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Biomedical subjects

A Neri

Publications and source records attributed to A Neri.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Immunoglobulin and T cell receptor beta chain gene rearrangement analysis of ocular adnexal lymphoid neoplasms: clinical and biologic implications.

We investigated the organization of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) and the T cell receptor beta chain (T beta) gene loci in 20 ocular adnexal and four extraocular lymphoid neoplasms obtained from 18 patients presenting with an ocular adnexal lymphoid neoplasm. Fifteen ocular adnexal and four extraocular lymphoid neoplasms occurring in 13 patients were classified by morphological examination and immunophenotypic analysis as monoclonal B cell lymphomas. Each one of these 19 lymphoid neoplasms exhibited clonal IgH gene rearrangements upon hybridization of EcoRI- or HindIII-digested DNA to a heavy-chain joining region (JH)-specific DNA probe. The bilateral ocular adnexal monoclonal B cell neoplasms occurring simultaneously in two individuals exhibited identical clonal IgH gene rearrangements, which indicated their derivation from an identical B cell clone. The ocular adnexal and the extraocular monoclonal B cell neoplasms occurring in two of three patients also exhibited identical clonal IgH gene rearrangements, which suggested that they too were derived from an identical B cell clone. Five ocular adnexal lymphoid neoplasms were classified by morphological examination and immunophenotypic analysis as benign, polyclonal pseudolymphomas. Three of these five ocular adnexal lymphoid neoplasms exhibited clonal IgH gene rearrangements, which suggested the presence of monoclonal B cell populations that escaped detection by morphological and immunophenotypic examination. None of the 24 pathological samples exhibited clonal T beta gene rearrangements upon hybridization of EcoRI- or BamHI-digested DNA to a T beta gene DNA probe. The results of these studies demonstrate the value of Southern blot hybridization analysis for clonal IgH and T beta gene rearrangements in the diagnosis, classification, and investigation of extranodal lymphoid neoplasms originating and/or presenting in the ocular adnexa.

Aged↗

Abdominal splenosis mimicking abdominal carcinomatosis.

Abdominal splenosis is an uncommon condition. Since ovarian abdominal carcinomatosis might be discovered unexpectedly and the finding might be similar to it, the scope of the present paper is to draw attention to such a possibility.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

Lumbar epidural analgesia in hypertensive patients during labour.

Continuous lumbar epidural analgesia (L.E.A.) is considered to be the most effective technique for providing pain relief during labour and delivery. A prospective randomized study of 52 patients with pre-eclamptic toxemia in labour was carried out to investigate various aspects of the use of L.E.A. in view of the considerable disagreement concerning its effect. The results were compared to a control group (n = 52) receiving i.v. infusion of Hydralazine (Apresoline) and MgSO4 according to Zuspan recommendations. The results were evaluated statistically. The incidence of neonatal jaundice was higher in the control group (P less than 0.005). Maternal postpartum complications were similar in both groups. There were fewer forceps deliveries in the control group (P less than 0.05). The decrease in systolic BP after L.E.A. is well documented up to 120 min after the first injection of Marcaine (P less than 0.001-0.025), while after 120 min, by which time the Marcaine effect has finished, the systolic BP rises again (time for topping up). The decrease in the average diastolic BP as compared to the control group is statistically significant (P less than 0.001-0.01) until 180 min after initiation of the L.E.A. After that, the average diastolic BP rises again, unless Marcaine is topped up. Our results favour L.E.A. as the obstetric analgesic method of choice in cases of severe pre-eclampsia.

Anesthesia, Epidural↗

Characterization of the nuclear progesterone receptor in human uterine leiomyoma.

