Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Testa

Publications and source records attributed to A Testa.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Importance of the type of soil for the induction of micronuclei and the growth of primary roots of Vicia faba treated with the herbicides atrazine, glyphosate and maleic hydrazide.

Research was carried out on the genotoxic effects (induction of micronucleated cells in primary root tips) and toxic effects (reduction in primary root growth) in young plants of Vicia faba grown in soils with different organic matter contents and treated with the herbicides atrazine, glyphosate and maleic hydrazide. The data obtained show that the genotoxic effects are noticeably influenced by the interactions between the herbicide and the type of soil in which the Vicia faba have grown. While maleic hydrazide proved to be highly clastogenic for young plants grown in both soils, atrazine was genotoxic only in young plants grown in soil poor in organic matter. Glyphosate did not induce micronuclei under either soil condition, but induced a significant toxic effect.

Atrazine↗
PubMed1992

Kenny-Caffey syndrome in two sibs born to consanguineous parents: evidence for an autosomal recessive variant.

We report on 2 sibs with manifestations of the Kenny-Caffey syndrome born to normal, consanguineous parents. Clinical manifestations included dwarfism, internal cortical thickening and medullary stenosis of tubular bones, poorly ossified skull bones, and hypocalcemia. The younger of the two died during a tonic convulsion. The older had neonatal hypoparathyroidism and is now a short intelligent, 1-year-old child. This family gives new support to the existence of an autosomal recessive variant of the syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1992

Weekly 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid plus escalating doses of cisplatin with glutathione protection in patients with advanced head and neck cancer.

Twenty-two patients with advanced head and neck carcinoma were treated with 5FU 400 mg-2 m-1 week and folinic acid 500 mg m-2 week-1 plus CDDP in escalating doses from 20 to 40 mg m-2 week-1 without forced diuresis. Reduced glutathione at the dose of 1.5 g m-2 was employed to protect patients from CDDP-related nephrotoxicity. The aims of the study were: a) to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of this schedule, and b) to evaluate reduced glutathione as uroprotector. Out of 20 evaluable patients 14 (70%) had a major objective response. A CR with a mean duration of 9.0+ months was achieved in 15% of the patients, a PR of 5.8+ months in 55% of the patients, while 3 patients had stable disease and 4 progressed. It was possible to escalate CDDP up to 35 mg m-2 week-1, but at the dose of CDDP 40 mg m-2 week-1 the occurrence of grade 2 renal toxicity provoked a severe reduction of dose-intensity. Overall, this treatment has been very well tolerated by most patients with few cases of grade 3 gastrointestinal or hematological toxicity. In conclusion, the schedule seems effective and may be safely given to patients with advanced head and neck cancer on outpatient basis. Reduced glutathione seems to be able to reduce, at least partially, CDDP-related nephrotoxicity permitting the delivery of higher CDDP doses.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Hydroxyurea modulates 5-fluorouracil antineoplastic activity in advanced head and neck carcinoma pretreated with chemotherapy.

After informed consent 21 patients with advanced head and neck cancer resistant to folinic acid/5-fluorouracil (FA/5FU + cisplatin) were treated with weekly FA/5FU plus low dose hydroxyurea (HU) to evaluate if HU could further modulate 5FU antineoplastic activity. Five patients achieved a partial response (23.8%) which was short-lived (mean duration 6.5 months). Three patients (14%) had stable disease and 13 (62%) progressed. Among responders, four patients had epidermoidal carcinoma and one had clear cell carcinoma. Treatment was well tolerated and 5FU-related toxicity was not apparently worsened by the addition of HU. The most frequent toxicities were nausea/vomiting (81%), diarrhea (52%) and leukopenia (57%). Grade 3 nausea/vomiting and leukopenia were recorded in only 19 and 9% of cases, respectively. One patient had grade 1 cutaneous toxicity and a second patient showed a hand-foot syndrome. These results suggest that HU may further positively modulate 5FU antineoplastic activity.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

HLA haplotypes and susceptibility to Graves' disease.

