Relatively little is known about the occurrence of neurocysticercosis in northeastern Brazil. There have been no published reports from the state of Ceará, but a review of the records at the Hospital São José in Fortaleza, Brazil identified 119 patients with neurocysticercosis diagnosed between January 1988 and April 1994. Patients came from 43 municipalities in Ceará. Their ages ranged from five to 74 years; the greatest number of cases were in persons 10-40 years of age; 63% were males. Seizures were the presenting complaint in 64% of the patients and headache in 22%. Two patients, each with several hundred intracranial lesions, presented with mental status changes; one was initially given the clinical diagnosis of viral meningoencephalitis. Computed tomography scans showed that 44% of the patients had five or more lesions. Cysts were found throughout the brain. The parietal lobe was the most frequent site of involvement; 85% of patients had one or more lesions there. The brain stem was involved in 8%. There was no consistent association between the severity of the clinical abnormalities and the radiologic findings. Computed tomography of the thighs was done in 10 persons; cysts were identified in nine.

4 cases of burn from prolonged contact with wet cement, one requiring skin grafting, have been between 1977 and 1980.

No abstract

A preliminary double-blind controlled trial was carried out in 8 patients with active chronic psoriasis, whose lesions were more or less bilaterally symmetrical, to assess the efficacy of topical treatment with 0.1% dithranol in a specialized carbamide (17% urea) base. The trial preparation was applied twice daily to one side only over a period of 3 weeks, and lesions on the other side of the body were treated in a similar manner with the base alone. Assessments of clinical improvement, based on severity rating scores, were carried out at weekly intervals. The results showed that, although use of the base alone led to some improvement, the preparation including dithranol was twice as effective, and this finding was supported by the patients' preference. It was easy to apply and remove and was well tolerated, the only side-effects reported being stinging and/or smarting.