Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Biomédicas

Participación tubular renal en la génesis de la hipertensión arterial primaria

Se utilizó una muestra compuesta por 45 pacientes hipertensos esenciales, 40 hipertensos y 40 sujetos sanos, de edades comprendidas entre 18 y 30 años, todos del sexo masculino, clasificados según los criterios establecidos por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, con el propósito de estudiar el papel tubular en la hipertensión arterial primaria. A todos se les realizaron pruebas de función renal y ultrasonido, entre otras. De acuerdo con los resultados, los jóvenes prehipertensos presentaron un cuadro de desbalance glomérulo tubular de preponderancia glomerular que justifica la sobrecarga reabsortiva encontrada, con aumento del volumen renal evaluado. En los jóvenes hipertensos estudiados los valores bajos de aclaramiento plasmático de creatinina, suponiendo que transitaron previamente por estado de prehipertensos, determinaron un desbalance glomérulo tubular, ahora de preponderancia tubular si se tiene en cuenta el aumento de la reabsorción tubular de sodio y litio, la disminución de la excreción de Na+ y el mayor volumen renal que presentaron.

A sample of 45 essential hypertensive patients, 40 hypertensives and 40 healthy subjects aged 18-30 years, all males and classified according to the WHO criteria, was used to study the tubular role in primary blood hypertension. All of them were applied renal function tests and ultrasound among others. According to the results achieved, the pre-hypertensive young males showed a picture of tubular glomerular imbalance of glomerular predominance that explains the re-absorptive overload found, with rise in the evaluated renal volume. The low values of plasmatic creatinine clearing in the studied hypertensive young males, assuming that they were previously pre-hypertensive, determined a tubular glomerular imbalance with tubular predominance at present if the increase of tubular reabsorption of sodium and lithium, the decrease of Na+ excretion and the higher renal volume present in these persons are taken into consideration.

The effect of time of exposure to light during the in total protein concentration and its quality, expressed in amino-acid composition, was evaluated. The cultivation was carried out by solid-state fermentation on residual cacao plantations in Ecuador and their fruits were subjected to light for 4h, 8h and 12h. No variation was observed in total protein concentrations, which showed values of 28,37 %, 28,68 % and 28,89 % in cultures exposed to light for 4, 8 and 12 hours respectively. Light does not have an effect on the amino-acid composition of P. ostreatus and the modified index of essential amino-acids was 57.88 as average. Methionine was the first limitation since it represented 47,8% of the requirement in relation to the complete egg. These results allow dealing more deeply with the nutritional potential of P. ostreatus grown upon agricultural byproducts.

Utilización de formaldehído y tratamiento térmico en la inactivación de cultivos de Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Se evaluó la inactivación de cultivos en caldo nutriente de Pseudomonas aeruginosa (serotipo O11), con el empleo de formaldehído en concentraciones de 0,1, 0,3, 0,6, 1 y 3 %, y la inactivación mediante tratamiento térmico utilizando el baño de María (100 °C). La efectividad de ambos métodos, se determinó evaluando visualmente el crecimiento del cultivo una vez inactivado, en placas con agar triptona soya. Los mejores resultados, en cuanto a la concentración de formaldehído necesaria para lograr la inactivación total de los cultivos en un período de 24 h, se obtuvieron en las variantes donde se aplicó formaldehído 1 y 3 %. Se demostró la conveniencia del uso del tratamiento térmico, para los casos en que se persiga el aislamiento y la purificación de componentes celulares termoestables, porque resulta del todo efectivo y permite optimizar el tiempo del proceso de inactivación.

The inactivation of culture in a nutrient broth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (serotype 011) was evaluated by using formaldehyde at concentrations of 0,1, 0,3, 0,6, 1 and 3% and inactivation by heat treatment using a bain-marie at 100°C. The effectiveness of both methods was determined by visually evaluating the growth of the inactivated culture on plates with tryptone soy agar. Regarding necessary formaldehyde concentration for obtaining the total inactivation of cultures in 24hours, the best results were achieved in variants that applied formaldehyde at 1 and 3%. The study showed that it is convenient to use the heat treatment for isolation and purification of heat-stable cellular components because it is very effective and allows optimizing the inactivation process time.