Graves' disease is a polygenic disease in which the HLA cluster could play a role. The purpose of our study is to identify HLA haplotypes in a family with closely related susceptibility to Graves' disease and foresee the risk of disease in the youngest daughter. The family studied had included the father (47 years), mother (46 years) and 3 daughters (18, 17 and 13 years). The mother and 2 eldest daughters were affected by Graves' disease. HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR and -DQ were performed with standard microlymphotoxicity techniques. A mother's role in passing susceptibility to Graves' disease to daughters is undisputed; it seems to be due to the B35 HLA allele. Also, the third daughter (at 15 years) has an HLA B35 allele, and actually has an incipient humoral hyperthyroidism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Effects of plasma-protein A immunoadsorption on idiopathic nephrotic syndrome recurring after renal transplantation.

Patients with end-stage renal failure secondary to idiopathic nephrotic syndrome are at risk of initial disease recurrence after kidney transplantation (30%). Selective proteinuria can appear immediately after transplantation and focal glomerular sclerosis with graft loss can occur in 10% of patients with recurrence. Current immunosuppressive protocols do not seem to influence the recurrence rate in adult patients and the efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchanges remains controversial. We have previously demonstrated that plasma exchanges, proposed early before glomerular sclerosis, were able to significantly reduce proteinuria without affecting albuminemia or glomerular filtration. We report here on three patients who suffered immediate recurrence after transplantation and were treated with plasma immunoadsorption onto protein A column (Excorim, Lund); these patients had prior histories of steroid-resistant focal glomerular sclerosis. This procedure is more specific than plasma exchange in that it cleared the serum of immunoglobulins, significantly decreased proteinuria in only two cases (from 14 to 5 g/d and 2.5 to 0.8 g/d) and eliminated it in the third case (from 3 to 0.1 g/d). The modifications of proteinuria levels appeared as early as the second immunoadsorption sequence and returned to pre-immunoadsorption values within 2 to 8 weeks. These observations argue for the protein A binding of plasmatic factor(s) involved in idiopathic, nephrotic syndrome and allow us to progress to the characterization of this(ese) factor(s).

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Cerebral organization for language in Down's syndrome patients.

Language lateralization was assessed with a dual task procedure in 10 male right-handed patients with Down's Syndrome and relatively preserved linguistic skills. Their performance was compared with that of two control groups, with and without mental retardation, matched with Down's Syndrome individuals for sex, handedness and I.Q. Results did not support the hypothesis that mental retardation is related to specific pattern of cerebral lateralization.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Captopril but not acebutolol, prazosin or indomethacin decreases postexercise proteinuria.

Strenuous physical exercise causes transient proteinuria and renal hemodynamic changes: decrease of renal blood flow and to a lesser extent of the glomerular filtration rate, and an increase of the filtration fraction. However, the mechanisms of these modifications are still poorly understood. In order to elucidate them we performed maximal exercise tests on 8 untrained healthy volunteers after inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) by captopril, the sympathetic nervous system by a beta-blocking drug (acebutolol) or an alpha-blocking drug (prazosin) and the prostaglandin system by indomethacin. Urinary albumin excretion was measured in every subject first at rest (AB) and then after exercise (AA) performed successively without and with blockade by each of theses drugs. AA-AB difference in the captopril test (12.04 +/- 6.11 micrograms/min) compared to that in the control test (68.91 +/- 25.18 micrograms/min) was significantly reduced (p less than 0.02). This difference remained unchanged after acebutolol (59.87 +/- 21.91 micrograms/min, p = 0.62), prazosin (35.23 +/- 27.80 micrograms/min, p = 0.21) and indomethacin (55.21 +/- 28.43 micrograms/min, p = 0.35). There was a negative correlation between the lowering of AA elevation and the rise in plasma renin activity in the captopril test (r = 0.64; p less than 0.03). Only acebutolol decreased systolic blood pressure significantly. These results suggest that the RAS plays a major role in postexercise proteinuria. We hypothesize that stimulation of this system induces an increase of efferent glomerular artery constriction and consequently of glomerular transcapillary pressure and the filtration fraction. Captopril seems able to prevent these hemodynamic changes.

Acebutolol↗
PubMed1991

Comparison of the side effects of therapeutic cytapheresis and those of other types of hemapheresis.

