Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Costantini.
The metabolism of antipyrine was studied in 13 patients with cancer and bladder papillomas and in 11 control subjects, matched for interfering factors like smoking, diet, age and sex. The mean antipyrine half-life was significantly longer in patients with urinary tract cancer (14.7 +/- 1.32 h SE) than in control subjects (11 +/- 0.55 h SE) (P less than 0.025); other clinical parameters did not vary.
AHH activity was measured in kidney cortex biopsies obtained during surgery from patients with hydronephrosis and from unaffected portions of kidneys with renal cell carcinomas. AHH activity was slightly, but not significantly, higher in the group of non-smoking cancer patients when compared to non-smoking hydronephrotic subjects. Smoking induced a significant increase of AHH activity in the hydronephrotic kidneys but not in cancer kidneys, probably due to the higher baseline values and scatter in the cancer group. Pooling cancer and non-cancer kidneys, smokers had a higher AHH activity than non-smokers, this increase being dose-related.
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Experience with 10 cases of ureterocalyceal anastomosis is reported. Most cases involved scleroatrophic scarring of the pelvis after repeated stone surgery, and 1 case each for failed pyeloplasty, tuberculous stricture of the pelvis, transitional cell carcinoma of the pelvis and calyces, and ureteropelvic junction obstruction associated with renal malformation. Three patients had a solitary kidney. End-to-end ureterocalyceal anastomosis was performed in 5 patients; laterolateral in 1 case, and ureteropyelocalyceal anastomosis in the remaining 4. In 3 cases omentoplasty was also performed.
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The main goal of surgery for retroperitoneal fibrosis is to free the ureters from sclerotic tissue and pressure them from further extension of the disease; the omentum may be used as an efficient barrier against recurrence of fibrosis. We present 11 patients with idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis treated with ureterolysis and omentoplasty - in four patients the procedure was performed bilaterally, in seven the omentum was used to protect only one ureter, but in six there was a surgical or functional solitary kidney. Out of 15 ureters, residual dilatation was observed only in two, with marked clinical improvement in all patients. Mean follow-up was 51 months.
Seventy-two patients with renal carcinoma (RC) in a solitary kidney or bilateral synchronous tumours underwent parenchyma-sparing excision of their neoplasms. This was performed in situ in 51 and extracorporeally in 21 kidneys, with a complication rate respectively of 17 and 43%. The 5-year survival rates were 78% for unilateral disease, 48% for bilateral synchronous and 38% for bilateral asynchronous disease. Survival correlated with P category, grade and diameter of the tumour. Vascular invasion and spindle cells indicated a poor prognosis; the position of the tumour, oncocytic elements, calcification, lymphocytic infiltration or the predominance of clear cell or granular cells did not influence survival.
Data showing that a new i.v. anaesthetic, R-(+)-alphamethyl-benzyl-imidazol-5-carboxylate (Etomidate), leads to an approximately 3.3 mmHg fall in ocular pressure below the baseline are presented. The drug was also accompanied by a 14.1 mmHg and 12 beats/min decrease in A.P. and heart rate respectively. Further work on the various effects of this anaesthetic is required, since the paper is limited to its investigation in the induction stage.
A 6-year experience with omentoplasty is presented. During this period pedicled omentum was used in 145 procedures of reconstructive urologic surgery. On the basis of this experience the authors conclude that omentoplasty is an essential part in urological reconstructive surgery.
The aim of the present paper is that of developing a technique which exploiting a commercial RIA Kit (Ausria II - Abbott) could be employed for the detection of HBsAg also in products different from serum or plasma, such as hemoderivates, even when as negative control is employed the kit, made up of a pool of HBsAg and HBsAb negative plasma. In order to lower the probability of false positive and false negatives the Authors employed, in parallel with the normal Abbott technique, a modified technique, which involves the presaturation of the polystyrene beads with human serum albumin solution. This technique showed to increase the sensitivity relevant to the kit itself. The technique with successive contacts employed by the Authors allowed the carrying out of the confirmation test for those blood derivatives also, which tend to clot, both due to the treatments and for the addition of the reagents employed in the confirmation test. In order the get a better garantee in classifying as "non-reactive" a sample the Authors expect it to be timely to carry out, in addition to the direct test, a confirmation test. Samples with titrated HBsAg additions and showing C/N > 1.5 in the direct test, turned out reactive to the confirmation test. Recovery tests show, even considering the variability of the sensitivity of the kit, according to the batch and the date of use, an indication of the sensitivity of the RIA method for HBsAg detection in hemoderivatives.
The authors propose a classification of ex situ surgery of the kidney and present their clinical experience of 20 renal autotransplantations over a period of 6 years: 16 were performed for renovascular hypertension with 2 failures and 4 for recurrent staghorn calculi, with 1 stone recurrence. Based on their experience and on the literature they discuss the present status and the future implications of ex situ surgery of the kidney.
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In Italy, Health Ministry provisions prohibit the marketing of products based on hemoderivatives unless they have first been controlled for the presence of HBsAg by means of radioimmunoassay. The present survey considers certificates submitted by Pharmaceutical Companies to the Health Department for permission to market their hemoderivative-based products. The results of the survey are discussed, and compared with the data obtained by the AA. in official control analyses, so as to arrive at some conclusion as to the applicability of currently employed RIA methods to HBsAg detection in hemoderivatives.
For application to the control of hemoderivatives of the methods adopted for the detection of HBsAg and HBsAb in sera or plasma, using radioimmunological kits, it is necessary for the methods to have greater sensitivity and reliability, which can be achieved by employing complementary tests or by modifying certain phases of the normal methods. Particularly in the case of hemoderivatives with a high infectivity risk, application of the normal procedures entails problems of a kind such as to rule out the test altogether or to adversely affect its reliability. The preliminary data obtained with modifications of the methods according to the Abbott AUSRIA II and AUSAB RIA kits are here reported; these data seem to indicate that the reliability of the tests is improved.
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An interlaboratory study in which the insulin contents of five plasma samples were estimated in 36 italian laboratories was coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (National Institute of Health) and the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (National Research Council). A rather large between-laboratory variability resulted, though the ranking of samples according to their insulin concentrations was practically the same. A significant dependence of estimates on the method used was established. The analysis of data, aimed at defining the possible reasons of the assay variability, is reported and discussed.
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