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F Uggeri

Publications and source records attributed to F Uggeri.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Cellular labeling with Gd(III) chelates: only high thermodynamic stabilities prevent the cells acting as 'sponges' of Gd3+ ions.

MR-labeling of cells may be carried out by adding a Gd-based contrast agent to the incubation media. The amount of gadolinium internalized in HTC and C6 cells upon incubation with Gd-DTPA-BMA is circa one order of magnitude higher than those found with Gd-DTPA, Gd-DOTA and Gd-HPDO3A, respectively. The comparison of relaxometric and mass spectrometry determinations allows us to establish that only a minor fraction of intact Gd-DTPA-BMA is internalized into the cells. Moreover the binding/uptake behavior shown by Gd-DTPA-BMA resembles that found when GdCl(3) is added to the incubation medium. We suggest that the lower stability of Gd-DTPA-BMA is responsible for a shift in the dissociation equilibrium that results in the net transfer of Gd(3+) ions on the cell membrane followed by a slower internalization process. The transmetallation process is mediated by components of the incubation media, among which a dominant role is represented by phosphate anions. The uptake of Gd(3+) ions is clearly reflected in the drastic decrease of cell viability observed for cells labeled with Gd-DTPA-BMA.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A case of carcinoid of Meckel's diverticulum associated with gastric adenocarcinoma.

Meckel's diverticulum is an uncommon gastrointestinal congenital anomaly that occurs in 1-3% of the population. It is sometimes associated with complications related to the presence of ectopic tissue (obstruction, ulceration, hemmorhage, inflammation, perforation, fistula and tumors). Neoplastic degeneration of Meckel's diverticulum mucosa is rare, developing in only 1-5% of all diverticula, usually asymptomatic and occasionally discovered. Disease is metastatic, usually to the liver, in 25% of cases. We report a case of asymptomatic unsuspected carcinoid of Meckel's diverticulum with ileal, hepatic and mesenteric metastasis discovered during a gastrectomy performed for gastric adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent ileal and Meckel diverticulum resection, excision of mesenterial metastasis and liver bisegmentectomy. Furthermore, total gastrectomy with esophago-jejunal anastomosis was performed. After an 18-month follow-up period, the patient is alive and disease free. Owing to possible neoplastic degeneration, Meckel's diverticulum should be resected when occasionally discovered. In the presence of a carcinoid tumor, even if associated with metastatic disease, extended resection is recommended.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pre-operative IL-2 immunoprophylaxis of cancer recurrence: long-term clinical results of a phase II study in radically operable colorectal cancer.

This study evaluates retrospectively the outcome of 20 colorectal cancer patients radically operated (M/F 13/7; primary/recurrent 15/5; Dukes B=11; C=6; D=3) who received pre-operative IL-2 (18,000, 000 IU/daily s.c. for 3 days) and the outcome of 40 colorectal cancer (primary/recurrent 40/0) patients age, sex and stage-matched radically operated, as control group. After a median follow-up of 72 months, in the IL-2 pre-operative group we observed 6/20 recurrences (30%) vs. 19/40 (47.5%) in controls. Mean and median disease-free period in patients who relapsed were respectively 21 months and 20.5 months (range 6-36) in IL-2 group vs. 14.1 and 12 months in the control group (range 3-34). After a 5-year follow-up, 4/20 (20%) IL-2 treated patients were dead vs. 19/40 control patients (47.5%) (log-rank chi2=3.7, p=0.05). Pre-operative IL-2 administration is safe, active in preventing post-operative lymphocytopenia and seems to improve the clinical outcome in radically operated colorectal cancer patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Laparoscopic splenectomy for hematological disorders. Our experience in adult and pediatric patients.

Laparoscopic splenectomy has gained increasing acceptance in the surgical management of a variety of splenic disorders, in particular hematological diseases. In this series, we report our experience with 20 patients (male:female ratio of 4:16 with median age of 16 years, range 5-49 years) who underwent this procedure because of ITP in 9 cases, spherocytosis in 7 and Cooley disease, sickle cell anemia, dyserythropoietic and hemolytic anemia in one case each. The patient was placed in a supine position using a fourtrocars technique. We did not perform pre-operative splenic artery embolization in any case. Spleen lower pole and its posterolateral attachments were dissected first, using electrocautery and endoclips. Vascular hilar isolation was achieved with an EndoGIA stapler and the spleen was removed by morcelation within a retrieval bag (16 cases) or via a 4-5 cm left subcostal incision (4 cases). One patient required conversion to open technique (conversion rate 5 %), because of uncontrolled bleeding from splenic hilum. Mean operative time was 165 min (range 100-240 min), mean splenic size was 13.5 cm (range 11-20 cm), with weight ranging between 140 and 1060 g and estimated blood loss was 151 ml (75-280 ml). No patient required a blood transfusion. Median postoperative hospital stay was 4 days (range 3-8 days). Postoperative complications occurred in 2 patients (10%), with no mortality rate in this series. Regarding the low complication rate and the advantages of a small abdominal trauma in the postoperative period, such as less postoperative pain, faster hospital discharge and better cosmetic results, the laparoscopic approach for elective splenectomy in hematological disorders has a substantial benefit for the patient.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Abrogation of surgery-induced decline in circulating dendritic cells by subcutaneous preoperative administration of IL-2 in operable cancer patients.

