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To determine the serum levels of FSH, LH, PRL, estradiol, progesterone and testosterone in umbilical vein blood in a group of normal neonates.Umbilical vein blood was obtained for serum analyses from 52 newborns (25 females and 27 males) in the Maternity of the Hospital Regional Virgen de las Nieves, Granada (Spain) and means were compared with Student's t-test.Mean values of prolactin, estradiol and progesterone were similar in both sexes. The levels of gonadotropins in umbilical vein blood found were significantly higher in newborn males than in females (P0.001 for LH, P0.007 for FSH). Testosterone levels were higher in male neonates than in females (P0.004).Our data reflect the dynamic state of male fetal endocrinological status in comparison to female fetuses, and strongly suggest that the mechanisms of hormonal regulation differ in the two sexes.

The study starts with the hypothesis that the difficulty to identify and describe emotions and feelings, and to differentiate the feelings of bodily sensations that accompany them, are a common denominator of the construct of alexithymia and Asperger syndrome (AS).The study evaluates the levels of alexithymia in nine adult male subjects with AS.The results are classified according to whether the source of information is the subject itself with SA (significant alexithymia level in 2/3 parts of the subjects surveyed) or if the source is a relative (the final score in relation to the presence of the alexithymia is the double than in neurotypical population).It's confirmed a significant comorbidity between alexithymia and SA leading to the question of whether alexithymia is a idiosyncratic trait of individuals with SA.

The comorbidity between Asperger's syndrome and affective and anxiety disorders seems to be meaningful. Therefore, it is presented a revision of the most recent scientific literature to provide empiric data with the aim to set out a research prospective.Assessment and diagnosis of the psychosocial performance confirm a meaningful proportion of cases with affective and anxious symptomatology, being converted into disorders some of them.It is necessary a better diagnosis because the affective and behavioural disturbances can be hidden as Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism associated symptomatology. Identify and recognize this comorbidity will improve the psychosocial capacity of these persons.

Background and purpose: A prostamide analogue, bimatoprost, has been shown to be effective in reducing intraocular pressure, but its precise mechanism of action remains unclear. Hence, to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of this effect of bimatoprost, we focused on pharmacologically characterizing prostaglandin FP receptor (FP) and FP receptor variant (altFP) complexes. Experimental approach: FP receptor mRNA variants were identified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The FP-altFP4 heterodimers were established in HEK293/EBNA cells co-expressing FP and altFP4 receptor variants. A fluorometric imaging plate reader was used to study Ca2+ mobilization. Upregulation of cysteine-rich angiogenic protein 61 (Cyr61) mRNA was measured by Northern blot analysis, and phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC) by western analysis. Key results: Six splicing variants of FP receptor mRNA were identified in human ocular tissues. Immunoprecipitation confirmed that the FP receptor is dimerized with altFP4 receptors in HEK293/EBNA cells co-expressing FP and altFP4 receptors. In the studies of the kinetic profile for Ca2+ mobilization, prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) elicited a rapid increase in intracellular Ca2+ followed by a steady state phase. In contrast, bimatoprost elicited an immediate increase in intracellular Ca2+ followed by a second phase. The prostamide antagonist, AGN211335, selectively and dose-dependently inhibited the bimatoprost-initiated second phase of Ca2+ mobilization, Cyr61 mRNA upregulation and MLC phosphorylation, but did not block the action of PGF2α. Conclusion and implications: Bimatoprost lacks effects on the FP receptor but may interact with the FP-altFP receptor heterodimer to induce alterations in second messenger signalling. Hence, FP-altFP complexes may represent the underlying basis of bimatoprost pharmacology.

This article briefly explains and defines what attention is, as well as its implications for the development of complex cognitive functions.The different attentional processes are described, with special emphasis on those that have been addressed in research conducted in the field of autistic spectrum disorders, and the experimental findings that have been obtained so far are also reported.Some attentional processes, such as selective or sustained attention, are not altered in autism or not enough evidence has been found to support such a hypothesis. Nevertheless, difficulties do exist in divided attention processes, although very little research has been carried out to study them, and even more problems are seen in joint attention skills.

