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Biomedical subjects

B Daniele

Publications and source records attributed to B Daniele.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Postheparin plasma diamine oxidase in patients with small bowel Crohn's disease.

Diamine oxidase (DAO) is an enzyme located almost exclusively in villus tip enterocytes of mammals. Its plasma activity, normally very low, is enhanced by intravenous heparin, which releases the enyzme from small bowel enterocytes into the blood. Plasma postheparin DAO (PHD) values have been shown to be significantly reduced in patients with malabsorption and villous atrophy and inversely correlated with 24-h fecal fat, thus suggesting that PHD reflects the mature enterocytic mass. We have assayed PHD in 51 patients with small bowel Crohn's disease by measuring the area under the plasma DAO curve over a 120-min period after an intravenous bolus of 15,000 IU of heparin. Postheparin plasma DAO was significantly lower (p less than 0.001) in patients (328 +/- 175 U/ml.min) than in 20 normal subjects (508 +/- 101 U/ml.min; range, 391-749). Postheparin diamine oxidase values were inversely correlated with Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI), but no correlation was found with extent of disease assessed radiologically by either double-contrast small bowel enema or barium meal follow-through. In 6 patients with active disease (CDAI, 297 +/- 99) and low PHD values (188 +/- 100 U/ml.min), the assay was repeated after a clinically effective course of antiinflammatory drugs. A significant increase in PHD values (388 +/- 112 U/ml.min) was observed (p less than 0.005). These data indicate that mucosal involvement is common in small bowel Crohn's disease and that PHD may be useful in assessing and monitoring mucosal damage in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Postheparin plasma diamine oxidase in subjects with small bowel disease. Diagnostic efficiency of a simplified test.

Diamine oxidase (DAO) is an enzyme located almost exclusively in the villus tip enterocytes of mammals. Its plasma activity, normally very low, is enhanced by intravenous heparin that releases the enzyme from the enterocytes into the blood. Postheparin plasma DAO (PHD) values have been shown to be significantly reduced in patients with malabsorption and villus atrophy and in patients with Crohn's disease, thus suggesting that this test explores the mucosal integrity. The execution of the PHD test requires 8 blood samples over a period of 120 min after an intravenous injection of 15,000 IU of heparin, and then the calculation of the area under the curve. The aim of this study was to simplify the test and make it more acceptable by choosing only one of the eight curve points required for the calculation of the area under the curve and then assessing its discriminant power in different small bowel diseases. To this end, a discriminant analysis was performed on PHD curves of 16 normal subjects, 25 patients with celiac disease, 14 patients with treated celiac disease, 5 patients with diffuse primary small bowel lymphoma, 4 patients with small bowel lymphoma during treatment, and 55 patients with small bowel Crohn's disease. Plasma DAO values assayed 1 h (T60) after the injection of 15,000 IU of heparin proved to be the best discriminator curve point and the use of the T60 point alone may be usefully employed instead of the area under the 120-min curve.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Medulloblastoma: a critical approach to the management on the basis of 12 years of experience.

Medulloblastoma constituted 28% of brain neoplasms among children referred to the Santobono Children's Hospital of Naples from 1973 through October 1984. The authors summarize their experience with 68 cases of medulloblastoma, which were managed with a multimodal institutional protocol involving surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The evolution of modern management is discussed, and particular attention is directed to the factors affecting the prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Postheparin plasma diamine oxidase in subjects with small bowel mucosal atrophy.

Diamine oxidase (DAO) is an enzyme whose low plasma values are enhanced by an intravenous injection of heparin, which releases the enzyme from the enterocytes of the villous tips. In 20 normal controls and 15 untreated subjects affected with an overt malabsorption syndrome and subtotal atrophy shown by Crosby jejunal mucosa biopsy (12 suspected celiac disease and three small bowel lymphoma), plasma diamine oxidase was assayed, over 2 hr following an intravenous bolus of 15,000 IU heparin. Plasma postheparin DAO concentrations and the corresponding values of the area under curve, expressed as units/ml X min (mean +/- SD), were significantly lower in the patients (celiac sprue: 138 +/- 62; lymphoma: 83 +/- 42) compared to normals (481 +/- 104). DAO area values were well correlated (r = 0.81; P less than 0.001) with 24-hr fecal fat excretion but not with xylosuria. Our data suggest that postheparin plasma DAO assay may be useful to detect and quantitate small bowel mucosal atrophy in patients with malabsorption syndromes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Postheparin plasma diamine oxidase increases in patients with coeliac disease during gluten free diet.

