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Biomedical subjects

F Russo

Publications and source records attributed to F Russo.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

[Case histories of extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with primary gastrointestinal appearance].

Authors refer results obtained in 24 cases of primary NHL of gastrointestinal tract. These cases were observed in the period 1981-1990. All cases can be included as primary extranodal lymphomas satisfying criteria of the literature. Sixty-six per cent (16/24) had a gastric localization half cases were centrocytic-centroblastic lymphomas followed by immunoblastic, centroblastic, follicular centrocytic-centroblastic and lymphocytic-well-differentiated. In intestinal localisation (34% of cases), the most represented was lymphocytic poor-differentiated, followed by mixed centrocytic lymphoma. Therapeutic strategy was: surgery in all patients followed by chemotherapy (CHOP 14/24) or by radiotherapy plus chemotherapy (8/24). Surgery alone was adopted in 2 out 24 patients. Patients who received radiotherapy plus chemotherapy had a sandwich treatment (CVP = 4/8, CHOP = 4/8) consisting of splint course of 3 cycles followed by radiotherapy and completed with other 3 drugs cycles. Sixteen out 24 patients were valuable (4 patients were lost during the follow-up due to problems other than the disease; 4 patients are still under treatment). In the 16 valuable patients we had a complete remission (CR) with a median free-disease survival of 82 months (range: 12-116 months) by means of the primary treatment. Four out 16 patients relapsed. In these patients the free-disease survival was range 8-108 months. All patients reached a second CR by means of chemotherapy (CCNU + VIP16) or radiotherapy. No cases of second tumor insorgence was observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Effects of L-carnitine and its acetate and propionate esters on the molecular dynamics of human erythrocyte membrane.

EPR and fluorescence probes were used in this study to define the effects of L-carnitine and its short-chain esters, acetyl-L-carnitine and propionyl-L-carnitine, on the natural fluidity gradient and molecular packing of phospholipid headgroups of erythrocyte membrane in intact cells. Purified erythrocyte suspensions, labeled with different stearic acid derivatives containing a stable doxyl radical ring at the C-5, C-7, C-12 and C-16, were incubated with 0.5-5 mM L-carnitine and its esters for 60 min at 37 degrees C and washed twice with an isosmotic buffer. A decrease in the order parameter, calculated from the EPR spectra of the 5-doxylstearic acid derivative, was observed at all the concentrations of propionyl-L-carnitine and the extent of the decrease was dose and temperature dependent. An increase of the chain length between the doxyl ring and the carboxylic group of the spin label, resulted in a much lower efficacy of propionyl-L-carnitine in decreasing the order parameter. Acetyl-L-carnitine also showed a significant effect of decreasing the molecular order but only at the lower temperatures of red cells labeled with 5-doxyl and treated with the highest concentration of the drug. L-Carnitine did not modify the molecular dynamics at all the temperatures and concentrations used in this study. L-Carnitine and its short-chain derivatives did not alter significantly membrane fluidity of deeper regions of the erythrocyte membrane, measured by means of the excimer/monomer fluorescence intensity ratio of pyrene incorporated into the membrane of intact erythrocytes. However, these compounds were all capable of loosening the molecular packing of the polar head of erythrocyte membrane phospholipids evaluated by the membrane binding fluorescence properties of merocyanine-540. The binding of the fluorescent probe decreased in the order propionyl-L-carnitine > acetyl-L-carnitine > L-carnitine. Our findings suggest that this category of compounds affect the molecular dynamics of a membrane bilayer region close to the glycerol backbone of phospholipids, which might be relevant for the expression of membrane functions.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1993

Polyamines, diamine oxidase, and ornithine decarboxylase activity in colorectal cancer and in normal surrounding mucosa.

