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Biomedical subjects

C Gatti

Publications and source records attributed to C Gatti.

90 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Implant-retained mandibular overdentures with immediate loading: a prospective study of ITI implants.

A prospective study was conducted in which 21 patients received a mandibular implant-supported overdenture. Eighty-four ITI screw-type implants were placed in the interforaminal area of the mental symphysis (4 implants per patient). Immediately after implant placement, a U-shaped gold or titanium bar was fabricated and implants were loaded with an implant-retained overdenture. Of 21 patients treated, 19 were followed for a minimum of 25 months to a maximum of 60 months, with a mean follow-up of 37 months. Two patients dropped out during the follow-up. The overall failure rate of implants (according to Albrektsson criteria) was 4% (3/76 implants), but all implants, bars, and prostheses remained in function. Results from this study demonstrated that the success rate for immediately loaded mandibular implants is similar to that obtained in cases of delayed loading, after osseointegration has taken place. This method shortens dental rehabilitation time with relevant satisfaction for patients.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Percutaneous US-guided radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinomas: results in 15 patients.

BACKGROUND: The majority of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cannot undergo surgery because of multifocality, location or advanced cirrhosis. Our experience with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for treatment of patients suffering from unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma is described here. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients (ten men and five women) with eighteen primary hepatocellular tumors underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. The mean diameter of the HCCs was 32 mm (ranging from 15 mm to 62 mm). The patients were treated under ultrasound guidance using either a 18-gauge internally cooled electrode or a 14-gauge electrode with four expandable hooks. RESULTS: Complete necrosis was achieved in 15 lesions after one session of RF ablation. The persistence of a small portion of viable tissue was seen in two lesions. One lesion was not evaluable. After a mean follow-up period of 9.2 months (range 3-24 months), eleven patients (76%) showed no sign of local or distant recurrence, one patient developed a new lesion and one of two patients with persistence of viable tissue obtained a complete necrosis after the injection of percutaneous ethanol. Moreover, a major complication (intraperitoneal bleeding requiring surgical treatment) and three minor complications (1 pleuric effusion and 2 perihepatic fluid collections that resolved spontaneously) were observed. CONCLUSION: RF ablation is a simple, well-tolerated and effective procedure for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinomas.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Postural tenosynovitis caused by misuse of a computer input device (mouse)].

Several reports of postural problems among video display unit workers are available, most frequently involving the back, neck and shoulder. The case described is an example of tenosynovitis of the right wrist at the point where the wrist rests on the work surface while operating the mouse in a computer workstation (2-3 hours/day 6 days/week). The alteration was caused by a combination of friction and pressure on the wrist joint tendon due to the faulty positioning of the hand and wrist. This is the normal resting position for the wrist (inclined towards the ulnar side), and is thus the most natural position to adopt. The reported alteration, which responded to a short period of rest and treatment with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs for 2-3 days, is described as an example of common injury caused by an unusual faulty posture of the hand. The preventive measures suggested to avoid the occurrence of this type of injury include: (i) instead of resting the weight of the hand on the ulnar side of the wrist it should be distributed between the two pads of fatty tissue which form the base of the palm, (ii) the mouse button could be clicked with the third finger instead of the index finger in order to avoid the tendency of hand to roll into the faulty rest position.

Computer Terminals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Ascariasis as a cause of acute abdomen: a case report].

Ascaris Lumbricoides Infestation (ALI) is one of the most common helmintic disease of the gastrointestinal tract, and may cause severe surgical complications, especially in children. ALI is frequent in tropical and subtropical countries. We present our experience with a case of a 5-years old pakistan girl treated in Italy for acute abdomen in which ALI was detected during surgical exploration.

Abdomen, Acute↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Histochemical study of cardiac mast cells degranulation and collagen deposition: interaction with the cathecolaminergic system in the rat.

Although their role in the cardiovascular system is still largely unknown, mast cells are present in the myocardium of both experimental animals and humans. Interestingly, cathecolaminergic nerve fibres and mast cells are often described in close morphological and functional interactions in various organs. In the present study we investigated the effects of chronic interference with beta-adrenergic receptors (via either sympathectomy or beta-blockade) on cardiac mast cell morphology/activation and on interstitial collagen deposition. In rats subjected to chemical sympathectomizy with the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) we observed a significant increase of mast cell density, and in particular of degranulating mast cells, suggesting a close relationship between the cardiac catecholaminergic system and mast cell activation. In parallel, chronic 6-OHDA treatment was associated with increased collagen deposition. The influence of the beta-adrenergic receptor component was investigated in rats subjected to chronic propranolol administration, that caused a further significant increase in mast cell activation associated with a lower extent of collagen deposition when compared to chemical sympathectomy. These data are the first demonstration of a close relationship between rat cardiac mast cell activation and the catecholaminergic system, with a complex interplay with cardiac collagen deposition. Specifically, abrogation of the cardiac sympathetic efferent drive by chemical sympathectomy causes mast cell activation and interstitial fibrosis, possibly due to the local effects of the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine. In contrast, beta-adrenergic blockade is associated with enhanced mast cell degranulation and a lower extent of collagen deposition in the normal myocardium. In conclusion, cardiac mast cell activation is influenced by beta-adrenergic influences.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Agenesis of the upper lateral incisor: orthodontic therapy and replacement].

