Severe symptomatic aortic stenosis secondary to degenerative calcification may be a real therapeutic challenge if the patient does not undergo an aortic valve replacement. Transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a valid therapeutic option for these cases. We present the case of a 78-year old male with the following past and current medical history: high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease (stage IIIa), heavy tobacco smoking, use of a permanent pacemaker, peripheral arterial disease, and polycythemia vera. When assessed, the patient had had class III heart failure (NYHA classification) for one year. Transthoracic ultrasonography showed severe calcification of the aortic cusps, a 44.7% left ventricular ejection fraction, and a 0.58 cm2 (0.31 cm2/m2) valve surface area. Angiography showed moderate coronary heart disease, and angiotomography showed severe calcification of the aortic valve (‘porcelain aorta’). Since this patient was considered at high-risk, a transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement was performed (Braille Biomedical N° 30 bioprosthetic valve), and the ultrasonography controls showed satisfactory results. This case is the first procedure of its kind performed in Northern Peru

La estenosis aórtica severa sintomática secundaria a calcificación degenerativa constituye un reto terapéutico si el paciente no es tributario de tratamiento quirúrgico de reemplazo valvular. La colocación de un implante valvular aórtico transcatéter (TAVI) es una alternativa terapéutica para estos casos. Se presenta el caso de un varón de 78 años con antecedentes de hipertensión arterial, enfermedad renal crónica (estadio IIIa), tabaquismo pesado, portador de marcapaso definitivo, enfermedad arterial periférica y policitemia vera. A la evaluación, el paciente cursaba con una disnea de clase III (escala NYHA) desde hace un año. El ecocardiograma transtorácico mostró calcificación severa de velos aórticos, una fracción de eyección ventricular izquierda de 44,7% y un área valvular de 0,58 cm2 (0,31 cm2/m2); la angiografía mostró enfermedad arterial coronaria moderada y la angiotomografía una calcificación severa de la aorta torácica ('aorta en porcelana'). Por considerarlo de alto riesgo, se realizó colocación de TAVI por vía transapical (válvula bioprotésica Braile Biomédica N° 30), con controles ecocardiográficos satisfactorios. El caso que presentamos constituye el primero realizado en el norte del país

Rhesus macaques infected with the WE strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV-WE) serve as a model for human infection with Lassa fever virus. To identify the earliest events of acute infection, rhesus macaques were monitored immediately after lethal infection for changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Changes in CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD20 subsets did not vary outside the normal fluctuations of these blood cell populations; however, natural killer (NK) and γδ T cells increased slightly on day 1 and then decreased significantly after two days. The NK subsets responsible for the decrease were primarily CD3-CD8+ or CD3-CD16+ and not the NKT (primarily CD3+CD56+) subset. Macaques infected with a non-virulent arenavirus, LCMV-Armstrong, showed a similar drop in circulating NK and γδ T cells, indicating that this is not a pathogenic event. V³9 T cells, representing the majority of circulating γδ T cells in rhesus macaques, displayed significant apoptosis when incubated with LCMV in cell culture; however, the low amount of cell death for virus-co-cultured NK cells was insufficient to account for the observed disappearance of this subset. Our observations in primates are similar to those seen in LCMV-infected mice, where decreased circulating NK cells were attributed to margination and cell death. Thus, the disappearance of these cells during acute hemorrhagic fever in rhesus macaques may be a cytokine-induced lymphopenia common to many virus infections.

EL OBJETIVO DE ESTE ESTUDIO fue comparar la presencia de anticuerpos anti- β2glicoproteína I (anti-β2GPI) con las pruebas convencionales de laboratorio de anticuerpos anticardiolipina (aCL) y anticoagulante lúpico, y con las manifestaciones clínicas del síndrome antifosfolípido (SAF). Se incluyeron en el estudio 80 mujeres con SAF; 35 de ellas de la consulta de Reumatología y las otras 45 con historia de aborto recurrente espontáneo (ARE); 5 mujeres de la consulta de Reumatología sin SAF, 27 mujeres con ARE, sin SAF y un grupo control de 20 mujeres sanas en edad reproductiva. Se investigaron la presencia de anticuerpos IgG e IgM anticardiolipina (aCL) e IgG anti-β2GPI por la técnica de ELISA, y el anticoagulante lúpico por la determinación del tiempo parcial de tromboplastina activado. Adicionalmente, se registraron las manifestaciones clínicas asociadas al SAF. De las pacientes con SAF, 25.7% del grupo de Reumatología (9/35) y 4.4% de las pacientes con ARE (2/45) fueron positivas para anticuerpos anti- β2GPI, mientras que ninguna de las mujeres sin SAF, ni de las mujeres del grupo control, fue positiva. La asociación entre la presencia de anti-β2GPI y los anticuerpos IgG e IgM aCL mostró una diferencia significativa en los títulos de 3+ (altamente positivos) en contraste con los individuos negativos para anti-β2GPI. La positividad del anticoagulante lúpico también se correlacionó con la presencia de anticuerpos anti-β2GPI. No hubo diferencia significativa entre las diversas manifestaciones clínicas del SAF y la presencia de dichos anticuerpos. En conclusión, la determinación de anticuerpos anti-β2GPI tiene una alta especificidad en pacientes con SAF pero no se asoció con ninguna manifestación clínica en particular.

The objective of this study was to compare the presence of anti-β2 glycoprotein (anti-β2GPI) antibodies with the conventional laboratory tests of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) and lupus anticoagulant and with the clinical manifestations of the Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS). In this study 80 women with APS (35 from the Rheumatology Service and 45 with a history of recurrent spontaneous abortion, RSA) were included, as well as 5 women with rheumatic diseases but no APS, 27 RSA-women without APS and 20 healthy women in their reproductive age. The presence of IgG and IgM anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL), anti-β2GPI antibodies by ELISA method and lupus anticoagulant by the test of activated partial thromboplastin time was investigated. Additionally the clinical manifestations associated to APS were registered. In the group of women with APS, 25.7% (9/35) of those with rheumatic diseases and 4.4% /2/45) of the ones with RSA were positive for anti-β2GPI while none of the women without APS or the controls had such positive reaction. There was a significant association at titers of 3+ (highly positive) between the presence of anti-β2GPI antibodies and IgG and IgM aCL in contrast to anti-β2GPI-negative individuals. The positivity of lupus anticoagulant also correlated with the presence of anti-β2GPI antibodies. There was no significant correlation between any specific clinical manifestation and the presence of anti-β2GPI antibodies. In conclusion, the determination of anti-β2GPI antibodies was highly specific in patients with APS but did not associate with any clinical manifestation of the syndrome.