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Biomedical subjects

G Gasbarrini

Publications and source records attributed to G Gasbarrini.

At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Different mechanisms of "in vitro' lymphocytotoxicity against isolated rabbit hepatocytes during the course of acute viral hepatitis.

In order to characterize the effector mechanism of "in vitro' lymphocytotoxicity against isolated rabbit liver cells in acute viral hepatitis (AVH), the test was performed in 4 patients with type A, in 8 with type, B, and in 2 patients with non-A non-B AVH: (a) using peripheral blood lymphocytes; (b) after enzymatic digestion of the surface membrane immunoglobulins of these lymphocytes, and (c) as in b with addition of patients' sera. 78.5% of the patients had an elevated cytotoxicity which did not change when the lymphocytes were treated as in b and c. Only the 2 patients which progressed to chronicity had an elevated cytotoxicity which disappeared after enzymatic exposure and reappeared with the addition of patients' sera. The results suggest that "in vitro' cytoxicity in recovering AVH is not antibody dependent, but probably of spontaneous type. On the contrary an antibody-dependent cytotoxicity is present in the 2 cases of AVH who progressed to chronicity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Plasma amino acid patterns in experimental acute hepatic failure: comparison between hepatectomy and liver devascularization in pigs.

To clarify the physiopathologic mechanism leading to a marked increase in aromatic amino acids (AAA) in acute hepatic failure (AHF), we compared two experimental models of AHF. Ten pigs were submitted to one-stage hepatic devascularization (group A); in eight other pigs total hepatectomy was performed (group B). The animals were maintained under constant glucose infusion. The mean survival time in group A was 23 +/- 2 hours; after hepatectomy it was 30 +/- 4 hours. Hepatic coma progressively deepened from 8 +/- 3 hours in Group A animals and was delayed until 17 +/- 5 hours in the anhepatic pigs. AAA, methionine, and tryptophan immediately increased markedly in pigs with liver ischemia. In group B animals, AAA showed a slight increase only 18 hours after hepatectomy, whereas there were no significant differences in methionine and tryptophan. The different amino acid patterns in the two groups of animals demonstrate that hepatocyte necrosis is a major source of plasma amino acids after liver devascularization. The slight increase in AAA after total hepatectomy suggests that a release mechanism from muscular mass is involved in the later stages of the experiment. The onset of coma is related to the increase in AAA rather than to alterations in blood ammonia that did not differ in either group of animals.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1979

Cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP levels in human colonic mucosa before and during chenodeoxycholic acid therapy.

Previous experimental studies suggest that bile salt-induced colonic fluid secretion is mediated by adenosine 3':5'-phosphate (cyclic AMP). Two biopsy specimens of colonic mucosa were obtained endoscopically before and after different periods of therapy (five, 10, or 15 days), from each of 21 patients receiving chenodeoxycholic acid. A rise of cyclic AMP intracellular levels was found, but only after five and 10 days of treatment was the increase statistically significant when compared with basal levels. Similar changes were observed for guanosine 3':5'-phosphate (cyclic GMP), but percentage increases were higher than for cyclic AMP. Initial diarrhoea disappeared spontaneously, and at 15 days the levels of both cyclic nucleotides were not significantly different from basal levels. Our findings suggest that colonic adaptation to increase in luminal bile salt levels is related to changes in intracellular levels of cyclic nucleotides and support the hypothesis that not only cyclic AMP, but also cyclic GMP may play an important role in producing bile salt-induced diarrhoea in man.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Lysosomal changes and enterocytic copper deposits in Wilson's disease.

In 4 siblings, of whom 2 had symptoms of Wilson's disease, electron microscopy showed that the number and size of lysosomes in the enterocytes were increased compared with controls. Electron-dense aggregates, observed near the lysosomes in the 2 symptomatic patients and 1 other sibling, were shown, by means of a microanalytical method, to contain copper. These findings could suggest a possible role of the small intestine in Wilson's disease.

Copper↗
PubMed1979

Pirenzepine in the treatment of benign gastroduodenal diseases. A double-blind controlled clinical trial.

Pirenzepine (PRZ, 75 mg/day for 10 days followed by 50 mg/day for 20 days) was compared with placebo (PL) in the treatment of endoscopically confirmed active gastroduodenitis or duodenal ulcer and with carbenoxolone (CB, 300 mg/day followed by 200 mg/day) in the treatment of gastric ulcer in a 30-day double-blind clinical trial. Ninety-seven of 112 outpatients completed the trial. The results can be summarized as follows: a) Gastroduodenitis. Complete normalization of the endoscopic picture was observed in 61% of the 28 patients on PRZ and in 30% of the 27 on PL. b) Duodenal ulcer. Complete endoscopic healing was observed in 75% of the 12 patients on PRZ and in 44% of the 9 on PL. In both studied PRZ induced improvement in clinical symptoms in more patients than PL. c) Gastric ulcer. PRZ and CB induced complete healing in a similar percentage of patients (64% of 11 and 70% of 10 patients). Better results in dyspepsia were observed in the PRZ group than the CB group. No major side-effects and no pathological changes in blood and urine analyses were observed in PRZ-treated patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Lymphocytotoxicity test against rabbit hepatocytes in chronic liver diseases.

