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Biomedical subjects

G Fiori

Publications and source records attributed to G Fiori.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Cardiac involvement in HIV-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a case report and short review of the literature.

We report a case of secondary heart involvement in AIDS-related primary lymphoma of the liver. A worsening dyspnea led to the diagnosis of pericardial effusion, and transesophageal echocardiography revealed the presence of large endocardial ventricular masses. Clinical suspicion of a lymphomatous origin was confirmed at the autopsy, which showed an extranodal dissemination pattern (heart, liver, intestine, and lung). In AIDS patients, both primary and secondary lymphomatous heart involvement are increasing in incidence. Clinical symptoms and signs are vague. Since the hematogenous route is the most common pattern of involvement, even extrathoracic lymphomas can present heart dissemination. Thus, it should be suspected in lymphoma patients who present with even mild aspecific heart symptoms. Appropriate imaging procedures include transesophageal echocardiography and, if possible, ECG-gated MRI. A negative transthoracic echocardiograph does not exclude the presence of myocardial tumor. Chemotherapy is only occasionally beneficial, and the prognosis remains poor.

Adult↗

Relationships between blood pressure, anthropometric characteristics and blood lipids in high- and low-altitude populations from Central Asia.

We studied the relationships between blood pressure, anthropometric characteristics and blood lipids in 72 low altitude (LA) Uighurs (600 m), 91 LA-Kirghizs (900 m), 117 medium altitude (MA) Kazakhs (2100 m) and 94 high altitude (HA) Kirghizs (3200 m). All subjects were male and had a similar age (p = ns, ANOVA; range for all 374 subjects: 18-66 yr). Body weight (Wt), body mass index (BM1) and the sum of four skinfolds (4SF) were significantly lower in HA-Kirghizs than the remaining groups (p < 0.0005, p < 0.0005 and p < 0.05 respectively, ANOVA). However, no difference was found in body fat distribution as detected by waist:hip circumference (WHR) and triceps:subscapular skinfold ratios (TSR; p = ns, ANOVA). Stage 1 hypertension was detected in 18% of LA-Uighurs, 2% of LA-Kirghizs, 4% of MA-Kazakhs and 1% of HA-Kirghizs; stage 2 hypertension was detected in 2% of LA-Uighurs and none of the remaining groups; no subject had stage 3 hypertension (The Joint National Committee on Prevention. Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure 1997). Blood cholesterol (CH) and triglycerides (TG) did not differ between groups (p = ns, ANOVA). The relationships between systolic (SBP) or diastolic (DBP) blood pressure and age, Wt, BMI, 4SF, WHR, TSR, CH and TG were independent from altitude (p = ns, ANCOVA). In the pooled sample (n = 374), age explained 1 and 3% of SBP (p < 0.05) and DBP (p < 0.005) variance respectively, Wt was the best predictor of SBP and DBP explaining 11 and 10% of their variance respectively (p < 0.0001) and CH explained 5% of DBP variance (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, hypertension is more frequent in LA- than MA- and HA-subjects from Central Asia. However, anthropometric characteristics and blood lipids do similarly contribute to explain blood pressure in these subjects.

Adolescent↗

The prediction of extracellular and total body water from bioelectric impedance in a non-Caucasian population from central Asia.

The availability of only a small number of studies on bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) in non-Caucasian ethnic groups appears to limit reliable utilization of this method in anthropological field studies. In this study, 28 male Turkish-Mongolian subjects native of Kazakhstan (Central Asia) underwent total body water (TBW) and extracellular water (ECW) assessment by deuterium oxide (D2O) and sodium bromide (NaBr) dilution respectively. Bioelectric impedance (BI) was recorded at multiple frequencies. ECW and TBW were calculated from BI at 1 and 100 kHz respectively by applying formulae developed on a sample of Caucasian subjects with a hydration status similar to that of the study population. TBW predicted from BI at 1 and 100 kHz (37.5 +/- 3.31) was highly correlated and not significantly different from that obtained by D2O dilution (39.0 +/- 4.11, r = 0.894, p < 0.0001, SEE = 1.91). Similarly, ECW predicted from BI at 1 kHz (15.1 +/- 1.21) was highly correlated and not significantly different from that obtained by NaBr dilution (15.0 +/- 1.61, r = 0.847, p < 0.0001, SEE = 0.81). It is concluded that selected predictive formulae developed on Caucasian subjects may provide a precise and accurate assessment of ECW and TBW in Turkish-Mongolian populations.

Adult↗

Body water distribution in highlanders versus lowlanders.

Acute exposure to high altitude produces characteristic changes in body water distribution from which acclimatized individuals seem to be spared. However, it has been suggested that body water distribution may be different in highlanders (HL) as compared to lowlanders (LL). We studied the distribution of total body water (TBW) between extracellular water (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW) in a group of 20 HL (3200 m above sea level) versus one of 20 LL (900 m above sea level). Subjects were matched for ethnic group (Kirghiz), sex (male), weight (Wt), height and body mass index. TBW:Wt and ECW:TBW were not different in HL as compared to LL (mean +/- SD, 58.5 +/- 5.0% versus 56.0 +/- 4.2% and 40.5 +/- 4.2% versus 40.7 +/- 2.2%; p = n.s. for both). This study does not support the hypothesis that body water distribution is different in HL as compared to LL.

