Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often exhibit impulsive and aggressive behavior. The hippocampus and amygdala form part of the limbic system, which plays a central role in controlling such expressions of emotional reactivity. There are mixed results in the literature regarding whether patients with BPD have smaller hippocampal and amygdalar volume relative to healthy controls. To clarify the precise nature of these mixed results, we performed a meta-analysis to aggregate data on the size of the hippocampus and amygdala in patients with BPD. Seven publications involving six studies and a total of 104 patients with BPD and 122 healthy controls were included. A significantly smaller volume was found in both the right and left hippocampi and amygdala of patients with BPD compared to healthy controls. These findings raise the possibility that reduced hippocampal and amygdalar volumes are biological substrates of some symptoms of BPD.

BACKGROUND -American cutaneous leishmaniasis is a disease with high prevalence and incidence in Brazil. The Brazilian Central-Western Region currently holds the third largest incidence and the first growth rate of this disease in the country. OBJECTIVES -to evaluate clinical, epidemiological and treatment features of patients with American cutaneous leishmaniasis seen at the University Hospital of Brasília. METHOD -a case series study with 402 patients was carried out, spanning the period between January 1st, 1994 and February 28th, 2003. The following variables were studied: sex, age, occupation, state of origin, clinical features, diagnostic techniques, treatment with pentavalent antimony and side effects. Follow-up was one year after the end of treatment. RESULTS -the predominant group of patients was composed by male rural laborers who presented mainly the cutaneous form of the illness. The greatest efficacy of the antimony was observed in patients presenting the cutaneous form treated up to six months after the onset of symptoms, and in females in general (both differences were statistically significant in multivariate analysis). The early treatment of the mucocutaneous form also presented better results, although not statistically significant. Electrocardiographical alterations were more frequent in the group of patients receiving a 20mg SbV/Kg/day for a 30-day schedule than those with the same dosage for 20 days. Eosinophilia was found in 17.5%. CONCLUSIONS -Early treatment, female gender and cutaneous form presented higher levels of cure. Electrocardiographic changes rose as time of treatment was increased. The remarkable report of eosinophilia as a side effect of N-methylglucamine deserves further investigation. Keywords: Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous/diagnosis; Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous/epidemiology; Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous/therapy Resumo: FUNDAMENTOS -A leishmaniose tegumentar americana é doença em expansão no Brasil. A região Centro-Oeste é hoje a terceira em incidência e a primeira em crescimento da doença. OBJETIVOS -Avaliar pacientes com leishmaniose tegumentar americana atendidos no Hospital Universitário de