The semiquantitative scoring system of the multiple organ failure(MOF) in autopsies of adults was applied. A randomized prospective longitudinal study was performed. The sample was taken from the total number of autopsies made from July to December,2001, but excluding fetuses, children and autopsies that did not have the established fragments. The processing was carried out by the standard methods and the modified MOF criteria according to the experience gained in experimental study was: causal factor, lesions in three or more organs and immune system reactivity. Pursuant to the criteria, MOF reached 46,55% of autopsies. Causes of death were related to causal factors or complications. MOF disturbances present in the studied cases show a high frequency of such disturbances and the moderate MOF was the most common. The usefulness of the diagnostic criteria of MOF, the need of applying the scoring system of MOF and of performing quality autopsies was demonstrated. The validation of this semiquantitative scoring system of MOF was recommended.

Summary In the present study we present a multidisciplinary program, named «I want to be healthy» devoted to pre-school children and aimed to encourage a healthy life style. The purposes of the program were to teach the children to assess a healthy life and to learn the relationship of this type of life with food choice behavior and the practice of physical activity. The program consisted of three modules, health, nutrition and physical activity; workshops for psychological support and the use of didactical materials. The program was applied for six month to 36 children of both sexes aged 5 and 6 years old. The control group consisted of children with similar ages and characteristics. All children were weighed, their heights and nutritional conditions were recorded by means of anthropometric procedures. Nutritional preferences and beliefs as to health care were evaluated by means of appropriate measuring scales and surveys administered to the children in both groups. At the end of the study, a significant improvement in the nutritional condition was observed ( undernourished children decreased by 32.5% and obese children by 54.5%). In addition, a significant reduction in time spent in watching TV and an increased consumption of fish and vegetables were also observed. Summing up, the program «I want to be healthy» can be applied by trained staff in any educational center. The program can serve as a basis for other programs that are in a position to adapt the suggested activities to their own conditions.

The paper was aimed at determining the existence of a protective effect of alcohol on atherosclerosis, evaluating the possible effects of chronic ingestion and moderate doses of ethanol on the oxidative stress parameters and exploring the interaction between the efects of a hypercholesterolemic diet and of ethanol on the oxidative stress variables. For this purpose, 22 rabbits were used distributed into 4 groups: treated with alcohol, treated with hypercholesterolemic diet, with alcohol and diet and a control group. The variables superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalases (CAT) and malonil-dialdehyde (MDA) were analyzed. The animals treated with diet showed values of SOD,CAT and MDA significantly higher than those of the rabbits treated with alcohol and the control group. The rabbits under diet and ethanol showed CAT and MDA values that exceeded those observed in rabbits treated only with diet. It was concluded that chronic alcohol consumption, though at moderate dose, disturbs the anti-oxidation system, so we can not state that it has a protective effect against atherosclerosis and that the consumption of a cholesterol-rich diet increases lipid peroxidation and enzymes SOD and CAT.

Inmunoglobulina intravenosa: sus aplicaciones

Se realizó una revisión acerca de la inmunoglobulina intravenosa y sus aplicaciones, la cual es de valor en los pacientes con deficiencia de anticuerpos primaria, aunque muchos otros usos han sido identificados incluido su uso en deficiencias de anticuerpos secundaria, en enfermedades hematológicas e inflamatorias, en trastornos neuromusculares y en ciertas infecciones. La terapia de inmunoglobulina intravenosa no está exenta de riesgos, por lo que se revisaron los efectos adversos más comunes, raros y los muy raros.

A review was made on the intravenous immunoglobuline and its applications, which is beneficial for patients with primary antibody deficiency, although other many uses have been so far identified including secondary antibody deficiency, hematological and inflammatory diseases, in neuromuscular disorders and certain infections. The intravenous immunoglobulin therapy is not exempted from risks, therefore, the most common adverse, the unusual and the very unusual effects were all reviewed.