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Biomedical subjects

A Paci

Publications and source records attributed to A Paci.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Inhibition of rat Na+/K+-ATPase isoforms by endogenous digitalis extracts from neonatal human plasma.

An unique endogenous digitalis-like factor (EDLF) has been previously purified from human newborn cord plasma and its differential effects tested on the three well defined functional isoforms (alpha1, alpha2 and alpha3) of the alpha subunits of Na+/K+-ATPase in rat. EDLF specifically inhibits the enzymatic activity. It differs from ouabain by three criteria: a preincubation with the membranes is required for full activity, no effect on the rat cerebral alpha3 isoform and a steep dose-response curve with the same apparent potency for rat alpha2 and alpha1 isoforms of high (10(-7) M) and low affinity (3 x 10(-5) M) for ouabain. These results indicate that the Na+/K+-ATPase inhibitor involved in the regulation of sodium and body fluid volume and present in neonate and adult human plasmas is distinct from ouabain.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Occult child abuse (opinions, considerations, personal observations)].

At the beginning of the statement the authors point out some lesser aspects of child's ill-treatment (previously suggested by them in other occasions) as expressions of very strict educational systems which strongly limit childrens' freedom or impose them several extrascholastic activities (such as: athletics, music with participation in competitive examination, studies of foreign languages, Latin and so on) where the child must excel in (composex of the "leader-child"). Then these authors suggest using the term "abuse" to mean lexically every excessive, undue, arbitrary use and not only "sexual". They point out the seriousness of abuse as far as juvenile exploitation is concerned both in case of manual labour and prostitution. But the pay particularly attention to the problem of sport when it is gone in for too intensively (as athletics). These authors infact sum up the harms that sport can cause when it is gone in for during the age under the stabilized puberty. Physical harms may occur especially during the practice of risky sports such as: Alpine skiing, cycling on the road, swimming combined with diving, fencing, boxing) and during tiring condition, while psychic harms can entail a fall in scholastic performances, irritability, insomnia, anxiety. The authors depreciate the behaviour of those parents who stimulate their children' aggressiveness during competitions and scold them when their performances are insufficient, or give them forbidden stimulants of hormonal anabolic drugs instead of taking care of their children in order to keep away from the arms mentioned above. However, after all these observations and considerations about competitive sports in juvenile age, these authors can firmly state that all this could be meant as an important aspects of the juvenile exploitation that must be taken in great consideration.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Food contamination: a problem of pediatric interest].

The application of technology in the production, processing, preservation and transport of food has led to a well known consequence: the presence in the foods of undesirable substances and chemicals, that is to say "the contaminants of feeding". In this study the authors report the main groups of contaminants as the mycotoxins, nitrates, pesticides, methylmercury, lead, cadmium etc., relating for everyone of them the harmful effects for the health of human being, of which they have come to know mostly for some episodes of acute poisoning occurred in several countries in the world. They relate also the hypothetical effects of a chronic exposure to low levels of contamination, mostly if the fetuses and infants come to be exposed to these contaminants for the peculiar embryo genetic and evolutive situation that characterizes them.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[IgA deficiency in pediatrics].

To evaluate the IgA deficiency we have considered 368 children, admitted to "Day hospital" for different pathologies: 64 of them had serum IgA levels lower than the normal values for their age according to Ellis and Robbin. The age of the children with this deficiency was included from 4 months up to 8 years: 39 were boys, 25 were girls. In 54 cases the IgA deficiency was "partial" that is: the IgA value found out was lower than the normal for the age, but higher than 5 mg%. In 10 cases the IgA deficiency was "severe" (the IgA value was lower than 5 mg%). Six cases, among the 29 ones with intestinal diseases, had a severe deficiency, whereas among the 22 cases with respiratory diseases 3 had a "severe" deficiency. The 2 patients with urinary disease had a partial deficiency; only one case of the remaining 11 with different pathologies had a "severe" deficiency. Among the carriers of serum IgA deficiency an high incidence of chronic pathology has been found out (83%). Nevertheless the percentage of IgA deficiency extrapolated from the all case histories doesn't differ very much (64 cases among 368 = 17.39%) considering only those patients with chronic relapsing pathology (53 cases among 275 = 18.2%). Therefore it seems that the IgA deficiency could be considered a chronicizing factor in the examinated pathology even if in few cases. Anyway the frequency of IgA deficiency has reached major values (29/54; 45.3%) in the patients with enteric diseases. The frequency of IgA deficiency is smaller but still important in those patients with respiratory diseases (22/64: 34.3%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Short near-fainting in children with or without loss of conscience].

