[Obstetric analgesia/anesthesia with continuous peridural block: 10 years' experience].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Esposito.
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Delayed atrioventricular conduction, as reflected in prolongation of the P-R interval, is commonly found and is a non specific finding in acute rheumatic fever (minor manifestation). Prolongation of atrioventricular conduction may lead to second-degree A-V block, while a complete heart block is a rare event with or without Stokes-Adams attacks. In these cases temporary pace-maker may be usefully employed. Another uncommon symptom of acute rheumatic fever is abdominal pain, which occurs in fewer than 5% of patients, and is usually vague and not acute. An unusual case of onset of rheumatic fever characterized by acute complete heart block and acute abdominal pain simulating appendicitis is reported.
A scheme is outlined for analyzing the genotypic contributions of two unlinked loci in producing a disease, using DR and the 5' insulin locus (INS) in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) as examples. Although genotypes of both DR and INS play roles in IDDM susceptibility, both the relatively small size of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 5 (GAW5) data set and the apparently limited magnitudes of the contributory effects prevent the identification of the exact nature of the association of these two loci in disease causation. The Gm allotypes showed no association with IDDM, either alone or in combination with other variables. Association of reactivity among the six strains of Coxsackie B virus is described, with no evidence of associations with DR type and IDDM found. The unaffected offspring segregated DR alleles according to expectations, while the segregation of affected alleles revealed the various contributions of DR alleles to IDDM pathogenesis, with the suggestion that DR4 from fathers is more diabetogenic than that from mothers. Lastly, a method is described for revealing the accuracy of typing in family data, and applied to RFLP variants subdividing DR3.
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To clarify the biological, clinical and prognostic relevance of HIV isolation from plasma and explain the relation to p24 antigenemia, we studied these two markers in 67 anti-HIV positive subjects in different stages of the disease. The results suggest that discordances between these two parameters are not dependent on methodological problems and may be attributed to yet unexplained biological phenomena. Some hypotheses to explain the observed discrepancies are suggested.
Martsolf's syndrome has been described in Jewish people. We describe a patient of non-Jewish ancestry who has minor differences from other patients. The possible pattern of inheritance is discussed.
Five patients with intraabdominal ovarian cancer, 4 of whom with concomitant ascites, refractory to cisplatin-containing combination chemotherapy were treated with intraperitoneal cisplatin. Cisplatin, 90 mg/m2, was administered intraperitoneally in 2 liters of warm 0.9% NaCl with a 4-hour dwelling time on day 1 q 21 days. Platinum concentrations in plasma, ascites, ultrafiltrates of plasma and ascites, and urine were assayed by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry and determinations were verified by neutron activation analysis. Peak total and ultrafiltrable plasma platinum levels were 1.63 +/- 0.6 and 0.76 +/- 0.3 microgram/ml, respectively. Peritoneal clearance of total platinum (PA) was 21 ml/min whereas body clearance of total platinum was on the average 13.8 times PA, varying from 171 to 429 ml/min; the mean AUC (peritoneum) to AUC (plasma) ratio was 11 +/- 3. In 2 patients control of ascites was obtained, in 1 of these patients prior positive cytology became negative after her first intraperitoneal course. No nephrotoxicity was observed and gastrointestinal toxicity was mild. No catheter-related infections were observed. Intraperitoneal cisplatin therapy is well tolerated, pharmacokinetically rational and may be useful in managing ovarian cancer patients with malignant ascites or minimal residual disease at second-look laparotomy.
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The objective of this study was to evaluate tissue and plasma concentrations of arsenic and cobalt in an attempt to discover the role of these elements in the malignant process. Using neutron activation analysis, arsenic and cobalt levels were determined in plasma and in non-malignant and malignant human tissues in 15 patients with laryngeal carcinoma. Arsenic and cobalt levels were about 60% higher in tumor than in adjacent non-malignant tissue (P less than 0.001): arsenic 72.4 +/- 18.0 ng/g versus 43.1 +/- 9.4 in non-malignant tissues, and cobalt 68.7 +/- 7.3 ng/g versus 39.6 +/- 7.0 in non-malignant tissues. Mean plasma arsenic and cobalt levels were also significantly higher in patients with laryngeal carcinoma than in healthy control subjects.
