Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Angelini

Publications and source records attributed to A Angelini.

141 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Discordance between pre and post cardiac transplant diagnosis: implications for pre- and postoperative decision making.

A correct clinical diagnosis in end-stage patients undergoing cardiac transplantation may have important prognostic and therapeutic implications. A retrospective clinico-pathologic study was carried out in 257 patients who had undergone cardiac transplantation at the University of Padua. A discrepancy between clinical and pathological diagnosis was found in 20 cases (8%). Among 126 patients with the clinical diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy, seven were found eventually to have ischemic heart disease (IHD), five myocarditis, one arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), and one non-compacted myocardium. Among the 87 patients with clinical diagnosis of IHD, three turned out to be dilated cardiomyopathy and one granulomatous myocarditis. Among the 10 patients with the clinical diagnosis of hypertrophic-restrictive cardiomyopathy, one had ARVC and one had cardiac fibroma. Altogether, only 24.5% underwent endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) and 75% coronary angiography before transplantation. Missed diagnosis of myocarditis occurred in patients in whom EMB was not carried out. EMB and coronary angiography might be indicated routinely in patients with apparent dilated cardiomyopathy, before proceeding to cardiectomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of epomediol on taurocholate uptake in hepatocytes isolated from normal rats or rats with ethinyloestradiol-induced cholestasis.

In this study the effect of epomediol (1,3,3-trimethyl-2-oxabicyclo 2.2.2 ocatan-6,7-endo, endo-diol) (Clesidren) on rat hepatocyte bile acid transport was evaluated using [3H]-taurocholate as a probe, in order to clarify the mechanism of action of this drug. To this purpose, primary cultures were prepared with hepatocytes obtained from normal rats (Group I), and rats receiving a 4-day treatment with either epomediol (100 mg/kg) (Group II), or ethinyloestradiol (5 mg/kg) (Group III), or ethinyloestradiol plus epomediol (5 mg and 100 mg/kg respectively) (Group IV) or vehicle DMSO 50 microliters/kg) (Group V). All hepatocytes were isolated 10 days after the end of treatment. Hepatocyte [3H]-taurocholate uptake was evaluated in vitro after 48 hr of incubation in the presence or absence of epomediol. In both cases no difference was found when evaluating the uptake of hepatocytes from Group I, II and V. In the absence of epomediol [3H]-taurocholate uptake in hepatocytes from rats of Group IV was significantly higher than that observed in hepatocytes from rats of Group III. On the other hand, the presence of epomediol did not influence [3H]-taurocholate uptake in hepatocytes from rats of Group III, which remained significantly lower compared to that of control hepatocytes (Group V). The protective effect obtained when administering epomediol simultaneously with ethinyloestradiol (Group IV) was not due to its ability to compete with ethynyloestradiol for the binding to oestrogen receptors. Our results indicate that epomediol is able to restore a normal hepatocyte bile acid uptake when given in vivo simultaneously with ethinyloestradiol but does not influence bile acid transport in cultured hepatocytes. Further studies are required to better define the choleretic activity of this drug.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Giant aneurysm of the splenic artery: case report and review of the literature].

INTRODUCTION: The authors describe an unusual case of giant aneurysm of the splenic artery. The problem of deciding between endovascular and open vascular surgery and what are the tools necessary to choose the most appropriate procedure are discussed in this report. CASE REPORT: A man 55 years old was admitted to the hospital for an unspecified abdominal pain. Subsequent examinations (TC and angiography) showed a large aneurysm of the splenic artery without any sign of rupture. Endovascular treatment was excluded because of the extreme tortuosity of the artery; the patient underwent open surgical operation of legation of the aneurysm and splenectomy. The patient was discharged in 6th postoperative day. DISCUSSION: Splenic artery aneurysm are usually an occasional finding but they are related with an important risk of rupture and mortality; elective treatment both surgical and endovascular is recommended. Emergency surgery is still complicated with an high rate of mortality related to the patient's comorbidities. Endovascular treatment by covered stent-graft or selective embolization may represent the best option but it can be proposed only after an accurate selection of the patients. Endovascular treatment also seems to be feasible even in emergency but only in very selected cases and in expert vascular-interventional units. Laparoscopic surgery has been performed only sporadically. CONCLUSIONS: We would like to point out that nowadays the treatment of splenic artery aneurysm doesn't give a real choice and each case should be assessed singularly with the purpose to choose the best therapeutic approach either percutaneous or surgical.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Autologous blood stem cell transplantation as intensive consolidation therapy in hematological malignancies.

