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G Monteleone

Publications and source records attributed to G Monteleone.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies are present in long standing type 1 diabetics but do not correlate with selective proteinuria.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are present in systemic vasculitis with or without renal involvement and in inflammatory bowel diseases, conditions which share damage in proteoglycan content of basal membrane. In diabetes, there is a reduction in proteoglycans in the kidney basal membrane, responsible for the decrease in fixed anionic charges and, consequently, for the prevalent anionic proteinuria (albumin, IgG4) even in the early preclinical stage of nephropathy. The aims of this study were to search for the presence of ANCA in long-standing type 1 diabetic patients and to evaluate possible correlations with size- and/or charge-selective proteinuria. Twenty-two type 1 diabetic patients (duration of diabetes 24 years, range 9-30) selected and grouped according to albumin excretion rate values, were studied together with 21 age and sex comparable normal subjects. ANCA, albumin excretion rate, and the clearances of albumin, of prevalently cationic total IgG (IgG) and of anionic IgG4 were evaluated. ANCA were measured using ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence methods; albumin, IgG and IgG4 were tested with RIA or ELISA methods developed in our laboratory. ANCA were found in five patients, three of whom showed proteinuria. 33.3% and 18.2% of patients with normal IgG and albumin clearances respectively had elevated IgG4 clearance. This study shows for the first time the presence of ANCA in long-standing type 1 diabetic patients and confirms a prevalent anionic protein excretion in these patients, but does not show a correlation between the presence of ANCA and proteinuria, even if the presence of ANCA in diseases sharing alterations in proteoglycan content of vascular basal membrane is noteworthy.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Associated daily biosynthesis of cortisol and thromboxane A2: a preliminary report.

Cortisol is the most important hormone secreted in response to acute and chronic stress. Thromboxane A2 (TxA2) is a potent eicosanoid with vasoconstricting and proaggregatory actions. Our earlier finding of a close correlation between plasma levels of TxB2, the stable metabolite of TxA2, and cortisol in subjects with major depression but without frank hypercortisolism prompted us to investigate a possible association between TxA2 and cortisol production in nondepressed subjects. The 24-hour urinary excretion values of 2,3-dinor-TxB2 (the urinary catabolite of TxA2) and cortisol were measured by radioimmunoassay in 50 subjects divided into three groups matched for age, sex distribution, and body mass index. Group 1 consisted of 19 healthy subjects; group 2 consisted of 15 patients with type IIa hypercholesterolemia, a condition associated with a high atherothrombotic risk, but without history of atherosclerosis or evidence of this disorder documented clinically or in noninvasive diagnostic tests; and group 3 consisted of 16 patients with regional atherosclerosis (8 with cerebrovascular disease, 6 with coronary artery disease, and 2 with peripheral vascular disease). Although the three groups had similar cortisol and 2,3-dinor-TxB2 urinary values, a significant direct correlation emerged between the two catabolites in the whole study sample (r = 0.63; p < 0.0001) and the three groups (r1 = 0.62, p < 0.01; r2 = 0.78, p < 0.0001; r3 = 0.63, p < 0.01). The close association between cortisol and thromboxane A2 biosynthesis thus appears to be a general phenomenon. These findings may be important in interpreting the well-described causative link between stress and atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Regulatory cytokines in inflammatory bowel disease.

Several immunological alterations have been described in inflammatory bowel disease, but their role in the pathogenesis of tissue damage of these disorders is not fully known. Activated immune cells produce proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines able to mediate immune mechanisms underlying intestinal inflammation in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Although there is no evidence for an aberrant cytokine secretion in the intestinal mucosa of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, observations seem to indicate that locally released cytokines trigger the preferential differentiation of mucosal lymphocytes into TH1 or TH2 subsets. The unresponsiveness of intestinal mononuclear cells to the inhibiting effects of regulatory cytokines may, also, contribute to this differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Does the presence of ANCA in patients with ulcerative colitis necessarily imply renal involvement?