Lanthanum (La) levels in plasma, in erythrocyte hemolysate and in tissue from healthy subjects and patients with laryngeal carcinoma were determined by neutron activation analysis. Plasma lanthanum levels were significantly higher in laryngeal carcinomas than in either healthy controls or in subjects suffering from localized inflammation (e.g. epicondylitis of the elbow) (p less than 0.001). The mean La concentration in malignant tissue samples was 57.5 +/- 7.2 ng g-1; the corresponding level in normal adjacent tissue from the same organ was 94.6 +/- 12.0 ng g-1. This 61% decrease in the concentration of La in malignant tissues was highly significant (p less than 0.001). In patients with laryngeal carcinoma we did not observe any detectable level of lanthanum in erythrocyte hemolysate; the mean La erythrocyte hemolysate level in healthy controls and in patients suffering from localized inflammatory condition was 14.3 and 33.2 ng ml-1, respectively. Further studies are in progress to evaluate whether or not this element can serve as a marker for diagnosis or prognosis in cancer.
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A father and three of his offspring had skeletal abnormalities consisting of a short forearm, cubitus valgus, fusion of first and second cervical vertebrae, and cleft of L5 and S1. All four had a reciprocal, apparently balanced, translocation 2;8(q32;p13). Normal sibs had normal chromosomes. We conclude that this may be a rare instance of an autosomal dominant condition associated with a balanced chromosome translocation.
Laser irradiation of tissues treated in vivo with the hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) is known to result in a cytocidal effect, reportedly more pronounced in the tumor than in the surrounding normal tissues. In order to ascertain if this phenomenon had a clear cellular basis, it has been now reproduced in vitro in a model system consisting of normal and transformed cell lines. Epithelial rat thyroid cells were infected and transformed with a RNA oncogenic virus. Both the original (normal) and the viral-transformed (tumorigenic) cells were incubated with HPD and exposed to two types of laser irradiation: 631 nm, continuous wave; and 337.1 nm, pulsed. Under the conditions tested, the percentage survival of the transformed cells was found to be lower (up to approximately 3 times) than that of the normal cells. The cytocidal effect was greater using the pulsed than using the continuous-wave irradiation. The difference between normal and tumor cells was more evident at 30 micrograms than at 50 micrograms of HPD per ml. The HPD not followed by laser irradiation had no effect on the cell growth rate. The findings of a significant difference in the sensitivity to photoactivated HPD between normal and tumor cells under strictly controlled and highly comparable conditions opens new possibilities to the study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the phototherapy of tumors. Furthermore, studies in vitro on the active components of the photosensitizer and on their selectivity towards the tumor cells, explained at a cellular level, will lead to better approaches to photochemotherapy in vivo.
Adriamycin levels are usually determined in biologic samples (tissue homogenates) by means of spectrophotofluorimetric procedures. After intravenous administration of a pharmacologic dose of Adriamycin to 21 female Swiss mice, the fluorescence released from the nuclei of single liver and kidney cells was determined by cytofluorimetric measurements on 3,916 in-vivo-treated liver cells and 1,472 in-vivo-treated kidney cells. Similar measurements were made on 287 untreated (control) liver cells and 288 untreated kidney cells as well as on 541 liver cells and 773 kidney cells stained in vitro with acriflavine. The results indicate that (1) it is possible to quantitatively evaluate the nuclear uptake of Adriamycin in in vivo single cells by cytofluorimetry, (2) the pharmacokinetics of Adriamycin can be evaluated on the cellular level and (3) Adriamycin can be considered a fluorochrome suitable for in vivo staining of cell nuclei as can acriflavine for the in vitro staining of cell nuclei.