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Biomedical subjects

A Lenzi

Publications and source records attributed to A Lenzi.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Decreased platelet serotonin uptake in bipolar I patients.

The 5HT transporter complex in platelets is similar to that in the brain and thus widely used in biological psychiatry as a peripheral marker of the 5HT system. Our study aim was to measure 14C-5HT uptake parameters (Vmax and Km) in platelets from 12 patients affected by bipolar disorder, as compared with 12 healthy controls. The uptake assay was performed according to the method of Arora and Meltzer (1981). The results showed that the Vmax was significantly lower in bipolar patients than in healthy controls, with no modification of the Km. These preliminary data would indicate therefore that the mechanism of 5HT transport is altered in platelets of bipolar patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

An ultrasonic method to measure human plasma coagulation time.

An ultrasonic method to measure coagulation time for prothrombin time (PT) is discussed. This method is based on the measurement of ultrasonic scattering from spherical glass particles of 200-microns diameter kept in motion, inside of a holder containing 0.1 ml of plasma, by ultrasonic energy. The incident wave (2.7 MHz) not only keeps the particle in motion but also is the source for the scattered waves. A receiving transducer captures part of the scattered wave and generates at its electrical output a signal containing amplitude and phase fluctuations. The motion of the particles are strongly influenced by the rheological changes during the process of coagulation. When the clot is formed, the amplitude of the motion of these particles is significantly reduced and so the fluctuations on the received signal stop. The time from the start of the coagulation process until the end of the fluctuations at the received signal is the coagulation time. Experimental results demonstrate that the ultrasonic method has precision and accuracy compatible to those provided by the manual tilt-tube method when PT is measured with normal and abnormal samples of human plasma.

Factor V Deficiency↗
PubMed1990

[Male genito-urinary tract infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and seminal characteristics: use of minocycline].

The authors evaluated the activity of Minocycline in 30 male patients with urinary tract infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and alterations of the seminal parameters using three different dosage schedules (100 mg/day for 10 days, 200 mg/day for 10 days and 200 mg/day for 20 days). At baseline, at the end of therapy and one month after clinical and bacteriological parameters and seminal characteristics, including some sperm function tests (acridine orange test to study chromatin heterogeneity; triple staining technique, to study acrosome; swim-up technique, to study the sperm kinetics) were verified. The seminal characteristics were checked again three and six months after the end of the therapy. All the results show that Minocycline is an excellent drug for the treatment of urinary tract infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis both for its therapeutic efficacy and for the absence of side effects. Although 10 days cycles using 1 cap/day are sufficient to eliminate inflammation and infection, in order to obtain more valid results it is preferable to use the following dosage schedule: 200 mg/day of antibiotic (100 mg twice daily) for 10 days. The results of our trial show that in cases of Chlamydia trachomatis infection associated with dispermia (reduced nemaspermic concentration, hypomotility, teratozoospermia, increased number of leucocytes), if the parameters of sperm function are within normal limits, the resolution of the infection is usually followed by a recovery of normozoospermia. Follow-up performed 3 and 6 months after the end of treatment showed an increase in the number of spermatozoa, a percentage increase in their motility, mostly in the progressive motility, and a reduction of the atypical forms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Enoxacin in the treatment of male genital infections in patients with antisperm autoimmune pathology].

Anti-sperm antibodies are frequently present in patients bearing infections of the genital tract and a cause-effect relationship is suspected in these two pathological conditions. In an open, uncontrolled study, the Authors tested the therapeutical effect on both autoimmune anti-sperm and infectious genital tract diseases. Thirty patients, age 30.3 +/- 3.6 years (mean +/- D.S.; range 25-42), were admitted to the study. In all patients the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by a positive sperm culture for enoxacin sensitive germs. Eleven out of 30 patients (36.7%) were also found to be positive by both immunofluorescence and immunoenzymatic tests for Chlamydia Trachomatis at the beginning of the study. At day 0 (first menstrual cycle day of the patients' partner) enoxacin treatment (300 mg twice daily) was started with the patients and their partners for a period of 30 and 12 days respectively. Sperm culture and both the above mentioned tests for Chlamydia Trachomatis were subsequently repeated on day 5 of therapy (first control) and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months (2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th controls respectively) after the end of treatment. Statistical analysis of the results was performed by both Dunnett and Chi-square tests as appropriate. Isolated germs from pre-treatment sperm culture were classified as Enterococcus (17/30 cases: 56.7%) E. Coli (8/30: 26.6%), Klebsiella (2/30: 6.6%) and St Albus, Proteus and Enterococcus-Klebsiella coinfections (1/30 cases: 3.3% each).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Predictors of compliance with lithium and carbamazepine regimens in the long-term treatment of recurrent mood and related psychotic disorders.

This study examined compliance with lithium and carbamazepine regimens from the perspective of the illness and its characteristics. Patients were more likely to stay in treatment when prophylaxis was begun following a depressive episode and in the presence of congruent psychotic experiences. The reverse was true for grandiose and manic patients and those with somatic preoccupations.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Comparative study of middle-latency responses and auditory brainstem responses in elderly subjects.

