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C Ortolani

Publications and source records attributed to C Ortolani.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

[Cutaneous melanomas in old patients. Prognostic factors and actuarial survival].

A study of 80 consecutive cutaneous malignant melanomas in 78 patients older than 60 years, with an average of 73 (60-93), is presented. The following data were considered: age, sex, localization, stage, other synchronous or metachronous malignant tumors, excluded basal cell epitheliomas, histological type and depth of cutaneous invasion according to Clark's levels and Breslow's measure. The follow up lasted 1 to 156 months with an average of 39 months. All patients were treated by surgical removal of the cutaneous lesion or the regional lymph node metastases, if they appeared. No prophylactic lymph node dissections were performed. There were 45 women and 33 men. The histological type was superficial spreading (ES) in 17 women and 7 men; nodular (NOD) in 18 and 16; lentigo maligna melanoma (LM) in 4 and 4 and acral in 7 and 7. Relations between sex, localization, histological type and actuarial survival curves can be observed in Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8 and Tables 1, 2. Even considering the shortcomings of this retrospective analysis and a relatively short follow up for melanomas, this study points out that the thickness of the lesion became prognostically significant in relation to survival, beyond 3.7 mm (p < 0.001); but when the tumors were thinner, this group of patients showed other causes of death (MPOC) with a greater frequency than those related to tumoral progression (MPM) (p < 0.001) and that maybe this should be taken into account when planning treatment for melanomas in elderly patients. Other malignant synchronous or metachronous tumors were found in 19% of the patients (Table 2).

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1991

ACTH-like molecules in gastropod molluscs: a possible role in ancestral immune response and stress.

The presence of immunoreactive ACTH molecules on phagocytic cells from the freshwater snails Planorbarius corneus and Lymnaea stagnalis was shown by cytofluorimetric analysis. The role of ACTH in phagocytosis and in the release of biogenic amines, two biological responses that may be taken as ancestral types of immune response and stress, respectively, has also been evaluated. ACTH markedly increased the phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus by P. corneus haemocytes and caused the release of biogenic amines from such cells into the serum. These data, as well as tracing the ancestral physiological role of ACTH, favour the hypothesis that immune and neuroendocrine systems share a common evolutionary origin.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1991

Age-related expansion of functionally inefficient cells with markers of natural killer activity in Down's syndrome.

Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets of two groups of patients affected by Down's syndrome (DS), ie, 28 children and nine adults of relatively advanced age (greater than 34 years), were investigated and compared with those of age- and sex-matched healthy controls (13 children and 20 adults). Particular attention was devoted to cells with markers of natural killer (NK) activity. Double- and triple-color cytofluorimetric analysis was used to better characterize the phenotypic features of the different subsets. Apart from a reduced number of T lymphocytes (CD3+) in DS children and of B lymphocytes (CD19+) in both DS groups, the major alteration we found was a marked age-related increase of the percentage of cells bearing markers associated with NK activity, such as CD16, CD56, and CD57. These DS cells were apparently severely defective as far as their function was concerned, because NK activity was significantly reduced in comparison with age-matched controls, but still capable of responding to cytokines such as interleukin-2, interferon-beta, and interferon-gamma, and to the modulation of lytic activity exerted by the anti-CD16 monoclonal antibody. On the whole, our data stress the importance of studying DS subjects of different ages to fully appreciate the immunologic derangement characteristic of this syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Preferential expression of V beta 6.7 domain on human peripheral CD4+ T cells. Implication for positive selection of T cells in man.

The peripheral T cell receptor repertoire is mainly controlled by the processes of positive and negative selection occurring in the thymus. Studies in normal or transgenic mice have provided compelling evidence for both negative and positive selection. Negative selection is characterized by partial or total disappearance from the periphery of T cells expressing certain C beta regions, which are normally present in the thymus. Positive selection is chiefly characterized, in the periphery, by an imbalanced ratio between CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing a given V domain. To date little information concerning positive and negative selection has been available in man. We studied the distribution of 4 V beta domains on CD4+ and CD8+ peripheral T cells of 34 healthy individuals with a wide age-range (0-96 years). One of the V beta domain studied, V beta 6.7, is preferentially expressed on CD4+ compared to CD8+ T cells (p greater than 0.001). No significant differences were observed using the other V beta domain-specific monoclonal antibodies (V beta 5.2-5.3, 8 or 12). These results provide evidence that a process of thymic education, similar to that described in murine animal models, may also take place in man.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Precocious aging of the immune system in Down syndrome: alteration of B lymphocytes, T-lymphocyte subsets, and cells with natural killer markers.

