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Biomedical subjects

G Marconi

Publications and source records attributed to G Marconi.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase and acylphosphatase activities in muscle biopsies from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, acylphosphatase and other soluble enzymes (creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aldolase and pyruvate kinase) were assayed in muscle biopsies from patients affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and from normal controls. Specific activities of all the soluble enzymes were decreased in dystrophic muscle, acylphosphatase exhibiting the most marked and significant decrease comparable to that of creatine kinase, in spite of a moderate increase in serum levels. Also, Ca2+-ATPase, particularly the calcium-dependent activity, was decreased in dystrophic muscle. A positive correlation, higher than with the other soluble enzymes, was obtained between acylphosphatase specific activity and the percentage of Ca2+-activation of Ca2+-ATPase. These findings: suggest an impairment of microsomal calcium uptake which could be, at least in part, responsible for sarcoplasmic calcium accumulation observed in DMD; do not disagree with an hypothesized role of acylphosphatase in intracellular calcium homeostasis, consistent with the enzyme's demonstrated hydrolytic activity on the phosphorylated intermediate of Ca2+-ATPase.

Acid Anhydride Hydrolases↗
PubMed1986

[Chronobiology of dynamic equilibrium and recurrence of migraine crises].

Haemodynamic balance was assessed in relation to platelet-vessel homeostasis in the microcirculation in a group of 15 migraine sufferers and 15 healthy subjects. The results support the hypothesis of a relationship between the typical recurrence of migraine attacks and the chronobiological performance of the haemodynamic balance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

[Desynchronization of noradrenaline and hemodynamic equilibrium in migraine subjects].

Fifteen migraine sufferers and a control group were checked for the circadian rhythm of urinary catecholamine and VMA excretion. These data were compared with the typical variations in haemodynamic balance already encountered in migraine sufferers. It is felt that this connection is an essential element in the pathogenesis of headaches.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

[Chronobiological evaluation of hemodynamic equilibrium in the developmental years].

Knowledge of the incidence of haemodynamic imbalance syndromes and consequent pathologies in growing children at various ages may be a useful aid to the preventive measures that make for effective treatment of the organs involved in the psychological and physical development of school children. The oscillation between haemodynamic balance and imbalance was monitored in 849 subjects aged 3-18 on the basis of periods of absence relatable to the biorhytmic cycle of each pupil within the daily and seasonable rhythm. The survey identifies the instruments that facilitate natural haemodynamic balance and reduce desynchronising stimuli.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Chronobiologic resolution of disabling pathologies in shift workers].

The annual sequence of sickness leaves was studied in 162 industrial workers with a high absenteeism level. An investigation of the swings in haemodynamic balance, and imbalances linked to alternations in vessel constriction and dilation throughout the biorhythmic cycle influenced by the alternation of night and day, hot and cold seasons, showed that each period of sick leave coincided with each period of haemodynamic balance caused by particular shifts. It was thus possible to identify groups of workers with syndromic sub groups whose performance was affected by night work and particular seasons. For optimal shift-worker deployment it is therefore suggested that workers should be assigned to shifts to which they are biologically suited.

Biological Clocks↗
PubMed1985

Ophthalmoplegia plus, an electro-oculographic study.

To find out whether the central structures governing conjugate eye movements are affected in ophthalmoplegia plus (OP), we conducted an electro-oculographic study in 6 patients suffering from OP with varying degrees of extraocular involvement and with mitochondrial changes in the skeletal musculature. All the patients presented alterations of the smooth pursuit and saccadic movements, of optokinetic nystagmus as well as of the vestibular reflexes and of visuovestibular interaction, thus confirming impairment of the central oculomotor structures and particularly of those of the archicerebellum and brainstem. These data suggest a supranuclear component in the pathogenesis of ophthalmoplegia and are in accord with the findings of brainstem spongiosis in OP, which in turn seem to express a multisystem pathological state of the mitochondria.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Study of endocrine function in myotonic dystrophy.

