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Biomedical subjects

G Nicoletti

Publications and source records attributed to G Nicoletti.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Faropenem, a new oral penem: antibacterial activity against selected anaerobic and fastidious periodontal isolates.

The in vitro activity of faropenem, an oral penem, was compared with those of penicillin, co-amoxiclav, cefoxitin, clindamycin, erythromycin and metronidazole against 106 isolates of anaerobic pathogens involved in systemic infections. The organisms tested comprised Porphyromonas gingivalis (29), Prevotella spp. (eight), Prevotella melaninogenica (seven), Prevotella intermedia (five), Actinomyces spp. (25), Fusobacterium nucleatum (14), Peptostreptococcus spp. (11), Bacteroides ureolyticus (five) and Bacteroides forsythus (two). The antimicrobial properties of faropenem were investigated by studying MICs, MBCs, time-kill kinetics and post-antibiotic effect (PAE). Faropenem was highly active against all the anaerobes tested (MIC(90) < or = 0.5 mg/L) and was bactericidal against both beta-lactamase-positive and -negative anaerobes, with a maximum bactericidal effect at 10 x MIC at between 12 and 24 h. In addition, faropenem had an in vitro PAE on all the tested isolates and this was not influenced by beta-lactamase production. Faropenem may be useful for treating infections caused by periodontal bacteria or oral flora.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2003

[Squamous cell carcinoma of the lip. Retrospective analysis of 42 cases].

BACKGROUND: To examine to what extent physicians follow a regional guidelines for the diagnosis, staging, treatment and follow-up of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower and upper lip. METHODS DESIGN: retrospective analysis of data from the medical records of 42 patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower and upper lip during the period 1990-2000. SETTING: Department of head and neck pathology, oral cavity and audio-verbal communication of Naples University. PARTICIPANTS: the data were collected by this Department. RESULTS: In accordance with the TNM system, the 50% of cases was in stage T1, 33% in T2, 14% in T3. In few cases (3%) the lesion was in stage T4. All cases were in M0 and only 8% of cases presented nodal disease at diagnosis (N1). The type of treatment in relation to age was in agreement with the guidelines in 34% of cases. Of the 42 surgically-treated patients, only 4 showed, after 12 months, a local recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Prognosis is good if squamous carcinoma is diagnosed early.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Spinal meningeal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. Report of a new case and review of the literature.

A case of T12-L2 intraspinal extradural meningeal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is described in a patient presenting with a clinical history of low-back pain and weakness of the lower limbs. Magnetic resonance T1-weighted Gadolinium enhanced imaging, showed an intraspinal extradural mass, extending from T12 to L2, located anterolaterally into the spinal canal and pushing posteriorly the conus medullaris. The mass was completely removed and postoperative histological diagnosis was of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. The patient was completely symptoms-free after surgery. Intraspinal meningeal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma and treatment options are reviewed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Pleomorphic adenoma of cervical heterotopic salivary glands.

Neoplastic transformation of heterotopic cervical salivary gland tissue is extremely rare. The Authors describe a case of pleomorphic adenoma arising in this tissue, on the right side of the neck in a 40-year old man. The characteristics of salivary heterotipias of the neck, and their diagnostic difficulties and histogenetic problems are reviewed.

Adenoma, Pleomorphic↗
PubMed2002

Genetic association of alpha2-macroglobulin polymorphisms with AD in southern Italy.

The authors investigated the segregation of two polymorphisms of the alpha2-macroglobulin gene (A2M-I/D and A2M-Ile1000Val) in patients with sporadic AD from southern Italy. The A2M-I and A2M-Val1000 alleles were more frequent in cases than in controls, and this effect was independent from the APOE-epsilon4 status as well as from the age at onset of AD. Moreover, subjects carrying the A2M genotype I/I-Val/Val had a threefold increase of risk for AD. These data support a population-based susceptibility for AD linked to A2M polymorphisms.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Autonomic dysfunction associates with prolongation of QT intervals and blunted night BP in obese women with visceral obesity.

