug was administered orally in doses of 100 mg per diem for 10 days. On the basis of the results observed in this case series only it can be stated that the use of DAR on ascitic cirrhosis patients produces no alterations in kidney function and does not reduce the effectiveness of diuretic treatment. Indeed it may well be that DAR has a positive effect on diuresis, that increased in this series in line with earlier experimental results.
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The diagnostic accuracy of pH measurement of various types of pleural exudate is examined. Despite the limitations of this examination it is easy and quick to perform and offers an undeniable diagnostic validity especially in the case of pleural transudates or malignant effusions.
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Author presents a ten-year experience in cerebral hemorrhages in infancy and childhood. The importance of congenital vascular malformations is specially remarked and it is also lined out the importance of cerebral hemorrhages due to head injuries, inflammatory process, hemopathies and brain tumors. Neuroradiological procedures are briefly described and the utility of the association computed tomography/cerebral angiography is pointed out. It is too presented a neuroradiological classification of cerebrovascular malformations.
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A well integrated and coordinated team between Neurosurgeon and Anesthetist is necessary to achieved the best results in aneurysm surgery. Drugs-induced hypotension, cerebral metabolic depressant drugs (such as thiopentone), new anaesthetic drugs, hypocapnia are the anaesthetic techniques of choice in intracranial aneurysm surgery.
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Comparative Study
[Primary hepatocarcinoma. Epidemiologic case-control study in the province of Bergamo].
This is the first epidemiological study of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) in the province of Bergamo, an area well-known to have a high incidence of HBsAg (9.1%) and chronic alcoholic liver disease. 72 cases of HCC (60 male, 12 female) al from the province of Bergamo and encountered in 1980-84 were subjected to an epidemiological case-control study. Analysis of the results confirmed the role of certain known Risk Factors (RF) with a prevalence of male sex (83.3%), age (mean age 63), association with live cirrhosis (79.2%) and HBsAg+ (31.9%). Such findings are in line with the Italian average found in previous studies. ⋯ These data confirm the importance of current HBV infection (HBsAg+), in the province, though the presence or absence of cirrhosis probably influences its significance. The approximate incidence of HCC is 9.7%/100,000/year. Considering the limitations of data on a small monocentric study in a limited area (USSL no. 30) the figure is probably underestimated and the real incidence probably higher.