We investigated the polyamine levels [putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm)] and their metabolism by simultaneously considering the ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and diamine oxidase (DAO) activities in human colorectal cancer and in normal surrounding tissue. Single and total polyamine levels were significantly higher in the neoplastic tissue than in the surrounding mucosa from the same patients. Furthermore, the ODC activity was significantly higher and the DAO activity significantly lower in the neoplastic tissue than in the surrounding mucosa. Polyamine levels and enzymatic activities did not correlate with the clinical and histologic characteristics of patients. In normal tissue samples, no correlation was found between single and total polyamine levels and enzymatic activities (both DAO and ODC). On the contrary, in colorectal neoplastic samples, significant and positive correlations were found between the levels of total polyamines, Spd, and Spm and the ODC activity. In the same specimens, DAO activity was related to Spd levels and the Spd/Spm ratio, but, in those cases, the correlation was negative. Thus, our findings suggest that, during the neoplastic growth of the colorectal mucosa, the balance between polyamine degradation and biosynthesis is disengaged from the control exerted by the two enzymes.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1993

[Audio-visual communication in the history of psychiatry].

The authors analyse the evolution of visual communication in the history of psychiatry. From the 18th century oil paintings to the first dagherrotic prints until the cinematography and the modern audiovisual systems they observed an increasing diffusion of the new communication techniques in psychiatry, and described the use of the different techniques in psychiatric practice. The article ends with a brief review of the current applications of the audiovisual in therapy, training, teaching, and research.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Criteria for the endoscopic assessment of hemorrhage risk in esophageal varices].

The natural history of liver cirrhosis shows one third of patients bleeding from esophageal varices. The first episode of bleeding has a 40% mortality rate and 70% of survivors will have another haemorrhage within a year. To overcome this dramatic sequence the following types of prophylactic treatment have been attempted: portocaval shunt, B-blockers, endoscopic sclerotherapy. Medical Literature shows no proven benefits from these procedures. Endoscopic sclerotherapy seems to have the best results. Thus, to be more successful we suggest a better selection of patients to undergo prophylactic sclerotherapy, also improving the prognostic criteria which could predict the bleeding. Esophagoscopy makes it possible to examine some of the predictive signs of impending haemorrhage. However, both the endoscopic and clinical criteria (Child) give a better evaluation of the risk of bleeding.

Esophageal and Gastric Varices↗
PubMed1993

Endogenous sex hormones and cholesterol gallstones: a case-control study in an echographic survey of gallstones.

In a population survey of gallstones, the serum levels of hormones of the pituitary-gonadal axis and the sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were compared in subjects with cholesterol gallstones and in a control group. In 84 subjects who entered the survey, echographic gallstones that had been identified at the survey, turned out to be radiolucent or mixed (predominantly of cholesterol) at subsequent x-ray. The controls were without gallstones at echography, matched to the cases for potential confounders of the association sex hormones-cholelithiasis. Testosterone (T) 17-beta-estradiol (E2), 17-OH progesterone (P), and SHBG were dosed by radioimmunoassay; follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and prolactin (Prl) by dissociation-enhanced lanthanide fluoro immunoassay (DELFIA). Men with gallstones had lower LH than controls (n = 34, median difference = -0.62 mU/ml, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.20 to -0.26 mU/ml, paired sign test, p = 0.003). Premenopausal women in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle with gallstones had higher E2 than controls (n = 7, median difference: +117, pg/ml, 95% CI: +10 to +218 pg/ml, p = 0.008). Postmenopausal women had lower LH than controls (n = 35, median difference = -4.57 mU/ml, 95% CI -9.5 to -1.0 mU/ml, p = 0.04). No other hormones showed statistically significant differences between cases and controls, in either males or females. The findings of this exploratory study in subjects with radiolucent and mixed gallstones suggest that men and postmenopausal women have lower LH, and premenopausal women in the luteal phase of the cycle have higher E2, than controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[The pilonidal sinus: its surgical treatment, our experience and a review of the literature].

The authors report their experience in the surgical management of pilonidal sinus. During a 3-year period (1989-1991) 106 patients underwent primary closure. Average postoperative stay was 5.5 days, while mean healing time was 14.6 days. During the follow up, 3 patients developed a true recurrence (3.26%). After a critical review of the literature, the authors emphasize the importance of primary closure in the surgical treatment of pilonidal disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

[A new catheter for enteroclysis: Torino 1. Results in 398 cases].

