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Biomedical subjects

A Papa

Publications and source records attributed to A Papa.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Effect of moderate and heavy alcohol consumption on intestinal transit time.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol abusers frequently have gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. In the genesis of these symptoms multiple mechanisms are involved, including alteration of gastrointestinal motility. The aim of our study was to investigate oro-cecal transit time (OCTT) using the H2-breath test (H2-BT) in moderate and heavy drinkers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 40 chronic drinkers: 20 with heavy alcohol consumption (> or = 60 g/day for men and > or = 40 g/day for women) and 20 with moderate alcohol intake (< 60 g/day for men and < 40 g/day for women). The control group consisted of 20 teetotal subjects. All subjects underwent a lactulose H2-BT to assess OCTT. RESULTS: OCTT in heavy alcohol drinkers ranged from 100 to 240 min, with a mean of 149.5 min, while OCTT in moderate drinkers ranged from 70 to 140 min, with a mean of 109 min. In the control group the mean OCTT was 100 mins, ranging from 70 to 130 min. The difference between alcohol abusers and controls was statistically significant; on the contrary, there was no statistically significant difference between moderate alcohol drinkers and teetotallers. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that only in chronic heavy alcohol drinkers is OCTT clearly increased. Multiple mechanisms are hypothesized to explain motility disorder, such as visceral autonomic neuropathy, inflammation and loss of contractile proteins of smooth muscle layer of the small intestine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

The occurrence of Listeria spp. and Salmonella spp. in surface waters.

Listeria ssp., mainly Listeria monocytogenes as well as Salmonella spp. are recognized as significant human pathogens. The purpose of this study was to examine the occurrence of Listeria spp. and Salmonella spp. in surface waters of Northern Greece and to investigate the correlation of these pathogens with the standard indicator bacteria. A total number of 128 water samples from four rivers and one lake were examined for the presence of Listeria, Salmonella, total coliforms, faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci. For isolating Listeria, 250 ml of water were filtered through 0.45 microns pore size membrane, that was transferred in 10 ml listeria enrichment broth and after incubation for 24 h at 30 degrees C, a second enrichment in FDA and Fraser broths was followed. After 24 hour incubation, an amount of 0.1 ml was streaked out onto listeria selective medium. The typical colonies were further biochemically and serologically examined. Salmonella spp. were isolated after preenrichment in BPW, enrichment in Rappaport-Vassiliadis and selenite cysteine broths and identified from BGD and SS agar plates by biochemistry and serology. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from five (3.9%) and Salmonella spp. from eight (6.2%) samples. Mean log values of the standard indicator bacteria did not significantly differ between listeria and salmonella positive and negative samples.

Colony Count, Microbial↗
PubMed1997

The growth of primary low-grade B-cell gastric lymphoma is sustained by Helicobacter pylori.

BACKGROUND: The growth of primary low-grade B-cell gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is an antigen-dependent process CASE: We were able to document the influence of Helicobacter pylori on the natural history of primary low-grade B-cell gastric MALT lymphoma in a case investigated by means of polymerase chain reaction for IgH rearrangement. In this case the presence or absence of the bacterium appeared to affect both clinical manifestations and histologic features of the neoplasia, with an acceleration or a slowing down of the neoplastic expansion, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We identified H. pylori as an antigenic stimulus that supports the growth of MALT-type lymphoma. This finding enables us to make some considerations about the management of the disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue in autoimmune thyroid diseases.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence for a link between Helicobacter pylori infection and the development of lymphoid follicles in the gastric mucosa. It is not known whether other factors may also play a role. The aim of this study was to investigate the role played by the host with peculiar immunogenic disorders, in the presence or absence of a known antigenic stimulus such as H. pylori. For this, we studied patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases. METHODS: Thirty patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases and 30 dyspeptic patients without a history of thyroid disorders (as control group) underwent upper endoscopy. Lymphoid follicles and H. pylori status were assessed by histopathologic and enzymatic analysis. RESULTS: Organized mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue was found in 73.3% of the patients and in 33.3% of control group. Lymphoid follicles were found in 87.5% of the H. pylori-positive patients and in 57.1% of the H. pylori-negative patients (P = NS). In the control group these follicles were present in 50% of H. pylori-positive subjects and in 14.3% of those who were H. pylori-negative. CONCLUSIONS: lYMPHOID follicles in the gastric mucosa are common in autoimmune thyroid diseases. Besides H. pylori infection, other factors (environmental, unknown infectious agents) or mechanisms related to the underlying disease may play a causal role.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Intestinal permeability].