Auditory senescence is studied through an electrophysiological investigation of the brainstem, midbrain and thalamocortical tracts of auditory pathways. For this purpose, comparative electrophysiologic studies were carried out by recording middle-latency responses (MLR) and auditory brainstem responses (ABR) in elderly subjects in the 7th-8th and 9th decades of life and in a control group consisting of young subjects in the 3rd decade of life. All these subjects were free of otological, neurological, vascular and metabolic pathologic states. In elderly subjects, the statistical analysis of the results, especially of MLRs, showed a deterioration in the progression of information from the periphery to the center due to changes in morphology, increased latency, reduced amplitude and poorer reproducibility. Furthermore, a different behavior was noticed in females versus males. Indeed, the shorter latency of evoked potentials in the female control group was remarkably reduced in the elderly subjects. MLRs scan a wide tract of auditory pathways and give evident results even by adopting a juxtaliminal stimulation; therefore, they are a more complete and sensitive test than ABRs for the study of involutional processes.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Laser radiation and motility patterns of human sperm.

Human sperm were exposed in vitro to laser radiation. An increase in progressive sperm motility was associated with a faster rate of sperm ATP consumption. Computer-assisted analysis of sperm motility confirmed the positive effect of laser irradiation on velocity and linearity of sperm.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1988

High-affinity 3H-imipramine binding sites: a possible state-dependent marker for major depression.

Ten patients with DSM-III diagnoses of nonbipolar recurrent major depression were studied in an attempt to assess the relationship between 3H-imipramine binding site density and clinical depressive state. They were compared with eight healthy controls who had no past or family history of affective disorders. Evaluations with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Self-Rated Scale for Depression were done on the same day as platelet collection at baseline, and also at 2 and 5 weeks after the beginning of treatment with tricyclic antidepressants. The number (Bmax) and the affinity (Kd) of platelet 3H-imipramine binding sites were highly correlated with the improvement of the clinical depression. These results raise the interesting possibility that a decrease in 3H-imipramine binding sites may be a state-dependent marker in patients suffering from nonbipolar recurrent major depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Immunobiology of male infertility.

Experimental and clinical data reported in the literature emphasize the important role that immune factors may play in the genesis of male infertility even if many problems still remain to be solved. Auto or homo-sensitization in animals (and in male volunteers) can be obtained with testicular homogenate or epididymal spermatozoa and complete Freund's adjuvant. Immune orchitis in spontaneous human pathology has also been reported. Vasectomy for the voluntary control of male fertility may be considered a particular form of experimental autoimmunization; and many vasectomized individuals develop antisperm antibodies in blood serum and/or in seminal plasma. In spontaneous male infertility antisperm antibodies can: (i) be a mere epiphenomenon; (ii) be a factor aggravating a pathologic situation already able to cause infertility; (iii) play a pathogenetic role in some forms of so-called idiopathic infertility and so could be defined as infertility due to antisperm antibodies. If the antisperm autoimmune reaction represents the casual factor of infertility, corticosteroid therapy seems to give the most satisfactory results, administered either in high doses for a very short time period or in low doses over a prolonged period, or even after transient pharmacologically induced azoospermia.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1988

Inhibition of lymphocyte-mediated antibacterial activity by human seminal plasma.

Seminal plasma displays a suppressive function on many immunological responses. In light of recent findings on the antibacterial activity mediated by different lymphocyte subsets, we have assessed the effect of male inhibitory material (MIM) in this system. Results provide evidence that MIM pretreatment of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) leads to a significant inhibition of antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi and S. minnesota R345 (Rb). Both CD4+ and CD8+ cell-mediated activities are reduced by this treatment, while another defense mechanism (bacterial binding to PBL) is unaffected. Taken together, these results indicate a role for MIM in the depression of immune response and suggest that lymphocytes mediating antibacterial activity and bacterial cytoadherence are different entities.

Blood Bactericidal Activity↗
PubMed1988

Antisperm antibodies detection with the immunobead test as viewed by TEM.

The immunobead test (IBT) was used for the detection of antisperm antibodies. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study ultrastructural aspects of this technique. This brief communication aims to present some ultrastructural evidence using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Antibodies↗
PubMed1988

Incidence of genetic factors in the causation of deafness in childhood.

Routine investigations of 1568 children with severe-profound hearing loss, during a 15 years' period, revealed the following classification: Hereditary Deafness 25%, Acquired Deafness 43% (prenatally 11%, perinatally 16%, postnatally 16%), Unknown Deafness 32%. This group of unknown causes is usually large in any surgery of deafness and in many of these children deafness is believed to have a genetic basis. In the light of this premise, we performed more careful genetic and clinical investigation in 268 children coming under observation in the 3 last years. Moreover, we examined a group of 44 asymptomatic parental pairs of these children to determine if any were carriers of genes for deafness. The criteria used for identification were: pure tone audiometry, speech discrimination score, threshold of the acoustic reflex, Lüscher test, loudness discomfort level for 1-2-4 kHz, continuous Bekesy audiometry. Children follow-up enabled us to place 14 cases in the range of hereditary syndromes. Therefore, the group of unknown deafness decreased from 32% to 27%. The audiological investigation, performed on the parental pairs, pointed out an abnormal auditory function in 30.6% of subjects, who for these reasons should be considered as heterozygous carriers.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Exploration of the clinical profile of rubidium chloride in depression: a systematic open trial.

Thirty-one female inpatient depressives underwent a systematic open trial with rubidium chloride, 180 to 720 mg/day. By week 2, at least two-thirds had improved significantly (p less than 0.01) as measured by standard rating instruments such as the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Hamilton Depression Scale. Regression analysis suggested that the retarded endogenous pattern was most predictive of positive response. Treatment-emergent symptomatology, such as diarrhea, polyuria, and excitement, was generally mild and rarely necessitated interruption of the trial. The authors conclude that this salt has shown sufficient clinical promise to warrant more extensive trials under double-blind conditions.

Adult↗