The purpose of this study was to characterize and compare the carcass characteristics, cholesterol concentration, fatty acid composition of intramuscular fat and subcutaneous fat, and meat quality of Criollo Argentino and Braford steers reared in an extensive system, without supplementation, and slaughtered at approximately 400kg live weight. The Braford steers had greater (P

Due to the inexistence of an aetiology-based intervention for autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) families and professionals are exposed to diverse and sometimes conflictive recommendations when they have to decide the most adequate alternative for treatment.To elaborate treatment guidelines agreed by consensus at the ASD Study Group of the (National) Institute of Health Carlos III.Information about treatment of ASD was searched and gathered through available evidence based medical (EBM) databases. The data generated was complemented with practice parameters published elsewhere, reports from prestigious international institutions, focus oriented searches in PubMed and, finally, the opinion and experience of a multidisciplinary Study Group with extensive experience in treating ASD in Spain. Most popular treatment methods were reviewed as well as the common elements to be considered in successful support programs.No simple treatment algorithm can be produced at this time, and the level of available evidence based recommendations are in the weaker degrees of EBM classifications. Nevertheless, there is widespread agreement to stress that education, with special incidence in the development of communication and social competence, with the addition of community support are the main means of treatment. They can be complemented, depending on individual needs, with medication, behavioural approaches and cognitive-behavioural therapy for associated psychological problems in persons with higher cognitive level. Support to families and community empowerment are essential elements for the quality of life of persons with ASD.

Autistic disorder is briefly explained and defined in the light of recent research.From the perspective offered by ontogenesis and the acquisitions that take place during normal development, we present an updated vision of the genesis of autistic disorder and also review the most significant data provided by the different studies that have been conducted on the subject. Detection of the disorder is clearly a difficult task before the age of one year and, in any case, the earliest symptoms are clearly linked to the social and communicative interaction that characteristically takes place at the end of the infant's first year of life.Early detection of the disorder is made possible precisely because of alterations in social and communicative development and, in general, the appearance of psychological functions that play a significant role in the process of humanisation. The article concludes by pointing out the need for further studies that focus on the possible alteration of earlier socio-emotional and affective manifestations.

Achieving a better knowledge of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders known as autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), poses a major scientific challenge. These disorders are some of the earliest and most severe psychopathological disorders in infancy; they include an heterogeneous group of conditions; its prevalence rate seems to be continually increasing and they generate a significant social impact.Nowadays, there is a current international agreement on the general requirements to be fulfilled by research projects and the priority areas to be considered when developing ASD high quality research. In Spain, although there are some established research groups with broad experience and expertise in these disorders, public funding opportunities and research development are still scarce. For this reason, the Study Group of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III has generated by consensus some Good Practice Guidelines for Research in ASD.After comparing priorities and recommendations from international reference documents with the results obtained after having carried out an exhaustive bibliographic revision of articles published in autism in the last 30 years by Spanish authors, methodological and ethical recommendations are established. Finally, structural deficiencies to be corrected and emerging research initiatives to be supported are identified.

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic process requires expertise both in the knowledge of autism as in teamwork strategies with different professionals, often working in different clinic services, and with parents.To recommend a consensus diagnostic procedure for ASD, that has been designed by the Study Group of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.The reports emphasize the need to obtain a complete clinical history, covering personal, family and psychosocial antecedents; detailing the basic areas affected in ASD--social interaction, communication and restricted patterns of behaviour, activities and interests. Diagnostic tests to be used as a routine in all cases are described and analysed--including both psychoeducational and biomedical tests. Also, tests indicated in cases with suspected identifiable physical disorders are covered, as well as those medical tests to be used for research purposes only.The diagnostic procedure requires the implementation of a coordinated interdisciplinary assessment strategy, that needs to ensure the participation of professionals from very different fields in active collaboration with the family. Their role culminates in the preparation and delivery of a personalized report. Every diagnostic procedure needs to be accompanied by an action plan that includes immediate support to the person with ASD, as well as information to the family on resources and community initiatives in their living area.

