Biomedical subjects

A Venuti

Publications and source records attributed to A Venuti.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical study on Alternaria spores sensitization.

BACKGROUND: sensitization to fungi spores is often associated with sensitization to other allergens and so it is difficult to estabilish the exact cause of illness. OBJECTIVE: the aim of the study was to evaluate a group of patients monosensitized to Alternaria and to establish the prevalence, periodicity and clinical profile of this kind of sensitization. METHODS: 37 subjects who were monosensitized to Alternaria (prick-test positive), according to a previous epidemiological study were evaluated. Clinical symptoms and the period of their occurrence were taken into consideration as well as immunological parameters (RAST). RESULTS: 20 patients (over 50%) included in the study proved to be affected by asthma associated with other allergic symptoms and 22 patients (60%) presented perennial symptoms. The RAST carried out on 34 monosensitized subjects proved positive in 11 and negative in 23. CONCLUSIONS: Alternaria sensitization is characterized by a perennial periodicity with severe respiratory symptoms (asthma) which occur primarily in children. Prick test is preferable to and more reliable than RAST as a diagnostic test.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Human papillomavirus in head and neck carcinomas: prevalence, physical status and relationship with clinical/pathological parameters.

The association of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection to head and neck squamous cell carcinomas was evaluated in 66 patients affected by tumours of the oral cavity (n = 38), the tonsil (n = 4), the pharynx (n = 2), and the larynx (n = 22). HPV DNA was detected by PCR-based assays, recognizing late and early genes. Twenty-four cases were HPV infected (36.4%), mostly by high and/or intermediate risk types. HPV 16 was integrated in 7/12 positive tumours without site-specificity. HPV infection was not related to age, gender, tumour stage, differentiation grade, and use of alcohol and/or tobacco. The findings indicate that HPV infection may be related to a proportion of head and neck carcinomas but its association is not as clear as that found in cervical cancer.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Radioimmuno-guided surgery (RIGS) in breast disease].

Radioimmunoguided surgery is a new technology capable of detecting minimal neoplastic lesions using radiocolloids. We used this technique in two fields: to detect sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer and to remove non-palpable breast lesions. Radioimmunoguided surgery was employed in 135 women; in 32 for sentinel lymph nodes and in 103 for radioguided occult lesion localization using a radioactive tracer (Technetium Tc99m) injected subdermally for sentinel nodes, or near to the non-palpable lesions under US guidance. In our experience these two applications of radioimmunoguided surgery are useful and accurate for determining the nature of lesions and for providing definitive treatment in a single surgical intervention.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacy and tolerability of antibiotics in patients undergoing H. pylori eradication.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. An increasing number of people undergo different treatment options. Unfortunately, H. pylori therapy may be troublesome for drug side effects and inefficacious for resistance to antibiotics. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and ninety-three (193) H. pylori-positive patients were randomly assigned to one of the following 7-day treatments: Group A (N = 64): amoxicillin, clarithromycin and rabeprazole; Group B (N = 64): tinidazole, clarithromycin and ranitidine bismuth citrate; Group C (N = 65): tinidazole, clarithromycin and rabeprazole Eradication was assessed by 13C-Urea Breath Test 6-8 weeks after the end of the therapy. Not-eradicated patients underwent a second cycle with tinidazole, tetracycline, bismuth and rabeprazole. All patients were asked to complete a validated questionnaire regarding presence and intensity of drug side effects. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-eight out of the 193 H. pylori-positive patients (96%) completed therapy. No significant difference in eradication rates was observed among the three groups both in intention to treat analysis and in per protocol analysis. No significant difference in incidence of side effects occurred among groups after the first-line regimens: 48% in group A, 44% in group B and 46% in group C. Twenty-two out of the 193 enrolled subjects (11%) were not eradicated after the first-line therapy. Among them, 86% were successfully eradicated by the tinidazole, tetracycline, bismuth and rabeprazole therapy. Moreover, during quadruple therapy, a higher prevalence and intensity of side effects than in each one of the groups submitted to the first-line triple therapy was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that triple rabeprazole-based eradicating regimens are effective and safe. Incidence of side effects seems low and similar in different three-drug regimens used. Quadruple therapy, which appear highly efficacious as a second line therapy, is associated with a significantly higher incidence of side effects when compared to first-line treatment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

HPV5b variant in a neoplastic lesion of an Italian patient affected by epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) can be defined as a genetic disorder that determines a lifelong infection of the skin by human Papillomaviruses (HPV). The benign lesions contain different HPVs; whereas in the tumors HPV types 5, 8, and, much less frequently, types 14, 17, 20 and 47 can be detected. Variants of HPV5 have been recognized on the basis of the genetic heterogeneity of the E6 open reading frame. We report a typical case of EV in which the presence and expression of the HPV type 5 were clearly detectable. Direct sequence analysis demonstrated a perfect homology with the sequence of the HPV5b variant. This variant was first isolated in a Japanese patient and thereafter in a Polish one. Its presence in the Italian patient indicates that the same variant can be detected in different geographic areas and therefore that some cellular genes may exert a selection pressure so strong as to induce the emergence of this stable HPV5b infectious variant.

