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Biomedical subjects

M Carrozzo

Publications and source records attributed to M Carrozzo.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Melanoma of the oral cavity. Review of the literature].

The location of melanoma in the oral cavity is extremely rare: its frequency varies between 0.2 and 8%. Oral melanoma strikes mainly male subjects and is more frequently seen at the level of the hard palate and gingiva. Today the clinicopathological classification of oral melanoma is not yet clearly outlined, and that is why the skin form is often taken as a reference. The acral lentiginous subtype proves to be the most common in this seat. In many cases (up to 50%) the diagnosis of melanoma is made on lesions which have evolved from the pre-existing pigmented lesions: as a consequence, every pigmented lesion of undetermined origin must be biopsied as a routine. The prognosis often proves poor and the surgical approach, combined with the chemotherapeutic one, is the first choice treatment. Lymph node dissection is not routinely practiced.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

[Therapeutic management of mucous membrane pemphigoid. Report of 11 cases].

In the present study the efficacy of systemic and topical steroid treatment in the management of 11 patients with mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) confirmed histologically and immunologically has been evaluated. Eight patients were treated with a topically applied clobetasol in a bioadhesive gel (2-3 times/daily) and with chlorexidine mouth-washes (3 times/daily) and myconazole gel (1 time/daily) as antimycotics. The remaining 3 were treated with systemic prednisone (25 to 100 mg/daily) followed by a topical therapy with clobetasol, chlorexidine and myconazole. In 6 cases (54%), 4 topically treated and 2 systemically plus topically treated, we observed a complete clearance of signs and symptoms of MMP in an average period of 5.7 months. In the remaining 5 cases (46%), 4 topically treated and 1 systemically plus topically treated, we observed partial healing of the oral lesions. One patient treated with a high dose of prednisone (100 mg/daily) showed side-effects (insomnia, fluid retention and gastralgia) whereas other 3 subjects had oral candidiasis. In a mean follow-up time of 13 months (range 6 to 27) 6 patients (54%) were free of disease, 3 (27%) had a marked improvement and 2 (18%) had new active lesions of MMP. These results suggest that often in the treatment of MMP a systemic corticosteroid therapy followed by a treatment with high potency topical steroids is useful to obtain a good control of MMP.

Administration, Oral↗

[Study of compression resistance of conventional or passive post and core reconstructed roots].

BACKGROUND: The object of this study is to estimate if the reconstructed roots with passive post and core have a greater resistance to compression in relation to reconstructed roots with traditional post and core. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experimental situations have been reproduced as close as possible to real clinical situations simulating the cervical edge of the crown with a supporting cervical ring. A comparative analysis of the resistance to compression has been carried out using three groups of roots: the first group constructed from reconstructed roots with traditional post and core; the second group of reconstructed roots with passive post and core; the third group of roots were not reconstructed. RESULTS: Our results have shown that if the root reconstruction includes a metallic support ring that goes beyond the root plate by at least 1 mm there is no difference in the resistance to compression of statistical significance between reconstructed roots with passive post and core and reconstructed roots with traditional post and core. It turns out instead that there is a significant increase in resistance to compression of the reconstructed roots (because of the presence of the cervical support ring) in respect of the third group of unreconstructed roots.

Analysis of Variance↗

Hepatitis C virus infection in Italian patients with oral lichen planus: a prospective case-control study.

To assess the aetiology of liver disease associated with lichen planus, we prospectively studied 70 consecutive newly diagnosed patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) living in northwest Italy (Piemonte) and 70 controls matched for age and sex with other oral keratoses coming from the same district. Twenty-two patients with OLP (31.4%) and 9 controls (12.9%) were found to be affected by chronic liver disease (CLD) (P = 0.014). In sixteen of the 22 OLP patients with CLD the liver disease was hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related, whereas 2 of the 9 controls had a HCV-related CLD (P = 0.016). In another OLP case, liver damage was related to a combination of HCV and alcohol abuse. The prevalence of HCV antibodies in the whole OLP group (27.1%) was significantly higher than in controls (4.3%) (P = 0.014), whereas no difference was found between the OLP and control groups regarding hepatitis B virus markers and other common causes of CLD. HCV infection was more frequently found in patients with erosive OLP (58.8%) than in patients with non-erosive OLP (13.2%) (P = 0.004). Serum HCV-RNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the majority (93.7%) of OLP patients who had HCV antibodies. Excluding OLP and control patients with HCV markers, there was no difference between the two groups regarding frequency of CLD. Our data show that HCV is probably the main pathogenic factor in liver disease of Italian patients with OLP, and suggests that HCV could be involved in the pathogenesis of OLP.

