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Biomedical subjects

L Ferrari

Publications and source records attributed to L Ferrari.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Comparative analysis of breast cancer recurrence risk for patients receiving or not receiving adjuvant cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil (CMF). Data supporting the occurrence of 'cures'.

PURPOSE: To comparatively analyse the risk of recurrence at given times after surgery for breast cancer patients receiving or not receiving adjuvant CMF. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 1452 node positive patients, who entered controlled clinical trials carried out at the Milan Cancer Institute and underwent radical or modified radical mastectomy for operable breast cancer, were examined. In 575 cases no further treatment was performed, whereas 877 pts were given 6 or 12 courses of adjuvant Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, Fluorouracil (CMF). The recurrence risk was estimated by the event-specific hazard rate for first failure and distant metastases, and, following Efron, hazard rates were fitted by logistic regression models. RESULTS: The hazard rate for first failure and distant metastases showed a double peaked pattern for both treated patients and controls, with a first major peak at about 18-24 months from surgery (early metastases), a second minor peak at the 5th-6th year, and a tapered plateau-like tail extending over 10 years from surgery (late metastases). As expected, the recurrence risk of CMF treated patients was lower than the corresponding risk of patients undergoing surgery only. However, the difference was highly evident for early recurrences, while it declined and disappeared afterwards. CONCLUSION: Our findings confirm previous reports on patients not receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, suggesting that the recurrence risk for operable breast cancer has a multipeak pattern. As far as CMF treated patients are concerned, the unchanged peak timing together with the early recurrence risk reduction in comparison to controls are much more consistent with the real nonappearance of some early recurrences (putatively 'cured' patients) than with the delay in their manifestation. As late relapsing patients seem to have at most marginal benefits from adjuvant CMF, ways to recognize patients doomed to have late recurrence and new ways for treating micrometastases resulting in late recurrences are required.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1999

Effect of cadmium on the epidermic structure of Bufo arenarum tadpoles: influence of the chemical composition of the incubation media.

Epidermic alterations in premetamorphic Bufo arenarum tadpoles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy after exposure to sublethal cadmium concentrations in distilled water, in 141 mOsm solutions of mannitol and NaCl and in artificial pond water of 5 mOsm. Animals kept in NaCl solutions and in artificial pond water containing Cd did not show epidermic alterations. Cadmium in distilled water and in mannitol solutions caused loosening of cellular binding, cellular deformation and detachment and perforations of the epithelial membrane. Observed alterations were rapid and independent of the incubation media osmolarity. The interpretation of results must be linked to the competition between Cd and Ca, which is recognized as a basic factor in cellular adhesiveness.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Modulation of cytochrome P-450 gene expression in endotoxemic mice is tissue specific and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha dependent.

