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Biomedical subjects

M Coltorti

Publications and source records attributed to M Coltorti.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Familial clustering of hepatitis C virus infection and chronic liver disease.

The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of HCV antibodies (anti-HCV) and of chronic liver disease in relatives of anti-HCV positive subjects suffering from chronic active liver disease. We studied 122 subjects from 24 families. Each family had at least one positive anti-HCV component with histologically proven chronic liver disease. Anti-HCV was found in 32% of subjects; 82% of these were suffering from chronic liver disease diagnosed on the basis of physical examination and biochemical parameters. Prevalence of anti-HCV was higher in spouses, parents, and siblings of the index case as compared to the offspring. In conclusion, the transmission of HCV infection and of HCV-related chronic liver disease is contributed to by factors associated with the familial environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Decrease of total, glutathione and cysteine SH in non-alcoholic cirrhosis.

The content of plasma thiols was determined in 42 patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis. Total thiols were evaluated by Ellman's method, glutathione and cysteine by HPLC in fluorescence. Cirrhotic patients showed a significant decrease in plasma thiol content with respect to a control group of 32 healthy subjects, as total sulphydryls as well as glutathione and cysteine. The thiol decrease does not seem to be related to nutritional status or dietetic factors. Our data indicate that liver cirrhosis, independently from alcohol abuse, produces a decrease in all plasma thiols, probably secondary to a complex alteration of the transsulfuration pathway.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Malnutrition in cirrhotic patients: anthropometric measurements as a method of assessing nutritional status.

This study was undertaken to evaluate by anthropmetric measurements the nutritional status of cirrhotic patients at different stages of the disease and to establish intra- and inter-observer variability in the determination of these parameters. In 60 healthy controls and 108 cirrhotics (63 'well compensated' and 45 'decompensated' groups A and B + C on the Child-Pugh classification respectively) two independent experienced observers measured biceps, triceps, subscapular and overiliac skinfold thicknesses and arm circumference three times. Each observer was unaware of the results obtained by the other. No significant intra- or inter-observer variability was found. The study indicates that skinfold thickness measurements are a reliable and reproducible method of assessing the nutritional status of cirrhotics. It was found that more than 50 per cent of the decompensated patients were malnourished, with skinfold values significantly lower than those of the controls. In comparison with skinfold thickness and arm circumference, parameters such as body weight and lean body mass are unreliable, and other indices such as muscle and/or fat arm area do not add any significant information to the evaluation of the nutritional status of cirrhotics.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Prevalence of HBcAg and delta-Ag in liver tissue of patients with HBsAg positive chronic hepatitis.

One hundred and twenty HBsAg positive patients with chronic liver disease, 94 with CAH and 26 with CPH, were studied in order to characterize chronic HBsAg positive hepatitis virologically. All patients came from a geographical area (Campania, Italy) with a high prevalence of HBV and HDV infection. Each patient was tested for the presence of HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-delta in serum (by RIA techniques), and of HDV (by direct immunofluorescence) and HBcAg (by indirect immunofluorescence and PAP-immunoperoxidase) in liver biopsy specimens. Anti-delta serum positivity was remarkably more frequent in patients with CAH (40%) than in those with CPH (19%). Delta-Ag was found in 94.7% of the anti-delta positive patients with CAH, but in none of the five anti-delta positive patients with CPH. In contrast, the frequency of HBcAg tissue positivity was similar in CAH and CPH. Positivity for HBcAg was less frequent in CAH with cirrhosis than in CAH without cirrhosis, while there was no difference in the prevalence of delta-Ag.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Effect of different doses of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) on nicotinic acid-induced hyperbilirubinaemia in Gilbert's syndrome.

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) has been shown to increase hepatocyte membrane fluidity thereby relieving signs of oestrogen-induced cholestasis. S-adenosyl-L-methionine might therefore prove effective in improving the efficiency of the transport of organic anions such as nicotinic acid (NA) and bilirubin which is impaired in Gilbert's syndrome (GS). In this study the effects on the metabolization rate of NA and bilirubin of two dosages of SAMe were evaluated in respect to placebo in ten male inpatients (mean age 24 years, range 16-31) with GS. Each patient received both SAMe (800 and 200 mg/day, respectively) and placebo treatment i.v. over a period of 10 days. The NA test (5.9 mumol/kg b.w. i.v.) was carried out in the same volunteers after each treatment. Unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) levels were significantly lower (p less than 0.01) after 800 mg/day SAMe than after placebo while the lower dosage of SAMe did not affect UCB values. The bilirubin time curve concentration, expressed as area under the curve (AUC), was significantly reduced (p less than 0.01) after 800 mg SAMe in comparison with the values obtained after placebo and 200 mg SAMe. Also plasma NA half-life was significantly reduced (p less than 0.01) by the higher dose of SAMe in respect to placebo and not by the lower dose.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Effect of somatostatin on salivary secretion in man.