Phenotype and proliferative ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes from 15 noninstitutionalized children affected with Down Syndrome (DS), in apparently good health, were studied and compared with those of 16 healthy control children of the same age. A complex derangement of all the major peripheral blood cell subsets, i.e., B cells, T cells, and natural killer (NK) cells, was present in DS children. A significant decrease of the absolute number of circulating lymphocytes, a marked and significant decrease of B lymphocyte absolute number and percentage, and dramatic modifications of the T-cell subsets were observed. The absolute number of CD4+ cells was significantly decreased, whereas CD8+ cells increased significantly in percentage but not in absolute number. A derangement of cells bearing markers associated with NK activity, such as CD57, CD16, and CD56, was observed. Among the most important alterations, the presence of a high number of CD57+, CD16- cells, of CD57+, CD8+ lymphocytes, and of CD3+, CD56+ lymphocytes was seen. Many of these alterations are similar to those characteristic of chromosomally normal subjects of advanced age. The hypothesis that the reduced thymic endocrine activity and the zinc deficiency characteristic of DS are responsible for the derangement of T and NK subsets is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A double-blind study of hyposensitization with an alginate-conjugated extract of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Conjuvac) in patients with perennial rhinitis. II. Immunological aspects.

In a 2-year double-blind placebo controlled study an immunological evaluation was carried out on 33 patients (15 males, 18 females, mean age 29.2 years) with mite-induced perennial rhinitis who were submitted to specific immunotherapy (IT) with an alginate-conjugated extract of D. pteronyssinus. The behaviour of IgE, IgG, IgG1 and IgG4 antibodies specific to D. pteronyssinus and its major allergen Der p1 was characterized by assessment of their changes in serum, and changes in IgG in nasal secretions during the treatment. The placebo-treated patients did not show any significant variation in the levels of specific antibodies, while in the actively treated patients we found: a statistically significant decrease (P less than 0.005) of specific IgE, a statistically significant increase of specific IgG (P less than 0.005), IgG1 (P less than 0.005) and IgG4 (P less than 0.005) in serum and a statistically significant increase (P less than 0.001) of specific IgG in nasal secretions. The IgG response showed an early relative predominance of the IgG1 subclass and a late absolute predominance of IgG4 subclass, that confirmed the model of IgG4 restriction in prolonged allergen stimulation. No correlation was found between immunological and clinical data.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1989

Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation does not prevent lymphocyte entry into the cell cycle.

The enzyme poly(ADP-ribosyl)transferase (ADPRT) becomes activated soon after a mitogenic stimulus is applied to lymphocyte cultures. It has also been reported that ADPRT inhibitors prevent cell proliferation when added to cultures at the same time as the mitogen. While this has been ascribed to the need to seal physiologically present DNA strand breaks before cells enter S phase, the presence of DNA strand breaks in quiescent human lymphocytes has been recently questioned. We demonstrate here that non-toxic concentrations of ADPRT inhibitors do not affect lymphocyte blastization and proliferation, as measured by thymidine incorporation and cytofluorimetry. We therefore suggest that ADPRT activation is required for late functions which are not needed for cell cycle progression.

Benzamides↗
PubMed1989

Comparison of results of skin prick tests (with fresh foods and commercial food extracts) and RAST in 100 patients with oral allergy syndrome.

One hundred adult patients with a history of oral allergy syndrome (OAS) after ingestion of fruits and vegetables, 77 patients with hay fever and 13 with skin prick tests and RAST positive to pollens but without seasonal symptoms, and 32 normal nonallergic control subjects, had Phadebas RAST and skin prick tests with commercial extracts (CSPT) and with fresh foods (FFSPT) to assess the reliability of these three tests. Sensitivity was better with FFSPT for carrot, celery, cherry, apple, tomato, orange, and peach; better with CSPT for peanut, pea, and walnut; and better with RAST for hazelnut. Specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value of the three tests were determined for apple, carrot, hazelnut, orange, pea, peanut, and tomato. Specificity in the patient groups ranged between 40% (pea) and 100% (apple) for CSPT, between 61% (peanut) and 87% (carrot) for RAST, and between 42% (carrot) and 93% (peanut) for FFSPT. However, all tests were negative in the control group. Thus, false positive results may result from cross-reactivity with pollen allergens. The diagnostic accuracy of these tests in the population with OAS proved comparable for peanut, carrot, hazelnut, and pea. FFSPT proved more sensitive than CSPT or RAST in confirming a history of OAS to certain alimentary allergens, such as apple, orange, tomato, carrot, cherry, celery, and peach.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

