Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

F De Negri

Publications and source records attributed to F De Negri.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Interference of thyroperoxidase on immuno-cytochemical determination of steroid receptors in thyroid tissue.

The presence of sexual steroid receptor proteins in thyroid tissue has been previously demonstrated by biochemical means. The aim of this study was to determine the estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors in malignant (12 papillary and 1 follicular carcinoma) and nonmalignant (19 multinodular goiters, 1 Graves' disease, 1 Hashimoto's thyroiditis) thyroid diseases using immunocytochemical assay employing monoclonal anti-ER and anti-PR antibodies and the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique. Positive results were obtained in 24/34 (70%) for ER (ER-ICA+) and 22/34 (64%) for PR (PR-ICA+). To evaluate the possible interference of thyroperoxidase in the immunostaining, in consecutive sections of a positive specimen, primary antibody or primary antibody plus bridging antibody or PAP complex was omitted. Using these modified procedures, staining distribution was similar to that obtained by the standard procedure: in contrast, no staining was found in the positive control, i.e. a breast cancer specimen. The inhibition of the endogenous peroxidase caused a loss of staining in both the standard and modified procedures on thyroid specimens; no staining modification was obtained in the positive control. These results suggest that the staining observed in thyroid tissue is not specific and related to the activity of thyroperoxidase on chromogen solution. The complete loss of staining after peroxidase inhibition appears to be in contrast with the results obtained by biochemical method, and different antigenicity of thyroid receptors in comparison with breast receptors may explain this discrepancy.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis: possible role of sonography in diagnosis and follow-up.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) is a rare disease of unknown etiology. The clinical and radiological diagnoses have to be confirmed by histological examination of biopsy specimens. The authors now present a case of a 19-year-old man with recurrent epigastric pain and vomiting, whose sonographic features and eosinophilia suggested the diagnosis of EGE, which was subsequently confirmed by histology. Sonographic follow-up permitted an effective evaluation of the evolution of the disease under steroid therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Coagulation and fibrinolytic system impairment in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Selected coagulation and fibrinolytic parameters were assessed in 40 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients with varying degrees of metabolic control; 30 healthy subjects matched for age and sex formed the control group. Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time, Prothrombin Time, Fibrinogen, Factor VII, Antithrombin III, Protein C, Plasminogen, alpha 2-Plasmin Inhibitor, Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1, tissue-Plasminogen Activator were functionally evaluated. Antigenic levels of tissue-Plasminogen Activator, Thrombin-Antithrombin complexes and fibrinolytic specific product B beta 15-42 were also determined. Compared to the control group diabetic patients displayed significantly higher levels of Fibrinogen (p < 0.01), Factor VII (p < 0.01), Thrombin-Antithrombin complexes (p < 0.01) and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 activity (p < 0.01). Regardless of the normal level of the tissue-Plasminogen Activator-related antigen, diabetic patients had tissue-Plasminogen Activator activity lower than the control group (p < 0.05). Coagulation Factor VII and Thrombin-Antithrombin complexes were increased only in the patients with poor metabolic control (p < 0.01). Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time, Prothrombin Time, Antithrombin III, Protein C, Plasminogen, alpha 2-Plasmin Inhibitor, B beta 15-42 fibrin peptide were found to be in the normal range. Fibrinogen correlated positively with fasting blood glucose (p < 0.05) and Thrombin-Antithrombin complexes with glycosylated haemoglobin (p < 0.05), whereas Factor VII was positively correlated with glycemia (p < 0.01) and glycosylated haemoglobin (p < 0.05). Higher levels of Fibrinogen were found in patients affected by nephropathy (p < 0.005) or neuropathy (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate an impairment of the haemostatic balance in diabetic patients, that is a possible hypercoagulable state, which represents an important factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic complications.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Subcutaneous seeding after percutaneous ethanol injection of liver metastasis.