Intravenous infusion of pentagastrin increases salivary secretion progressively at doses from 1 to 4 micrograms/kg body weight/h. Pentagastrin also stimulates salivary secretion of amylase. Simultaneous administration of somatostatin, at the dose that inhibits gastric secretion of pentagastrin-stimulated HCl, blocks the effect of pentagastrin on salivary flow, while it does not reduce the amylase concentration. The data suggest that different mechanisms underlie the effects exerted by pentagastrin on salivary flow and on the concentration of amylase in saliva.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Comparison between ranitidine 150 mg b.d. and ranitidine 300 mg nocte in the treatment of duodenal ulcer.

A multicenter trial was undertaken to assess the clinical usefulness of a single night-time dose of ranitidine in the short-term healing of duodenal ulcer. 384 patients with endoscopically diagnosed duodenal ulcer were randomly allocated to treatment with ranitidine either 150 mg b.d. or 300 mg as a single night-time dose for four weeks. The patients not healed after four weeks were again treated for four weeks. Of the 356 patients who completed the study, according to the protocol, 148 of 176 (84.1%) recovered on ranitidine 150 mg b.d. and 147 of 180 (81.7%) recovered on 300 mg nocte after four weeks. The healing rates increased to 95.8% and 94.8% respectively after four more weeks. Ulcer symptoms were rapidly reduced with no significant differences between the two treatment groups. There were no unwanted effects in either group and no significant abnormal biochemical or hematological changes. The results of this study support the hypothesis that ranitidine 300 mg given as one night-time dose and ranitidine 150 mg b.d. are equally effective. Ranitidine 300 mg once daily in a clinical practice may be advantageous to the patient.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Familial clustering of heterogeneous chronic unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia.

This study concerns the family of a girl affected by type 2 Crigler-Najjar syndrome; a brother and a sister died of kernicterus a few months after birth. The father and two living siblings had moderate unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. The patient's liver uridine-diphospho-glucuronyl-transferase activity (UDPGT) was markedly reduced. All the family members underwent nicotinic acid (NA) load to test hepatic uptake capacity. This test, and NA half-life were normal in the patient and in her mother, and altered in the other relatives. The extent of the hyperbilirubinemic response to NA load, and of the NA half-life, together with physical examination over a one-year period were in good agreement with the diagnosis of Gilbert's syndrome in the patient's father and siblings. Our conclusion is that different impairments of hepatic handling of organic anions may be present in members of families with non-hemolytic bilirubinemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Dose dependence of nicotinic acid-induced hyperbilirubinemia and its dissociation from hemolysis in Gilbert's syndrome.

The serum increments in unconjugated bilirubin and total iron were determined after intravenous administration of 5.90 mumol/kg body weight of nicotinic acid (NA) in 26 patients with Gilbert's syndrome (GS), seven patients with hemolytic anemia, and 13 healthy volunteers. The hyperbilirubinemic response, expressed as the area under time concentration curve of unconjugated bilirubin (AUCBR, milligrams per deciliter per 240 minutes) was significantly higher (P less than 0.01) in patients with GS than in controls and patients with hemolytic anemia, in whom no difference was observed. In contrast, comparable values of the hypersideremic effect (AUCFe, milligrams per deciliter per 240 minutes) were noticed among the three groups. In seven consecutive patients with GS, seven with hemolytic anemia, and four healthy volunteers, AUCBR, AUCFe, and the NA plasma half-life of the first fast slope of the curve were determined at three different doses of the drug (1.18, 2.95, and 5.90 mumol NA per kilogram body weight). A significant, dose-dependent increase in AUCBR was present in patients with GS, whereas it remained constant both in controls and in patients with hemolytic anemia. The NA plasma half-life was also significantly prolonged in GS with each of the three doses, but remained unchanged in the other two groups. In patients with GS, a linear correlation (r = 0.891, P less than 0.001) was present between AUCBR and NA plasma half-life. In contrast, the AUCFe value remained constant at the different doses used in the three groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Impaired plasma clearance of nicotinic acid and rifamycin-SV in Gilbert's syndrome: evidence of a functional heterogeneity.