BACKGROUND: ANCA are thought to play a pathogenic role in renal vasculitis. ANCA may also be detected in patients with diseases not usually associated with renal pathology, such as ulcerative colitis. Our study was conducted to determine if the presence of ANCA in patients with ulcerative colitis is associated with renal pathology. METHODS: Eight ANCA-positive and five ANCA-negative patients with a histological and endoscopic diagnosis of active ulcerative colitis were investigated. Repeated complete urinalyses and determination of microalbuminuria and creatinine clearance were performed. Serum IgG and IgA ANCA were evaluated in all patients by indirect immunofluorescence and ELISA, and when detected the antibodies were further characterized by alpha granules preparation, myeloperoxidase, lactoferrin, and cathepsin G. RESULTS: In both ANCA-positive and ANCA-negative patients renal function was normal or near normal and urinalyses (including microalbuminuria) failed to disclose any abnormalities. ANCA exhibited a perinuclear pattern in all ANCA-positive patients. Interestingly, none of the ANCA-positive patients had antibodies to myeloperoxidase or to alpha granules which are usually found in the sera of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, and only one had antibodies to lactoferrin. The ANCA specificity remained undetermined in the remaining seven patients. At the end of the 1-year observation period, all ANCA-positive patients remained ANCA-positive without developing symptoms, signs or laboratory abnormalities consistent with renal involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Renal damage was not observed in ANCA-positive patients with ulcerative colitis even after 1 year of follow-up, suggesting that the ANCA found in these patients do not share the antigenic targets with the ANCA commonly found in renal vasculitis. Therefore the potential of ANCA of inducing renal lesions (if any) is dependent on their own antigenic specificity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Isotypic analysis of specific antibody response in serum, saliva, gastric and rectal homogenates of Helicobacter pylori-infected patients.

The relationship between systemic and local humoral immune response to Helicobacter pylori is poorly understood. To further address this issue we measured, using ELISA, H. pylori-specific IgG and IgA antibodies in serum, saliva, gastric and rectal homogenates of H. pylori-infected patients. A total of 107 patients who underwent upper GI endoscopy and/or sigmoidoscopy were studied. The isotypic pattern of H. pylori-specific antibodies appeared to differ at the serum, salivary, gastric and rectal mucosa level. Serum H. pylori IgG titers were higher than those of the serum-specific IgA. On the contrary, in saliva samples H. pylori IgA titers were higher than specific IgG titers. In gastric homogenates, specific IgG and IgA titers were similar. H. pylori-specific IgG were detectable in rectal homogenates but no or very low H. pylori-specific IgA were found in the same material. Furthermore, no difference was found in H. pylori IgG and IgA in serum, saliva and gastric homogenates between duodenal ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia patients. Data of the present study indicate that, in H. pylori-infected patients, the specific immune response is as follows: (1) it involves the secretory immune system; (2) it is paralleled by the specific salivary IgA; (3) it does not differentiate duodenal ulcer from non-ulcer dyspepsia patients; and (4) it does not take place in the large bowel.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

High plasma concentrations of cortisol and thromboxane B2 in patients with depression.

Modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in major depression is thought to depend on the hypothalamus and other areas of the central nervous system, or both. Hypothalamic over-activity may be responsible for the hypercortisolism observed in 50% of depressed subjects. To investigate the relation between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular disease, morning (8 AM) plasma concentrations of cortisol and thromboxane B2 (the stable metabolite of thromboxane A2, an eicosanoid closely linked to thrombotic disorders) were measured by radioimmunoassay in 32 patients with major depression (DSM III) triggered by psychosocial events and in 9 nondepressed volunteers. The depressed patients were studied in two groups, 16 with cortisol levels under 90 ng/mL and 16 with levels over 90 ng/mL. All the healthy non-depressed subjects had cortisol values over 100 ng/mL. The depressed patients with high cortisol had significantly higher plasma TxB2 concentrations than the other two groups. In addition, plasma cortisol and TxB2 concentrations correlated significantly over the whole group of depressed patients and in the high cortisol sub-group but not in the low-cortisol sub-group or in the nondepressed subjects. These findings appear to support the recently proposed role of the hypothalamic dysfunction associated with affective disorders in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Circulating D dimer in inflammatory bowel disease.