Adolescent↗

[The topical treatment of atrophic-erosive oral lichen planus with fluocinonide in a bioadhesive gel, chlorhexidine and miconazole gel. A totally open trial].

To evaluate the efficacy and long-term course of topical steroids treatment in oral lichen planus (OLP), an open trial has been carried out in 30 patients with atrophic-erosive or symptomatic varieties of OLP confirmed histologically with relative contraindications for systemic steroid treatment (namely, liver disease, peptic ulcer, diabetes, blood hypertension or osteoporosis). The treatment was the following: Fluocinonide (Topsyn) 0.025% in 4% idrossiethylcellulose gel applied 3 times/daily for two months, 2 times/daily for the next 2 months and 1 times/daily for other 2 months. Moreover, chlorhexidine (Plakout) 0.12%, 3 mouthwashes/daily and miconazole gel (Micotef) applied 1 times/daily were used for the entire period of the steroid therapy as antimycotics. The clinical evaluation of signs and symptoms was assessed on a scale of 0 to 5 and of 0 to 3, respectively. Twenty patients concluded the entire therapeutical scheme, whereas 5 (17%) interrupted the treatment for the appearance of side-effects (namely, gastroesophageal disturbances, mucosal bleeding and pruritus), 1 interrupted voluntarily the treatment and 4 cases did not present at the controls. No cases of oral candidiasis were seen. Eighteen patients (90%) had improvements of oral lesions with significant statically reductions in the scores of signs (p < 0.002) and of symptoms (p < 0.02) (Wilcoxon test). We emphasize also that in 61% of the responders the oral conditions were stable after 6 months of follow-up. In conclusion our results suggest the following: a) fluocinonide is an effective and safe drug for the treatment of OLP, especially in addition with chlorehixidine and miconazole; b) the stability of our results demonstrates that probably an adequate steroid therapeutical scheme is more useful than continuous steroid administration in the treatment of OLP.

Administration, Topical↗

[Pemphigoid of the mucous membranes. The clinical, histopathological and immunological aspects and current therapeutic concepts].

Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a chronic disease of unknown etiology frequently involving oral cavity and eye and sometimes also pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal and genital mucosae. It is characterized histologically by a sub-epithelial blister and by a typical direct immunofluorescence feature showing linear binding of IgG and C3 to the basement membrane zone (BMZ). The predominance of mucosal involvement or the lack of skin lesions distinguish MMP from bullous pemphigoid. Oral mucosal presentation of MMP is quite variable from chronic erythematous lesions to erosions covered by a fibrinous slough produced by bullae rupture involving mainly gingiva, buccal mucosa and palate. Because eye manifestations of MMP are common and blindness may develop, an ophthalmological examination is mandatory in these patients, although recent data suggest that pure ocular pemphigoid, oral pemphigoid and MMP with cutaneous lesion could be different diseases. Further immunological and biochemical studies are needed to better characterize these pathologies. It is generally considered that blister formation in MMP is the result of immunoglobulin deposition leading to complement activation in the BMZ, but there are not specific pathogenetic data regarding oral pemphigoid. Multiple therapeutic options exist including topical and systemic corticosteroids associated or not to other immunosuppressive drugs, dapsone and tetracycline but there do not exist treatment modalities generally accepted.

Humans↗

Pachydermoperiostosis: dermatological, neurological and radiological observations.

A case of pachydermoperiostosis is described. Interesting features were the presence of carpal and tarsal tunnel syndromes, chronic leg ulcerations and large calcification of the Achilles tendon. Neurological alterations were explained by the stenosis of the tunnels secondary to the periosteal apposition. Chronic leg ulcerations were probably due to neurological and circulatory alterations.

Adult↗

Effect of oestrogen replacement on bone metabolism and cytokines in surgical menopause.

