Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Marino

Publications and source records attributed to C Marino.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

The influence of a seventy-two hour gap on the acute response of mouse skin and oesophagus.

The sparing effect of a 72 h gap, inserted after the third, sixth or ninth fraction of a 12 fraction X-ray schedule, was investigated in two early responding normal tissues: mouse skin and oesophagus. Acute skin reactions and body weight loss were used as assays to quantify changes in the radiation tolerance of these tissues. In skin, no evidence of compensatory proliferation was seen if a gap was inserted, whatever its position in the schedule. In oesophagus, a small but significant increase in radioresistance was observed if the gap was positioned 1/4 of the way through treatment compared with the schedule delivered without an interruption (12F/12 days). Although an increase in normal tissue tolerance is not observed by increasing the overall time from 12 to 15 days, provided tumour clonogen proliferation does not occur during the weekend split, the insertion of a gap makes continuous accelerated clinical regimes, currently given without an interruption at weekends, easier to introduce into wider clinical practice.

Animals↗

Benefits of an ultrasound-guided ESWL unit.

Ultrasound is ideally suited for imaging of renal calculi for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Ultrasound can localize radiolucent stones, monitor fragmentation in real time, and differentiate the stone from a stent. Its use significantly reduces the radiation exposure to patient and operator, which is particularly desirable in the pediatric patient. Furthermore, sonography-guided lithotripsy can reveal any incidental finding in the affected kidney that may require further evaluation and familiarizes the operator with this increasingly useful imaging method. The ultrasound-guided Sonolith 3000 with its enlarged ellipsoid aperture has a decreased energy focus size and voltage, permitting fragmentation with reduced anesthesia requirements. The initial extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) machine, the Dornier H3, uses fluoroscopy for stone localization and treatment monitoring. Although this imaging method has the benefit of being familiar to urologists, it has some drawbacks, such as difficulty in imaging some types of stones and the radiation exposure of the operator and the patient. We have been using the Technomed Sonolith 3000 ESWL machine, which uses ultrasound to localize stones. During this experience, we have found a number of obvious and not so obvious benefits. For example essentially all calculi are echogenic, irrespective of their radiologic density. Moreover, with ultrasound, fragmentation can be monitored by real-time imaging, making determination of the treatment end point easier, and the stone and stent can be differentiated clearly. Ultrasound also can reveal other pathology and eliminates radiation exposure. Moreover, an ultrasound-guided ESWL unit familiarizes the operator with ultrasound techniques, and the same machine can be used for biliary lithotripsy. All of these features make ultrasound imaging for ESWL desirable.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Rheumatoid arthritis in a patient with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease has various articular manifestations. Coexistent rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and sickle cell disease has been reported rarely. We present a patient with sickle cell disease and seropositive erosive RA demonstrating characteristic radiographic findings of the 2 entities.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗

[Usefulness of plantar pressure measurement for the prevention and treatment of neuropathic diabetic foot].

A disease of the legs, and more specifically of the feet, is a frequent occurrence in diabetic patients and can lead to the major risk of amputation. The pathogenesis of this disease is complex and due to vascular damage and neuropathy. The neuropathic ulcer is a typical clinical manifestation of the "diabetic foot". The pathogenesis of this manifestation is discussed. The most important thing is to prevent this disease. The diabetologist must regularly examine the feet of the patients and measure the foot pressure. We discuss a new instrument, the Dynamic System, which we believe of great help to diabetologist in measuring the foot pressure of diabetic patients.

Diabetic Neuropathies↗

Synthesis of galactofuranose disaccharides of biological significance.

Methyl beta-D-galactofuranoside was readily obtained by tin(IV) chloride-catalyzed glycosylation of penta-O-benzoyl-alpha,beta-D-galactofuranose, followed by debenzoylation with sodium methoxide. Glycosylation of 1 with 2,3,5-tri-O-benzoyl-D-galactono-1,4-lactone or with the 6-O-trityl-lactone derivative 5 gave the benzoylated beta-D-galactofuranosyl-(1----6)-D-galactono-1,4-lactone 6 in excellent yield. The structure of disaccharide 6 was confirmed by borohydride reduction to the glycosyl-alditol 7. A byproduct of the condensation reaction of 1 with 4 or 5 was identified as the benzoylated (1----1)-beta,beta'-D-galactofuranosyl disaccharide 8. Compound 8 was readily prepared (88% yield) by controlled addition of water to 1, in the presence of stannic chloride. O-Debenzoylation of 8 afforded crystalline beta'-D-galactofuranosyl-(1----1)-beta-D-galactofuranoside. The glycosyl-lactone 6 constitutes a key intermediate for the synthesis of a disaccharide derivative having both units in the furanoid form. Thus, diisoamylborane reduction of the lactone function of 6 led to the disaccharide derivative 10, from which the methyl glycoside 12 was prepared. O-Debenzoylation of 12 gave the corresponding methyl beta-D-galactofuranosyl-(1----6)-beta-D-galactofuranoside. The free disaccharide beta-D-Galf-(1----6)-D-Galp and its acetylated derivative were also synthesized from 10.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗

[A rare case of neoplasm of the epididymis].

An unexpected anatomopathological diagnosis--an adenomatoid neoplasm of the epididymis in a patient operated for hydrocele and suspected left chronic epididymis is described. After having briefly described the pathological anatomy and epidemiology of the adenomatoid neoplasm, the paper discusses the importance of a careful anamnestic and clinical assessment of commonly encountered diseases which are often considered clinically less important.