An activated thrombogenesis has been reported in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study we evaluated whether a fibrin degradation product, the D dimer, is increased in patients with IBD. D dimer plasma levels were evaluated by sandwich ELISA in patients with Crohn's disease (24), ulcerative colitis (25), gastrointestinal (GI) disease controls (10), hospital controls (13) and healthy subjects (14). Circulating D dimer was significantly higher in ulcerative colitis (median 651; 95% CI 89-1275 ng/ml) than in healthy subjects (median 412; 95% CI 112-672 ng/ml; p = 0.002), Crohn's disease (median 466; 95% CI 6-931 ng/ml; p = 0.005) and GI disease controls (median 446; 95% CI 196-688 ng/ml; p = 0.023). In ulcerative colitis, plasma D dimer was related to inflammatory parameters such as C-reactive protein (p < 0.01) and seromucoids (p < 0.001). Circulating D dimer was age-related in all groups (p < 0.05). Fibrin degradation, as reflected by plasma D dimer, is detected in patients with ulcerative colitis exhibiting a marked acute phase response.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

[Not Available].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

History, Modern 1601-↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression of proinflammatory and Th1 but not Th2 cytokines is enhanced in gastric mucosa of Helicobacter pylori infected children.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric inflammation is thought to be largely regulated by cytokines. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression of interferon-gamma, interleukin-12, interleukin-4, interleukin-10, interleukin-8, and interleukin-17 mRNA was examined on gastric mucosal samples from 24 children by semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and southern blotting. Biopsy-based tests, serology, and urea 13C breath test were used to assess Helicobacter pylori status. Gastric biopsies were also evaluated for bacterial density, chronic inflammation, and acute inflammatory activity. RESULTS: Interferon-gamma, interleukin-12, interleukin-8 and interleukin-17 expression was higher in Helicobacter pylori-infected (n=13) than uninfected (n=11) children. Conversely, interleukin-4 and interleukin-10 expression did not differ between Helicobacter pylori-infected and uninfected children. In Helicobacter pylori-infected children, interferon-gamma, interleukin-12, interleukin-8 and interleukin-17 expression correlated with bacterial density, and Interferon-gamma and interleukin-12 expression with chronic inflammation score. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that, in children, Helicobacter pylori-induced inflammatory response would favour production of proinflammatory cytokines and development of cell-mediated immunity, namely Th1 response.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Correlation between osteoarthritic cartilage damage and levels of proteinases and proteinase inhibitors in synovial fluid from the knee joint.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the synovial fluid are responsible for collagen breakdown during physiologic cartilage turnover and the pathologic destruction of the cartilage. We measured the levels of MMPs, specific tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in synovial fluid from the knees of 36 patients with cartilage lesions subdivided according to severity based on arthroscopic findings. Lesions were classified as mild (group 1, edema with no disruption of the surface), moderate (group 2, open lesions without exposure of subchondral bone), or severe (group 3, exposure of subchondral bone). Zymography (gel electrophoresis in the presence of hydrolizable substrates) showed a 60-kd band in all samples. A second band (94-kd) was found exclusively in specimens from groups 2 and 3, and a third band (110-kd) was present only in group 3. Concentrations of 2 of the most important modulators of MMP activity, TIMP-1 and IL-6, were measured. TIMP-1 levels did not vary significantly with the severity of cartilage damage. Linear regression analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between TIMP-1 and IL-6 in groups 1 and 2. These data indicate that the severity of the cartilage damage corresponds with MMP activity. The correlation between IL-6 and TIMP-1 in groups with mild and moderate damage suggests a regulating mechanism that is absent in severe lesions.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immediate passive mobilization of the hip after internal fixation of acetabular fractures.