Administration of the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) causes induction of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 4A mRNAs in rat liver and kidney. Because induction of the CYP4A subfamily by chemicals requires peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha), we determined whether CYP4A induction by LPS also requires PPARalpha by comparing the responses of PPARalpha-null (-/-) and wild-type (+/+) mice. Renal expression of CYP4A10, CYP4A14, and acyl-CoA oxidase was induced by LPS treatment in (+/+) mice, and these effects were absent in the (-/-) mice. In contrast, hepatic expression of CYP4A10 was down-regulated in the (+/+) animals, and no significant induction of acyl-CoA oxidase or CYP4A14 was detected in liver. Expression of the peroxisomal bifunctional enzyme was not significantly affected by LPS treatment. These results indicate that PPARalpha is activated in mouse kidney after LPS treatment and that this leads to modulation of some PPARalpha-regulated genes. However, the species and tissue specificity of these effects suggest that inflammatory pathways may modulate the induction via PPARalpha. Mice pair fed with LPS-treated mice showed no induction of renal CYP4A10 or CYP4A14, indicating that renal CYP4A induction during endotoxemia is not due to hypophagia. Down-regulation of CYP2A5, CYP2C29, and CYP3A11 by LPS was attenuated or blocked in the (-/-) mice, suggesting a role for PPARalpha in CYP down-regulation as well. Finally, we found that clofibrate caused an acute induction of two hepatic acute-phase mRNAs that was only partially dependent on PPARalpha.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Laparoscopic excision of ovarian dermoid cysts with controlled intraoperative spillage. Safety and effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the operative and postoperative course in patients undergoing laparoscopy for dermoid cyst to that observed in subjects with other types of ovarian masses and of patients undergoing laparotomy for teratomas. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. From 1994 to 1996, 49 women underwent laparoscopic cystectomy for dermoid cysts. The operative and postoperative course was compared to that of 190 patients undergoing operative laparoscopy for other adnexal masses and to that of 43 patients undergoing laparotomy for dermoid cysts from 1992 to 1996. The cysts were aspirated to reduce spillage and removed via a laparoscopic bag inserted in a 10-mm trocar. Culdotomy was never used. The abdominal cavity was abundantly flushed during the procedure and before closure. RESULTS: Dermoid cystectomy was successfully performed laparoscopically in 47 of 49 cases. Spillage occurred in 43 cases (88%), and postoperative fever occurred in 3 (6.1%). No case of peritonitis was recorded. Significant differences between laparoscopy and laparotomy were observed in the rate of bilaterality (4% vs. 25%), spillage (88% vs. 9%) and mean hospital stay (37 vs. 83 hours). When laparoscopic excision of dermoid cysts and other masses was compared, we did not observe any significant difference in operative time or complication rates, apart from transient fever. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy is safe and effective for dermoid cysts and allows shorter hospitalization than laparotomy. As observed for other benign cysts, laparoscopy should become the technique of choice for the removal of most, if not all, ovarian dermoid cysts.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Assessment of distribution of CD34 epitope classes in fresh and cryopreserved peripheral blood progenitor cells and acute myeloid leukemic blasts.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: So far several reports have described changes in the expression of surface antigens in progenitor cells and blasts following cryopreservation. However, there are no data on the effects of cryopreservation on the expression of the three CD34 epitope classes, and on their relationship with the clonogenic capacity of PBPC collected by leukapheresis. DESIGN AND METHODS: In order to analyze the effects of freezing/thawing procedures (Eth 80C storage for 3 months) and use of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on the immunophenotype profile and colony production of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) in apheresis products derived from 20 patients with stage 0-III non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (nHL), a flow cytometry study was undertaken using different CD34 monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) capable of recognizing the 3 epitope classes of CD34 molecule (class III: HPCA-2/FITC, HPCA-2/PE, 581/FITC, 581/PE; class II: Q-Bend 10/PE; class I: ICH3/PE, BI3C5-PE, Immu-133-PE). CD34 epitope expression was also analyzed in thawed CD34+ blasts obtained from 14 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), who were analyzed using a larger number (#17) of CD34 epitope class I, II, and III reactive MoAbs. RESULTS: Under our experimental conditions it was found that class III and class II CD34 epitopes (differentially resistant to enzymatic cleavage with neuraminidase, chymopapain and glycoprotease) are better preserved than class I epitope Eth sensitive to degradation Eth after cell exposure to cryoprotectant DMSO and the freezing- thawing procedures. Results further showed a concomitant decrease in class I CD34+ counts and in BFU-E colony production. A significant increase in CD34 antigen expression levels (i.e. antibody binding capacity, ABC) by cryopreserved cells stained with CD34 epitope class III, and class II reactive MoAbs was also documented, while no changes after cryopreservation were noted using class I-reactive MoAbs. The slight increase in the percentage of CD34+ cells detected after frozen storage was correlated to a concomitant decrease in the number of more mature myeloid cells (CD15+, CD13+, CD33+). Compared to pre-cryopreservation values, a slight reduction in class I CD34 epitope expression was also found in thawed CD34+ AML blasts. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: As far as the reduction of class I CD34 epitope is concerned, it may be hypothesized that the freezing procedure, use of DMSO, and/or lysis methodology may either damage a CD34 subset, or induce distinct alterations of the CD34 glycoprotein, possibly determining a reduction in their immunoreactivity with some CD34 MoAbs. In conclusion, this study has shown that exposure to the cryoprotectant DMSO and the freezing/thawing procedures modifies the distribution of CD34 epitopes as well as the clonogenic capacity of PBPCs from nHL patients, and CD34+ blasts from AML. These findings need to considered when selecting CD34 MoAbs for enumeration and positive selection of stem/progenitor cells for research and clinical purposes.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Imaging of neuroendocrine gastro-entero-pancreatic tumours using radiolabelled somatostatin analogues.

