Biomedical subjects

C Morabito

Publications and source records attributed to C Morabito.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Calcium-mediated transductive systems and functionally active gap junctions in astrocyte-like GL15 cells.

BACKGROUND: It has been proposed that GL15, a human cell line derived from glioblastoma multiforme, is a possible astroglial-like cell model, based on the presence of cytoplasmic glial fibrillary acidic protein. RESULTS: The aim of this work was to delineate the functional characteristics of GL15 cells using various experimental approaches, including the study of morphology, mechanism of induction of intracellular Ca2+ increase by different physiological agonists, and the presence and permeability of the gap-junction system during cell differentiation. Immunostaining experiments showed the presence and localization of specific glial markers, such as glial fibrillary acidic protein and S100B, and the lack of the neuronal marker S100A. Notably, all the Ca2+ pathways present in astrocytes were detected in GL15 cells. In particular, oscillations in intracellular Ca2+ levels were recorded either spontaneously, or in the presence of ATP or glutamate (but not KCl). Immunolabelling assays and confocal microscopy, substantiated by Western blot analyses, revealed the presence of connexin43, a subunit of astrocyte gap-junction channels. The protein is organised in characteristic spots on the plasma membrane at cell-cell contact regions, and its presence and distribution depends on the differentiative status of the cell. Finally, a microinjection/dye-transfer assay, employed to determine gap-junction functionality, clearly demonstrated that the cells were functionally coupled, albeit to varying degrees, in differentiated and undifferentiated phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, results from this study support the use of the GL15 cell line as a suitable in vitro astrocyte model, which provides a valuable guide for studying glial physiological features at various differentiation phases.

Astrocytes↗

PubMed2001

Venlafaxine in the treatment of postpartum depression.

BACKGROUND: Although postpartum depression is a highly prevalent illness, antidepressant treatment studies of postpartum depression are sparse. Incomplete recognition and treatment of puerperal illness place women at risk for chronic depression and may have adverse effects on child development. METHOD: An 8-week, flexible-dose, open study of venlafaxine (immediate release; mean dose = 162.5 mg/day) was performed in a group of 15 women who met DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive disorder with onset within the first 3 months postpartum. Patients were assessed at baseline and every 2 weeks across the study. Measurements of outcome included the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Kellner Symptom Questionnaire, and the Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI). RESULTS: Despite baseline scores of depression that were particularly high, response to treatment was robust. Twelve of 15 patients experienced remission of major depression (HAM-D score < or = 7 or CGI score < or = 2). Dramatic decrease in anxiety paralleled the decrease in depression across the sample. CONCLUSION: Venlafaxine is effective in the treatment of postpartum major depression. Early identification of women who suffer from postpartum mood disturbance is critical to minimize the morbidity associated with untreated mood disturbance and the effect of depression on children and families.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Luigi Luciani and the localization of brain functions: Italian research within the context of European neurophysiology at the end of the nineteenth century.

Luigi Luciani, the Italian physiologist who lived during the second half of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth, is generally remembered for his studies on the cerebellum, the physiology of the heart, the respiratory system and on fasting. Less well known is the experimental research he carried out in the field of cerebral localization. It should however be pointed out that, as a result of his work in experimental neurophysiology between the years 1875 and 1885, Luciani was perfectly familiar with the latest findings on the relationship between brain and behavioral functions, but above all he was led by this work to develop an interesting model for the description of brain functions. He refined this model in a close dialectic relationship, of comparison and contrast, with the theories of the leading European neurophysiologists of his time - either those who favored a localizationistic explanation of the brain's functions or those who opposed this view. This paper gives a quick presentation of Luciani's experimental work on the functions of the brain as well as what he thought of the question of cerebral localization. His localizationistic model is compared - both in its general characteristics and in its specific details - with other models which had been proposed during the same years by the outstanding European physiologists of the day like Goltz, Ferrier, and Munk. Luciani's epistemological foundations, as well as his experimental methodology, are analyzed within the context of his wider theoretical ideas about how nervous and psychic activity were linked, with his ideas on physiology, and more in general in relation to his view of man's biological place in the rest of the living world. On the basis of this analysis, the state of the experimental work being done in Italy by Luciani is placed within the European context of neurophysiology in which Luciani was an outstanding figure.

Brain↗

PubMed1999

David Ferrier and Luigi Luciani on the localization of brain functions.

Cerebral localizations discovered by Luciani will be compared with those observed by Ferrier, the 'father' of cerebral cartography. The two neurophysiologists' different experimental results will be analyzed from an epistemological point of view, in the light of their respective methodologies, models and theoretical assumptions. Luciani was always profoundly aware of the importance of theoretical assumptions and their impact both on methodological approaches and on how to interpret the results of experiments (results which were often the same as those obtained by Goltz, even though they were interpreted in quite dissimilar ways because they were based on different models). Agreement or disagreement with Ferrier's interpretation of cerebral functioning, and the two men's conception on the functional differentiation of well-identified cortical areas will be interpreted on epistemological ground. Reference will be made, on the one hand, to the theoretical model behind Luciani's experiments, on the other hand, to methods and procedures which allowed him to observe his experimental subjects for a longer period of time after the operation because of their longer survival rates. He was, consequently, able to carry out a more detailed analysis of the effects of experimentation on animal behavior. In this sense the time factor acquired a fundamental importance in the development of notions such as compensation and functional recovery. From Luciani's vast amount of activity in the field of physiology at the turn of the century, we shall take a look at the results of his investigations into cerebral localization in order to highlight the state of Italian neurophysiology in relation to the situation in contemporary Europe and, in particular, to the situation in Great Britain.