The authors report the results obtained in 16 patients affected with displaced fracture of the acetabulum treated surgically and mobilized passively immediately after surgery by means of a continuous passive mobilization apparatus for the hip. The age of the patients at the time of trauma ranged from 21 to 54 years. The posterior wall was involved in 12 cases, while the anterior column was also involved in 4. Excellent or good reduction of the fracture was obtained in all of the cases. Immediately after surgery, a continuous passive motion apparatus for the hip was applied to be used for approximately 3 weeks. At final follow-up, which was obtained after a mean time of 5 years, all of the patients except 2 had obtained good results. Moderate joint deficit was present in 1 case, while sciatic nerve palsy that had already been observed prior to surgery persisted in another. Evident radiographic signs of coxarthrosis were not present in any of the cases. Based on the opinion of Salter et al. (1980), who in an experimental study had observed better healing of the cartilaginous lesions in the joints submitted to movement, immediately after surgery we applied a continuous passive motion apparatus for the hip in a group of patients affected with fracture of the acetabulum. As none of the patient followed-up by us presented evident signs of hip arthrosis, the authors hypothesize that continuous passive movement, immediately carried out after osteosynthesis, plays a significant role in preventing post-traumatic arthrosis of the hip. In truth, small irregularities of the acetabular cavity, possibly present after an apparently anatomical reduction, could be minimized by the plasmating effect of the head of the femur in movement.

Acetabulum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antibacterial drugs in Crohn's disease.

The evidence of a beneficial role of antibacterial drugs in Crohn's disease is largely empirical. Data accumulate to show that these drugs may well be used as an adjunctive therapy to oral anti-inflammatory drugs. Circumstantial evidence has also been provided that antibacterial drugs are effective in relieving symptoms related to bacterial overgrowth and when used for specific indications such as perianal lesions.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Locked posterior dislocation of the shoulder.

What the authors mean by locked dislocation of the shoulder is an inveterate posterior dislocation of the humeral head which remains locked within the glenoid cavity as a result of anatomopathological lesion. Based on an analysis of four cases a diagnostic-therapeutic protocol is proposed in which the clinical and radiographic data obtained allows for a reliable diagnosis and suitable treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence against colonic mucosa colonisation by Helicobacter pylori. Lack of a specific antibody response in homogenates of rectal endoscopic biopsies.

Aim of this study is to provide indirect evidence that human colonic mucosa harbour Helicobacter pylori. The antibody response of IgG and IgA class against Helicobacter pylori was examined in autologous homogenate of gastric and rectal endoscopic biopsies from 26 patients and in rectal samples of a further 36. All had a documented (histology and/or serology) Helicobacter pylori status. Helicobacter pylori specific IgG and IgA were measured by an in-house ELISA. In Helicobacter pylori positive patients having both gastric and rectal homogenate, mean level of Helicobacter pylori IgG and IgA was higher in gastric than in rectal samples (0.810 +/- 0.668 optical density vs 0.329 +/- 0.509 optical density for IgG, p = 0.007 and 0.660 +/- 0.477 vs 0.116 +/- 0.229 for IgA, p < 0.001, respectively). In each patient, level of the two isotypes was clearly higher in gastric than in autologous rectal sample. In the overall study population, mean level of Helicobacter pylori IgG in rectal homogenate was not significantly (p = 0.16) different between Helicobacter pylori positive (48/62, 77%, 0.243 +/- 0.388 optical density) and negative (14/62, 23%; 0.095 +/- 0.088) patients. In same material, levels of Helicobacter pylori IgA were very low and undetectable either in Helicobacter pylori positive or negative patients. Although Helicobacter pylori IgG are detectable in rectal homogenates of Helicobacter pylori positive patients, present data suggest that these antibodies may not be local in origin but rather reflect circulating response. These observations do not support the view that large bowel mucosa is colonised by Helicobacter pylori.

Adult↗