Short near-faints with or without loss of consciousness have different etiologies and pathogenesis and, according to these, they recur with various frequency. This subject was reported on several publications and here is again examined with the contribute of personal experience and the description of distinct cases. The following causes were examined: vagal hypertonia, digestive troubles (gastroesophageal reflux), metabolic troubles (cyclic ketosis, hypoglycemia and hypocalcemia with peculiar clinic manifestations). Among the neurological causes were examined: epilepsy, benign paroxysmal vertigos and, particularly, the so called breath-holding spells and the migraine, about that were reported a few examples of "migraine accompagnée". Among the cardiovascular causes (ischaemic cerebral crisis), -particular attention was dedicated to orthostatic hypotension syncope. A short hint about hysteria ends the exposition of psychical causes of short near-faints.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radioreceptor assay for the measurement of endogenous digitalis-like factors using membrane particulate fraction of human placenta and 125I-digoxin: comparison with RIA method.

We measured purified extracts of serum (plasma) or urine samples of newborns, pregnant women, normal adults, and uremic patients by a radioreceptor assay (RRA), which uses particulate membrane fractions from human placenta as a binding system, and 125I-digoxin as a tracer. We also measured the digoxin-like immunoreactivity by a sensitive RIA, and results were compared with those found by the RRA. Specific 125I-digoxin binding to placental receptors was competitively inhibited by purified plasma and/or urine extracts of newborns, adult subjects, pregnant women and uremic patients. A linear relationship was found between inhibition of binding and volume of plasma and urine assayed. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between the values obtained by RRA and those found by RIA (n = 17, r = 0.699, p = 0.0012). Our data confirm that increased circulating and/or urinary levels of substances with biological and immunological activity similar to cardiac glycoside drugs are present in newborns, pregnant women and uremic patients compared to healthy adult subjects. In addition, our preliminary study indicates that these endogenous factors are able to bind to the specific receptor of digitalis drugs on the placental membranes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Therapy of atopic dermatitis in children. Study on the use of a desensitizing preparation].

Children with Atopic Dermatitis have been treated with Histaglobin (gamma globulin + histamine) applied by hypodermic injections. The patients (42) were divided into three groups: the first one (ten cases) aged between 9 and 5 years; the second one (eight cases) between 5 and 2 years and the third one (twenty four cases) aged less than two years. The trial has been carried out in two phases: the first one consisted of nine injections with increasing doses ranging from 1/3 to 1 ampoule with 4-6 day intervals; the second one, "the maintenance period", was made by nine injections of 1 ampoule with increasing intervals from two up to four weeks. The following four parameters were checked along all the therapy period: prurigo, erythema, exudation, scratching lesions. All the listed symptoms have been observed to decrease of intensity mainly during the first phase, until the complete disappearance of some of them; the residual symptoms continued to have a further improvement during the second phase; in most case disappeared completely. Absolutely no troubles of any kind have been noticed. Consequently the Authors consider the desensitization therapy by Histaglobin on the whole satisfying.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Demonstration of beta 1-adrenergic receptors in human placenta by (-)[125I]iodocyanopindolol binding.