Biopsy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Allergy to beta-lactam antibiotics in childhood. Diagnostic problems].

This study reports about 126 children with an age ranging from 12 months to 12 years having RA to beta-lactamase. More children with an age ranging from 7-12 years (59.5%), and more male (65.9%) than female subjects were studied. 76 patients (60.3%) showed a familial anamnesis of allergic diseases or similar diseases and a personal anamnesis of allergic diseases (45.2%). Among the RA responsible substances the more frequent were semisynthetic penicillin (44.6%) followed by cephalosporin and penicillin. Most clinical manifestations (87.3%) were cutaneous reactions and in smaller number of cases it was possible to observe gastroenteric or respiratory reactions. In 121 patients cutaneous tests were undertaken (Prick tests and intradermoreactions), patch tests, employing: PPL, MDM, Penicillin, Ampicillin, Cephaloridine. 5.8% of the studied subjects showed an allergy. Particularly 2.4% showed a "early" positivity. RAST was carried out in 92 patients and 3 of them showed a positive result (3.2%). This study stresses the opportunity to carry out allergologic tests within 6 months since the beginning of RA. In fact especially in children this test result can soon become negative. Furthermore the reduced percentage of positive allergologic tests can be due to the inclusion in other studies of patients with "coincidental reactions". A certain number of RA can be caused by additive to "per os" products. Finally it will be possible to use "tests dose" even in selectioned cases. These tests can frequently exclude the etiopathogenetic responsibility of beta-lactamic substances.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multicenter double-blind comparative study of terfenadine and cetirizine in hay fever.

The efficacy and safety of terfenadine in the management of hay fever were compared with those of cetirizine in a multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group study, carried out during the 1990 spring pollen season. The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups of treatment, 70 patients being given terfenadine 120 mg, and 72 patients cetirizine 10 mg, once daily for 7 days. The severity of the main symptoms was evaluated at baseline and after treatment by a 4-point rating scale. In addition, the overall symptom severity was recorded daily by the patient on a diary card. Both terfenadine and cetirizine produced significant relief of symptoms by the end of treatment, with a decrease in symptom severity ranging from 46 to 69% for terfenadine and from 40 to 55% for cetirizine. Adverse effects experienced by terfenadine- and cetirizine-treated patients were mainly drowsiness, with minor differences between the two groups. The results of this study confirmed previous experiences, showing that both terfenadine and cetirizine once daily should be regarded as effective drugs for the management of hay fever.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Exploiting the plant secretory pathway to improve the anticancer activity of a plant-derived HPV16 E7 vaccine.

The human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E7 oncoprotein can be considered a "tumor-specific antigen", and therefore it represents a promising target for a therapeutic vaccine against HPV-associated tumors. Efficient production of E7 protein with a plant-based transient expression system has been already described and it was demonstrated that E7-containing crude plant extracts confer partial protection against tumor challenge in a mouse model system. Before adopting the plant-based system as a cost-effective method for the production of an E7-based anti-cancer vaccine, some aspects, such as the oncoprotein yield, need further investigation. In the present study, we report the transient expression, mediated by a potato virus X (PVX)-derived vector, of the E7 protein targeted to the secretory system of Nicotiana benthamiana plants by using a plant-derived signal sequence. Targeting the antigen to the secretory pathway enhanced the E7 protein expression levels about five-fold. Mice immunized by s.c. administration with crude foliar extracts containing E7 showed strong stimulation of cell-mediated immune response after five boosters, as detected by ELISPOT. After challenging with the E7-expressing C3 tumor cells, tumor growth was completely inhibited in 80% of the vaccinated animals and a drastic reduction of tumor burden was observed in the remaining tumor-affected mice. These data demonstrate that, by enhancing E7 yield, it is possible to improve the anti-cancer activity of the plant-based experimental vaccine and open the way for a large-scale production of the E7 protein which could be purified or used as in planta formulation, also suitable for oral therapeutic vaccination.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Interferon inhibition of neoplastic phenotype in cell lines harbouring human papillomavirus sequences.

The transformed phenotype is markedly affected by Interferon (IFN) long term treatment in HeLa and Siha cell lines. Two months of continuous exposure to 100 and 1000 International Units (IU)/ml of human recombinant alpha IFN causes a drastic reduction of anchorage independent growth in soft-agar. No effect on in vitro growing potential was observed at the same concentrations. This antiproliferative effect in soft-agar was more pronounced in Siha than in Hela cells and was concentration and time dependent. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) sequences inserted in the cell genome apparently were unaffected as their RNA expression, indicating that IFN may modulate aspects of transformed phenotype regulated by genes other than HPV sequences.

Cell Division↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Artificial nutritional approach in the palliative treatment of esophageal cancer].

Authors, after to linger over necessity of artificial nutritional approach in patients with inoperable esophageal cancer, emphasize the various moments and condition where is right to operate. In conclusion, they wish the increase of early diagnosis, one and only to guarantee appraisable results.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

PubMedDate not supplied