A 72-year-old cirrhotic woman underwent percutaneous ethanol injection treatment of a liver metastasis of unknown origin. A subcutaneous metastasis developed at the site of the punctures. Needle track seeding is a rare complication of fine-needle biopsy but has never--to the authors' knowledge--been reported after percutaneous ethanol injection. The possible causes of this complication are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

Comparison of monoclonal immunocytochemical and immunoenzymatic methods for steroid receptor evaluation in breast cancer.

The production of monoclonal antibodies against estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) has permitted the development of the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and immunocytochemical assay (ICA) for steroid receptor determination. The results obtained with these two techniques, using the same monoclonal antibodies, were compared in a large series of breast carcinomas (187 for ER and 100 for PR). The correlation between these methods was significant for ER (rs = 0.54) and PR (rs = 0.55) (P less than 0.001) but was lost when the receptor concentrations determined by EIA were less than or equal to 15 and less than or equal to 30 fmol/mg protein for ER and PR, respectively. When these values are considered as cutoffs, the concordance between the two methods was 84.5% for ER and 73% for PR. An analysis of discordant results revealed that low epithelial cellularity generally was present in ICA-positive, EIA-negative specimens, whereas only focal positivity with ICA, or positivity of only normal peripheral mammary ducts and lobules, frequently was found in ICA-negative, EIA-positive tumors. In conclusion, there is good correlation between the results obtained by EIA and ICA methods for detection of ER and PR. The authors suggest that biochemical and histochemical methods for steroid receptors could be considered complementary and used together for the analysis of breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Long-term intramuscular administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone tartrate in patients with cerebrovascular disease: effects on the pituitary-thyroid axis.

We studied the effects of long-term (30 days) refracted daily intramuscular administration of 4 mg TRH tartrate (TRH-T) on the pituitary-thyroid axis in 20 euthyroid patients affected by cerebrovascular disease (CVD). All subjects were assayed for T4, T3, FT4, FT3, TSH and TBG plasma levels before treatment (D0), after 15 and 30 treatment days (D15, D30), and after a 15-day washout (D45). In addition, TSH response to 200 micrograms intravenous TRH was assessed at D0, D30 and D45. We observed a significant increase in T4, FT4 and FT3 levels in the face of decreased TSH concentrations. A blunted TSH response to TRH bolus persisted at D30. These data demonstrate that the down-regulation mechanism may be partially overcome in vivo when thyrotrophs are chronically exposed to pharmacological TRH-T doses and that TSH pattern is mainly due to the negative feedback of thyroid hormones, even though pituitary TSH reserves may become depleted. Furthermore, prolonged TRH-T administration does not produce hyperthyroidism in euthyroid CVD patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Risk of disseminated intravascular coagulation in patients undergoing echo-guided transperineal prostatic needle biopsy with transrectal probe].

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a severe life-threatening acute bleeding disorder. Traumatized tissues, tumors, necrotic tissues, or bacterial endotoxines release similar material in the blood to the tissutal factors activating the coagulation cascade. This preliminary study was aimed at verifying the risk of DIC in patients undergoing US-guided transperineal prostatic biopsy with Chiba and Tru-Cut needles. To evaluate the activation degree of coagulation factors in the circulation, the authors measured the concentrations of urinary fibrin degradation products in 10 patients undergoing US-guided transperineal prostatic biopsy, both before and after biopsy, every second hour, for 24 hours. Every tube of urine sample contained soya bean trypsin inhibitor and bovine thrombin to prevent any further fibrin degradation during incubation period for the possible presence of blood in urine samples. The results showed that 7/10 patients had marked increase in urinary fibrin degradation product levels (up to 800 micrograms%), with a 3-phase trend: early peak after 2-6 hours, middle peak after 6-14 hours, and late peak after 18-24 hours, which proved the activation of the coagulation cascade.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Lack of nocturnal serum thyrotropin (TSH) surge in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing regular maintenance hemofiltration: a case of central hypothyroidism.

