Serum prolactin, growth hormone and cortisol in athletes and sedentary subjects after submaximal and exhaustive exercises.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F Franceschini.
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Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease is a clinical condition characterised by Gout-like synovitis (pseudogout), calcification on and around the joints and an arthropathy that is radiologically similar to osteoarthritis (chronic pyrophosphate arthropathy). Though all these radiological clinical aspects may coexist in the same patient this is often not the case. An examination of the X-ray data on the 68 cases studied which were diagnosed on the basis of the criteria proposed by McCarty, shows that the disease is relatively common especially in the over-fifties. When chronic pyrophosphate arthropathy is the only clinical manifestation of the disease differential diagnosis from the osteoarthrosis so common in the elderly is difficult and depends on the greater severity and progression of the joint damage that may often affect joints not subjected to weight such as the shoulder, unlike what happens in osteoarthritis.
A detailed examination of the hands and feet was performed in a group of 34 patients affected by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), using low-dose mammographic film and Rank Xerox selenium plate, according to current diagnostic techniques. All patients presented articular symptoms (pain and arthralgia). The high incidence (38,8%) of patients with no radiographic evidence of bone damage-even though articular symptoms are present-is emphasized. In such cases, it is very difficult to distinguish SLE from rheumatoid arthritis, especially as far as therapeutic management and prognosis are concerned. The lack of any "pathognomonic" radiological sign of the lupus arthritis, in the hands as well as in the feet, is then stressed. Nevertheless, arthropathy in SLE is defined as a deforming non-erosive arthritis, with a typical symmetric distribution, affecting most commonly-according to incidence-the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints. In the hand, arthropathy is referred to as Jaccoud's type arthritis, because it is characterized by joint deformities which can be corrected. In the foot, the main abnormalities include hallux valgus, subluxation of the metatarsophalangeal joints and widening of the forefoot.
Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) in young individuals is unusual and most often associated with cellular immunodeficiency caused by infective or other neoplastic diseases. It has recently been highly associated with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). We report the case of a heterosexual 29 year aged man with no evidence of underlying malignancy or infectious diseases. Antibodies to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) were absent on repeat testing. His immunological profile demonstrated elevated number of CD8+ cells, normal number of CD3+ and CD4+ cells and hypogammaglobulinemia. These data are distinctly different from those described with AIDS associated KS. The development of KS in young individuals of mediterranean origin may reflect mild degree of immune abnormalities in the absence of infection with HIV.
We evaluated 95 HIV seropositive drug-addicts during a follow-up period of one year. The patients were classified and reclassified at each visit, according to the criteria proposed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 1986. At the first visit the patients were classified as follows: 70 in IIa-IIIa, 23 in IIb-IIIb and 2 in group IV. a and b indicate the absence or the presence of immunological and/or hematological alterations. 1 out of 70 IIa-IIIa patients versus 8 out of 23 IIb-IIIb patients developed AIDS in one year (p less than 0.001). Only one patient belonging to IIa-IIIa groups at the first visit progressed to AIDS in one year. This patient was reclassified in subgroup b after six months. No differences were noted among patients classified in IIb (5 patients) and IIIb (4 patients) who progressed to AIDS. Taken together these data indicate that the belonging to b subgroup is a risk factor for developing AIDS and the passage through a b subgroup (II or III) is a necessary step before the appearance of clinical manifestations of AIDS.
Lymphocyte subsets were analyzed in peripheral blood and lymph nodes from a drug-addict with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) presenting with disseminated lymphadenopathic and oropharyngeal Kaposi's sarcoma. At the onset of disease, hypergammaglobulinemia, increase of OKT8+ T cell subset and reversal of OKT4/OKT8 ratio were found in the blood. At the same time, lymph nodes displayed, besides Kaposi's sarcoma, marked follicular hyperplasia, plasmocytosis and increase of OKT8+/Leu 2a+ T cells within follicular centers. These results are interpreted to indicate that at an early stage of disease the major tissue alterations took place within follicular centers and consisted of both B cell activation and T suppressor cell reaction. These changes correlated with immunological abnormalities observed in peripheral blood. Immunohistochemical investigation of lymphoid tissue may be useful to detect AIDS patients at an early stage.