The interest in early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) lies in the accumulated evidence of the fact that an early customized intervention for children with an ASD and their families leads to an improvement of the child's prognosis in most cases.To establish criteria and procedures for early identification of children at risk of ASD and to facilitate full diagnostic assessment and prompt referral leading to adequate support. Early detection of ASD is extremely important, since early specific individualized treatment for the child and his or her family leads to long-term improvement in many children' prognosis.Firstly, a critical appraisal of the situation of early detection of ASD in Spain is made after reviewing the scarce bibliography available on current screening and diagnostic practices in the country. Data generated by questionnaires received from 646 Spanish families is also taken into account. Secondly, the Study Group of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III recommends the screening and early diagnosis process to be followed, describing the necessary steps, the public services involved and the available screening and diagnostic tools.The Study Group draws the main conclusions regarding the situation of ASD early detection in Spain, and makes a consensus proposal for the detection procedures, including routine developmental surveillance and identification of children at risk for ASD by using sensitive and specific assessment tools.

Autism is the prototypical condition in autism spectrum disorders. It is a developmental disorder of biological origin that becomes apparent by the age of 3 and which is characterised by qualitative alterations affecting the development of social relations and interaction, communication and language, and the development of symbolic and imaginative activity.The first manifestations of the disorder take place, in most cases and according to the two sources of information currently available (retrospective information provided by the families and the analysis of family videos), around the end of the first year (the age of 18 months is one of the ages most frequently mentioned by the families when asked about the matter). From an ontogenetic point of view, the coincidence between the times of the first manifestations of the disorder and the development of qualitatively human psychological functions is significant. Autism can, therefore, be understood to be a disorder that affects the genesis of psychological factors that are extremely relevant to human development and, thus, educational intervention must necessarily include the construction of these psychological functions as far as this is possible.Educational treatment in autism and in autism spectrum disorders have to be based on two essential areas of knowledge that must guide the implementation of any intervention programme, i.e. developmental and ontogenetic knowledge of typical development and knowledge of the autistic way of 'being'. The essential part of the treatment carried out in autism lies in the flexible and creative integration of our knowledge in these two areas.

The early development of children who have been diagnosed as suffering from autism and children with specific language disorder (SLD) is still an area of research that receives little attention. There is a need for descriptive patterns of the early stages in the development of the two groups that foster the formation of reliable early diagnoses. Aims. In this study we attempt to determine the incidence of different symptoms in the first two years in the life of children who were later diagnosed as suffering from autism or SLD and to confirm or refute the data that suggests a pattern of onset of the disorder that differs from one group to the other.We compare the data concerning the development of a sample made up of 42 children with autism and 41 children with SLD, which was carried out by means of a retrospective analysis of the information obtained from the families in the evaluation and diagnosis processes that were conducted in our centre. More specifically, we compare information about the following variables: family history, parents' age at the time of pregnancy, parents' profession, position at birth and incidence by sex, information about prenatal, perinatal and postnatal aspects, eating and sleeping problems, the presence or absence of signs of passivity, traces of alarm during the first year, age of the child when the first suspicions appeared, symptoms or difficulties that are described, data linked to medical neurological explorations carried out and data related to motor development.Although there are numerous similarities in many of the variables studied in both groups, it seems that the earlier onset of symptoms, passivity and the absence of pointing behaviour are more frequent in the group with autism than in children with SLD. The latter present a specific difficulty in language, tantrums and poorer motor competencies.At present there is no single symptom in early development that is exclusive to any of the disorders described above, although it is possible to determine some significant differences between the two groups. There is also a need to conduct more studies in the same line as this one that take into account the patterns of early development of other the autistic spectrum disorders.

Hyperlexia is described in children who present alterations or retardation in development and is frequently characterised by their teaching themselves to read at an early age. This ability to decode words does not correlate with their intellectual level and can course with different degrees of mental retardation. It is always accompanied by difficulty in establishing social relationships. Autism is a disorder that is prototypical of the autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), which are essentially characterised by qualitative alterations in social interaction, in communication and language development, and in the presence of a limited repertory of interests, accompanied by stereotyped or peculiar responses.The presence of hyperlexia in autistic children is more frequent than in other development disorders. This phenomenon is linked with the increased skills involving visual memory, visual discrimination and motivation/interest towards visually represented material that is to be found in people with autism. However, not all autistic individuals present hyperlexia and not all children with hyperlexia present autism, although evidence shows that hyperlexia is a phenomenon that is observed with greater frequency in autism and in ASD.Hyperlexia, understood as meaning a little island of ability in children with autism and ASD, poses a number of questions and represents an important challenge in neuropsychological research in this population.