Intestinal mucosa has an absorptive function and acts also as a selective barrier against potential antigenic, toxic and carcinogenic substances. Intestinal permeability can be defined as the capacity of mucosal surface to be penetrate by specific substances through unmediated diffusion. There are two theories about molecular permeation routes: the first one hypothesizes a transcellular (through small pores), a paracellular (through big channels) and a lipophilic pathways; the second one gives a key role only to paracellular tight-junctions. In many diseases we can find changes in intestinal permeability evaluable by simple and non invasive tests, administering "per os" probe molecules. These substances cross the epithelium in different way and amount according to their physicochemical features and mucosal integrity; then they reach circulation and are eliminated in urines where they can be detected. The most frequently molecules used are mono/disaccharides, 51Cr-labelled ethylenediaminetetraacetate (51Cr-EDTA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). This simple method has become more and more used for diagnostic and speculative aims. These intestinal permeability tests have a low specificity so they cannot be used for a definitive diagnosis of intestinal disease; nevertheless, the high sensitivity for intestinal mucosal damage could make them a necessary method to evaluate mucosal integrity after therapy, to select patients with a specific symptoms and to support, particularly in pediatric populations, more specific and invasive diagnostic tests.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

[The modes of transmission of Helicobacter pylori infection].

Helicobacter pylori plays an essential role in the development of several both acid-related and neoplastic gastroduodenal pathologies. There are still uncertainties about the transmission routes and the sources of H. pylori infection. Man is the only well established "reservoir" of H. pylori, while the role of other mammalians (cat, pig, primates), as sources of infection, is still controversy. Literature data suggest four different modalities of transmission of the infection: faeco-oral, oro-oral, gastro-oral, gastro-gastric. By faeco-oral route, the bacterium, excreted with faeces, might colonize water sources, becoming so available to be transmitted to man and other mammalians. By oro-oral route, H. pylori, which colonizes dental plaque and saliva, may be transmitted by saliva to other individuals. The gastro-oral route is the typical modality of transmission in the childhood, when H. pylori uses the mucous achlorhydric vomitus of the children to infect a new host. Finally, by gastro-gastric route the bacterium might be transmitted by endoscopic procedures. In conclusion, we believe the different modalities of transmission may be contemporaneously involved, since none per se is able to explain the widespread occurrence of H. pylori infection.

Disease Susceptibility↗
PubMed1997

Long-term follow-up of disappearance of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue after anti-Helicobacter pylori therapy.

OBJECTIVES: Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) can develop in gastric mucosa after Helicobacter pylori infection, but not all H. pylori-positive patients develop acquired MALT, probably because of different levels of individual susceptibility against H. pylori-antigens. Our aim was to conduct long-term follow-up in MALT-positive and MALT-negative patients after H. pylori had been eradicated to determine what happens after H. pylori reinfection. METHODS: We studied 30 H. pylori-positive patients, 15 MALT-positive patients (group A), and 15 MALT-negative patients (group B). After the eradication of H. pylori and disappearance of acquired MALT in group A, follow-up was conducted by repeated endoscopic biopsies every 4-6 months for a mean period of 30.6 months (31.6 months for group A, 29.4 for group B). RESULTS: During follow-up, three group A patients were reinfected by H. pylori, and MALT recurred. Moreover, in each patient, it was the same grade of acquired MALT that had previously been diagnosed (grade 2 in two patients and grade 3 in one). A second course of anti-H. pylori treatment resulted both in eradication of H. pylori and the disappearance of MALT. Conversely, none of the group B patients with H. pylori reinfection developed MALT. However, in those patients, too, a second course of treatment eradicated the H. pylori. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that acquired MALT appears after reinfection with H. pylori only in patients who previously had that condition. Moreover, the grade of acquired MALT that reappears is the same as previously diagnosed. These findings demonstrate that not only H. pylori infection but also individual susceptibility may be important in determining both the presence of acquired MALT and its grade. However, strict follow-up is not advisable in MALT-positive patients, because no patient developed MALT-lymphoma during follow-up.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Regression of a primary gastric MALT lymphoma with extensive antrum lesions by Helicobacter pylori eradication.

Some studies have suggested that low-grade MALT lymphoma may regress after eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection. This case report describes a Helicobacter pylori-positive patient with very extensive ulcerated polypoid lesions involving gastric antrum and prepyloric region, diagnosed by histology, pathological analysis and staging procedures as low-grade MALT lymphoma of EI1 stage. The patient received eradication therapy with a one-week course of omeprazole plus amoxicillin plus clarithromycin and was seen at follow-up after 3, 6 and 15 months. At follow-up, Helicobacter pylori eradication appeared to be in resolution of the macroscopic and histological features of the lymphoma, as confirmed by endoscopic, histological and molecular findings. Until now, only a few cases with a large gastric MALT lymphoma has successful treatment of Helicobacter pylori resulted in regression. Although additional follow-up is needed, it would appear that Helicobacter pylori infection cure may be effective also for large low-grade stage EI1 MALT lymphoma.

Aged↗