Thyrotropin (TSH) secretion was evaluated in a group of patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) undergoing regular maintenance hemofiltration and in normal controls. The study group included 68 patients (39 males and 29 females, age range 39-73 years, mean: 53 years). In all patients blood was drawn at 08:30-09:00 h; in 20 patients the nocturnal (24:00-02:00 h) serum TSH peak was also evaluated; 12 patients underwent stimulation test with synthetic TSH-releasing hormone (TRH). TSH was measured by an ultrasensitive immunoradiometric assay. CRF patients showed a significant decrease in serum total and free thyroxine and triiodothyronine concentrations, which in a substantial proportion of subjects were below the lower normal limit. Serum reverse triiodothyronine and thyroxine-binding globulin values did not differ in the two groups. Despite this trend of thyroid hormones to decrease, no patient had supranormal TSH values as in primary hypothyroidism. While the mean morning TSH concentrations of CRF patients did not differ from those of controls, the mean nocturnal values were significantly reduced in CRF (1.0 +/- 0.2 vs 3.2 +/- 0.4 mU/l, p less than 0.0005) and the nocturnal serum TSH surge was not observed in 18 of the 20 patients (90%) in whom it was evaluated. The mean serum TSH peak value after TSH-releasing hormone (TRH) administration was also reduced in CRF patients, and the TSH response to TRH was blunted in 3 out of 12 patients (25%). The results of this study demonstrate a major impairment of TSH secretion in CRF, which baseline TSH measurements in the morning and the evaluation of the TSH response to TRH may not reveal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Relationship between progesterone receptor, axillary node status and productive fibrosis in ductal infiltrating carcinoma of the breast.

The presence of progesterone receptor (PR), productive fibrosis (PF), axillary nodal status and tumor size are important prognostic variables in breast cancer. In this study we have analyzed the relationship between these four parameters in 78 ductal infiltrating carcinomas of the breast. No relationship was found between PF and the presence of lymph node metastatic disease: however, in the tumors with positive nodes, a limited metastatic diffusion (1-3 lymph nodes) was significantly associated with PF (p less than 0.05). Our study failed to demonstrate any relation between estrogen receptor (ER) and both presence and extension of nodal involvement; in contrast, the tumors with limited metastatic diffusion (1-3 lymph nodes) had a significantly higher prevalence of PR positivity (p less than 0.05). Furthermore, PF was strongly associated with PR (p less than 0.001) and less well with ER (p less than 0.05). The simultaneous presence of PR and marked PF was strongly correlated with limited metastatic involvement of the axilla (p less than 0.007). Tumor size was correlated with the number of positive nodes (p less than 0.001), but not with PR or PF. The results demonstrate that PR status, PF and tumor size are related to limited metastatic diffusion of the axilla: furthermore PF and PR have been shown to be strongly related and we have demonstrated that, at least in ductal infiltrating carcinoma, the simultaneous presence of them identifies a subset of tumors with low metastatic capacity independently of tumor size.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Relationship between progesterone receptor and productive fibrosis as an index of tumor differentiation in breast cancer.

We studied the relationship between steroid receptors (SR) and various stromal parameters in 100 breast cancers. Each specimen was submitted to SR determination by the dextran-coated charcoal assay and to histologic examination. No relationship was found between the presence of SR and necrosis or fibroblastic cell content. There was an inverse correlation between SR positivity and the extent of lymphocyte infiltration (p less than 0.05). ER + PR + status was strongly correlated with marked productive fibrosis (PF) (p less than 0.005). When SR were separately assayed, only the presence of PR was correlated with PF (p less than 0.005); similar results were obtained for PR levels (p less than 0.01). PF was also associated with a higher nuclear grade (p less than 0.001). In conclusion, in this study a strong correlation between PR positivity or concentration and extent of PF was demonstrated in breast cancer. Since PR synthesis is an expression of an intact regulatory pathway, our data suggest that stromal production in breast cancer is related to the degree of differentiation of malignant epithelial cells.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cold thyroid nodules: a new application of percutaneous ethanol injection treatment.