The effect of oestrogen replacement on bone metabolism and serum cytokine levels (IL1,IL6) was investigated in surgical menopause. The study included 40 female subjects; 10 healthy premenopausal women underwent total hysterectomy without oophorectomy. Thirty healthy premenopausal women underwent total hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy. They were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 subjects. The first group received natural estradiol (0.05 mg/day) for 6 months; the second group received natural estradiol (0.05 mg/day) and medroxyprogesteron acetate (10 mg/day) for 6 months, the third group received no therapy. Calcium-phosphorus metabolism, inflammatory indices, serum IL1 and IL6 levels were tested before and 6 months after surgery in all patients. A significant increase in serum alkaline phosphatase, urinary cross-links, serum PTH and IL1-IL6 was observed in the untreated women with total hysterectomy and oophorectomy. No significant variation in any of the parameters considered was observed in patients treated with oestrogen, in those treated with oestrogens and medroxyprogesteron nor in patients without oophorectomy. These results in human "in vivo" confirm that ovarian steroids play an important role in regulating the production of IL1 and IL6 which could regulate bone resorption.

Adult↗

[Recurrent aphthous stomatitis: current etiopathogenetic and therapeutic concepts].

The authors review the literature on aetiopathogenesis and therapeutic management of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. The data regarding the role of genetic, nutritional and microbiological factors in the genesis of recurrent aphthous stomatitis has been particularly examined. Despite significant associations with some antigens HLA have been reported in Southern Europe, there is no clear genetic predisposition in recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Several studies have analyzed the importance of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiencies, gluten intolerance and sensitivity to certain foods in the triggering of recurrent aphthous stomatitis however the results have been controversial. Recently, it has been suggested that recurrent aphthous stomatitis could be caused by reactivation of varicella-zoster virus and/or cytomegalovirus but these viruses may be reactivated by the immunodysregulation known to underlie recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Moreover, antiviral drugs appear to have only an equivocal effect on recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is probably determined by immunological mechanisms although there actually no unifying hypothesis which attempt to integrate the results of the many immunologic studies on recurrent aphotous stomatitis. Moreover, the target antigen and the cause of recurrences of recurrent aphthous stomatitis are still unknown. As far as the management of this disease it is important to recognize recurrent aphthous stomatitis secondary to systemic diseases like Behcet's syndrome, gluten enteropathy and haematinics deficiencies. Subsequently, the symptoms can be reduced with several drugs (mainly topical corticosteroids) but there are no effective therapies preventing recurrences.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

A hybrid frame of reference for visuo-manual coordination.

Visuo-kinesthetic matching of the orientation of an object in three-dimensional space has been studied by asking normal human subjects to align their unseen hand in parallel to the perceived orientation of a virtual stereoscopic object. Systematic errors were found for all three degrees of freedom of object orientation. These errors were much reduced when vision of the hand was allowed. The analysis of the distribution of the directional components of the errors revealed that matching performance without view of the hand was biased in a preferred direction that coincides with neither anatomical axes of the hand nor earth-fixed axes of visual space, but is intermediate between hand space and visual space. This suggests that a hybrid frame of reference is constructed by combining parallel multisensory information.

Hand↗

Oral lichen planus and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection: is there a relationship? A report of 10 cases.

Ten patients are reported suffering from oral lichen planus (OLP) associated with chronic liver diseases linked to HCV. All patients were affected by varieties of erosive oral lichen planus. In six of these 10 patients the diagnosis of HCV was made as a result of the OLP diagnosis and four of them had unknown, but severe, chronic liver disease. These preliminary data support the possible existence of a relationship between oral erosive lichen planus and HCV infection.

Aged↗

Chronic leg ulcerations resembling vasculitis in two siblings with prolidase deficiency.

Two cases of prolidase deficiency in two siblings are presented. The patients complained of the typical clinical symptoms of the disease, including chronic leg ulcerations resembling vasculitis. They were mentally retarded, had typical facial characteristics, splenomegaly, and haematologic anomalies. Biochemical and morphological investigations confirmed the diagnosis. In these cases, alterations of the peripheral nervous system and decreased IgA levels were demonstrated for the first time.

Adolescent↗

Time-varying mechanical behavior of multijointed arm in man.