Adult↗

[The treatment of skin ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis].

Systemic Sclerosis (Ssc) is a complex disease of the connective tissue, characterized by progressive thickening and fibrosis of the skin and the internal organs and by diffused damage of the microvascular system. The fibrosis ones of the skin associated to the characteristic vascular alterations lead to the genesis of ulcers, more or less extended, often multiple, peripheral localization, chronic course, painful, able to influence patient's quality of life. Indeed, immunity reactivity, the thinning and the loss of elasticity of the skin, the peripheral neurological damage and the eventual drug assumption that can reduce regenerative/reparative abilities, can easily make an ulcer chronic and become infected complicating still more the patient disease, rendering more difficult the cure often, ulcer evolves to gangrene, and in some cases, in amputation too. For all these reasons, we have begun to study ulcers therapy (local and systemic), considering this activity it leave integrating of the charitable distance of the sclerodermic patient, putting to point on strategy both diagnostic and therapeutic, but above all with the primary scope, if possible, is to prevent ulcers, in contrary case, to alleviate the pain and to render the quality of the life of the patient better.

Administration, Oral↗

[The influence of gastric acidity on digoxinemy (author's transl)].

The effect of gastric acidity on the absorption of a cardiac glucoside has been studied in vivo in three groups of patients with heart disease, measuring blood levels and urinary excretion of the digitalis compound by radioimmunologic assay. The median blood levels were lower in hyperacidic subjects and higher in hypoacidic patients; the urinary excretion of the digitalis compound showed no essential differences.

Aged↗

Organic halide electroreduction on silver.

Silver, whose extraordinary electrocatalytical properties for organic halide reduction have been recently evidenced, has been used as cathode material for systematic preparative electrolyses in membrane-divided cells. To better elucidate the substrate role on the remarkable positive shift of reduction potentials, and on the "cage effect" i.e. the promotion of intermolecular reaction on adsorbed intermediates, three halide substrate patterns are here compared in terms of both voltammetric characterization and preparative electroreduction products: aliphatic halides (adamantanes), aromatic halides (phenols) and anomeric glycosyl halides. The preparative electroreductions result mainly in dimerization in the case of glycosyl halides, in H-->Br substitution in the case of bromophenols, in dimerization + substitution in the case of haloadamantanes. The product analysis, both at the end of the reaction and at intermediate times, allows discussing the reaction pathways in terms of intermediate stability and of active surface accessibility. The possibility of complete dehalogenation on a wider substrate variety with remarkably lower energy consumption and almost quantitative current yields makes the process potentially very interesting for environmental purposes.

Adamantane↗

Electrochemical treatment of olive oil mill wastewater.

The possibility of oxidizing at a PbO2 anode the phenols and polyphenols, present in the olive oil mill wastewater, has been studied as a pretreatment for the submission of such wastewater to the traditional biological treatments. The results obtained operating at current densities ranging 500 to 2000 A/m2 show that it is possible to reduce the concentration of the phenolic components, which interfere with the biological treatments, down to low values without decreasing too much the total organic content of the wastewater.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Therapy of spondylarthropathy in inflammatory bowel disease.

Musculoskeletal manifestations represent the most common extra-intestinal complication of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and are usually included in the clinical spectrum of the spondyloarthropathies (SpA). Although control of intestinal inflammation often ameliorates articular symptoms, sometimes arthropathy is independent of the gut disease course and may require the same therapeutic options which apply to primary SpA diseases, but with caution so as not aggravate the IBD. At the moment, salicylates (sulphasalazine and mesalazine) and selective COX-2 inhibitors (which are preferable to traditional NSAIDs although they cannot be assumed to be safe for the gastrointestinal tract) are the first choice treatment. Several immunosuppressive and biological agents including methotrexate, thalidomide and TNFalpha antagonists have efficacy for both articular and intestinal inflammation and are currently in use for the induction of remission and for maintenance in more severe cases. New combination therapies and novel biologically-driven treatments, targeted to specific pathophysiological processes, might offer less toxicity and the potential for better treatment outcomes.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗

Iatrogenic gastroduodenal ulcers during hepatic intra-arterial chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Various percentages of iatrogenic gastroduodenal ulcers during hepatic intra-arterial chemotherapy have been reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to analyze a homogeneous cohort of patients in order to evaluate the evolution and management of this complication. METHODOLOGY: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical charts of 80 patients with primary or metastatic liver tumors who received 186 hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy courses of 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin and mitomycin-C. All of the patients complaining of upper gastrointestinal symptoms during or after hepatic arterial infusion underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy. RESULTS: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed in 14 patients, all of whom had gastroduodenal ulcers. Two of ten investigated patients were Helicobacter pylori positive. All of the patients were treated with a proton pump inhibitor and five also received major analgesics. All of the ulcers healed without complications. Six patients did not continue with hepatic arterial infusion for reasons other than ulcers. Eight patients received a subsequent hepatic intra-arterial chemotherapy course, five despite the persistence of an active ulcer. CONCLUSIONS: Iatrogenic gastroduodenal ulcers are probably due to ischemia and the direct toxicity of the anticancer agents. They are Helicobacter pylori independent and do not represent an absolute contraindication for the continuation of hepatic intra-arterial chemotherapy.

Aged↗