The highly specific beta-adrenergic radioligand (-)[125I]iodocyanopindolol (ICYP) was used to characterize the beta-adrenergic receptor subtype present in human placenta. Binding of ICYP to membranes from human placenta was saturable with time and ligand concentration, of high affinity, and demonstrated appropriate stereoselectivity and agonist rank order of potency for binding to a beta-adrenergic receptor. From saturation binding curves, the KD and Bmax values for ICYP binding were 233 +/- 51 pM and 690 +/- 139 fmol/mg of proteins, respectively. Analysis of inhibition of ICYP binding by beta 1- and beta 2-selective adrenergic antagonists via Hofstee analysis resulted in linear plots, indicating the existence of a homogeneous population of beta-adrenergic receptors. From the resulting KI-values for the beta 1-selective drugs practolol (4.0 +/- 0.9 microM) and metoprolol (0.19 +/- 0.07 microM) and for the beta 2-selective drug ICI 118,551 (0.30 +/- 0.06 microM) it is concluded that the beta-adrenergic receptor in human placenta is of the beta 1-subtype. This is further supported by the fact that (-)-noradrenaline and (-)-adrenaline were equipotent in inhibiting ICYP binding.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Nutrition errors in children].

Errors in the childhood feeding administration are commonly met, particularly during the first and second year of life, according to the poor or vague knowledge among paediatricians. A first proof of this assumption is given when, as a consequence of digestive disturbance, caused by a wrong nourishment, the paediatrician suggests remedies that, substantially, make the same primitive mistakes. A second proof is given when a particular diet, due to the presence of intestinal disturbance and already seen to be inefficacious, is reproposed, even more than once, with industrial aliments which differ from the ones used in the name and the brand but not in the composition. Finally, another proof is given when in the exclusion therapy due to an intolerance towards gluten, towards cow's milk, towards disaccharides, the paediatrician inserts, in the diet, products containing, respectively, the above mentioned components. These and other mistakes are reported in the present casuistry (121 cases), the majority of which (75 cases) is accompanied by specific examples. Between the cases that mostly stand out we find the so called "precocious weaning" as cause of digestive disturbance and, frequently, as initial moment of a chain of errors responsible, in their turn for the protraction and the chronicization of the aforementioned intestinal pathology.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The pediatrician faced with the child with a valvular prosthesis].

Among the acquired or congenital valvular dysfunctions that require conservative valvuloplastic surgical intervention or valvular replacement, the rheumatic valve disease is reported in a limited number of cases among the developed countries, while it is frequent in those with precarious socio-economic conditions. In these countries there are many cases of rheumatic valve diseases during childhood, quickly leading to serious health conditions to require valve replacement during second and third childhood. On the contrary, in the more developed countries, congenital valvular disease prevail by far. The child who underwent valve replacement, once dismissed from cardio-surgical centre, must be nursed domiciliary by his family pediatrician. This assistance consists in a strict supervision for a precocious identification of valvular prosthesis dysfunctions and possible embolic and hemorrhagic complications and in supplying anticoagulant therapy. For this purpose it is important to refer to a well equipped cardiological centre. Besides these fundamental tasks there are others - equally important - directed to preserve health: curing each pathological extracardiac event, intercurrent or recurrent; preventing, with or without compulsory vaccinations, infectious childhood's diseases; preventing especially bacterial endocarditis as the most frequent cause of prosthesis pathology. This work pays particular attention to bacterial endocarditis (prophylaxis and cure). Thromboembolism and anticoagulant therapy (with the list of coumarin drug interventions) have also been dealt. Moreover we have reported brief indications on the prevention and/or cure of diseases for which vaccination is not compulsory, such as: measles, chicken-pox, whooping-cough, typhus, influenza. Our script ends with good suggestions on nourishment and physical activity.

Aftercare↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Herpesvirus simplex disease in the newborn infant. Clinical aspects, diagnosis, prophylaxis, therapy].

