São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Sarcopenia is the main factor involved in the development of frailty syndrome. The aims here were to investigate relationships between lower-limb muscle strength and the variables of sex, age and frailty criteria; compare lower-limb muscle strength with each frailty criterion; and assess the power of each criterion for estimating the risk of frailty among elderly outpatients. ⋯ Lower levels of lower-limb muscle strength were associated with advanced age and greater presence of signs of frailty. Moreover, lower-limb muscle strength was also associated with the criteria of reduced walking speed criteria and hand-grip strength.
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As the overall number of elderly people increases there is a corresponding rise in the number of older persons with disabilities. In order to examine whether there is any relationship between balance and activities of daily living, we evaluated balance and daily activities among elderly people living in the community. ⋯ The results showed that among elderly people, there are correlations between age, balance and independence level.
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Case Reports
New report of two patients with mosaic trisomy 9 presenting unusual features and longer survival.
Mosaic trisomy 9 is considered to be a rare chromosomal abnormality with limited survival. Our objective was to report on two patients with mosaic trisomy 9 presenting unusual findings and prolonged survival. ⋯ The first patient was a boy aged six years and five months presenting weight of 14.5 kg (< P3), height of 112 cm (P10), head circumference of 49 cm (P2), prominent forehead, triangular and asymmetric face, thin lips, right microtia with overfolded helix, small hands, micropenis (< P10), small testes and hallux valgus. His lymphocyte karyotype was mos 47,XY,+9[4]/46,XY[50]. Additional cytogenetic assessment of the skin showed normal results. The second patient was a two-year-old girl who was initially assessed at five months of age, when she presented weight of 5.3 kg (< P3), height of 61.5 cm (P2-P10), head circumference of 40.5 cm (P25), sparse hair, micrognathia, right ear with overfolded helix and preauricular pit, triphalangeal thumbs and sacral dimple. She also had a history of congenital heart disease, hearing loss, hypotonia, delayed neuropsychomotor development and swallowing disorder. Her lymphocyte karyotype was mos 47,XX,+9[3]/46,XX[69]. Both patients had unusual clinical findings (the first, hemifacial hypoplasia associated with microtia, with a phenotype of oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum, and the second, triphalangeal thumbs and hearing loss) and survival greater than what is usually described in the literature (< 1 year). Further reports will be critical for delineating the clinical features and determining the evolution of patients with mosaic trisomy 9.
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Review Case Reports
Primary epidermoid carcinoma of the breast presenting as a breast abscess and sepsis.
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the breast is an extremely rare form of cancer, accounting for approximately 0.04% of all malignant breast tumors. To date, only a limited number of cases of SCC of the breast have been reported, and most of them presented like the usual breast carcinomas. ⋯ This unusual case illustrates how an apparently benign disorder such as a breast abscess might be related to a clinically occult malignancy. A review of the literature on SCC of the breast is presented.
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Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER-2) are associated with tumorigenesis. Studies have shown that HER-2 can regulate COX-2 expression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between COX-2 and HER-2 expression in normal breast epithelium and in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) present in the same breast. ⋯ Our findings provide evidence that HER-2 and COX-2 regulate each other.