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Biomedical subjects

C Iacobello

Publications and source records attributed to C Iacobello.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Basic and acidic isoferritins in the serum of patients with Hodgkin's disease.

Ferritin concentration has been measured in the serum of patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) by radioimmunoassays with monospecific antibodies to liver (basic) and HeLa (acidic) ferritin. Elevated levels of serum ferritin with the liver ferritin assay were found only in patients with systemic disease, and were associated with low serum iron. Basic ferritin levels returned promptly to normal when complete remission was achieved. High levels of serum ferritin with the HeLa ferritin assay were found in 94% of all untreated patients. Acidic ferritin concentration was not related to systemic symptoms or alterations of iron metabolism, and returned to within the normal range only 1-2 yr after complete remission. These findings suggest that basic and acidic isoferritins can be distinguished in terms of biological and clinical significance. Basic ferritin is synthesized by the reticuloendothelial cells and the high values found in patients with systemic symptoms are compatible with the non-specific changes known to occur in the reticuloendothelial system during inflammation. In patients with untreated HD an elevated serum concentration of basic ferritin can be considered a marker of systemic symptoms and, therefore, an unfavourable prognostic factor. Acidic ferritin may be derived from abnormal lymphocytes and/or monocytes, including malignant cells, and its serum concentration may be of value in following the course of remission.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Methodological effects on the quantitation of serum ferritin by radio- and enzymoimmunoassays.

Serum ferritin is normally quantitated by sensitive radio- or enzymoimmunoassays, which are based either on a competitive reaction between the unlabelled and labelled antigen (RIA), or on a non-competitive reaction between the sample and the labelled antibody (IRMA and ELISA). Both methods appear to be satisfactory for the clinical evaluation of serum ferritin. However, the effect of these methods on the quantitation of serum ferritin has never been carefully studied. This paper describes and compares five different immunoassays for the evaluation of serum ferritin: two competitive RIAs, one non-competitive IRMA and two non-competitive ELISAs. The same anti-ferritin antibody and ferritin standards were used for all the assays. The RIAs were found to be less sensitive than either the ELISAs or the IRMA, and all showed a similar degree of cross-reactivity with ferritin extracted from spleen and HeLa cells. A significant difference between the assays was found in the determination of serum ferritin: in fact the RIAs over-estimated serum ferritin by about 50% more than the IRMA, whereas the ELISAs under-estimated serum ferritin by about 15% less than the IRMA.

Antibody Specificity↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of a radioreceptor assay to assess exogenous estrogen activity in serum of patients with breast cancer.

A radioreceptor assay (RRA) for the determination of total estrogen activity, was set up and used to assess the possible presence of exogenous molecules with estrogen activity in serum; a comparison was made with the specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the endogenous estrogen 17-B estradiol (17-B-E2). The assay was first performed on sera from healthy people taking estrogens in the form of oral contraceptives or lotions for local application whose total estrogenic activity in the blood was assumed to be abnormal. The assay was then performed on serum from 98 patients with early breast cancer and 20 patients with metastasis, not undergoing hormone therapy. A higher estrogen activity was found in 2.5% of sera compared to the activity found using the RIA method which is specific for endogenous estrogen 17-B-E2, the RRA/17-B-E2 ratio being higher than 3. Increased estrogen activity was found in 10% serum samples from digoxin treated cardiopathic patients, with an RRA/17-B-E2 ratio ranging from 4.4 to 20. The RRA assay could prove useful for showing up exogenous estrogen activity from various sources (drugs, food) in sera of people in whom estrogen stimulation could be potentially dangerous (i.e. in patients with hormone-sensitive tumors). This exogenous activity could support a certain degree of neoplastic stimulation and, therefore, unfavourably condition the patients' therapeutic response.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hypoparathyroidism following total thyroidectomy: prognostic value of intraoperative parathyroid hormone assay].

Transient and definitive hypoparathyroidism represent a frequent complication after thyroid surgery. Recently some authors proposed the use of intraoperative parathyroid hormone assay for the rapid detection of this complication. In this paper the authors describe the data obtained from 42 total thyroidectomies with intraoperative measurements of parathyroid hormone. When parathormone decrement was over 75% during thyroidectomy, the hypocalcemic symptomatology was found in all cases during postoperative observation. The authors emphasize intraoperative PTH dosage for immediate identification of patients at risk for postoperative hypoparathyroidism. In this cases parathyroid autotransplantation is suggested to prevent postoperative hypoparathyroidism.

Adult↗