Cerebellum↗

PubMed1997

Applicability of telemedicine for assessing patients with schizophrenia: acceptance and reliability.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine holds promise for providing expert psychiatric consultation to underserved populations, but has not been quantitatively studied in schizophrenia or any other major mental disorder. This study was conducted to assess the reliability and acceptance of video-conferencing equipment in the assessment of patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: We assessed reliability of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), and Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) under three conditions: (1) in person, (2) by videoconferencing at low (128 kilobits per second [kbs]) bandwidth, (3) by videoconferencing at high (384 kbs) bandwidth. All 45 patients met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia. All patients and the two interviewers rated various aspects of the study interviews against previous live psychiatric interviews. RESULTS: Total scores on both the BPRS and SAPS were assessed equally reliably by the three media. Total score on the SANS was less reliably assessed at the low bandwidth, as were several specific negative symptoms of schizophrenia that depend heavily on nonverbal cues. Video interviews were well accepted by patients in both groups, although patients in the high bandwidth group were more likely to prefer the video interview to a live interview. CONCLUSION: Global severity of schizophrenia and overall severity of positive symptoms were reliably assessed by videoconferencing technology. Higher bandwidth resulted in more reliable assessment of negative symptoms and was preferred over low bandwidth, although patients' and raters' acceptance of video was good in both conditions. Videoconsultation appears to be a reliable method of assessing schizophrenic patients in remote locations who have limited access to expert consultation.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Effects of low oral doses of melatonin, given 2-4 hours before habitual bedtime, on sleep in normal young humans.

Low oral doses of melatonin raise serum melatonin concentrations to those normally occurring nocturnally and facilitate polysomnographically assessed sleep onset when given at different time points throughout the day, without altering mood or performance on the morning following treatment. In the present study, 12 young healthy volunteers, free of sleep disturbances, received 0.3 or 1.0 mg of melatonin or placebo at 2100 hours, 2-4 hours prior to their habitual bedtime. Polysomnographic recording of overnight sleep began at 2200 hours and continued until 0700 hours the following morning, when subjects were awakened. Sleep onset latency and latency to stage 2 sleep were significantly decreased as a result of melatonin treatment. Neither dose of melatonin significantly altered sleep architecture. Administration of the lower dose of melatonin (0.3 mg) at 2100 hours elevated serum melatonin to levels within the normal nocturnal range (113 +/- 13.5 pg/ml) at the time the sleep test was initiated. Neither melatonin dose caused "hangover effects", as assessed by self-reports or by mood and performance tests administered on the morning following treatment. These observations provide additional evidence that nocturnal melatonin secretion has a sleep-promoting function. They also indicate that an increase in serum melatonin concentrations, within the normal physiologic range, does not significantly alter sleep architecture in subjects with normal sleep who receive the treatment several hours prior to their habitual bedtime.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1996

[Not Available].

This article starts with the description of a medical case: the removal of a brain tumor carried out in 1886 in London at the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic. This medical case is recorded in the Casebooks that today can be found in the archive of the hospital. Firstly, there is the description of the patient's state of health and of the intracranical surgery performed by Victor Horsley who referred himself to David Ferrier's cortical maps. Secondly, there is the reconstruction of the theoretical path that led Ferrier, in the 1870s, to prove on an experimental basis the existence of different localised cerebral functions in specific cortical areas. These cerebral localizations are then compared with the model that, at the beginning of the century, contained their first theoretical seed: the Organology of Franz Joseph Gall.

Brain↗

PubMed1995

Sleep-inducing effects of low doses of melatonin ingested in the evening.

We previously observed tht low oral doses of melatonin given at noon increase blood melatonin concentrations to those normally occurring nocturnally and facilitate sleep onset, as assessed using and involuntary muscle relaxation test. In this study we examined the induction of polysomnographically recorded sleep by similar doses given later in the evening, close to the times of endogenous melatonin release and habitual sleep onset. Volunteers received the hormone (oral doses of 0.3 or 1.0 mg) or placebo at 6, 8, or 9 PM. Latencies to sleep onset, to stage 2 sleep, and to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep were measured polysomnographically. Either dose given at any of the three time points decreased sleep onset latency and latency to stage 2 sleep. Melatonin did not suppress REM sleep or delay its onset. Most volunteers could clearly distinguish between the effects of melatonin and those of placebo when the hormone was tested at 6 or 8 PM. Neither melatonin dose induced "hangover" effects, as assessed with mood and performance tests administered on the morning after treatment. These data provide new evidence that nocturnal melatonin secretion may be involved in physiologic sleep onset and that exogenous melatonin may be useful in treating insomnia.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Primary carcinoma of the gastric stump. Physiopathological, diagnostic and therapeutic considerations].

Even though the primary carcinoma of the gastric stump is a tumor that will diminish in frequency in the years to come, it is still a topic of scientific studies. The authors report their experience with four cases of primary carcinoma of the gastric stump treated surgically as compared to 89 cases of carcinoma of the stomach operated in the same period. After some comments on the etiopathogenesis that is at the basis of the neoplastic mutations of the remaining gastric epithelium, clinical, prognostic and pathologic features that differentiate this type of tumor from those which develop in unoperated stomachs are examined and, then, the most frequent therapeutic approaches are illustrated. In conclusion, it is sustained that patients who have undergone partial gastrectomy for benign disease should be closely followed-up from the tenth year after the operation and, in any case, in those who are over fifty years of age.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Torsion of the greater omentum as a rare cause of acute abdomen].

Taking as their starting point a case of greater omental torsion recently observed in their surgical department, the authors carefully review the topic and the relevant literature data. This is a rare condition, which though presenting diagnostic difficulties which make it hard to identify preoperatively, poses no problems of a therapeutic nature.

Abdomen, Acute↗