Surgery-induced immunosuppression is characterized by a decline in lymphocyte count, particularly T lymphocyte number. In addition, preliminary studies have shown that the postoperative period is also characterized by a decline in the number of circulating dendritic cells (DC), whose fundamental anticancer role has been recently demonstrated. Previous studies had already shown that the preoperative injection of IL-2 may completely abrogate surgery-induced lymphocytopenia, whereas its eventual influence on DC system during the perioperative period is still unknown. The present study was performed to evaluate the influence of IL-2 preoperative immunotherapy on the perioperative changes in circulating DC number in patients affected by colorectal cancer. The study included 14 consecutive patients, who were randomized to be treated with or without IL-2 presurgical immunotherapy (12 million IU/day for 3 days subcutaneously). Circulating immature and mature cells were evaluated before surgery and at days 3 and 7 of the postoperative period. The detection was made by FACS using monoclonal antibodies against CD123 and CD11c to recognize immature and mature DC, respectively. Surgery induced a significant decline in the mean number of both immature and mature DC. The pre-surgical administration of IL-2 completely abrogated surgery-induced decline in immature DC cell amount. Moreover, mature DC mean number was diminished only at day 3 of the postoperative period, since the value observed at day 7 was not significantly lower than that found before surgery. This preliminary study shows that surgery-induced immunosuppression is characterized also by a significant decline in the mean number of both immature and mature DC. Moreover, this study would suggest that the preoperative immunotherapy with IL-2 may counteract surgery-induced failure of DC system. Because of the fundamental antitumor role of DC, this evidence could have a prognostic impact on the clinical course of the neoplastic disease.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[A case of aneurysm of the celiac trunk ruptured into the duodenum].

A case of repeated, exsanguinating gastrointestinal haemorrhage in a 36-yr-old man, due to rupture in the duoedenum of an arteriosclerotic aneurysm of the coeliac artery, is described. Selective arteriography enabled the cause of bleeding to be established. The pictures for the coeliac and superior mesenteric arteries showed good hepatic arterial vascularisation via the vessels issuing from the right hand side of the superior mesenteric, immediately after its point of origin. Successful aneurysmectomy was not performed until the fifth operation, when the cause of bleeding had thus been made clear.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bile flow impairment of ventro-medial hypothalamus lesioned obese rats.

Cholesterol supersaturation of bile has been reported in human obesity. Since electrolytic lesions placed in the ventro-medial hypothalamus induce hyperphagia and obesity in the rat, bile flow and lipid composition have been studied two months after the induction of such stereotaxic lesions in a group of ten animals and in their sham-operated controls. Bile flow was significantly lower in obese rats than in controls. The bile flow reduction was attributed to a decrease of the bile acid independent fraction, since no variation in bile acid excretion rate and in bile to plasma ratio of [14C] erythritol was seen between the two groups. Whereas plasma cholesterol and triglycerides were higher in ventro-medial hypothalamus lesioned rats, biliary cholesterol and phospholipid excretion rates were similar in the two groups. These data indicate that stereotaxic lesions of ventro-medial hypothalamus in the rat significantly reduce bile flow, suggesting a correlation between active sodium transport at canalicular level and neuroendocrine hypothalamic function, but fail to induce qualitative alterations of bile lipid composition.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hernioplasty using a Lichtenstein polypropylene mesh].

"Tension free" technique with prosthetic mesh for inguinal hernia repair was introduced since 1988 in Authors' Institution. In a review of 98 hernioplasties performed, only one relapse was observed (around 1%), while prosthetic infection cases were never observed. The disorder most frequently complained by the patients is a pain in the pubic area, persisting even months after the operation. Therefore this technique seems to be reliable, safe, and easy. While waiting for a long-term follow up to confirm these results, the Authors however suggest to limit the indications for this technique avoiding the use of prosthetic material in young patients since Shouldice's hernioplasty assures a low percentage of relapse for them.

Female↗