Prolonged QT intervals and a reduced fall of nocturnal blood pressure (BP) both predict an increased risk of cardiovascular events in obese subjects. We evaluated circadian BP variations (24-h ambulatory BP monitoring), autonomic function (power spectral analysis of RR interval oscillations) and cardiac repolarization times (QTc-dispersion and QTc interval) in 70 obese women, aged 25-44 yr, grouped by WHR into group A (WHR > 0.85, no.=38) and group B (WHR < or = 0.85, no.=32). Compared with non-obese age-matched women (no.=25, BMI=23+/-1.8) and obese women of group B, obese women of group A had higher values of QTc-d (p<0.05) and QTc (p<0.05), an altered sympathovagal balance (ratio of low-frequency/high-frequency power, p<0.01), and a blunted nocturnal drop in BP (p<0.01). In group A, QTc-d and the QTc interval correlated with diastolic night BP (p<0.01) and sympathovagal balance (p<0.01). WHR and plasma insulin levels correlated with QT intervals, reduced nocturnal fall in diastolic BP and sympathovagal balance (p<0.01). Prolongation of cardiac repolarization times and the reduction of nocturnal fall in BP coexist in obese women with visceral obesity, and might contribute to their raised cardiovascular risk. Autonomic dysfunction may be the common mechanism for this association.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Minimal inhibitory concentrations and time-kill determination of moxifloxacin against aerobic and anaerobic isolates.

Moxifloxacin is a new oral 8-methoxy-quinolone with a wide spectrum of activity against Gram-negative and anaerobic bacteria, atypical micro-organisms and multi-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. This study was designed to assess the in vitro activity of moxifloxacin against Gram-positive bacteria with different resistance patterns, anaerobes and atypical micro-organisms such as Chlamydia and Mycoplasma. Moxifloxacin had good activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae with all strains inhibited by < or =0.12 mg/l. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of moxifloxacin for Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus agalactiae ranged from 0.03 to 0.5 mg/l while those of ciprofloxacin were about two- to four-fold higher (MICs=0.12-1 mg/l). Moxifloxacin was poorly active against enterococci but its activity against Clostridium and Bacteroides spp. was in the same range as that of metronidazole and superior to that of clindamycin. Moxifloxacin was substantially more active than both ciprofloxacin and sparfloxacin against Chlamydia.

Aerobiosis↗
PubMed2002

The Italian Epidemiological Survey 1997-1999. Antimicrobial susceptibility data of Haemophilus influenzae, Haemophilus parainfluenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in Italy.

The Italian Epidemiological Survey began a surveillance study with the aim of monitoring the antimicrobial resistance of respiratory pathogens. From 1997 to 1999, 2028 strains of Haemophilus influenzae and 523 strains of Haemophilus parainfluenzae were collected from 59 Clinical Microbiology Laboratories distributed throughout Italy. In 1998, the study was extended to include Moraxella catarrhalis and a total of 360 isolates were collected. There was a significant increase in the beta-lactamase production both for H. influenzae (from 5% in 1997 to 16% in 1999) and for H. parainfluenzae (from 5% in 1997 to 22% in 1999). Beta-lactamase production in M. catarrhalis was 84% in 1998 and 87% in 1999. Beta-lactamase production affected the susceptibility to unprotected penicillins (87% in H. influenzae, 85% in H. parainfluenzae and 34% in M. catarrhalis), and in part the susceptibility to cefaclor (about 98%). Amoxycillin/clavulanate, cefixime, ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin were active against all strains of H. influenzae, H. parainfluenzae and M. catarrhalis.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2002

Antibacterial activity of moxifloxacin against periodontal anaerobic pathogens involved in systemic infections.