Herpes Simplex virus infection (Particularly by HVS2) is one of the most important disease transmitted by mother to newborn because of the seriousness of symptoms and the high incidence of genital infection of pregnants. Transmission of congenital HVS infection occurs usually by contact with infected genital secretions during the birth process, but there is evidence that transplacenter transmission also may occur. Emphasis must be placed then on prophylaxis of genital infection of pregnants and of their partners. Specific Immunoglobulins with high antibody titre are recommended for prophylaxis. An anti HVS2 vaccine without oncogen property os still at experimental stage. This prophylaxis is inadequate for the newborn of infected mother: this one must be treated with newer antiviral agents (Acyclovir), even is absence of herpetic lesion and other symptoms.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Anorexia in the first year of life. Case contribution].

The anorexia is a frequent cause for paediatric consultation, especially during the first year of life, during which often it is not due to illness or to some organic cause. Particularly interesting from the etiopathogenetic and most of all from the curative point of view are the protracted anorexias in which the relationships mother-child-surroundings appear disturbed. Generally, the loss or the simple reduction of the appetite could heal, all the same and also in a short while if the mother would accept willingly the new situation, trusting in a spontaneous resolution. On the contrary she usually forces the infant to take the meal even if incompletely, meeting at each new attempt, the infant's resistance initially passive and then more and more active and efficacious. Thus an "anorexia for opposition" is established by the conflict between mother and child that the mother stirfs up to then end looser if not even victim. An exemplar in this connection is given by the anorexias of the 16 personal cases extracted from a larger casuistry: infant of age between 40 days and 12 months in the most part of which the anorexia was arisen from different causes (illness from slight infections, the replacement of the human milk with the adapted milk, the weaning, copious rations); in some infants the loss of appetite was without an apparent cause. The anorexia became worse after the mother's reiterated attempts to force the infant to have a meal. During the hospitalization the mother was detained with the son; the giving of the meals was in a first time done by the paramedical personnel with the mother present an then by the mother only. In 14 infants the cyproheptadine was given. Only in a few cases the mothers were treated with anxiolytic. All the cases have been resolve positively.

Anorexia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Ankylosing spondylitis with childhood onset. Description of a clinical case].

The terms "spondyloarthropathy" and "spondyloarthritis" have been recently introduced to indicate a group of syndromes associated in clinical and genetical peculiarities. The "ankylosing spondylitis with childhood onset", that is usually considered very rare, is, as a matter of fact, a disease difficult to diagnose because of the partial overlap with the "pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis type II" for clinical and laboratory data. The Authors, after a recapitulation of the "pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis type II" and of the "ankylosing spondylitis with childhood onset" diagnosis definition elements, propose a description of a clinical case that came to their observation. The clinical picture described, even though it presented some clinical peculiarities (particularly a primitive affection of the lumbosacral spine), some radiographic peculiarities (the precocious demineralization of the affected segments) and laboratory characteristics (positive F.A.N. to diffuse pattern) seemed a form of "ankylosing spondylitis with childhood onset", apparently primitive.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Headache in childhood with special reference to migraine. Discussion of a personal case material of 94 subjects].

After having characterized epidemiologically, etiopathogenetically diagnostically, prognostically and psychologically the childhood headache, the A.A. refer data relative to 94 children of age in between 6 and 16 years, of which 51 females and 43 males, suffering for migraine (diagnosed by Bille's criteria). The ratio between migraine and sex, age, relationships, clinical symptomatology, onset time, crisis appearance frequency and causing factors have been studied. The relations between migraine and spasmophilia have been treated with particular remark in our casuistry, since similar studies don't appear in the literature. The work ends with some informations about migraine's common therapy, our particular one and the results that we obtained.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Sinusitis in children. Personal case study].

The presence of sinusitis has been found out 85 times out of 278 cases of acute relapsing respiratory diseases in children between 4 and 12 years of age. The maxilla sinuses have been those most frequently stricken; the frontal sinuses come next and last at a distance the sphenoidal sinus. A close relationship between the entity of basic respiratory pathology and the presence and seriousness of the sinusitis has been observed. There also seems to be a rather close relationship between the frequency of the presence of sinusitis in children with respiratory pathology either relapsing or chronic and climatic environmental situation. A damp climate with persistent fog together with industrial atmospheric pollution seems to favour the considered pathology in an undisputed way.

Aerosols↗