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Biomedical subjects

A Mancini

Publications and source records attributed to A Mancini.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

Bromocriptine in the management of infertile men after surgery of prolactin secreting adenomas.

This study evaluated bromocriptine treatment in nine patients with prolactin secreting adenomas who continued to have elevated circulating levels of prolactin after surgery, and who were interested in improving their sperm counts. These patients were brought into the study 3.2 +/- 1.8 years (mean +/- SD) after surgery. All of them presented with high circulating levels of prolactin, and eight of the patients had oligozoospermia (range 0-10 X 10(6) spermatozoa/ml). LH and testosterone levels were low in seven patients, and eight patients had low FSH values. All patients were treated for 90 days with 7.5 mg/day of bromocriptine. After treatment, prolactin levels decreased significantly in all patients, while sperm counts increased significantly in five of them. Testosterone levels increased in four subjects. Bromocriptine therefore seems useful in the management of this type of patient because of the observed decline in prolactin levels and the increase in sperm counts. Possible mechanisms involved in this action are discussed.

Adenoma↗

Current role of laser and photodynamic therapy in gastrointestinal tumors and analysis of a 10-year experience.

Laser energy can be used for a variety of neoplastic diseases including benign tumors, early stage malignancies, and advanced carcinomas, either with curative intent or for palliation. Nd:YAG laser photocoagulation of 168 colorectal adenomas allowed a complete eradication in 70% of cases, after a mean follow-up of 22 months. Advanced and obstructing tumors were treated with Nd:YAG laser to recanalize the lumen. In the upper gastrointestinal tract the recanalization of the lumen by means of laser photocoagulation improved the quality of life and survival. In fact, in our series of 308 patients treated, 1-year survival was 23% in recanalized patients and 7% in nonrecanalized patients. In the lower gastrointestinal tract, 289 cancer patients were treated and an amelioration of symptoms related to the obstruction was obtained in 93%. The current indication for photodynamic therapy is mainly the treatment of flat or ulcerative early stage tumors in the esophagus and stomach of high risk patients. Out of 17 patients treated, 14 were locally cured.

Aged↗

Endoscopic treatment of gastrointestinal tumors: indications and results of laser photocoagulation and photodynamic therapy.

Both Nd:YAG laser and photodynamic therapy (PDT) have ideal indications in endoscopic treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) tumors. A retrospective analysis of 3,505 Nd:YAG laser treatments in 1,015 patients revealed that recanalization of inoperable tumors can be obtained in 93% and 97% of patients with upper and lower GI neoplasms, respectively. Subjective improvement of symptoms was achieved in 74% and 97%, respectively. The overall morbidity and mortality rates were 3% and 1%, respectively, for upper GI tumors and 3% and 0.5% for lower GI tumors. Colorectal adenomas were eradicated in 84% of cases, with a morbidity and mortality of 5% and 0%, respectively. Early stage esophageal and gastric carcinomas were treated with Nd:YAG laser when lesions had well-defined borders or protruded over the mucosal surface and with PDT (38 PDT cycles in 27 patients) in the case of undefined borders or ulcerated lesions. The cure rate was 73% for esophageal tumors and 85% for gastric tumors. Sunburns after photosensitization and local complications occurred in 7% and 6% of patients, respectively. No death was related to endoscopic treatment.

Adenoma↗

Rhythm characteristics of plasma renin, aldosterone and cortisol in five subtypes of mesor-hypertension.

The possible role of the renin-angiotensin system and ACTH in controlling the temporal organization of circadian rhythm of aldosterone was studied in patients with mesor-hypertension (MH) by simultaneous radioimmunological determinations of within-day changes in plasma renin, aldosterone and cortisol. Thirty-nine uncomplicated, untreated mesor-hypertensive patients, divided in subtypes, were examined. The interrelationship between the rhythm components revealed that the circadian cyclicity of aldosterone in both mesor-normotensive and mesor-hypertensive subjects, with either normal or high renin patterns, has a similar timing in acrophase with renin periodicity, which leads the circadian cortisol rhythm. In low-renin mesorhypertensive subjects a circadian rhythm of aldosterone and cortisol, but not of renin, remains demonstrable. The confidence limits of the estimated acrophase for circadian cortisol rhythm do not, however, overlap the confidence arcs of the aldosterone phase. These findings suggest that in normal or high renin MH subjects the aldosterone rhythmicity is mainly controlled by the renin-angiotensin system. Conversely in low-renin MH subjects the temporal organization of the aldosterone circadian sequences seems to be completely independent of renin-angiotensin control.

Adolescent↗

Percutaneous implantation of a catheter with subcutaneous reservoir for intraarterial regional chemotherapy: technique and preliminary results.

PURPOSE: We present the technique and the preliminary results of percutaneous implantation of intraarterial catheters connected to a subcutaneous infusion reservoir for prolonged regional chemotherapy of hepatic and extrahepatic tumors. METHODS: Two hundred patients with primary or secondary hepatic neoplasms, pelvic, pancreatic, renal, lingual, and breast cancer underwent the procedure. The access was the left axillary artery (188 patients) and the femoral artery (12 patients). The catheter tip was placed in the hepatic (170 patients), hypogastric (18), splenic (4), internal thoracic (2), gastroduodenal (3), renal (2) or the external carotid artery (1). The catheter was connected to a subcutaneous reservoir and filled with heparin; chemotherapeutic infusion was subsequently started. RESULTS: One hundred percent immediate technical success was obtained. Forty-three of 200 (21.5%) patients had a complication: 29 patients had a catheter dislodgment, nine had arterial thrombosis, three had a pseudoaneurysm of the left axillary artery and two had a port pocket hematoma. Most complications (37/43, 86%) were treated percutaneously without interruption of chemotherapy. In only six cases (3% of the total population) was chemotherapy discontinued due to the complication itself. The mean duration of catheter patency was 7.2 months. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous placement of an intraarterial catheter is feasible and causes less discomfort to the patient than the surgical approach. The technique has an acceptable complication rate (21.5%), similar to that for surgical implantation (17.8%), with the advantage that in most cases the complications can be resolved percutaneously. This technique represents an alternative to surgical implantation in the treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer and opens new therapeutic possibilities for the local prolonged treatment of other kinds of tumor, though its clinical efficacy must be assessed in selected trials.

Adult↗

Increased estradiol levels in venous occlusive disorder: a possible functional mechanism of venous leakage.

Venous insufficiency of the corpora cavernosa is the second most common cause of erectile dysfunction (ED). A functional insufficiency of the venous system has been hypothesised, but the cause is still unclear. To evaluate a possible endocrine mechanism, we have studied hormone profile in a group of nine patients with pure venous-leakage (VL) compared with a control group of 15 patients with ED of different origin. Prolactin, testosterone and gonadotropin levels did not differ among the two groups, while estradiol (E2) plasma concentration was significantly higher in VL patients compared to controls. Our data support the hypothesis that the steroid environment, in particular estradiol level, can influence venous vascular tone (via VEGF or NO), thus affecting venous leakage dysfunction. This point can explain a possible link between the high estradiol levels and a functional insufficiency of the venous system in ED.

Adult↗