Neuroendocrine tumours of the gastro-entero-pancreatic tract are an uncommon clinical entity and are believed to arise from the endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract. Somatostatin receptor imaging is a diagnostic tool which allows visualization of somatostatin receptor bearing tumours. This scintigraphic procedure is performed with indium-111 labelled octreotide, a somatostatin analogue, chelated with diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid. Radionuclide imaging consists in detecting the biodistribution of somatostatin receptors, normally expressed on the cell surface of neuroendocrine gastro-entero-pancreatic tumours. To date, five types of this receptor have been cloned: indium-111-labelled-pentetreotide can visualize tumours expressing type 2 and 5 receptors. The results of our study, which involved 81 neuroendocrine gastro-entero-pancreatic tumour patients, confirm the superior sensitivity of somatostatin receptor imaging (61%) for primary tumour evaluation with respect to conventional imaging modalities such as computed tomography (40%) or ultrasound (28%). Scintigraphic findings in metastatic liver disease proved to have a sensitivity of 89% for somatostatin receptor imaging, versus 81% and 88% for computed tomography and ultrasound, respectively. In 23% of patients, lesions were found with somatostatin receptor imaging which had been missed using the other diagnostic modalities; in 26% of the patients the therapeutic approach was modified after somatostatin receptor imaging.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

5-Fluorouracil, dacarbazine, and epirubicin in the treatment of patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

BACKGROUND: For patients with surgically untreatable neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), the optimal therapeutic approach remains undefined. Somatostatin analogs and interferons have failed to control neoplastic growth, and chemotherapy has been only moderately more effective. The authors' previous study of the combination of 5-fluorouracil (FU), dacarbazine (DTIC), and epirubicin (EPI) (the FDE regimen) documented good tolerability, but the results for tumor growth control were disappointing. In an attempt to improve these results, the authors conducted a preliminary trial of an intensified FDE regimen (FU 500 mg/m2 administered intravenously [i.v.], DTIC 200 mg/m2 i.v., and EPI 30 mg/m2 i.v. on Days 1, 2, and 3 every 3 weeks). METHODS: Thirty NET patients (15 male, 15 female; median age, 55 years; age range, 19-72 years) were enrolled, none of whom had previously been given chemotherapy. The histologic types of disease were gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) tumors (n = 21, 6 carcinoid tumors and 15 pancreatic NETs), other carcinoid tumors (n = 3), other NETs (n = 4), medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) (n = 1), and Merkel cell carcinoma (n = 1). Six patients had a syndrome related to endocrine hypersecretion. One hundred fifty-four therapy cycles were delivered (median, six per patient), and all patients could be evaluated for response on the basis of intent-to-treat analysis. RESULTS: There were 9 objective responses: 2 complete responses (in 1 patient with Merkel cell carcinoma and 1 with pancreatic NET) and 7 partial responses (in 3 patients with pancreatic NETs, 2 with other NETs, 1 with GEP carcinoid tumor, and 1 with MTC). The median duration of response was 10 months (range, 5+ to 24+ months). No reduction in symptoms was achieved among the six patients with endocrine hypersecretion syndrome. Levels of urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and serum chromogranin A were decreased in 50% and 14% of patients, respectively, who presented with abnormal baseline values. Treatment toxicity was acceptable and included nausea and vomiting, alopecia, leukopenia, and mucositis. CONCLUSIONS: This trial demonstrated that the FDE regimen may be at least as effective as other systemic regimens. Comparison of this experience with the authors' previous trial revealed a noteworthy increase in the activity of the intensified regimen, especially in GEP NETs (the most chemoresistant tumors). Continued clinical research to improve these results is highly justified.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Epithalamus calcifications in schizophrenia.

