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Biomedical subjects

A Pisani

Publications and source records attributed to A Pisani.

158 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[A clinical case of a giant lymphocele (LC) in a patient with a recent renal transplant is described].

BACKGROUND: The lymphocele (LC) described was associated with a sharp increase in plasma creatinine values, in the absence of any clinical symptoms. A open laparotomy procedure determined the resolution of the LC and the slow recovery of renal function. The huge dimensions of the LC (volume >3000 cc) and its pelvic localization, which dislocated both the bladder and the transplanted kidney, make this case unique, since the LC mimicked a particularly dilated bladder. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss how therapies, rejection episodes, follow-up modalities, and surgical procedures may influence the onset of this frequent complication of renal transplantation.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sarcoglycan and integrin localization in normal human skeletal muscle: a confocal laser scanning microscope study.

Many studies have been performed on the sarcoglycan sub-complex and a7B and b1D integrins, but their distribution and localization patterns along the non-junctional sarcolemma are still not clear. We have carried out an indirect immunofluorescence study on surgical biopsies of normal human skeletal muscle, performing double localization reactions with antibodies to sarcoglycans, integrins and sarcomeric actin. Our results indicate that the tested proteins colocalize with each other. In a few cases, a-sarcoglycan does not colocalize with the other sarcoglycans and integrins. We also demonstrated, by employing antibodies to all the tested proteins, that these proteins can be localized to regions of the sarcolemma corresponding either to the I-band or A-band. Our results seem to confirm the hypothesis of a correlation between the region of the sarcolemma occupied by costameric proteins and the metabolic type (fast or slow) of muscle fibers. On this basis, we suggest that slow fibers are characterized by localization of costameric proteins to I-bands, while fast fibers are characterized by localization of costameric proteins to A-bands. The results open a new line of research in understanding interactions between the components of the DGC and vinculin-talin-integrin complexes in the context of different fiber types. Moreover, the same results may be extended to skeletal muscle fibers affected by neuromuscular diseases to detect possible structural alterations.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Fabry nephropathy in a female with superposed IgA glomerulonephritis].

BACKGROUND: In Anderson-Fabry disease (AFd), the kidney is affected in all hemizygous males and in some heterozygous females. Female carriers can present subtle renal abnormalities due to glycosphingolipid (GSL) accumulation within renal cells. Renal biopsy is rarely performed in female Fabry patients because clinical renal manifestations are usually lacking. However, female carriers can accumulate GSL in their renal cells despite the absence of clinically evident kidney disease. CASE REPORT: We performed a kidney biopsy in a 52-year-old female patient, a Fabry disease carrier. The patient showed normal glomerular filtration rate, persistent microhematuria and proteinuria (about 1.7 g/24 hr), cornea "verticillata", and evident left ventricular hypertrophy. The molecular study documented a missense mutation R227Q in exon 5 of the alpha-galactosidase A gene. Optical microscopy showed electron-dense mesangial deposits due IgA glomerulonephritis, as confirmed by immunofluorescence. We decided to start therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I). After 8 months of treatment, the patient demonstrated proteinuria of 0.9 g/24 hr. To decide when to start treatment using enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with human recombinant GAL A (Fabrazyme), we decided to perform an electron microscopy study of the renal biopsy. The renal ultrastructural findings were typical GSL inclusions in all kinds of glomerular cells, in tubular epithelial cells and in endothelial cells of interstitial capillaries, confirming the hypothesis of Fabry nephropathy. Consequently, Fabrazyme was given at a standard dose of 1 mg/kg every 2 weeks. After 24 months of combined treatment (ACE-I-Fabrazyme), proteinuria decreased to 0.2 g/24 hr. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of performing the ultrastructural examination of the kidney biopsy is stressed, especially in heterozygous Fabry patients to evaluate the need to treat them with ERT and to evaluate the degree of renal involvement.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Fine tuning of the many regulations of quality system: the role of the quality in the thermal medicine].

In the last decades, quality has imposed itself as a competitive need for firms, and also as a new normative parameter to guarantee the production process and the final product which the costumer buys. In the case of health services, the importance of quality is even greater because of the special value of this service, and the special relationship between the supplier and the costumer/patient. This relationship is often mediated by the State which has to provide the health services and the financial support for them. Thus, also in the case of Thermal Medicine, quality and its certification play a key role for the evaluation of the efficiency of the health service, and tend always more to be part of the health service accreditation process. In this article, we review the development of the idea of quality of service from the ancient Egyptian until the 20th century and we briefly recall the main European and Italian norms. We also examine the norms for the accreditation of the thermal health structures, and we review the main indicators of quality in Thermal Medicine, and the role of scientific research. Finally, we indicate that the cost of the lack of quality can be so prohibitive that the firms which do not follow the new standards, are put out of the market.

Balneology↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Use of synthetic resin cases for the scanning electron microscopic study of the kidney tubule system].

Aim of our present work was to investigate a new method to study the three-dimensional arrangement, the length and the diameter of the different parts of the renal tubules. The ureter was cannulated after blocking the urinary flow with a binding of the ureter itself at its intermediate third, and injected in it against flow a synthetic resin (Mercox) normally used for vascular corrosion casts. It was demonstrated that the binding maintained only for 24 hours is adequate for morphological studies of the urinary tracts from papillar ducts until the Henle's loop. On the contrary the binding maintained for 7 days induced marked changes in the tubular architecture similar to the first anatomo-pathological changes of the nephrosclerosis following a chronic obstructive nephropathy.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The approach to Achilles tendinopathies in athletes. Echographic aspects].

The recent great diffusion of sports has significantly increased the traumatic pathology of Achilles tendon. Owing to the importance of a correct diagnosis and prognosis and of an adequate therapy (especially for professionals), a clinical and radiological study has been performed. Echotomography has been associated with xeroradiography in 185 athletes with painful symptoms; among these 79 were normal while 106 showed various types of tendinopathies. The main results can be summarized; peritendinitis: non uniform thickening; hyperechogenicity of Kager's triangle; insertional tendinopathies: thickening; calcifications; tendinosis: thickening; degeneration nodules; tendinous ruptures: rough contours of the rupture; degeneration nodules. The good echotomographic results allowed a correct diagnosis in about 85% of the 39 surgically treated patients.

Achilles Tendon↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Atrophy of the soleus muscle in the albino rat induced by immobilization.

The morphological changes in the soleus muscle, immobilized by means of a plaster cast applied to the posterior limb of albino rats was studied. The animals were sacrificed 20 and 30 days after immobilization. The Authors agree with the hypothesis put forth by Lazarides regarding the cytoskeleton model of striated muscle fiber: morphological changes of the sarcomeres and myofilaments are brought on by translateral and longitudinal bridge damage.

Animals↗