Sonographically guided percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) has been recently used with excellent results in the treatment of toxic and pretoxic thyroid adenoma. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of PEI also in the treatment of "cold" thyroid nodules. Twenty patients, each with a single thyroid nodule, underwent PEI. In all cases the nodules were found to be cold by thyroid scintiscan. A total of 16.1 mL +/- 3.1 mL of ethanol was injected once a week. No adverse effects were observed during therapy. A striking nodular shrinkage was obtained in all cases, ranging from 72.8% to 97.6% (mean 84.5%, p < 0.001 vs pretreatment volume). These preliminary results suggest that PEI is an effective and safe therapy that may be useful in the treatment of thyroid nodules as an alternative to other therapies (surgery, L-thyroxine).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Value of ER-D5 immunocytochemical determination in routine tissue sections of human breast cancer.

ER-D5 is a recently identified protein related to estrogen receptors (ER). Generally ER measurement requires fresh frozen tissue and for ER-D5 assay ethanol (E) fixation of the specimen is recommended. We evaluated the possibility of immunocytochemical detection of ER-D5 in routine formalin-fixed (F) sections in 51 breast cancers comparing the results with those obtained in the same specimens using E as fixative. The results of ER-D5 assay were expressed by the staining index (SI) taking values greater than or equal to 5 as positive. In all tumors ER was also assayed by a biochemical method (DCCA). The sensitivity of ER-D5 detection in F was only 33.3%, while the specificity was 94.4%. A lower cut-off value of SI for F sections (greater than or equal to 2) increased the sensitivity to 66.6%, leaving the specificity unchanged. A strong correlation was found between the SI of ER-D5 in E and F (p less than 0.001). The SI of ER-D5 in F sections was also well correlated with ER concentrations (p less than 0.001). These results suggest that immunocytochemical determination of ER-D5 in routine sections may be useful in retrospective studies of hormone dependence in breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Estrogen, progesterone receptors and proliferating activity evaluated by immunocytochemistry in breast cancer.

The correlation of the most important prognostic indicators was evaluated in 75 breast cancer cases. Estrogen-progesterone receptors and proliferating activity were analyzed by immunocytochemical methods (ER-ICA, PR-ICA, Ki-67). Both steroid receptors were inversely correlated with the proliferating activity (ER-ICA vs Ki-67, p less than 0.003; PR-ICA vs. Ki-67, p less than 0.0001). No correlation was found between steroid receptors or cell kinetics and tumor size or lymph node status. These findings confirm the relevance of biochemical and kinetic parameters as independent markers in breast cancer and suggest a routine use of the simple immunocytochemical methods in assessing the biological behavior of tumors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Preclinical hypothyroidism: early involvement of memory function, behavioral responsiveness and myocardial contractility].

Subclinical hypothyroidism in characterized by elevated TSH levels in the face of normal thyroid hormone concentrations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether these subjects show alterations of neuropsychological and behavioural features and of myocardial contractility as patients with overt hypothyroidism do. We evaluated in 14 subjects the hormonal profile (total and free T3 and T4, TSH), memory ability (Wechsler Memory Scale), behavioural reactivity (Crown & Crisp Experimental Index) and the pre-ejection period (isometric systole). We found an evident impairment of some cognitive functions correlated to memory and a behavioural alteration, perhaps secondary to the disease state, and moreover an early defect of myocardial contractility, represented by prolonged pre-ejection period. These results suggest that these patients should be treated with adequate doses of L-Thyroxine, like in overt hypothyroidism.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Familial occurrence of hypothyroidism and cerebellar ataxia.

Several cases of association between cerebellar ataxia and hypothyroidism have been reported, in which cerebellar symptoms regressed after euthyroid state was obtained, suggesting an etiologic relationship between hypothyroidism and ataxia. We present a further case of hypothyroidism and ataxia, with a peculiar positive family history for both thyroid and cerebellar disorders. Long-term replacement therapy with L-thyroxine determined the regression of hypothyroidism; however, no improvement in cerebellar symptoms was observed. The lack of response of the neurologic symptoms to L-thyroxine treatment suggests the absence of an etiological relationship between thyroid disease and cerebellar disease in this case.

Adult↗