Although the concept of autistic spectrum may be useful to explain and describe the heterogeneity of the syndrome, its aetiology is still unknown. Different disorders have been reported as the biological basis of autism. Early diagnosis and a multi disciplinary approach to the condition are essential for effective psychopaedagogic treatment.To determine whether there is a relationship between the severity of the syndrome of autism and the course of the disorder, as a function of the presence or absence of neurological features, and to define homogeneous subgroups by detecting etiological variables which may be common to them.46 children defined as being within the spectrum of autism, in whom the diagnosis was confirmed on the autistic spectrum inventory (IDEA/Rivi re 97). Parameters studied: family history, perinatal risk, age of onset, complementary investigations and neurological features.The diagnosis was confirmed in 18 children; of the others 14 had a specific defect of the development of language. There was an almost complete absence of underlying neurological disorders, although this may have been due to dispersion of the complementary investigations done.Specific disorders of the development of language are the main differential diagnoses to be considered together with the autistic spectrum. The diagnosis of autism is clinical, but the heterogeneity of the medical approach interferes with the overall assessment of the spectrum favoring behavioural and underestimating the biological aspects. This means that the problem should be reconsidered so as to obtain uniform guidelines for action.

The alterations of language and communication seen in children with autistic spectrum disorders (TEA) have some similar and some dissimilar features to those seen in children with specific language disorders (TEL). The basic disorder of TEA seems to be due to alterations in the social and mental use of codes of communication, both verbal and non verbal. Children with TEL however have better non verbal and practical abilities.In view of this, we decided to determine the qualitative difference in function in communication and language between the two populations.The great heterogeneity between persons with autistic spectrum disorders and even variation between individuals makes investigation of large groups difficult. It is therefore necessary to study individual cases or groups with small numbers. If we fix our attention on language and communication, it is important to define subtypes of function with the population affected by the autistic spectrum of disorders at an early age, in the fields of communication, receptive language and expressive language in our small sample of persons; taking the normal course of development in each field as the parameter for comparison. This is a pilot study within a long term research project.The results reported here are the preliminary findings of what will be a more extensive study with fuller analysis of the results.The preliminary findings suggest that there are different linguistic and communication function profiles in the different populations compared.

Introduccion. Durante las ultimas decadas han surgido numerosas investigaciones que documentan las dificultades de comprension lectora que muestran las personas con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA), incluidas aquellas que tienen la inteligencia preservada. Estas dificultades pueden condicionar su trayectoria educativa e incidir de forma directa sobre su inclusion social, autonomia y acceso al mundo laboral. Desarrollo. Este articulo presenta el trabajo elaborado por un equipo multidisciplinar en el marco de un proyecto financiado por la Union Europea. Es un documento explicativo que pretende justificar las necesidades que tiene la poblacion de personas con TEA de alto funcionamiento para acceder a la informacion escrita. Es un proyecto que esta desarrollando una herramienta informatica (Open Book) que no solo esta siendo disenada `para´ personas con TEA, sino que esta siendo desarrollada `con´ personas con TEA. Conclusion. Tanto la poblacion infantil como la poblacion adulta de personas con TEA muestran dificultades en todos los componentes formales del lenguaje escrito. La herramienta tiene que ser flexible y favorecer su uso individualizado, para dar respuesta a la enorme heterogeneidad de esta poblacion.