We have studied the cytotoxicity against rabbit liver cells of lymphocytes from the peripheral blood of 71 patients with various liver diseases. The group with chronic active hepatitis and three patients with acute alcoholic hepatitis showed significantly higher mean values of lymphocytotoxicity (P less than 0.001) compared with the other patients with chronic persistent hepatitis, post-necrotic fibrosis and cirrhosis. Wilson's disease, and prolonged viral hepatitis. The mean cytotoxicity of these last groups did not differ significantly from controls. In four out of six patients with chronic active hepatitis a significant decrease of lymphocytotoxicity was found after immunosuppressive therapy with oral prednisolone. A good correlation between the lymphocytotoxicity test and histological signs of activity suggests that a cell-mediated immune aggression is present in this disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

[Use of citiolone in chronic hepatitides. Results of a research with clinical and laboratory controls].

The therapeutic possibilities offered by the use of a new substance, 3-acetamido-2-oxo-tetrahydro-thiophene or citiolone, in two groups of patients, the first suffering from persistent chronic hepatitis, the second from aggressive chronic hepatitis and-or compensated cirrhosis diagnosed on the basis of clinical, laboratory, and bioptic findings have been studied. The experiment was of "between patients" pattern and findings were obtained with the double-blind method. Tests were compared with a placebo and all patients were treated with a basic therapy consisting of a polyvitaminic complex. In both groups, the results confirmed the therapeutic effectiveness of the new substance and this was demonstrable, including statistically, in an improvement in the clinical picture and, above all, in certain liver function exploration tests. At termination of the treatment cycle, liver biopsies were carried out in certain patients and these showed an improvement in the liver cell picture.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

[Histological and ultramicroscopic aspects of the small intestine in aregenerative enteropathies after treatment with 2-mercapto-propionyl-glycine (Thiola)].

The results of using alpha-mercapto-propionyl-glycine treatment (500 mg i.v. pro die for a time varying from one to four months) in a group of 25 patients suffering from aregenerative enteropathy with differing aetiopathogenesis are reported and compared with 29 control patients, i.e. patients suffering from the same situation and not treated with the drug. Morphological (by optical and electronic microscope) and functional (absorption of oleic acid, xylose and B12) study of the small intestine showed up the effectiveness of alpha-mercapto-propionyl-glycine on the trophism of small intestine mucosa, by way of normalization of intestinal cytokinetics, in aregenerative enteropathies due to special physiopathological situations (gastroresection) or to drugs (cytostatics, etc.) inhibiting enterocytic regeneration.

Amino Acids, Sulfur↗
PubMed1977

[New preparation with antalgic sedative and anxiolytic activity in manifestations of interest to internal medicine. Double-blind controlled clinical study].

A controlled double-blind clinical trial using randomised blocks was carried out on 3 groups of 10 patients with internal diseases and a pain syndrome accompanied by anxiety. One group received the product under examination (FC 35aA) and the other two its components (dipotassic chlorazepate, paracetamol and codeine). FC 35aA gave the best results, pointing to synergism between its components. Increase of the pain threshold and of the actual involvement of the patient was achieved to an extent that the single components could not match when administered individually at the same doses.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1975

[Double-blind polycentric study of the action of S-adenosylmethionine in hepatic cirrhosis].

Two comparable groups of patients with hepatic cirrhosis of different genesis in a compensation phase have been treated for 30 days with S-adenosylmethionine and vitamine B-12 (28 cases) or with vitamine B-12 alone (25 cases). The drugs were given by slow intravenous route at the daily dose of 150 mg of SAMe and 2000 gamma of vit. B-12 or of 2000 gamma of vit. B-12 alone, in two adminstrations. An evaluation of the results was carried out mostly on the laboratory data testing the liver function. Only the group of patients who had received SAMe showed significant modifications of all the parameters considered. This is confirming SAMe ability to restore hepatocyte activity bringing also to normal the protein synthesis.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

[Double-blind studies of the therapeutic action of S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) in oral administration, in liver cirrhosis and other chronic hepatitides].

Six oral administrations per day of 30 mg S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) for 30 days, in addition to 6000 gamma/day of Vitamine B12 induced marked improvements of biochemical parameters in 20 patients with hepatic cirrhosis or various chronic hepatites. Particularly, the protidemia, bilirubinemia and radial immunodiffusion have shown the highest favorable drug responses. These improvements were still lasting and even further increasing 30 days after the end of therapy. In another group of patients with similar diagnosis and under clinical conditions comparable to the previous group of twenty, the administration of Vitamine B12 alone, in the same doses as above, has not induced any alteration in the biochemical parameters.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1975

[On the therapeutic combination of S-adenosylmethionine with D-penicillamine in Wilson's disease].

After some general preliminary remarks concerning aetiopathogenetic hypoteses and therapeutic possibilities for Wilson's disease, the Authors report the data obtained from a long-term study carried out on a family of nine brothers. These subjects were all affected with Wilson's syndrome and kept under a D-penicillamine treatment. The addition of 4-5 oral adminstrations a day of 30 mg SAMe resulted in highly significant favourable modifications of all the laboratory data considered to test liver function. The progressive worsening of the same data observed after 60, 90 and 120 days from SAMe withdrawal, seems to prove the actual activity of this molecule on liver function. During SAMe therapy no clinical and laboratory side-effects (macular and papular eruption, pruritus, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, etc.) were observed while they were detectable in some patients treated with D-penicillamine alone.

Adolescent↗