The authors report on the use a new barium enema catheter employed in 398 patients from January, 1990 through June, 1991. Its innovative characteristics and several possible uses are compared with those of conventional equipment. Particularly, the advantages offered by the various possible placement sites of the catheter--i.e., the II duodenal portion and beyond the ligament of Treitx--are discussed, together with its different uses according to clinical symptoms: its best location is beyond the ligament of Treitz in subocclusions, versus in the II duodenal portion if tumors or other duodenal conditions are suspected. The new catheter exhibited 100% accuracy; the average exposure time for radioscopy during its positioning was 3 minutes. A selected group of 149 patients was examined for complications, which were few (8%), of poor importance, short and completely curable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

[Calculi and sludge in the gallbladder during pregnancy].

Ultrasound examination surveys carried out during puerperium or pregnancy have demonstrated the presence of biliary sludge and gallstone with a percentage of the examined women varying from 30% to 40%. Our aim was to evaluate the incidence of biliary sludge and gallstones during pregnancy and the natural history of this pathology after delivery in our rural population. Fifty six pregnant women entered the study. The pregnant women were subjected to ultrasonography during the 12th-14th and the 34th-36th week of amenorrhea, and two weeks after delivery. Women with biliary sludge or gallstones were subjected to a further ultrasound examination 12 months after delivery. At the first ultrasonography, women were questioned about menarche, menstruation (rhythm, intensity and period), previous pregnancies, number of deliveries, use of oral contraceptives and possible abdominal symptoms connected with the pathology of gallbladder. Besides, in order to form the body mass index (BMI) [weight (kg)/height (m)2], weight and height were obtained from each subject. Before the second ultrasonography, women were questioned about abdominal symptoms connected with the pathology of gallbladder. It was assessed the weight in order to calculate the ponderal increase during pregnancy. Biliary sludge or gallstones were found at ultrasound examination in: 5 out of 56 women in the first trimester (one woman with gallstones, 4 with sludge); 9 out of 49 women examined in the third trimester (2 women with gallstones, 7 with sludge); 2 out of 46 women examined were still affected by gallstones two weeks after delivery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Alkaline esophagitis following total gastrectomy].

Two cases of severe alkaline esophagitis following total gastrectomy, respectively for a gastric sarcoma and a gastric carcinoma, are reported. In the first case digestive continuity was assured through an Omega loop esophagojejunostomy, while in the second one an esophagojejunostomy according to the Moricca technique was performed. Both patients underwent reoperation and a conversion in Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy resolved the reflux related problems. The Authors, therefore, confirm Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy as the procedure of choice in preventing and curing esophagitis, which can seriously affect the quality of life and nutritional status of gastrectomized patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Aetiology and treatment of chylous ascites.

A series of 45 patients with chylous ascites has been reviewed. The age at presentation ranged from 1 to 80 (median 12) years; 23 patients were aged < or = 15 years. Thirty-five patients had an abnormality of the lymphatics (primary chylous ascites); in the remaining ten, the ascites was secondary to other conditions, principally non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (six patients). Two principal mechanisms of ascites formation were identified using lymphangiography and inspection at laparotomy: leakage from retroperitoneal megalymphatics, usually through a visible lymphoperitoneal fistula (14 patients); and leakage from dilated subserosal lymphatics of the small intestine, invariably associated with leaking lacteals causing protein-losing enteropathy (24 patients). Both sites of leakage were present in a further five patients. In the remaining two patients, chyle was leaking from normal mesenteric lymphatics, in one via a ruptured mesenteric lymph cyst and in the other from the site of a previous lymph node biopsy. Other associated lymphatic abnormalities were present in 36 patients, lymphoedema of the leg being the commonest (26 patients). All patients were initially treated conservatively with dietary manipulation; this was the most satisfactory treatment for those with leaking small bowel lymphatics. Surgery (fistula closure, bowel resection or insertion of a peritoneovenous shunt) was performed in 30 patients. Closure of a retroperitoneal fistula, when present, was the most successful operation, curing seven of the 12 patients so treated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Sex steroid hormone receptors, epidermal growth factor receptor, and polyamines in human colorectal cancer.