This study evaluated in vitro the influence of five solutions used to treat cavity preparations on microleakage of amalgam restorations. Seventy-two standard Class V cavities were prepared in buccal and lingual surfaces of 36 recently extracted human third molars. The cervical wall was located in cementum and the occlusal wall was located in enamel. Specimens were randomly divided into six groups (n=12) according to the solution employed to treat the cavities: Group I-2.5% sodium hypochlorite; Group II-Calcium hydroxide solution; Group III-1.23% Acidulated phosphate fluoride; Group IV-2% digluconate of chlorhexidine; Group V-anionic detergent solution (1.25% sodium lauryl sulfate) and Group VI-control group. The solutions were applied for one minute, followed by washing and drying. Two coats of copal varnish were applied in each cavity. The cavities were filled with capsuled amalgam GS-80 (SDI). After finishing and polishing, the specimens were submitted for thermal cycling followed by immersion in methylene blue. Then, the specimens were sectioned and microleakage was evaluated based on a standard ranking under magnification (40x). Data were subjected to statistical analysis using non-parametric tests. Results of the study concluded that leakage was higher in cementum than enamel (p0.01). The substances employed have no influence on microleakage except for sodium hypochlorite, which increased leakage values in enamel (p0.05).

Internal calibration in modified hydrodynamic chromatography has been realized by the approach of Prieve and Hoysan, i.e. the use of polystyrene monodisperse latexes to evaluate the equivalent capillary radius, R. The value obtained has been used to estimate the average sizes of a variety of liposome samples from egg yolk lecithin.

In this paper we address the issue of designing and implementing an intercommunication software that allows to integrate the different modules of a robotic software application. The developed software, called NEXUS, it is based on a subscription/production design, and also makes use of some important features from high-level programming languages, such as modular and object-oriented techniques. This leads to a desirable decoupling between the programs designed for a given task and the software facilities required for inter-process communications, error recovery system, user interfaces, etc. Also an additional benefit is that it makes the software less sensitive to changes than monolithic applications. Some important features of NEXUS are itsdistributed nature, its hierarchical error recovery system, and thereal-time capabilities that it inherits from the underlying operating system. NEXUS has been developed for mobile robots, but its design has been done generic enough for implementing any distributed robotic system, such as cooperating robots, teleoperation systems, manufacturing cells, etc. We outline some implementation issues and how a set of modules designed for our mobile robot RAM-2 have been integrated showing both the flexibility and the reduction of costs achievable by using NEXUS.

We present two cases of inguinoscrotal hernia that contains stomach, both associated with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; one of them is shown with a intermittent gastric obstruction syndrome, the other being a radiological finding in a patient with dispeptic symptoms. The first one died of a respiratory infection, before operation, and the second refused operation because of his scarce symptomatology. A review of the literature shows 60 cases reported including our cases.

Introduccion. De manera sintetica se da cuenta de las caracteristicas heterogeneas de funcionamiento de las personas con trastornos del espectro autista (TEA) y como dichas caracteristicas tambien pueden estar en la base de la variabilidad en la respuesta al tratamiento. Se recalca la necesidad de combinar, en el tratamiento, la practica basada en la evidencia y una comprension profunda de los TEA. Desarrollo. Se explican algunos de los principios esenciales que deben guiar el tratamiento desde la optica de indicadores de calidad que han de contener los programas de intervencion. Se incide en las caracteristicas y contenidos que forman parte de los programas que se llevan a cabo en el ambito de la intervencion temprana, explicando brevemente algunos de esos programas, y posteriormente se caracteriza la intervencion, con el uso de tecnicas y estrategias, que habitualmente se realiza en ninos y adolescentes de alto nivel de funcionamiento. Conclusion. La investigacion y conocimiento acumulados y la cada vez mayor evidencia experimental configuran las caracteristicas que deben adoptar los programas de intervencion y tratamiento usados en personas con TEA. Dicho tratamiento debe comenzar de manera temprana, lo antes posible y extenderse a lo largo del ciclo vital.

Kikuchi's necrotizing lymphadenitis (KNL) is a benign disease of unknown etiology affecting lymphatic nodes and some times extranodal organs. We present a case of KNL with hepatic lesions simulating metastatic liver disease.

A clinical case of hyperthyroidism, which began with a primary pulmonary hypertension syndrome, was presented.We describe the case of a woman diagnosed by echo-Doppler as suffering pulmonary hypertension, which was classified as primary. At the same time as this diagnosis, symptoms suggesting hyperthyroidism were presented and then confirmed by hormonal tests.The link between these two conditions has been described, citing an autoimmune etiopathogenesis in the connecting relationship between the two conditions. The connection of primary pulmonary hypertension with other endocrinopathies has also been described. The autoimmune mechanism by which both processes could be interrelated is explained. The role of the primary care physician in the early diagnosis of conditions similar to this one is high-lighted.