An intravenous injection of heparin releases diamine oxidase (DAO) from villous tip enterocytes. In a previous study, we found that postheparin plasma DAO (PHD) values were significantly lower in patients with malabsorption syndrome and small bowel atrophy at jejunal biopsy than in normal subjects. In this study we performed the PHD test in 14 coeliac patients before and after three and six months of gluten free diet to show whether the enterocytes maturing processes induced by the diet joined with enhanced PHD values and to assess the clinical usefulness of this test. In all subjects jejunal biopsy carried out after six months showed a partial but consistent histological recovery. The clinical status, xylosuria and daily faecal fat excretion improved progressively and there was a significant increase (p less than 0.001) in mean PHD activity that reached the normal range after three months. After six months a further slight increase of the mean PHD value was recorded. These data indicate that PHD values rise together with the improved intestinal absorptive functions of coeliac patients on gluten free diet and that this test is a useful tool in monitoring recovery of the small bowel mucosa.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Modifications in ornithine decarboxylase and diamine oxidase in small bowel mucosa of starved and refed rats.

Starvation followed by refeeding, which provides a model of intestinal adaptation characterised by proliferative and biochemical changes, was used to clarify the biological roles of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and diamine oxidase (DAO)--enzymes involved in polyamines metabolism. Ornithine decarboxylase and DAO were assayed in the proximal and distal small bowel mucosa of 55 rats, starved for four days and then refed. Rats (five per day) were killed after four days' starvation and at days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 of refeeding. ODC, whose specific activity was similar in both intestinal segments, almost disappeared after starvation and showed a biphasic response during refeeding. High values were found on day 3 of refeeding in the proximal, and on day 4 in the distal small bowel; thereafter, they decreased gradually to be followed by a further significant increase during the last two days of the experiment. Diamine oxidase specific activity increased after starvation despite a very low total DAO activity in both intestinal segments. Refeeding induced a gradual recovery of DAO total activity. Diamine oxidase specific activity also reverted gradually to control values after five days of refeeding. These data confirm the prominence of ODC in the replication processes and suggest that intestinal DAO may not play a major role in enterocyte replication.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1986

Metabolic fate of plasma diamine oxidase: evidence of isolated and perfused rat liver uptake.

After injection of an intravenous bolus of heparin (15,000 IU) in two groups of subjects, 10 normal volunteers and 6 subjects with external biliary drainage, blood and urine samples were collected; in the latter group bile samples were collected also. All samples were assayed for diamine oxidase (DAO). Persistently high values of this enzyme were found in plasma of both populations after heparin stimulation, while no increase in enzymatic activity was detected in bile and urine. In order to confirm and support the hepatic clearance of DAO, liver uptake of the enzyme derived from porcine kidney, human plasma and human placenta was studied by perfusion of isolated rat liver. Disappearance curves of the enzyme derived from three different sources showed a prompt liver uptake: activity decreased by about 50% in 10 min (endocytic uptake) and a slower but constant reduction during the remaining 110 min of perfusion was observed. These data suggest the hypothesis of liver metabolism of plasma DAO.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Diamine oxidase in rat small bowel: distribution in different segments and cellular location.

Diamine oxidase (DAO) is an enzyme with high activity found in the small bowel mucosa of the rat and man, and only with very low activity in all other tissues. The present study was designed to investigate the enzymatic distribution along 8 consecutive small bowel segments of mucosa and to test the DAO concentration on brush border membranes obtained from whole mucosal homogenate in Wistar rats. Our data document that DAO activity is mainly distributed in intermediate and distal small bowel segments and is not significantly associated with enterocyte brush border.

Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing)↗
PubMed1975

[Extracranial angioma with dural participation].