Progesterone binding components were characterized and measured in the 0.4 M KCl nuclear extract of Premarin-primed human leiomyoma (LM) following progesterone injection (n = 5) using [3H]R5020 as the ligand. The receptor character of the binding was demonstrated by: high specificity for progesterone and R5020 binding, high saturable affinity (Kd approximately 2.5 nM) for R5020, sedimentation coefficient in high salt concentration (approximately 3 S), change of distribution of the receptor after progesterone administration, i.e. an increase in the nuclear and decrease in the cytosolic receptor levels. Similar results were demonstrated in the corresponding myometria and endometria. The characteristics of the nuclear progesterone receptor in all three tissues of the test group were similar to those of the cytosolic progesterone receptor in the test group and in the control group (no treatment before operation, n = 5). These results indicate that the nuclear progesterone receptor in human uterine LM shares similar characteristics to those of the myometrium and endometrium.

Cell Nucleus↗

Enterobius (Oxyuris) vermicularis of the pelvic peritoneum--a cause of infertility.

A case of Enterobius (Oxyuris) vermicularis granulomatous disease of the pelvic peritoneum causing pelvic adhesions and infertility is presented and discussed. Since parasitic diseases are common in the developing countries, the infertility team has to bear in mind that a parasitic disease might be the main cause of infertility.

Adult↗

Immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor beta-chain gene rearrangement analysis of Hodgkin's disease: implications for lineage determination and differential diagnosis.

The lineage and clonality of Hodgkin's disease (HD) were investigated by analyzing the organization of the immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor beta-chain (T beta) gene loci in 18 cases of HD, and for comparison, in a panel of 103 cases of B- and T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) and lymphoid leukemias (LLs). Sizable clonal B- or T-cell populations, representing greater than or equal to 10% of the pathologic sample, were readily detectable by immunogenotypic analysis in all 103 NHLs and LLs but not in any of the 18 cases of HD. However, extremely minor clonal populations (less than or equal to 1%) were detectable in 3 of 18 cases of HD. We demonstrated that these minor clonal populations do not correspond to Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells since clonal immunoglobulin or T beta gene rearrangements are not detectable in cases of HD containing greater than 25% RS cells. The number of RS cells present in these samples appeared to correlate directly with the pattern of gene rearrangements characteristic of polyclonal T cells. These studies demonstrate that Southern blot hybridization analysis for clonal immunoglobulin and T beta gene rearrangements represents an accurate, objective tool in the differential diagnosis between HD and NHL; that HD is predominantly composed of polyclonal B and T cells; that minor clonal B- or T-cell populations unrelated to RS cells occasionally can be found in HD; and that RS cells do not represent clonal B- or T-cell expansions. Finally, our data preliminarily suggest that RS cells may represent polyclonal T-cell populations.

Adolescent↗

CD-15 antigen detected by the VIM-D5 monoclonal antibody for prediction of ability to achieve complete remission in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia.

The prognostic value of cell differentiation antigens detected with the monoclonal antibodies of VI series was studied in 242 cases of acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) treated in 7 cooperating centers. A significantly higher complete remission rate was observed in patients with a higher expression of CD-15 antigen detected by VIM-D5 antibody than in those with lower values. These significant differences were proved when comparing subgroups with VIM-D5 positivity of blastic cells less than 15 and much greater than 15% (p less than 0.01) as well as in the subgroups with values less than 50% (median value) and greater than or equal to 50% (p less than 0.02). Our studies suggest the VIM-D5 positivity of ANLL cells to be favourable prognostic factor predicting the ability to achieve complete remission. Further studies are needed to establish whether the expression of the VIM-D5-defined antigen may serve as a prognostic factor related to survival.

Acute Disease↗

Human recombinant interferon alpha-2C enhances the expression of class II HLA antigens on hairy cells.

Isolated splenic hairy cells from three untreated patients were cultured in presence of recombinant human interferon alpha-2C (IFN alpha). Ultrastructural cytochemistry and immunophenotype analysis with a large panel of monoclonal antibodies were performed to study cellular modification induced by IFN alpha. Hairy cells showed a typical pheno-type: Smlg+, B1+, BA1+/-, anti-Tac+, OKDR+, Leu-M5+, HC2+, TRAP+, myeloperoxidase-. Under our experimental conditions, we found no direct cytotoxic effects or significant variations in morphology, cytochemistry, and percentage of reactivity with the tested monoclonal antibodies. After culturing in the presence of different doses of IFN alpha, we observed a significant enhancement of the expression of class II HLA antigens as demonstrated by increased fluorescence for OKDR, OKla, Leu-10 at fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. In agreement with this finding IFN alpha-treated hairy cells showed an increased stimulatory capacity v allogeneic T cells in one-way mixed lymphocyte reaction. To our knowledge this is the first report describing the induction of class II HLA antigens on hairy cells by IFN alpha.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Defective granulocyte chemotaxis and natural killer activity in a patient with recurrent infections.