Authors use in the diagnosis of fractures of the pelvis a three dimension programme developed by them to the tomographic apparatus of the Siemens Somatom CR computer. With the demonstration of a few pictures of their own they call attention to the possibility of diagnosis given by the 3D-CT programme. On the basis of their experiences the advantages and disadvantages of this modern imaging method are summarized.

The advantages of three-dimensional CT reconstruction in developmental disorders of the cranio-vertebral junction are demonstrated in a group of seven patients selected from 14 examinations carried out with a programme developed by the authors.

Introduccion. Se explica y define brevemente en que consiste la atencion y su implicacion para el desarrollo de funciones cognitivas complejas. Desarrollo. Se describen los distintos procesos atencionales, en especial aquellos que se han abordado en la investigacion en el campo de los trastornos de espectro autista, y se refieren los hechos experimentales que se han obtenido al respecto. Conclusion. Algunos procesos de atencion, como la atencion selectiva o sostenida, no estan alterados en el autismo o no se encuentran evidencias suficientes para respaldar dicha hipotesis. Sin embargo, existen dificultades en los procesos de atencion dividida, aunque aun estan poco estudiados, y, especialmente, alteraciones en las habilidades de atencion conjunta.

Our investigations try to reveal the morphological changes found postnatally at different levels and centres of central nervous system of kittens of cats chronically treated with ethanol during their pregnancy and lactation. The changes found in neurons of lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) were analyzed in Golgi-stained preparations from brains removed on the first or on the ninth postnatal days. The data were computerized. The changes measured in neurons refer to their maturation process: a significant delay of differentiation of the neurons occurs in LGN. Also a delayed gyrification of brains was observed.

Introduccion. Las personas con sindrome de Asperger o autismo de alto funcionamiento comparten dificultades en el area social que se manifiestan en alteraciones en el desarrollo de habilidades mentales, dificultad en la autopercepcion y control de las emociones, y escaso exito en el desarrollo de interacciones sociales que se mantengan a lo largo del tiempo. Desarrollo. En ninos con desarrollo normal puede observarse la intencion de generar empatia y simpatia a traves del analisis linguistico de las respuestas que dan los ninos ante la peticion de narrar acontecimientos personales en los que ellos hicieron enfadar a alguien o en los que alguien les causo enfado. Hemos planteado estas dos tareas a ninos con sindrome de Asperger o autismo de alto funcionamiento y se han analizado los resultados. Conclusion. Las competencias de caracter emocional, detectadas a traves del lenguaje, varian enormemente entre ninos con sindrome de Asperger y autismo de alto funcionamiento de la misma edad cronologica e indican motivacion por generar en el interlocutor una representacion positiva de ellos mismos cuando responden a preguntas en las deben narrar acontecimientos negativos que protagonizaron.

Introduccion. Se explica y se define brevemente el trastorno autista de acuerdo con la investigacion reciente. Desarrollo. Desde la perspectiva que proporciona la ontogenesis y las adquisiciones que ocurren en el desarrollo normal, se proporciona una vision actualizada de la genesis del trastorno autista, y se recogen los datos mas relevantes que han proporcionado los distintos estudios efectuados al respecto. Se evidencian las dificultades para realizar una deteccion del trastorno antes del ano de edad y, en cualquier caso, las manifestaciones mas tempranas se relacionan claramente con la interaccion social y comunicativa prototipica del final del primer ano de vida. Conclusion. La deteccion temprana del trastorno se identifica precisamente con la alteracion en desarrollos sociales y comunicativos y, en general, con la emergencia de funciones psicologicas relevantes para el proceso de humanizacion. Se concluye con la necesidad de favorecer estudios que incidan en la posible alteracion de manifestaciones socioemocionales y afectivas mas precoces.

