Rev Invest Clin
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The protozoon Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri) is a free-living amoeba that produces primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is an acute and frequently fatal infection of the central nervous system. We characterized the strains of N. fowleri isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of two cases presented in northwestern Mexico. The strains were isolated and cultured in 2% bactocasitone medium. ⋯ Finally, a 1500-bp PCR product was found in all three strains. Based on all the analyses performed, we concluded that the etiologic agent of both PAM cases was N. fowleri. The need for better epidemiological information and educational programs about basic clinical and pathological aspects of free-living amoebae provided by the health authorities are emphasized.
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Smoking has a history almost as old as the own leaf of the tobacco, although in fact the act to smoke was restored in the general society after the discovery of America, considering itself even beneficial for the health, but fundamentally like a social and conventional conduct of the high nobility. In XVI century the first detractors began to appear but it was necessary many years to arrive the XX century when it was begun to relate the habit to tobacco and cancer, some years after the commercialization at industrial level of this habit. At the present the social awareness is tried towards the sanitary prevention. The declaration of Warsaw, the Marco Agreement and other sanitary measures forehead the habit to tobacco, are clear examples of this medical-social restlessness that tries to exile the smoking as a social, conventional and good seen conduct to try a prevention and a greater quality of life of the individuals.
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Historical Article
[On human morphological studies in New Spain and in Mexico of nineteenth century].
The renewed anatomical studies reached a culmination in the XVI century allowing the discovery of the pulmonary blood circulation and later of the systemic blood circulation. The XVII century saw the coming of microscopic anatomy and the XVIII witness the systematization of pathological anatomy. These studies will be impelled during following century toward the clinical-anatomical comparison. ⋯ This fact permitted to unify the anatomical teaching. If on examines the lists of textbooks utilized in the different periods, it comes out that these books belonged with the contemporaneous advances of science. This consideration concerns also the receptional thesis presented to Faculty of Medicine during the XIX century.
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Comparative Study
Mortality predictive indexes in non-critical inpatients.
Mortality predictive indexes have not been applied to patients in general wards out of the ICU. ⋯ The three evaluated indexes each had a good discriminative capacity to detect non-critical inpatients with high risk to die. SAPS II was the best index to predict mortality, as determined by both the bivariate and the calibration analysis. There is no reason for not using mortality predictive indexes for non-critical inpatients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Aldosterone receptor antagonists induce favorable cardiac remodeling in diastolic heart failure patients.
Serum levels of aldosterone in heart failure are increased up to 20 times compared to normal subjects. After an acute myocardial infarction, aldosterone increases progressively as well as interstitial fibrosis and collagen synthesis from cardiac fibroblasts, forming a patchy heterogeneous interstitial collagen matrix that affects ventricular function. Even if angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARA) can reduce aldosterone levels early during treatment, they increase again after a 12 week treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in structure and function of the left ventricle in symptomatic (NYHA I-III) diastolic heart failure patients receiving an aldosterone receptor antagonist. ⋯ Aldosterone receptor antagonists reduce or avoid increasing of PSAP and inducing a favorable remodeling of the left ventricle, especially in the IVS in diastolic heart failure patients.