A 25-year-old male with a history of recurrent infections presented with fever, severe aplastic anaemia, splenomegaly and retroperitoneal node enlargement. Lympho-histiocytic granulomas were found in spleen, liver and lymph nodes. Granulocyte studies revealed normal morphology, severely impaired random migration and complete absence of directed locomotion. Whereas phagocytosis was slightly reduced, candidacidal activity and nitroblue tetrazolium reduction were normal. Basal granulocyte cyclic GMP levels were within the normal range while a 5-fold increase of cyclic AMP levels was observed. Numerous abnormalities were also found in the patient's lymphocytes: lack of delayed hypersensitivity, reduced response to mitogens, low OKT4/OKT8 ratio, absence of natural killer (NK) activity with normal number of cells recognized by NK-specific monoclonal antibodies. These observations describe a distinct clinico-pathologic entity and suggest the possibility of a common defect in granulocytes and in NK cells.

Adult↗

Acute leukemia with lymphoid/myeloid cell populations (hybrid leukemia). Case reports.

Based on conventional and immunological cell markers the great majority of acute leukemias can be classified as of lymphoid or myeloid origin. However, in some instances, leukemic cells with both lymphoid and myeloid features are found. For these cases the term of hybrid leukemia has been suggested; moreover, it has been shown that dual markers can be expressed by the same cell (biphenotypic leukemia) or myeloid and lymphoid cell populations coexist (biclonal leukemia). The accurate typing of acute leukemia is crucial in order to entail treatment and predict survival; therefore, the identification of acute hybrid leukemias may be important not only in terms of biological significance but also of management and outcome. We report here two further cases of acute hybrid leukemia with poor response to chemotherapy and very short survival.

Adult↗

[Urinary infections in patients in the U.S.L. 25 Val di Cornia. Percentage frequency and sensitivity to antibiotics].

In order to estimate the present situation concerning bacterial resistance to a group of widely-used antibiotics, the results of several antibiograms, which were carried out from October 1984 to February 1985 on bacterial stocks isolated from urinary cultures sent to the Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry at the Campiglia Marittima Hospital U.S.L. 25 (Livorno) have been collected. The bacterial species most frequently observed are Gram-negative, namely: Escherichia coli (54%), Proteus (19%), Klebsiella (13%) and Pseudomonas (9%). E. coli turned out to be particularly sensitive to cephotaxim, phosphomicin, nalidixic acid but only slightly to gentamycin. Klebsiella was very sensitive to cephotaxim, gentamycin and amikacin, while Proteus reacted positively against cephotaxim, aztreonam and oxolinic acid. Pseudomonas was resistant to nearly every antibiotic examined, except amikacin and aztreonam. Overall analysis reveals that cephotaxim an aztreonam are the most active on E. coli, Proteus and Klebsiella, while gentamycin is only slightly.

Drug Resistance, Microbial↗

[Leadership in the health services].

The concept of leadership is not centered on strength of conviction or the ability to inspire support from others. Authority requires obedience, which is unlikely to bring about substantive changes. There are three classical types of leadership: bureaucratic (which depends on the size of one's share of power within an institution), prestige (which depends on one's technical expertise and standing in one's profession), and political (which depends on the extent of one's power in society at large). Prestige leadership pertains to an occupation and applies particularly to the health professions, especially the medical profession. Change is conditioned by factors internal to the health field (such as technological innovations and dissatisfaction with remunerations and social standing in some occupations) and by elements in the social context. These elements include historical situations favorable to change (crises) and forces for preservation of the status quo.

Health Planning↗