Introduccion. El autismo es el trastorno prototipico de los trastornos de espectro autista. Es un trastorno del desarrollo de origen biologico, que se manifiesta antes de los 3 anos de edad y que se caracteriza por alteraciones cualitativas que afectan al desarrollo de la relacion e interaccion social, la comunicacion y el lenguaje y el desarrollo de la actividad simbolica e imaginativa. Desarrollo. Las primeras manifestaciones del trastorno se producen, en la mayor parte de los casos y de acuerdo con las dos fuentes de informacion actualmente disponibles (la informacion retrospectiva que nos proporcionan las familias y el analisis de videos familiares), en torno al final del primer ano (la edad de 18 meses es una de las edades mas citadas por las familias cuando son consultadas al respecto). Es muy relevante, desde el punto de vista ontogenetico, la coincidencia en el tiempo de las primeras manifestaciones del trastorno con los desarrollos de funciones psicologicas cualitativamente humanas. Puede entenderse el autismo, por tanto, como un trastorno que afecta a la genesis de funciones psicologicas que son muy relevantes en el desarrollo humano y en ese sentido la intervencion educativa debe contemplar, necesariamente, la construccion de esas funciones psicologicas hasta donde sea posible. Conclusiones. El tratamiento educativo en autismo y en trastornos de espectro autista tiene que partir de dos ejes esenciales de conocimiento que deben vertebrar la realizacion de cualquier programa de intervencion: el conocimiento evolutivo y ontogenetico del desarrollo normal y el conocimiento de la forma de `ser´ autista. En la integracion flexible y creativa de ambos conocimientos radica lo esencial del tratamiento que se lleva a cabo en autismo.

Introduccion. El desarrollo temprano de los ninos que presentan un diagnostico de autismo y ninos con trastorno especifico del lenguaje (TEL) es todavia un area de escasa investigacion. Es necesario contar con patrones descriptivos de las primeras etapas en el desarrollo de ambos grupos que promuevan la formacion de diagnosticos precoces fiables. Objetivo. En el presente trabajo se intenta determinar la incidencia de diferente sintomatologia en los dos primeros anos de vida de ninos y ninas que posteriormente se diagnosticaron de autismo o TEL, y confirmar o no los datos que indican un patron de inicio del trastorno diferente para ambos grupos. Pacientes y metodos. Se contrastan datos de desarrollo de una muestra de 42 ninos/as con autismo y 41 ninos/as con TEL, mediante el analisis retrospectivo de la informacion que nos han proporcionado las familias en los procesos de evaluacion y diagnostico que se han llevado a cabo en nuestro centro. En concreto, se compara informacion acerca de las variables siguientes: antecedentes familiares, edad de los padres en el momento del embarazo, profesion de los padres, posicion en el nacimiento e incidencia por sexo, informacion de aspectos prenatales, perinatales y posnatales, dificultades con la alimentacion y el sueno, presencia o no de signos de pasividad, indicios de alarma en el primer ano, edad del nino en el momento de las primeras sospechas, sintomas o dificultades que se describen, datos relacionados con las exploraciones mediconeurologicas y datos relacionados con el desarrollo motor. Resultados. Si bien existen semejanzas en muchas de las variables estudiadas en ambos grupos, parece que el inicio mas temprano de la sintomatologia, la pasividad y la ausencia de conducta de senalar son mas frecuentes en el grupo con autismo que en los ninos con TEL. Estos ultimos presentan una dificultad especifica en el lenguaje, rabietas y peores competencias motoras. Conclusiones. En la actualidad, no existe ningun sintoma en el desarrollo temprano que sea exclusivo de ninguno de los trastornos descritos, aunque si se pueden determinar algunas diferencias relevantes entre ambos grupos. Por otro lado, resulta necesario que se realicen mas estudios en esta misma linea que incluyan los patrones de desarrollo temprano de otros trastornos de espectro autista.