The in vitro activity of moxifloxacin was compared with that of penicillin G, amoxycillin/clavulanate, cefoxitin, erythromycin, clindamycin and metronidazole against 158 isolates associated with periodontal infections. MIC(50)/MIC(90) values of moxifloxacin were respectively 0.06/0.5 mg/l for Porphyromonas gingivalis (35), for Prevotella spp. (28) and Actinomyces spp. (35), 0.12/0.25 mg/l for Fusobacterium nucleatum (20) and 0.06/0.12 mg/l for Peptostreptococcus spp. (30). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range of moxifloxacin for Bacteroides forsythus (6) and Campylobacter rectus (4) was 0.06-0.12 mg/l. The minimum bactericidal concentrations were equal to or 2-4 times the MIC values. Moxifloxacin produced a bactericidal effect at 8 h. Our results show that moxifloxacin has good antibacterial activity against periodontal pathogens comparable with that of cefoxitin and amoxycillin/clavulanate, and better than that of clindamycin, metronidazole and penicillin.

Anaerobiosis↗
PubMed2002

Anti-GM1 ganglioside antibodies in Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether anti-GM1 antibodies are increased in Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: Serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG anti-GM1 antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 147 patients with PD and in 186 age-matched normal control subjects. Sera were assayed at initial dilution of 1:800 for IgM and 1:200 for IgG and were considered positive at absorbance values exceeding the value of 0.05 for IgM and 0.1 for IgG. RESULTS: Forty patients with PD (27.2%) had sera positive for IgM anti-GM1 antibodies, whereas only five normal controls (2.7%) resulted positive (P < 0.0001). Most of patients (75%) with positive sera had a tremor-dominant form of PD. Only two patients with PD (1.4%) and none of normal controls had sera positive for IgG anti-GM1 antibodies. CONCLUSION: A consistent portion of parkinsonians, mainly with a tremor-dominant form of PD, may have increased circulating IgM anti-GM1 antibodies.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Comparative activity of linezolid against staphylococci and enterococci isolated in Italy.

The activity of linezolid, a new oxazolidinone, was tested against 862 Gram-positive cocci isolated in Italy and compared with the activities of 12 antibiotics. Overall, MIC90s for linezolid (2-4 mg/L) indicated an in vitro activity comparable to that of vancomycin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (4 mg/L), S. epidermidis (2 mg/L) and methicillin-susceptible strains. Enterococcus faecalis strains were susceptible to linezolid (MIC90 2-4 mg/L), glycopeptides and beta-lactams. In E. faecium, only glycopeptides (MIC90 2 mg/L) and linezolid (MIC90 2 mg/L) were active. Linezolid was the only drug active against two strains of Enterococcus showing a VanA phenotype. Owing to its antibacterial profile, linezolid represents a promising drug for the treatment of Gram-positive infections.

Acetamides↗
PubMed2002

Antibiotic prescribing for dental conditions: a community-based study in southern Italy.

The aim of this study was to investigate for which conditions antibiotics are being used in community dental practice, and which clinical features represent the most common reason for an antibacterial approach to the treatment of dental conditions. The study was carried out from November 1998 to June 1999. Dentists were selected according to the different areas of southern Italy, from a list provided by the Italian Society of Dentists. Out of 87 selected dentists, 33 agreed to participate and filled in 1615 questionnaires for each therapeutic intervention ending with antibiotic treatment. Analysis of data indicated that alveolar-gingival abscesses were the most commonly treated infection, accounting for 23.6% of total treatments, followed by acute periodontitis (20.6%) and disodontiasis of the 3rd molar (18.5%). Parenteral antibiotics were chosen in 7.8% of cases. Penicillins were the most commonly used group, 40.1% of total treatments, followed by macrolides (30.2%) and cephalosporins (13.4%). Moreover, penicillins were widely used for post-surgery therapy (52.1%) and disodontiasis of the 3rd molar (50.8%), while macrolides were the most commonly used group for gingivitis (44.1%) and parodontal diseases (55.0%). The choice of parenteral antibiotics was related to severe general symptoms (odds ratios [OR], 4.4; 95% CI: 2.2-9.0), pain (OR, 2.7; 95% CI: 1.2-6.1) and lymphonodal involvement (OR, 6.4; 95% CI: 2.7-15.1). In conclusion, our study demonstrates that antibiotic treatment is often based on the eradication of as many microorganisms as possible, and on the clinical assessment of the patients, rather than on any knowledge of the pathogens involved.

Adult↗