A double-blind study of hyposensitization with an alginate conjugated extract of D. pteronyssinus (Conjuvac) in patients with perennial rhinitis. 1. Clinical aspects.

The efficacy of hyposensitization with a standardised extract of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D. pteronyssinus) conjugated to alginate and containing known amounts of antigen P1 (Conjuvac) was tested in a double blind, placebo controlled, multi-centre study in 66 adult patients with perennial rhinitis. Patients received 11 weekly injections of increasing concentrations of Conjuvac containing from 56 x 10(1) to 448 10(3) IU D. pteronyssinus or placebo injections of the alginate diluent to some of which 5 micrograms of histamine has been randomly added. This was followed by 15 monthly injections of Conjuvac or placebo. The severity of nasal blockage, sneezing and rhinorrhoea was recorded twice daily in a diary and visual analogue assessments (VAS) made at each clinic visit. Nasal provocation testing (NPT) was performed with increasing concentrations of the same extract of D. pteronyssinus as used in the hyposensitization injections, and changes in nasal airways resistance measured by passive anterior rhinomanometry. VAS was recorded and NPT was performed on entry to the study and after the fifth, ninth and final monthly injection. Conjuvac injections were well tolerated. Large local reactions (greater than 5 cm) occurred within 30 min in only 1% of patients but later in 23%. No systemic reactions or anaphylaxis occurred within 30 min of injections, but urticaria or worsening of asthma and rhinitis was reported later in 3% of patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1988

The oral allergy syndrome.

We have studied 262 patients suffering from hay fever and oral allergy syndrome after fruit and vegetable ingestion. The history and the results of RAST and skin test for pollen showed a contemporary presence of systemic and local symptoms in most of the patients; a close connection between age of onset of hay fever and oral allergy syndrome; a frequent association between allergy to some pollens and some vegetables, such as between apple, carrot, pear, cherry with birch pollen and tomato, melon, watermelon with grass pollen.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Food allergy diagnosis protocol.

The protocol is proposed in a definite way for recurrent or chronic symptoms. In the first case, the diagnosis is made by PRICK, RAST and provocation tests with suspect foods. On 100 patients, the reliability of PRICK and RAST has been shown. In the second case, a non-allergenic diet and the recurrence of symptoms on the re-introduction of certain foods has permitted isolation of the causative foods and the differentiation of food allergy and intolerance. This has been done with 386 cases of urticaria and angio-oedema, where it has been shown that 1.9% of the reactions had a food-linked origin.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1987

Antihistaminic treatment of allergic rhinitis: a double-blind study with terfenadine versus dexchlorpheniramine.

A double-blind study was carried out in 65 patients with seasonal rhinitis to compare the effectiveness and tolerance of terfenadine and dexchlorpheniramine. Patients were allocated at random to receive treatment for 1 week with either 60 mg terfenadine twice daily or 2 mg dexchlorpheniramine maleate 3-times daily. Before and after treatment, patients underwent RAST and skin prick tests for reactivity to pollen and those who were positive also had rhinomanometric measurements made of nasal resistance. Diary cards were used by patients to record the severity of nasal obstruction, rhinorrhoea, sneezing, watery, irritated and red eyes, itching of the nose, throat and eyes, and cough. Details were also kept of the frequency and severity of any side-effects. Pollen counts were taken daily during the treatment period. The results showed that both terfenadine and dexchlorpheniramine produced good or excellent relief of the main symptoms in 78% and 73% of the patients, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the pollen count and reduced symptom severity. Both drugs produced a reduction in total nasal resistance but this was not significantly different from initial values, neither was there a significant difference between treatment. Terfenadine was well tolerated and side-effects incidence was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) than in patients treated with dexchlorpheniramine, particularly so with reference to drowsiness.

Adolescent↗