Extracranial congenital arteriovenous malformations are often associated with dural and/or cerebral malformations. One case is presented. The angiography of the common carotid artery revealed no evidence of abnormal vessels into the internal or external carotid territory. The injection of contrast medium into an enlarged epicranial vein showed the extracranial malformation, well opacified; the phlebography revealed also a small dural malformation draining in the superior sagittal sinus. The Authors outline the importance of complete angiographic study in all the cases of extracranial vascular malformations even if the carotid angiography is apparently normal.

Angiography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of small intestinal damage in patients treated with pelvic radiotherapy.

Pelvic radiotherapy almost always induces intestinal symptoms. We investigated the radiation-induced damage to the small intestinal mucosa and evaluated its relationship with symptoms, using cellobiose/mannitol permeability test (CE/MA) and plasma postheparin diamine oxidase test (PHD) in 20 patients treated with pelvic radiotherapy. The symptoms developed during radiotherapy were noted. Intestinal permeability significantly (p=0.013) increased from 0.021 +/- 0.026 to 0.047 +/- 0.055 (mean +/- SD) after 15 days of radiotherapy, while it returned to normal values (0.010 0.015) at the end of radiotherapy. PHD values did not change. All patients developed intestinal symptoms. These findings indicate that pelvic radiotherapy induces an early small bowel mucosa damage followed by mucosal adaptation. Acute intestinal symptoms during pelvic radiotherapy may not depend only on small intestinal mucosal damage.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Phase I clinical trial of liposomal daunorubicin in hepatocellular carcinoma complicating liver cirrhosis.

Chemotherapy has been proposed for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with well-compensated cirrhosis who are unsuitable for locoregional treatments. Anthracyclines are the most active agents against HCC, although their toxicity is often unpredictable; thus, there is a need for new active drugs with a safe toxicity profile. The liposomal formulation of the anthracycline daunorubicin has low systemic toxicity and is taken up strongly by the liver. We started a phase I study with liposomal daunorubicin (starting dose 80 mg/m2 every 21 days) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and Child-Pugh stage A or B liver cirrhosis. At the starting dose, we recorded dose-limiting toxicities (1 hyperbilirubinemia, 1 prolonged prothrombin time, 1 persisting grade 3 neutropenia) in 3 out of 4 patients. Thus, according to protocol, we went down to the dose level of 60 mg/m2 but still 2 out of 3 patients had unacceptable toxicity (1 hypertransaminasemia, 1 hyperbilirubinemia with encephalopathia). Finally, we treated 4 more patients at the dose level of 40 mg/m2 and again we recorded liver toxicity in three of them. Overall haematological toxicity was mild and significant non-haematologic toxicities, other than hepatic, were not recorded. The toxicity profile observed warns against further assessment of liposomal daunorubicin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[EEG in brain tumors in childhood. Anatomo-clinical correlations].

The authors reviewed the electroencephalographic findings relevant to a casuistry of 136 cerebral tumours in paediatric age and correlated them with the anatomic site of the neoplasias, as checked on the operating table, and with clinical symptomatology. The casuistry, as concerns the site of the tumours, consists of 32 cases with a hemispheric localisation, 35 localized on the median line (suprasellar tumours, tumours of the 3rd ventricle, tumours of the basal nuclei and tumours of the pineal region) and 68 cases of tumours of the cerebellar fossa. E.E.G. proved normal in 9.3% of the patients with a hemispheric tumour, 17.1% of those with median tumours and in 23.1% of the tumours of the cerebellar fossa. 12.5% of the cases with a hemispheric tumour showed a general widespread alteration of the electroencephalogram, which was also traceable in 20% of the deep seated tumours and 13% of the subtentorial tumours. A focal E.E.G. finding with polymorphic delta waves was detected in 62.5% of the tumours with a hemispheric localisation, as compared to 14.2% of the deep seated and 28% of the subtentorial ones. Finally, in the three groups, intermittent slow waves were detected respectively in 46.8%, 51.4% and 72.4% of the cases. Related with clinical conditions, in the presence of endocranial hypertension, a clear prevalence of general widespread alteration and of intermittent activities were detected. The authors discuss the diagnostic value of each E.E.G. finding in cerebral tumours with particular attention to localizing value of focal polymorphic delta waves and to the meaning of intermittent slow waves which, in paediatric age, show a clear prevalence in the posterior cerebral areas.

Adolescent↗