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Biomedical subjects

L Amaducci

Publications and source records attributed to L Amaducci.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Acute subcortical lesions modify cortical muscarinic receptors in human brain.

Post-mortem determinations of muscarinic cholinergic receptor parameters by means of binding procedures were carried out in human brains. In patients who died from internal capsule stroke a significant increase in cortical (Brodmann area 8) muscarinic receptor density was present when compared to non-neurological controls. No significant changes were detected in cortical choline acetyltransferase. Subcortical structures such as thalamus and caudate nucleus seemed to undergo opposite effects. It is suggested that acute interruption of fibers ascending to the cortex from subcortical areas can alter muscarinic receptor properties in the cerebral cortex.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Correlation of isotopic cisternographic patterns in multiple sclerosis with CSF IgG values.

Thirty-eight patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were examined with isotopic cisternography (IC) in order to study cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics. Cisternography was also performed in 15 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and in 14 with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type as controls. IC pattern of "mixed" type was found in 18 MS patients and all those with Alzheimer senile dementia examined, while the IC examination did not show abnormality in any of 15 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In MS patients, the abnormal IC picture proved to be significantly correlated with the CSF IgG values as calculated by Link's and Tourtelotte's formulas. The abnormal IC in MS may be due to altered CSF reabsorption or increased transependymal flow, or it may be related to the abnormal concentration of IgG.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Multiple sclerosis among shoe and leather workers: an epidemiological survey in Florence.

The observation of many multiple sclerosis (MS) cases among shoe and leather workers prompted a survey of the risk of MS in this working population. Eighty-one patients with definite or probable MS alive in Florence on May 1st 1976 were interviewed regarding their occupation at onset of the disease. Five of the 41 patients working at the time had worked in shoe a leather factories. The relative risk for these workers was 4.87 compared to the general populations and 4.91 compared to the active population, both results being significantly different from one. This survey indicates an increased risk of MS among shoe and leather workers. Organic solvents, contained in large quantities in the glues used, may be involved in the pathogenic mechanism through a possible interference with the immune system.

Adhesives↗
PubMed1981

Glial fibrillary acidic protein in cryogenic lesions of the rat brain.

Histologic sections of rat brains obtained at time intervals ranging from 30 min to 48 h following a cryogenic lesion placed on the surface of the parietal lobe, were immunocytochemically stained for glial fibrillary acidic (GFA) protein (glial filaments), IgG and albumin. Intense staining for the GFA protein and enlargement of astrocytes in the subcortical white matter and corpus callosum, were demonstrated near the lesion at 30 min and spread throughout the white matter up to 48 h. The early reaction of the astrocytes suggests that disassembly of glial filaments or new GFA synthesis may contribute to astrocytic changes.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity differs in right and left human temporal lobes.

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was studied in different areas and in sequential sections of the cortical layers in the first temporal gyrus of left and right hemispheres of four human brains. The ChAT activity values obtained in all the samples from left hemisphere were significantly higher than in the right hemisphere. Furthermore, the study of ChAT activity in the cortical layers in Brodmann area 22 shows a greater left prevalence of enzymatic activity in cortical layers II and IV. The biochemical data seem to suggest a possible morphologic and/or functional difference between the two hemispheres.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Biochemical differences between the left and right hemispheres. Preliminary observations on choline acetyl transferase (CAT) activity.

Choline acetyltransferase (CHAT) activity was studied in different areas in the first temporal gyrus of left and right hemispheres of human brains. The CHAT activity values obtained in all the samples from left hemisphere wee significantly higher than in the right hemisphere. The biochemical data seems to suggest a possible morphological and/or functional differences between the two hemispheres.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase abnormalities in senile dementia: importance of biochemical measurements in human post-mortem brain specimens.

Choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase have been assessed in human aging brains, in demented and agonal states. Choline acetyl transferase decreased during aging in normal brain when measured in the cerebral cortex. Choline acetyltransferase was also reduced in several other brain areas in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in one patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Choline acetyltransferase was also reduced in bronchopneumonia and in some terminal conditions. On the contrary, the activity was not reduced in patients who died after cerebrovascular accidents. Acetylcholine esterase, although it followed the general trend of choline acetyltransferase, did not yield significant results.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1979

Psychopharmacological prospectives in the treatment of dementia.

1. Dementias have a complex etiology and pathogenesis which should be carefully evaluated in order to attempt a medical treatment. 2. Drugs are among the most frequent causes of dementias, particularly drugs with anticholinergic properties. 3. A similarity between the mental symptoms of anticholinergic poisoning and senile dementia has been observed. 4. Recent investigations have also presented a decrease of cholinergic activity in postmortem material of subjects with Alzheimer's disease. Also a number of data suggest that recent memory would be related to changes in the metabolism of brain acetylcholine (Ach). 5. The possibility that drugs stimulating brain cholinergic mechanisms might be used in the treatment of dementias is envisaged.

Central Nervous System↗
PubMed1979

Study of epidemiological and etiological factors of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the province of Florence, Italy.

An epidemiological survey of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) based on 83 patients living in the province of Florence (central Italy) showed an incidence of 0.714 X 100,000 inhabitants and a prevalence of 2.142 X 100,000 inhabitants. The disease was found to be more prevalent in males (sex ratio 1.3--1). Average age of onset was 59 years (57 +/- 4 for males and 61.6 +/- 3 for females). No particular geographical distribution was noted. 59 % of the patients presented the conventional amyotrophic form, while 10 % and 30 % were those with the bulbar and polyneuritic type, respectively. A survey of the social and economic status showed ALS to be more frequent in manual workers (P less than 0.001). Among all patients 31 % presented evidence of trauma; however only in 15 % of them could the trauma be chronically and topographically related to the onset of ALS. The presence of other diseases associated with ALS was examined but the combination found may be only casual.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Another possible precipitating factor in multiple sclerosis: the exposure to organic solvents.

Recent clinical observations seem to indicate that a possible correlation may exist between the appearance of inflammatory diseases of the nervous system and exposure to organic solvents. In certain cases the patients could not be distinguished, either from the clinical or laboratory point of view, from typical cases of multiple sclerosis. These observations raise the problem of a possible action of organic solvents on the immunological responses, already described in different pathological conditions as a further possible precipitating factor in MS.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

A possible mechanism for cholesteryl ester formation during demyelination: lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity in rat brain.

Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity has been examined in the rat by using a brain homogenate preparation as the phospholipid substrate and blood plasma as the enzyme source. LCAT activity was detected on using 60 mul of serum onwards. Successive experiments have also shown that LCAT activity is present in the edematous rat brain tissue homogenate when incubated with inactivated rat plasma as substrate. The results are discussed in relation to cholesteryl ester accumulation in brain during demyelinating diseases.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Investigations into the relationship between phospholipids and brain acetylcholine.

The effect of a phospholipid mixture extracted from the bovine cerebral cortex and of pure phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) on ACh output from the cerebral cortex was investigated in rats anaesthetized with urethane. All the phospholipids were administered after sonication. ACh was determined by bioassay. The following results were obtained: after i.p. administration of 100 mg/kg of the phospholipid mixture a marked increase in ACh output I asting approximately 30 min was observed. The i.v. administration of PS caused a dose-dependent increase in ACh. At the dose of 150 mg/kg a 3-fold increase over the spontaneous ACh output was found. PE was less active than PS and PC showed no effect on ACh output. The possibility that PS and PE might increase ACh output through a mechanism facilitating Ca penetration is discussed.

Acetylcholine↗