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Biomedical subjects

Donato Calista

Publications and source records attributed to Donato Calista.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Instrumental measurements of skin color and skin ultraviolet light sensitivity and risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma: a case-control study in an Italian population.

The authors evaluated objective measurements of constitutive skin color and ultraviolet light sensitivity in relation to risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). Incident CMM cases (n = 183) were diagnosed between December 1994 and January 1999 at the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, Italy. Controls (n = 179) were mostly spouses/partners of cases and were frequency-matched by age and sex. In addition to interviews, constitutive skin color and skin ultraviolet light sensitivity were assessed by colorimetry and minimal erythema dose (MED), respectively. Odds ratios were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. The odds of CMM increased by a factor of 1.20 (95 percent confidence interval: 1.12, 1.30) for each unit of skin brightness and by a factor of 1.24 (95 percent confidence interval: 1.07, 1.43) per 10 mJ/cm(2) of MED. These associations were largely independent of phenotypic or sun-related characteristics and were modified by sun exposure. Increased risk of CMM was observed only among subjects with the highest levels of sun exposure. Epidemiologic studies of CMM may benefit from the inclusion of colorimetric and MED measurements along with traditional risk factors to obtain more accurate, quantitative, and objective information.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Changing morbidity of cutaneous diseases in patients with HIV after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy including a protease inhibitor.

BACKGROUND: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is a combination of an HIV protease inhibitor (PI), one or two reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs) and/or non-nuclease reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). This combination therapy is able to reduce peripheral HIV viral load, elevate CD4+ cell counts and improve the clinical outcome. AIM: To evaluate the impact of HAART therapy, including one PI, on the prevalence of skin diseases in patients with HIV/AIDS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was performed by collecting data about HIV populations followed at the 'M. Bufalini' Infectious Diseases Unit and San Patrignano Medical Centre, Italy. The medical records regarding the dermatological diseases of such people were retrospectively examined in 12-month periods before (1996) and after (1999) the introduction of HAART. RESULTS: The two groups of patients were matched for age, gender and stage of HIV disease. During the first part of the study, 328 of the 456 patients (72%) sought medical advice 689 times for dermatoses. In the second period, 196 of the 502 patients (39%) made a total of 255 visits. There was a considerable decrease in the number of dermatological visits (-63%) and patients with dermatological problems (-40%). In the group that did not receive HAART, 66% of the patients had cutaneous infections, 25% had inflammatory cutaneous disorders, 8% adverse cutaneous drug reactions and 1% cutaneous neoplasms. In the group of patients treated with HAART, cutaneous infections were observed in 53% of patients, while 21% of patients had inflammatory dermatoses, 20% of patients showed adverse cutaneous drug reactions, and 1% had skin cancers. The remaining 5% asked to see a dermatologist for cosmetic reasons. CONCLUSIONS: The group of patients who received combination regimens including PIs had significantly lower cutaneous morbidity than those treated with nucleoside analogs alone. This tendency included both opportunistic infections and inflammatory cutaneous diseases. Adverse cutaneous drug reactions related to multidrug combination therapy were significantly higher in the group receiving HAART.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Topical 1% cidofovir for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

Cidofovir, a purine nucleotide analogue of deoxycytidine, is a drug effective against a wide number of DNA viruses. Recently, cidofovir has been supposed to exert antineoplastic activity, through the induction of apoptosis and the inhibition of angiogenesis. Four patients affected by basal cell carcinoma (BCC), who refused conventional surgery, were treated with a cream containing 1% cidofovir. The cream was applied every day for 10 days, then every other day for another 50 days. Histopathologic clearing was assessed with a skin biopsy performed on the previous lesional area 3 months after the end of treatment. All four patients achieved clinical healing of their lesion. Histological tumour regression was achieved in three patients. The treatment was well tolerated and the cosmetic results were excellent. No recurrences after an average 24-month follow up period were detected. The potential effectiveness of topical cidofovir for the non-surgical treatment of BCC have been shown. Nevertheless, appropriate clinical trials and prolonged follow-up periods are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of topical cidofovir.

Administration, Topical↗