1. The aim of this study was to describe the time-varying changes in the mechanical parameters of a multijointed limb. The parameters we considered are the coefficients of stiffness, viscosity, and inertia. Continuous pseudorandom perturbations were applied at the elbow joint during a catching task. A modified version of an ensemble technique was used for the identification of time-varying parameters. Torques at the elbow and wrist joints were then modeled with a linear combination of the changes in angular position and velocity weighted by the matrix of angular stiffness and the matrix of angular viscosity, respectively. Control experiments were also performed that involved the stationary maintenance of a given limb posture by resisting actively the applied perturbations. Different limb postures were examined in each such experiment to investigate the dependence of the mechanical parameters on limb geometry. 2. The technique for the identification of limb mechanical parameters proved adequate. The input perturbations applied at the elbow joint elicited angular oscillations at the wrist essentially uncorrelated with those produced at the elbow. The frequency of oscillation is much higher at the wrist than at the elbow, mainly because of the smaller inertia. The variance accounted for by the model was approximately 80% under both stationary and time-varying conditions; in the latter case the value did not vary significantly throughout the task. In addition, the model predicted values of the inertial parameters that were close to the anthropometric measures, and it reproduced the stepwise increase in limb inertia that occurs at the time the ball is held in the hand. 3. The values of angular stiffness and viscosity estimated under stationary conditions did not vary significantly with joint angle, in agreement with previous results obtained under quasi-static postural conditions. The matrix of the coefficients of angular stiffness was not symmetrical, indicating a prominent role for nonautogenic reflex feedbacks with unequal gains for elbow and wrist muscles. 4. A complex temporal modulation of angular stiffness and viscosity was observed during the catching task. The changes in the direct coefficients of angular stiffness tended to covary with those in the coupling coefficients from trial start up to approximately 30 ms before impact time. Around impact time, however, there was a complete dissociation: the direct terms peaked, whereas the coupling terms dropped. The direct terms of angular viscosity also increased before impact, whereas the viscosity coupling terms remained close to zero throughout.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗

[Biopsy technics in oral oncology: excisional or incisional biopsy? A critical review of the literature and the authors' personal contribution].

The authors review the literature regarding bioptic techniques which are used in oral oncology, particularly referring to the dispute about incisional and excisional biopsy in cases of neoplastic or suspected lesions. As a matter of fact, though incisional biopsy at the oral cavity level is an easily executed technique, some clinicians found that an incision of a neoplasia could help its spreading or could help its spreading or could even increase its malignancy. Nevertheless, analyzing the literature, it can't be found, at present, the existence of data based on real clinical survey, which could prove a worse prognosis subsequent to a certain bioptic approach, even if some experimental studies on animal models, pointed out the potential danger caused by a neoplasia's incision. But, according to the authors, the oncological risk of metastasis' formation or of a local insemination is irrelevant if the operator follows the general rules of oncological surgery. To conclude, the authors present their diagnostic operative protocol, based on the principle that the diagnosis must always precede the treatment of the pathology. Therefore, when the size and site of the lesions allow it, incisional biopsy (simple or multiple) must always be chosen and, if necessary, must be preceded by the tolonium chloride stain.

Artifacts↗

[Oral lichen planus and liver pathology. I. The prevalence of liver damage in a case load of 96 patients with oral lichen planus].

In order to evaluate if oral lichen planus (OLP) may be regarded as a marker of even unknown liver disease, 96 incident OLP cases were screened through anamnestic, laboratory, instrumental investigations and gastroenterology consultation. The frequency of hepatopathies was 23/96 (24%): 7 had cirrhosis, 3 had chronic active hepatitis, 2 had chronic persistent hepatitis, 10 steatosis and 1 had undetermined liver disease. Eleven of these 23 patients (48%) had unknown hepatopathies, although five of them had severe liver disorders (cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis). Forty-four of 73 patients without definite liver disorders (60%) had at least one abnormal liver parameter. This results confirm frequent association of OLP with hepatic damage and moreover it shown that OLP may be an important clinical sign of symptomless hepatopathies.

Adult↗

[Oral lichen planus and liver pathology. II. The clinico-statistical correlations between oral manifestations and liver damage].

To characterize with more precision the association between oral lichen planus (OLP) and hepatopathies, 96 patients with OLP were separated in two groups ordered by presence or absence of liver diseases comparing some variables (age, sex, presence of pain, clinical variety, presence of skin lesions, alcohol consumption and exposure to drugs inducing hepatic injury) and evaluating the statistical significance. Factors associated with increased frequency of liver diseases were erosive variety of OLP (p = 0.024) and presence of pain (p = 0.026) (chi square test with Yates correction). It's confirmed that OLP patients with higher risk of liver disease are those that have erosive lesions with severe symptoms and often diffused in the entire oral cavity; furthermore, it's highlighted that the probability to find liver disease associated with reticular and plaque-like form of OLP is low, but not negligible.

Adult↗