We evaluated the prevalence and the size of epithalamus calcifications (EC) and choroid plexus calcifications (CPC) on computed tomography (CT) scans in a group of 64 schizophrenic patients and in a group of 31 healthy controls. The associations between cerebral calcifications, demographic variables, and other brain morphological characteristics (particularly cerebral ventricular size and cortical atrophy) in both, patients and controls, were also considered. A significant increase in size of the epithalamic-region calcifications in schizophrenic patients was found, whereas there was no evidence of increase in both, dimension and prevalence, of choroid plexus calcification. Such dimensional increase was unrelated to the duration of illness and therefore did not seem to be iatrogenic or secondary to the disease. A correlation was found between epithalamus calcifications and cortical atrophy and third-ventricle enlargement, suggesting that calcifications of this cerebral region may be associated with lesions of third-periventricular areas and of circuitries hypothesized to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Large-scale identification of virulence genes from Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the major cause of bacterial pneumonia, and it is also responsible for otitis media and meningitis in children. Apart from the capsule, the virulence factors of this pathogen are not completely understood. Recent technical advances in the field of bacterial pathogenesis (in vivo expression technology and signature-tagged mutagenesis [STM]) have allowed a large-scale identification of virulence genes. We have adapted to S. pneumoniae the STM technique, originally used for the discovery of Salmonella genes involved in pathogenicity. A library of pneumococcal chromosomal fragments (400 to 600 bp) was constructed in a suicide plasmid vector carrying unique DNA sequence tags and a chloramphenicol resistance marker. The recent clinical isolate G54 was transformed with this library. Chloramphenicol-resistant mutants were obtained by homologous recombination, resulting in genes inactivated by insertion of the suicide vector carrying a unique tag. In a mouse pneumonia model, 1.250 candidate clones were screened; 200 of these were not recovered from the lungs were therefore considered virulence-attenuated mutants. The regions flanking the chloramphenicol gene of the attenuated mutants were amplified by inverse PCR and sequenced. The sequence analysis showed that the 200 mutants had insertions in 126 different genes that could be grouped in six classes: (i) known pneumococcal virulence genes; (ii) genes involved in metabolic pathways; (iii) genes encoding proteases; (iv) genes coding for ATP binding cassette transporters; (v) genes encoding proteins involved in DNA recombination/repair; and (vi) DNA sequences that showed similarity to hypothetical genes with unknown function. To evaluate the virulence attenuation for each mutant, all 126 clones were individually analyzed in a mouse septicemia model. Not all mutants selected in the pneumonia model were confirmed in septicemia, thus indicating the existence of virulence factors specific for pneumonia.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

P53 accumulation in primary breast cancer: a comparison between immunohistochemistry and a novel luminometric immunoassay.

The accumulation of p53 protein was evaluated by a novel luminometric immunoassay (LIA) in cytosol samples from a series of 245 primary breast cancers. The cytosolic p53 content was not related to nodal status or hormone receptor status, but it was significantly and directly associated with tumor size and cell proliferation. A matched comparison between immunohistochemistry (IHC) and LIA results of individual tumors showed a significant association, albeit with a correlation coefficient of only 0.41. The agreement of results from the two assays was higher in node-positive, estrogen-receptor-negative and rapidly proliferating tumors than in the complementary subgroups. Overall, there was a significant trend in favor of an increase in p53 levels as determined by LIA with the increase in p53-positive cells shown by IHC. However, taking IHC detection as a reference, the sensitivity of the LIA was better for negative (86%) than for positive (61%) values. Based on these findings, a comparative assessment of the clinical relevance of LIA versus IHC results has to be recommended.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1998

Neuron-specific enolase evaluation in patients with neuroblastoma.

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) may be of interest for the prognostic evaluation and follow-up surveillance in patients with neuroblastoma. We evaluated NSE levels in 80 patients with neuroblastoma. The marker correlated with stage (in stage 1 patients, the median NSE level was 9.9 ng/ml, in stage 2, 45.1 ng/ml, in stage 3, 49 ng/ml, in stage 4, 93.9 ng/ml, in stage 4S, 53.4 ng/ml) and with survival. In patients with a favorable or a poor outcome, the difference in basal NSE serum levels was statistically significant (p = 0.0001). Serial measurements revealed that there was a good correlation between NSE levels and disease course. We concluded that NSE is a good marker for neuroblastoma and its quantitative determination in serum is valuable in the management of these patients to confirm the diagnosis, monitor the effect of treatment and detect recurrent disease.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1998

Rabbit IgG antibodies against cord red blood cell membranes bind to complement receptor 1 (CD35).