Patients with Gilbert's syndrome (GS) have impaired clearance by the liver of some organic anions. We looked for possible differences in hepatic clearance of nicotinic acid (NA) and rifamycin-SV (R-SV) among GS patients, and examined the effect produced by these anions on the plasma levels of unconjugated bilirubin (UCB). Two subgroups of GS patients, GS1 and GS2, were differentiated according to their ability to handle R-SV and NA. Compared with a control group, the alteration of the half-life both of NA and R-SV was less marked in GS1 than in GS2. UCB plasma concentration after NA and R-SV loading was more greatly increased in GS2 than in GS1 patients. In addition, a striking correlation was found in all subjects studied between UCB and the half-life of NA and R-SV. These related alterations of plasma UCB and plasma half-life or organic anions suggests a common defect of hepatic uptake. It is hypothesized that this defect is located at the level of a hepatic plasma membrane carrier.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

[Diabetic neuropathy. I). Peripheral neuropathy].

This is the first of a series of reports on diabetic neuropathy. Peripheral or somatic diabetic neuropathy is discussed with reference to its major symptoms: central, peripheral and amyotrophic mononeuropathies, symmetrical and asymmetrical polyneuropathies, peripheral arthropathy and finally diabetic cachexia. The various theories on the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathy are presented. Finally data on 173 type I and II diabetics are presented. These patients, treated in outpatients departments, were paired by sex, weight and age with an equal number of non-diabetic subjects. The results of the survey largely confirm report in the literature. The importance of continuous medical surveillance for the identification and hence prevention of diabetic neuropathy is emphasized. This is particularly necessary since we have still much to learn about the natural history of the disease and for the moment the therapeutic approaches to the various neuropathies concerned are both tentative and symptomatic.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Hypotensive effect of the association atenolol-chlorthalidone in hypertensive diabetics.

The authors conducted a clinical investigation in twenty-five patients affected with essential hypertension of mild or moderate grade associated with type II diabetes mellitus, the purpose being to assess the effect of 8 weeks of combined treatment with atenolol (100 mg) and chlorthalidone (25 mg) on arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and glycaemia. It is, indeed, generally known that both beta-blockade agents and diuretics can interfere with carbohydrate metabolism. The results indicate that 92% of the patients treated in this trial had significant reduction of systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, in the absence of bradycardia or other adverse effects. Glycaemia values were lower at the end of treatment, probably as a result of better diet control during the trial, as suggested by the general tendency to body-weight reduction.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Plasma clearance of nicotinic acid and rifamycin-SV, and their interaction in Gilbert's syndrome: application of a compartmental model.

The bicompartmental kinetics of nicotinic acid (NA) and rifamycin-SV (R-SV)--2 organic anions that probably share a common hepatic uptake mechanism--were studied in 7 cases of Gilbert's syndrome (GS) and in 7 healthy controls matched for sex and age. In GS the NA and R-SV uptake constants (K21) were significantly decreased. In GS patients, simultaneous loads of NA and R-SV, the latter at increasing doses, produced: 1) a progressive lowering only of R-SV K21; and 2) an increase in R-SV hepatic plasma reflux (K12). Changes in biliary excretion ( Kee ) and hepatocellular pool (Ke) of both NA and R-SV probably depend on the rates of uptake and reflux constants of the two anions. The study of the parameters of compartmental kinetics of NA and R-SV confirms that the two organic anions, which have different metabolic routes and/or a different affinity for intracellular carriers, share common uptake mechanisms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Acute viral hepatitis in childhood: etiology and evolution.

A study of 164 consecutive patients (97 males, 67 females; aged 3-11 years) with acute hepatitis was done. Hepatitis A was the most frequent etiologic type. It occurred in 82.7% of the 3-5-year age group, and in 72.2% and 57.2% of the 6-8- and 9-11-year age groups, respectively. Non-A, non-B hepatitis was rather infrequent (4.3%). Hepatitis B occurred in 13.7% of the 3-5-year age group and reached 39.6% in the 9-11-year age group. While all hepatitis A and non-A, non-B cases recovered within a relatively short time, hepatitis B patients recovered more slowly; two cases recovered 1 year after the onset of symptoms. Chronicity was demonstrated in 23.8% of hepatitis B patients 2 years after the onset of the disease. HBsAg clearance was slower in children than in adults. At 4 months, only 59% of patients had serum converted, and a chronic carrier state occurred in 13 of 42 subjects followed for up to 2 years (three healthy carriers and 10 with chronic hepatitis of various types). Our data show that persistence of HBeAg positivity does not always lead to chronicity in children. Of the eight patients HBeAg-positive 1 year after the onset of symptoms, two recovered.

Acute Disease↗