In this paper the Authors outline an uneven prevalence of superior lateral incisors agenesis. The treatment of this situation can be accomplished by various methods. It is possible to obtain the complete closure of dental spaces or maintain the physiological space. The Authors present four cases of young patients in which they decided to maintain orthodontically the space and to put them adhesive bridges.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Epidemiologic study of femoral neck fractures in the province of Parma (1980-1992)].

Fractures of the femoral neck are one of the most important and severe complications of osteoporosis. To obtain up-to-date estimates on the frequency of these fractures in the province of Parma, a city of northern Italy, a retrospective study on the incidence of hip fractures has been carried out examining the operative records of all the orthopedic departments serving the whole province. Between January 1980 and December 1992, 3774 operations for hip fractures were performed, with a marked prevalence in women (2830 women and 944 men) and an exponential increase with age in both sexes. The incidence of extracapsular hip fractures was slightly higher and in women increased more rapidly with age than intracapsular fractures. Approximately 3 fractures out of 4 in women and 2 out of 3 in men occurred after the age of 75. Between 1980 and 1992, the age-adjusted annual incidence rose significantly by 7.1 cases per 100,000 per year in women and by 2.7 cases per 100,000 per year in men. When compared to other populations, these estimates indicate that the incidence of hip fractures in this province of Northern Italy is lower than that reported in other countries, especially in Northern Europe.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Biochemical parameters for prognostic evaluation in patients with breast cancer.

We evaluated the prognostic value of tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), cathepsin D and pS2 in 267 patients operated for primary breast cancer. Cathepsin D, pS2 and cytosol TPA were independent of each other and of N, T, estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptors. Cathepsin D was the best prognostic indicator for disease-free survival and pS2 for overall survival. The simultaneous evaluation of the three parameters was an effective discriminator between high and low risk patients in both N- and N+. Considering that cathepsin D, pS2 and cytosol TPA can be easily measured with reliable methods in small amounts of tissue, we conclude that they are a promising panel of biochemical parameters suitable for the assessment of the risk of relapse in patients with breast cancer.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quantitative chemiluminescent immunoassay of p53: prognostic significance in 220 node-negative breast cancer tissue.

The prognostic and predictive role of p53 overexpression in breast cancer samples is usually investigated by using molecular biology or immunohistochemical methods. However, the results are to date controversial, and this is in part due to the methodological pitfalls of both the methods. To study the possibility of overcoming, at least in part, these problems we evaluated a commercially available chemiluminescent immunoassay with which the p53 concentrations of 220 specimens from node negative breast cancer were determined. The assay showed good analytical performance and found detectable levels in 84.7% of cases (median 0.22 ng/mg of proteins, range 0-50 ng/mg of proteins). p53 has been found inversely correlated with estrogen receptors and directly correlated with cathepsin D. The prognostic role of p53 was evaluated in two different ways: a) two previous studies (Borg et al 1995, DeWitte et al. 1996) using the same method found almost 30% of samples had significantly shorter DFS and OS. We subdivided our cases in order to identify the same positivity rate and to verify if the previous cathegorizations were effective also in our patient series. We confirmed the independent association with DFS (p = 0.006) and OS (p = 0.0005); b) considering that any categorization of quantitative parameters could cause a loss of clinical information, we also evaluated p53 as a continuous variable. Multivariate analysis showed a significant quantitative relationship between p53 and both disease free (p = 0.026) and overall survival (p = 0.02).

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of steroid receptors, pS2 and cathepsin D on the outcome of N+ postmenopausal breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen.

In spite of the complexity of the biological basis of the hormonal regulation of breast cancer, clinical studies tend to simplify the information by mainly categorizing continuous variables related to hormonal status and not considering the interactions between variables. The present study was planned to examine the presence of an interaction between cathepsin D (Cath-D) and pS2 in patients treated with adjuvant tamoxifen in a homogeneous subset of node-positive postmenopausal patients and to evaluate the contribution of the interaction to the predictive ability of the model. Steroid receptors (ER and PgR) were measured in cytosol using the dextran-coated charcoal method, while Cath-D and pS2 were determined using commercially available immunoradiometric assays. The prognostic role of each variable and their joint effect were investigated using a Cox regression model. Biological variables were analyzed as continuous and when their prognostic relationship did not seem linear, a restricted cubic spline regression smoothing approach was adopted. The logarithm of hazard showed a linear relationship with the log(ER), while it i) remained almost constant up to about 20 fmol/mg and subsequently decreased for PgR; ii) was almost constant up to about 50 pmol/mg and subsequently decreased for Cath-D; iii) decreased for increasing log(value) up to about 33 ng/mg and subsequently increased for pS2. In the multivariate analysis both PgR and the interaction between pS2 and Cath-D retained a significant prognostic role. For low values of pS2, the prognosis worsened with the increase in Cath-D levels and this relationship reversed for high values of pS2. From the results of the present study we can conclude that i) a significant interaction between Cath-D and pS2 was found in this case series; ii) the prognostic relationship should not be underestimated in clinical decision making; iii) a predictive score obtained considering the contribution of PgR, pS2 and Cath-D could be useful for clinical use.

Age Factors↗