We have previously shown that a subpopulation of cord/fetal red blood cells (RBC) binds rabbit IgG antibodies raised against cord RBC and absorbed on adult RBC (F-IgG), while control IgG, raised against and absorbed on adult RBC (A-IgG), fails to do so. In the present study, F-IgG maintained its binding to cord RBC surface antigens following absorption on spectrin but not after absorption on skeleton-stripped RBC membranes. Spectrin-absorbed F-IgG- but not A-IgG-affinity-purified material from cord RBC contained polypeptides with apparent MW of complement receptor 1 (CR1) allotypes. Moreover, on immunoblotting these polypeptides reacted with 125I-F-IgG as well as with 125I-anti-CR1 mAb, and binding of 125I-anti-CR1 mAb was inhibited by unlabelled F-IgG. In addition, cord RBC incubated with F-IgG prior to reaction with anti-CR1 showed decreased fluorescence intensity on flow cytometry. Taken together the results suggest that F-IgG binds to CR1 which shows increased expression/accessibility on a subpopulation of cord/fetal RBC.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Primary chemotherapy in operable breast cancer: eight-year experience at the Milan Cancer Institute.

PURPOSE: Primary chemotherapy was administered to patients with tumors that measured > or = 2.5 cm in largest diameter to decrease the size of the primary tumor and allow for effective local and distant control while avoiding mastectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two prospective nonrandomized studies were performed that used different regimens of primary chemotherapy followed by breast-sparing surgery in the presence of objective tumor remission. Additional postoperative chemotherapy was given to women at high risk of disease relapse. The median follow-up duration was 65 months. RESULTS: A total of 536 assessable patients were enrolled, and the main characteristics were fairly comparable between the two trials. Following primary chemotherapy, 85% of patients could be subjected to breast-sparing surgery; in 14 patients (3%), surgical specimens failed to show any residual neoplastic cell. In the final multivariate analysis, the histologically assessed extent of axillary node involvement (P < .001), as well as degree of response to primary chemotherapy (P = .034), represented the significant variables able to influence 8-year relapse-free survival. In women subjected to a breast-conserving approach, the cumulative risk of local relapse as first event alone was 6.8% (95% confidence interval, 3.9% to 8.8%). CONCLUSION: Current findings indicate that primary chemotherapy can be safely administered in women with large tumors (>5.0 cm) and can allow breast-sparing surgery in a high fraction of patients (62%). However, to assess effectively the worthiness of this approach on long-term results, properlyconceived large randomized studies with newer and more effective drug regimens are warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Effects of short-term pre-operative tamoxifen on steroid receptor and Ki-67 expression in primary breast cancer: an immunocytochemical study.

The effects of the short-term pre-operative administration of tamoxifen (TAM, 20 mg once daily) on the tumor levels of steroid receptors and the nuclear proliferation Ki-67 antigen, were investigated in 32 elderly patients with hormone-sensitive, operable primary breast cancer by means of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). The FNAB smears before (pre-TAM) and after six weeks of treatment (post-TAM) were stained immunocytochemically in order to obtain an H-score for steroid receptors, and the percentage of cellular nuclei containing Ki-67. The mean oestrogen receptor (ER) score between the pre- and post-TAM specimens fell from 181.2 9.7 ( SEM) to 148.1 7.9 (Wilcoxon's matched-pairs signed-rank test, p=0. 01) and there was also a significant decrease in both the mean progesterone receptor (PgR) score (178.4 10.6 vs 148.5 10.6; p=0.01) and mean Ki-67 index (8.2% 1.2 vs 4.9% 0.9; p=0.0002). The reliability of FNAB as a sampling method was checked by comparing the results of the immunocytochemical assay (ICA) of the post-TAM biopsies with those of the immunohistochemical assay (IHA) of the corresponding excised tumors. There was a positive correlation between the ICA and IHA scores: ER (Spearman's correlation coefficient, rho=0.66, p<0.001), PgR (rho=0.84, p<0.001) and Ki-67 (rho=0.96, p<0.001). We conclude that the sequential use of FNAB is a reliable means of assessing the behaviour of within-tumor biomarkers during endocrine therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Regulation of CYP4A1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha expression by interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, and dexamethasone in cultured fetal rat hepatocytes.