The side effects of a series of 2418 hemapheresis procedures performed in a total of 570 subjects (patients and donors) are described. Patients with various diseases were subjected to plasmapheresis (926 procedures in 181 patients) or cytapheresis (305 procedures in 89 patients). One hundred twelve plasmapheresis procedures and 1075 of cytaphereses were also performed in 300 blood donors. A total of 225 complications involving 107 patients (39.6%) occurred during 196 (15.9%) therapeutic procedures. Among the blood donors only 45 complications, involving 35 patients (11.6%) occurred during 45 procedures (4.2%). The complications seen with therapeutic plasmaphereses were circulatory disturbances (38% of all those observed), citrate reactions (27%), technical problems (20%), allergic reactions (9%) and miscellaneous complications (6%). Therapeutic cytaphereses were complicated by citrate reactions (44%), technical problems (25%), circulatory disturbances (14%), allergic reactions (11%) and miscellaneous complications (6%). Complications in the blood donor group included circulatory disturbances (51%), technical problems (36%) and various other problems (13%). No infectious complications or deaths were observed. The probability that adverse reactions will occur depends on the condition of the patient, the frequency of the sessions and the volume of fluid exchanged. Evaluation of the main risk factors, use of less intensive protocols and interruption of the session at the first sign of disturbances will help improve patient tolerance of these procedures.

Blood Donors↗
PubMed1991

Plasmapheresis in the therapy of hyperthyroidism associated with leukopenia.

Surgery, the treatment of choice for hyperthyroidism due to nodular goiter, requires an euthyroid state, which is generally achieved with thionamides. Leukopenia is the most serious toxic effect of thionamides, and it causes controindication. We report a 50-year old woman with severe hyperthyroidism and leukopenia, in whom an euthyroid state before thyroidectomy was obtained with the use of therapeutic plasmapheresis. This procedure was carried out immediately before surgery using an intermittent flow separator; three sessions removed a total of 6,300 cc of plasma. Plasmapheresis caused a rapid reduction of both total and free thyroid hormone levels. Thyroidectomy was performed without any complications. Plasmapheresis can be considered a valid and safe method to prepare hyperthyroid patients for thyroidectomy when other therapies are ineffective or counterindicated.

Antithyroid Agents↗
PubMed1991

Autonomously functioning thyroid adenoma in a seven year old boy.

Hyperfunctioning thyroid adenoma is an extremely rare disorder in childhood. A case of a seven year old boy is reported. Clinical and laboratory findings were similar to those seen in adults. Recovery of thyroid function was prompt after ablative surgery and no substitutive therapy was required.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1990

Thyroid carcinoma mimicking a toxic adenoma.

A young woman with a thyroid papillary carcinoma behaving as an autonomously hyperfunctioning nodule is described. Only 17 similar patients have been seen in the past 25 years. It is emphasized that hyperthyroidism does not exclude malignant disease in hot nodules. This possibility suggests that all thyroid nodules, either cold or hot, require careful management. Therefore, in "at risk" cases, surgery could be the most useful treatment.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1990

Neuropsychological features of benign partial epilepsy in children.

Rolandic paroxysmal epilepsy (RPE) is a useful model for investigating the complex links between epilepsy and cognitive dysfunction. 44 children with RPE who met the following (among other) criteria: negative CT scan, freedom from drug treatment, and IQ greater than or equal to 80, were assigned to three subgroups by side of EEG focus: left, right and bilateral. A neuropsychological battery elicited small differences in cognitive performance between the whole group and the controls and among the subgroups, only partially correlated with EEG side. A follow-up assessment showed that the short falls had disappeared along with the seizures and EEG anomalies, thus confirming the benign nature of RPE. Our findings suggest too that the mere presence of paroxysmal cortical activity is enough to trigger cognitive dysfunction.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Induction of micronuclei in Vicia faba root tips treated in different soils with the herbicide alachlor.

A study was made of the clastogenic effect of the herbicide alachlor using the micronucleus test on root tips of seeds of Vicia faba that had been placed in 2 soils with different characteristics. No significant increase in micronuclei was observed in the seeds planted in the soil with a high content of organic matter. In those planted in soil with a low content, an increase in micronuclei proportional to dose and exposure time was observed. HPLC analysis of the alachlor residues in the 2 soils showed that they have a different capacity for absorbing the herbicide, which would account for the different genotoxic responses observed.

Acetamides↗