We assayed the estrogen and progesterone cytosolic receptors by using the enzyme immunoassay method, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) cell surface receptors by using 125I-labeled hormone, and the levels of polyamines (putrescine, spermine, and spermidine) by using a high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure in neoplastic and surrounding normal tissues of patients with colorectal cancer. Our findings show that mean polyamine levels in neoplastic tissue were approximately two-fold greater than the levels in normal colonic mucosa. Estrogen and progesterone receptorial content in normal mucosa were twofold greater than those in neoplastic tissue. No significant differences in EGF receptors were found between colonic cancer tissue and the surrounding normal tissues. The correlations we found between 1) estrogen and polyamine levels and 2) estrogen and EGF binding suggest the existence of a modulation of the estrogens on colonic mucosa cell proliferation. Furthermore, there was no significant dependency of polyamine and receptor concentrations from the tumor site, the histologic differentiation, or the age and sex of patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Ceruloplasmin serum level in post-menopausal women treated with oral estrogens administered at different times.

The liver is an estrogen-responsive organ and the administration of estrogens in humans increases the hepatic synthesis of many proteins. The existence of a circadian rhythm of estrogen receptors in the liver has been proved by different authors. We studied the presence of a different responsiveness of the human liver to the estrogens in two groups of post-menopausal women by evaluating the changes in ceruloplasmin serum level. Conjugated equine estrogens were administered at different times (A: 8 a.m. and B: 8 p.m.). The replacement therapy increased ceruloplasmin serum levels both in group A and B, but the increase was higher in group B than in group A. These data reflect indirectly the presence of a circadian rhythm of hepatic responsiveness to the estrogens.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Mechanical staplers. Personal experience].

The Authors briefly summarise their experience of using various types of mechanical staplers in abdominal and thoracic surgery with excellent results both in general and in terms of reducing operating times.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[Usefulness of the prevention of oxygen radical damage in the critical patient using the parenteral administration of reduced glutathione in high doses].

A hyperproduction of Oxygen Free Radicals (FRO) is frequently observed during stress, anoxia, hyperbarism and may worsen the clinical conditions of intensive care patients. The hyperproduction of FRO may be reduced by antioxidants. The glutathione (GSH) is frequently associated with organic antioxidant protective systems. Forty patients receiving a continuous infusion of 70 mg/Kg/die of GSH were compared with forty patients not receiving GSH; the patients in both groups were randomized for age, sex, and pathology. Some parameters which are indirect indexes of FRO hyperproduction were chosen: ethane in the expired air, plasma malondialdehyde, fibrinopeptide A and C5 activated complement fraction, also the erythrocyte membrane deformability was investigated. The results obtained in the group receiving GSH were compared with the control group and a significative difference was found indicating a reduced FRO production. These interesting results need more trials in order to confirm a real GSH involvement in the antioxidant organic protection. In any case the supplementation with antioxidants in the therapy of intensive care patients can be regarded as an interesting means to improve their clinical conditions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[Leiomyosarcomas of the stomach: a report of 3 clinical cases and a review of the literature].

Three consecutive malignant smooth-muscle gastric tumor cases are reported. Digestive endoscopy allowed a correct diagnosis in 2 out of 3 cases, when neoplasias were ulcerated, enabling a deep endoscopic biopsy. On the contrary, in the third case the endoscopic diagnosis was a benign leiomyoma and the endoscopic biopsies were completely negative. Even CT scan was not able to reveal the malignant nature of the disease in this patient. Surgical procedures performed were: polar superior gastric resection, Billroth I partial gastric resection and extended total gastrectomy. In one patient, regional lymph nodes were positive for metastases. The patient who died at 6 months from surgery had a large (approximately 12 cm) neoplasia of the gastric fundus.

Adult↗