Aged↗

The behaviour of pyruvate dehydrogenase in circulating lymphocytes from diabetic children.

The basal and total pyruvate dehydrogenase activities were assayed in circulating lymphocytes from children with juvenile diabetes at diagnosis and after five days of insulin therapy and from control subjects. In untreated diabetic children, basal and total pyruvate dehydrogenase activities were deeply decreased and both showed very similar values; whereas, in control subjects basal activity was about 30% lower than total activity. In diabetic patients treated with insulin (in vivo situation), both basal and total activity levels were equal or even higher than those of the control subjects. The incubation of lymphocytes from diabetic patients with insulin (5 microU/ml) (in vitro situation) stimulates, but less than in vivo, the basal and total pyruvate dehydrogenase activities.

Blood Glucose↗

Mathematical models of cell survival after ionizing radiation: application to radiotherapy planning.

The work described here represents an attempt to use mathematical models of single-cell survival for radiotherapy planning. The aim of the study is to develop a procedure in which the distribution of the effects achieved by optimizing physical radiation dose is implemented by taking into account radiobiological terms. An algorithmic model has been developed to evaluate the probability of tumor control and of excessive damage to normal tissue on the basis of the linear-quadratic model of cell survival. In its present preliminary form, the procedure can be used to predict differential isoeffect distributions obtained by varying the total dose and the fraction size of multifraction radiotherapy courses. This approach can also be used to extract from historical clinical results, by maximum-likelihood methods, parameters related to the cellular response to radiation (for instance, alpha and beta of the linear-quadratic model).

Cell Survival↗

Effects of insulin on pyruvate dehydrogenase in circulating lymphocytes from normal and diabetic rats.

1. The in vivo and in vitro conditions which allow a response of rat circulating lymphocyte PDH to insulin are investigated. 2. In vivo tests show that inactive PDH (PDHi) prevails in diabetic rats and active PDH (PDHa) in hyperinsulinemic rats; in treated with insulin diabetic rats the PDHa/PDHi ratio (1.7) is similar to that of normal rats (PDHa/PDHi ratio = 2). 3. In vitro tests show a responsiveness of PDH to insulin only when 50 microM Ca2+ -Mg2+ and intact lymphocytes are used in the incubation medium. Insulin concentrations and contact time are important variables.

Animals↗

Ruptured pyogenic Baker's cyst.

The authors present the case of a patient who developed a ruptured Baker's cyst. Methods of diagnosis and treatment are discussed.

Adult↗

Evidence of an insulin generated pyruvate dehydrogenase stimulating factor in rat brain plasma membranes.

1. The results of this study indicates that the binding of insulin to brain plasma membranes activates a membrane protease which, by a trypsin like mechanism, produces a soluble factor that modulates the PDH behaviour when added to brain mitochondria. 2. The supernatant from brain plasma membranes incubated with 0.5 mg/ml trypsin added to mitochondria increases PDH activity levels and cancels PDH inhibition by NaF, as has already been seen when the plasma membranes are incubated with 25 microU/ml insulin. No such effects are obtained when the incubation is run out with 0.5 mg/ml chymotrypsin. 3. The supernatants from insulin or trypsin treated plasma membranes retain their activating properties on mitochondrial PDH also after dansylation; from these preparations a dansylated active on PDH material was separated by monodimensional chromatography on HPTLC silica Gel plates, using chloroform/1-butanol (93:7 v/v) as a solvent. 4. Insulin incubation of plasma membranes pretreated with protease inhibitors (leupeptin, phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride) or with exogenous trypsin, but not chymotrypsin substrates (esters of arginine and tyrosine) yields an inactive supernatant on PDH. 5. Insulin treated plasma membrane supernatants lose all stimulating properties on PDH after incubation for 1 hr with 2 mg/ml trypsin or chymotrypsin.

Animals↗

Three human chromosomal autoantigens are recognized by sera from patients with anti-centromere antibodies.

We have identified 39 individuals with anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) in our patient population, all of whom have Raynaud's syndrome or disease. We have used sera from the ACA-positive patients and from 123 controls (22 normal individuals and 101 additional patients with either Raynaud's disease or Raynaud's syndrome plus an associated connective tissue disease) to screen the proteins of highly purified human (HeLa) mitotic chromosomes by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Three antigens were recognized by the sera from the ACA-positive patients. These were centromere protein (CENP)-B (80,000 mol wt--recognized by all ACA-positive sera), CENP-A (17,000 mol wt--recognized by 38 of 39 ACA-positive sera), and CENP-C (140,000 mol wt--recognized by 37 of 39 ACA-positive sera). None of these antigens were recognized by any of the 123 control sera, although binding was occasionally seen to other chromosomal antigens. Therefore the ACA response is highly uniform in our patient population. Antibody to CENP-B shows a 100% correlation with anti-centromere staining by indirect immunofluorescence.

Adult↗

Danazol for lupus thrombocytopenia.

Danazol therapy was used in the treatment of three consecutive patients with lupus-associated thrombocytopenia refractory to high-dose prednisone therapy (two patients) or in whom high-dose prednisone therapy was considered contraindicated (one patient). Treatment was associated in each case with an increase in platelet count but was complicated in two of three patients by the development of a diffuse maculopapular rash that promptly resolved following discontinuation of danazol therapy. Retreatment of one patient with danazol was associated with immediate recurrence of the rash. We suggest that danazol therapy deserves further evaluation in the treatment of lupus-associated thrombocytopenia, but advise that patients be carefully monitored for rash.

Adult↗