Endocrine function was studied in 12 patients, 7 men and 5 women, with myotonic dystrophy (MD). Growth hormone (GH) was within normal limits in all the patients and there was no response to arginine stimulation. Prolactin (PRL) was above normal in only 2 cases (one man and one woman) and the response to TRH was below normal in 2 patients and slightly above in one. The GnRH test yielded a reduced LH response in 4 of the 7 men and none at all in the 4 women in whom it was done. The FSH response was below normal in only one of the 7 men and in 3 out of 4 women. The testosterone assay after HCG stimulation was borderline high in 2 out of 6 men and below normal in one. The level of thyroid hormones (T3, T4, FTI, TSH) was normal in all patients except one, whose FTI and T4 level were below normal. In the TRH test TSH was raised in only one of the 6 patients tested. The circadian rhythm of cortisol was absent in 3 out of 10 patients and 3 out of 8 patients showed no response to ACTH stimulation. The results of the study suggest that endocrine alterations are fairly frequent in MD but that they are neither specific nor correlated with disease severity or duration.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1984

Plasma exchange in myasthenia gravis.

Results obtained with P.E. therapy on 19 myasthenic patients are reported. 15 of them improved during treatment and 4 remained unchanged. We believe P.E. is an useful therapy in M.G. because it produces a rapid improvement in most patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Plasma exchange in radiculopolyneuropathies.

The AA. report the results obtained with Plasma Exchange (P.E.) therapy on 24 cases of polyradiculoneuritis; eleven patients had typical Guillain-Barré Syndrome (G.B.S.) ten suffered from a chronic progressive form and three were affected by a relapsing form. The acute patients were selected according to criteria established by the NNCDS Committee (1978) while guidelines laid down by Pineas & Load (1978) were followed in choosing chronic cases. Patients with G.B.S. had four sessions of P.E. at intervals of one or two days while those with chronic forms of polyradiculoneuritis had a total of 6 sessions spaced one to three days apart. P.E. produced no apparent change in chronic progressive patients but two out of three cases with the chronic relapsing form showed rapid and steady improvement resulting in complete cure within a few months. Nine of the eleven G.B.S. patients showed after only one or two sessions a clear and rapid improvement which led to a complete cure within a matter of weeks. The remaining 2 cases showed only partial improvement at first and remained stationary thereafter. The findings confirm the usefulness of P.E. in acute and chronic relapsing radiculopolyneuritis. However, potential side effects and the procedure's high cost suggest that its use should be limited to carefully selected cases, and in particular to those involving respiratory disorders.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

[Pharmacologic double contrast method in the diagnosis of gastric neoplasms].

The technique of double contrast radiography, proposed by Vallebona since 1931, was developed in Japan for the detection of superficial carcinoma in the stomach. Between May 1979 and January 1982, 2080 patients were examined by double contrast method using effervescent pills, thick barium sulphate suspension, in hypotonic conditions of the walls. Double contrast false positives percentage is higher compared with standard technique, whilst the latter has a higher number of false negatives. The double contrast method has greatly increased the accuracy of X-ray diagnosis, considerably reducing the difference with endoscopy.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

[Diagnostic value of double contrast in the study of benign gastric neoplasms].

Personal experience in cases of benign tumors of the stomach is presented. Between May 79 and May 82. 2250 patients were examined by double contrast method. Three cases of benign tumors of the stomach are reported: one leiomyoma of the fundus, one aberrant pancreas and one hyperplastic polyp. Diagnosis was made by radiography and confirmed by endoscopy. The method has greatly increased the possibility of diagnosing tumors of the stomach; it is now possible to distinguish benign tumors from malignant tumors. Our results suggest that an experienced radiologist can detect most of benign tumors of the stomach and often make a differential diagnosis.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

[Radiological aspect of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: considerations on a case].

The authors present their experience on a case of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. Initially described in 1921, the association of intestinal polyposis with pigmentation of the skin and mucous membranes has been called the Peutz-Jeghers syndrome; the pigment, which is melanin, usually involves the lips and mouth and at times the face and extremities. The syndrome appears to be a hereditable disease. Polyps may be present in the stomach, small bowel and colon, but are most frequent in the small bowel, where they produce intussusception or bleeding. Our patient, a 35-year-old man, presented abdominal pain and recurrent intestinal bleeding. Our aim was to evidence radiological signs of this syndrome. the radiographic examination of small bowel, showing multiple polyps and signs of intussusception, definitely confirmed the diagnosis. The Authors finally discuss the possibility of other syndromes associated with gastrointestinal polyposis such as familial polyposis, Cronkhite-Canada syndrome, Gardner syndrome etc.

Adult↗