The CYP4A1 isoenzyme induced in rodents by peroxisome proliferators is known to be repressed at a pretranslational level by interferon. Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) also reduces CYP4A1-related 12-laurate hydroxylase activity in cultured fetal rat hepatocytes after induction by clofibric acid. In this fetal hepatocyte model, IL-1beta and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were tested for their ability to reduce 12-laurate hydroxylase activity, CYP4A1 apoprotein content, and the CYP4A1 mRNA level. IL-1beta and IL-6 strongly diminished CYP4A1 activity and apoprotein and mRNA levels in a dose- and time-dependent manner. CYP4A1 expression is thus down-regulated at a pretranslational level by these cytokines. As it has been shown that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR alpha) mediates the induction of the CYP4A1 gene by a peroxisome proliferator, the capacity of IL-1beta or IL-6 to modulate the PPAR alpha mRNA level was tested. It was found that IL-1beta and IL-6 both repress the induction of PPAR alpha expression exerted by the combined action of clofibric acid and dexamethasone. However, even at the highest concentration (10 ng/mL) tested for both cytokines, IL-1beta as well as IL-6 failed to abolish the induction of CYP4A1 by dexamethasone. The mechanism of the protective effect of the synthetic glucocorticoid on CYP4A1 repression by interleukins is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Comparative analysis of different permeabilization methods for the flow cytometry measurement of cytoplasmic myeloperoxidase and lysozyme in normal and leukemic cells.

Using a direct one-color (fluorescein isothiocyanate; FITC) staining method with a Facscan flow cytometer, we evaluated the intracellular expression of two granular constituents of myeloid cells [myeloperoxidase (MPO) and lysozyme] on leukemic cells from 21 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and 6 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Three different permeabilization techniques were used [FACS Lysing Solution (FLy), B.Dis; Ortho-PermeaFix (OPF); Fix and Perm (F&P), Caltag] prior to monoclonal antibody (McAb) staining, in order to verify the specificity and the sensitivity of the three labelling methods towards the two model antigens. Peripheral blood cells from 15 healthy subjects and Ortho Absolute Control served as controls. Data were expressed as percentage of positivity, net fluorescence intensity, ratio between mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of positive cells and that of isotypic controls (P/N ratio; evaluated in both geometric and arithmetic scale), and, in 12 representatives cases (7 AML, 5 normal samples), in the form of both molecules of equivalent soluble fluorochromes (MESF) and antibody binding capacities (ABC). As far as the antigenic expression of MPO and lysozyme in normal samples is concerned, F&P resulted, in our hands, in the most specific and sensitive staining, followed by FLy solution and OPF, which showed positivity for MPO, and, to lesser extent, for lysozyme in a considerable manner of lymphocytes (means 64% and 54%, respectively, for OPF and FLy; range of ABC/cell: 0.9-5.2 x 10(3)) obtained from healthy subjects. With the reference F&P permeabilizing solution, 90% and 80% of FAB M1-M5 cases were found to be positive for MPO and lysozyme, respectively. However, M1, M2, and M3 AML FAB (French-American-British) subvarieties were characterized by a brighter expression for MPO (mean ABC/cell: 89 x 10(3)) than that of lysozyme (mean ABC/cell: 12.5 x 10(3D)), whereas blast cells from patients with M5a FAB subtypes showed higher levels of lysozyme (mean ABC/cell: 65 x 10(3)) than that of MPO (mean ABC/cell: 0.1 x 10(3)). One of five cases of FAB MO AML showed a dull positivity for MPO-7 McAb. Patients with ALL were MPO and lysozyme negative using both F&P and FLy reagents, although a certain degree of positivity was documented in some cases with OPF. Taking these data together, it can be stated that the use of anti-MPO McAbs may be of great value for the diagnosis and monitoring of acute leukemia and, along with lysozyme McAb, can provide useful information in the distinction of myeloid from monocytic leukemias and in the lineage assignment of apparently biphenotypic forms. However, the methodology used for the detection of these myeloid-associated antigens is critical for a correct interpretation of cytofluorimetric data and should be taken into account when evaluating data coming from multicenter trials dealing with leukemias. A standardization of cytofluorimetric analysis of intracellular antigens is needed in order to improve the reproducibility and comparability of results in multicenter studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Non-selective impairment of Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in patients with schizophrenia.

Sixty-two schizophrenic patients and 26 healthy volunteers were administered the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) a task putatively specific for frontal functions and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of specific frontal lobe deficits in the course of schizophrenia and the capacity of these tasks to discriminate between patients and controls. Schizophrenic patients showed a poorer performance than control subjects in both tests. No evidence emerged to support a higher discriminant power for the WCST in identifying schizophrenic subjects from healthy controls compared with the WAIS. Our data suggest that the deficit in WCST performance is not selective, but rather part of a more generalized neuropsychological impairment in schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