Ten consecutive patients (pts), suffering from hematological malignancies (5 NHL, 3 ANLL and 2 HD), received high doses of radio-chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation. Seven of them were in 1st CR, two in 3rd CR and one in refractory status. The recruitment of PBSC was performed during the conventional non-intensive schedule of therapy. The median interval between the remission and the transplant was 6 months (3-15). The pts received a median of 0.96 x10(9) MNC/Kg b.w. and of 3.8 x10(4) CFU-GM/Kg b.w. Hemopoietic recovery occurred promptly and the median number of days to reach WBC greater than 1.0 x10(9)/L was 10 (7-15), PMN greater than 0.5 x10(9)/L was 12 (10-34), platelets greater than 50 x10(9)/L was 13 (10-41) and reticulocytes greater than 20 x10(9)/L was 12 (10-15). Three pts relapsed after 14, 12 and 6 months, respectively. Two of them achieved a further remission and one died. The remaining seven, are alive and disease-free with a follow-up of 11 months (range 2-27).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Infection after autologous blood-derived stem cell transplantation.

Ten patients who underwent autologous blood-derived stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) were studied retrospectively to determine the frequency and outcome of transplant associated infections during the hemopoietic reconstitution. Six patients developed an infection after transplant. Severe bacterial infections were unfrequent and mostly caused by gram-positive cocci. In no case pneumonia was observed and this scarce morbility of infection could be the result of early engraftment. None of them died for infection. The frequency of infections in APBSCT patients appears lower than the one observed in autologous bone marrow transplant patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Human bone marrow processing using Cobe 2991 and CS 3000 blood cell separators for further ex vivo manipulation.

Several automated procedures are now available to enrich stem cells from large bone marrow (BM) volumes prior to ex vivo treatment or cryopreservation. This report details our experience using a ficoll-hypaque (F/H) gradient on Cobe 2991 cell washer and a CS 3000 continuous flow separator, on 90 BM processed for allogeneic and autologous transplantation. In the Cobe series, from 70 BM aspirates, 89 +/- 5% of the original mononuclear cells (MNC) was found in the light density fraction with a erythrocytes (RBC) and granulocytes (PMN) removal of 98 +/- 1 and 97 +/- 4.5%, respectively. Over 80% of the initial myeloid precursors (CFU-GM) were recovered in a small final volume. Twenty BM processing were performed with a CS 3000 separator using program "3" and granulo chamber. This technique yielded 86 +/- 9% of the initial MNC while 85 +/- 10% of RBC and 90 +/- 1.1% of PMN was removed. Over 75% of the original CFU-GM was recovered in the final product. Both techniques are effective to large-scale purification of progenitor cells and readily available as routine procedures for marrow processing.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A study of interactions among markers of macrophage functions in metastatic solid tumors: neopterin levels in relation to those of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and of soluble interleukin-2 receptors.

High levels of the macrophage activation marker neopterin have been described in metastatic cancer patients. Since macrophages may either counteract or stimulate tumor development, it is important to establish which macrophage activity is mainly related to neopterin release. The present study was carried out to evaluate neopterin levels in metastatic solid tumor patients in respect with the antitumor macrophage cytokine TNF and with soluble IL-2 receptor (SIL-2R), whose secretion is stimulated by macrophages and it is associated with the immunosuppressive status of cancer patients. The study included 35 patients with metastatic solid neoplasms. Serum levels of neopterin, TNF and SIL-2R were measured in blood samples collected during the morning. Abnormally high concentrations of neopterin were seen in 18/35 (51%) patients. Patients with high levels of neopterin showed significantly higher concentrations of SIL-2R than those with normal neopterin values, whereas no difference was found in TNF levels. This study would suggest that the increased secretion of neopterin may reflect macrophage-mediated immunosuppression in metastatic solid neoplasms, rather than to be associated with the antitumor activity of macrophages.

Adult↗