Introduccion. Los fenomenos de hiperlexia se describen en ninos que presentan alteraciones o retraso en el desarrollo y se caracterizan por la habilidad para acceder a la lectura de forma precoz y autoaprendida. Esta habilidad para la decodificacion de palabras no se correlaciona con el nivel intelectual y puede cursar con diferentes grados de retraso mental y, siempre, con dificultades de relacion social. El autismo es el trastorno prototipico de los trastornos de espectro autista (TEA), que se caracteriza fundamentalmente por alteraciones cualitativas en la interaccion social, en el desarrollo de la comunicacion y el lenguaje y la presencia de un repertorio limitado de intereses, acompanado de respuestas estereotipadas o peculiares. Desarrollo. La presencia de hiperlexia en ninos con autismo es mas frecuente que en otras alteraciones del desarrollo. Este fenomeno se relaciona con las habilidades mejor conservadas de memoria visual, discriminacion visual y motivacion/interes hacia el material representado de forma visual que presentan las personas con autismo. Sin embargo, no todas las personas con autismo presentan hiperlexia, ni todos los ninos con hiperlexia presentan autismo, a pesar de la evidencia de que el fenomeno de hiperlexia se observe con mas frecuencia en el autismo y en los TEA. Conclusion. La hiperlexia, entendida como `islote de capacidad´ en ninos con autismo y TEA, plantea numerosos interrogantes y supone un importante reto en la investigacion neuropsicologica en esta poblacion.

Special orientations of dendritic trees of projective (relay) neurons were observed in the thalamic nuclei; and it was found to be different in the various nuclei. It can be explained by the size, course, site of the fibre bundles which enter and/or transgress the nuclei. The orientation of dendritic tree and the size of the branching area of dendrites (specific active dendritic space) were analysed by computer. The quantitative data of neuronal elements in some thalamic nuclei gave the opportunity to consider the possible degree of divergence and convergence of sensory fibres regarding their connections with the projective neurons.

An analytical, recursive method has been developed to demonstrate the anisotropic electrotonic geometry of nerve cells containing varicose or spiny dendrites. The procedure has been based on the distribution of the core geometry of dendrites into modules which consist of module elements where the physical length is much shorter than the actual space constant. The unambiguous representation of the anisotropic core geometry has been possible by plotting the decomposed geometries separated under the condition of the unidirectional spread of the wave front of dendritic potentials. This decomposition has revealed the bidirectional, “smoothed” core geometries as a function of irregular distribution of varicosities or spines. The shape of decomposed core geometries may change according to the position of the input site. The shaping of core geometry reflects the electrotonic effectiveness of a synaptic site to any arbitrary locations which may lead to considerable savings in computations on synaptic effects. The detailed, computer-reconstructed geometry of the apical dendritic field of the pyramidal cell has been analysed by the proposed method. The frequency-dependence of input impedances has been compared between the original and the transformed core geometries assuming that the current is injected into the soma. The significance of dentritic irregularities in the impedance matching has been studied when the shaping of the core geometry has been induced by laminar inputs. The proposed approach may be useful in comparing the input dependence of the receptive fields of different non-smooth cells. The mismatch of the core geometries induced by the opposite travelling waves from the same anatomical location has also been studied and the possible control of the preferred, direction-sensitive activities will be discussed. The important differences between the compartmental modelings based on the known isotropic treatment of dendrites and the more realistic anisotropic approach will be illustrated.

The case of two brothers with thoracic asphyxiant dystrophy, associated with cystic renal dysplasia in one of them, is reported. Differential diagnosis with other chondrodystrophies, specially with the Ellis van Creveld Syndrome is made, and the influence of the nephropathy on the vital prognosis of the affection is pointed out. The photographs show the characteristic and differential signs of this entity.

PERCUTANEOUS catheterization of the bronchial arteries by the Seldinger technique has been described and is being investigated actively in several centers. 1-7 A special catheter is introduced percutaneously into the femoral artery and is passed proximally in the aorta to the level of the aortic arch. The small bronchial artery orifices arising from the arch or proximal descending aorta can then be entered by the probing catheter tip under fluoroscopic control. This procedure is easily accomplished in the radiology department, and only local anesthesia at the femoral catheterization site is required. Since pulmonary neoplasms, both primary and metastatic, derive their blood supply from the bronchial arteries and not from the pulmonary artery, the technique opens broad new possibilities for the arteriographic diagnosis of pulmonary tumors and for palliative infusions of these tumors with chemotherapeutic agents. 1-9 The following case report describes a fatal complication arising from the infusion of a