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A case of Mönckeberg's arteriosclerosis associated with Raynaud's phenomenon and diabetes is reported. It is probable that Mönckeberg's arteriosclerosis could provoke a Raynaud's phenomenon when predisposing local conditions, such as microvasculature and/or haemorheological alterations, are present. Finally our findings seem to demonstrate that xeroradiographic investigation is most important for the early diagnosis of the disease.
The liver macrophages behaviour after cyclophosphamide or total-body irradiation (1000 rads - 60Co) has been studied in the mouse previously injected with colloidal carbon. In these conditions an early increase of carbon-laden macrophages in the central zone of the liver lobules has been observed. Carbon-containing mononuclear cells were also observed in the lumina of the hepatic collecting system. Possible implications of these findings are discussed; a migration of macrophages from the liver to elsewhere is suggested.
The ultrastructural characteristics of cat's cortical neurons labeled by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) have been studied; the cats were sacrificed 8 days after the injection of the enzyme. The aim of this study was principally to observe the evolution of neurons in which HRP had been assumed in diffused as well as in granular form - "diffuse-granular HRP neurons" -, or only in diffused form - "Golgi-like neurons" -. The results obtained show the scanty presence of diffuse-granular HRP cells and the contemporary presence of two populations of Golgi-like cells. In this study is underlined the difference between the observations conducted on specimens from cats sacrificed 48 hours or 8 days after the injection of the HRP.
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Bone changes of varying degree and distribution were observed by the Authors in 10 carriers of beta-thalassaemia intermedia in skull, ribs, hand, elbow and knee bones. When they are present, skeletal changes are the same of homozygous beta-thalassaemia, but less marked and spread. Instead, symptomatology is more homogeneous, usually characterized by mild anaemia and morphological changes of red cells with haemoglobin values in the 6-11 g/dl range, splenomegaly, jaundice, gallstones, crural ulcers. The clinical state goes through the asymptomatic condition to a more severe condition with typical appearance of Cooley's anaemia.
The A. relate on a case of disease from Hb Lepore-heterozygous beta thalassemia observed in an italian family originated from Campania. The patient is a boy 16-year old who shows a clinical picture similar to that of Cooley's disease. The electrophoretic study of the hemoglobin has evidenced a double heterozygosis Hb-Lepore-beta thalassemia. Enlarging the examination to the other components of the strain, also the sister of the propositus shows the same disease, while the brother and the mother get a little amount of Hb Lepore. The father gets heterozygous beta-thalassemia. The negatively of the sickling test "in vitro" excludes tha presence of HbS in all components of the family. The radiological examination of the skeleton of the propositus evidences interesting analogies with the skeleton alterations observed in the subjects affected with Cooley's disease and scarcely blood-transfused.
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In the seminiferous tubules of patients at early puberty we have observed Sertoli cells showing an homogeneous aspect. In the cytoplasm of some of these elements dense bodies, which present a particular structure and shape, have been recognized. As far as the germ cells, we can find spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids at various developmental stages. The presence of intercellular bridges among the germ cells and of binucleated spermatids with only one acrosome is a characteristic and fairly frequent finding in our specimens, obtained from normal patients.
In order to recognize with E.M. the specific aspect of HRP in olivary neurons of cat, we have used newborn animals twenty-four, forty-eight hours old. The observation of these neurons has allowed us to see a numerous series of dense bodies various in size and density; these bodies have never been found in similar neurons from adult cats or from newborn cats not treated with HRP. These structures could represent the equivalent of an intraneuronal storage of enzyme, whose presence had been confirmed by O.M.
In this study we consider critically the use of HRP in research on the ultrastructure of the Central Nervous System. In fact, although controls make by optical microscope on semi-thin sections made us certain that some of the neurons were definitely marked with the enzyme, when the same specimen was observed by electron microscope, in no case was it possible for us to distinguish any particular aspect of the ultrastructural morphology of labelling within neurons.
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