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Biomedical subjects

M Gentilini

Publications and source records attributed to M Gentilini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

[Visceral leishmaniasis. Diagnosis by western blotting].

Using Western blotting, antibodies directed against a 94 kiloDalton Leishmania antigen are detectable in the sera of patients with visceral leishmaniasis. The absence of these antibodies in the sera of patients with other leishmaniasis, protozoiases, helminthiases, and fungal or bacterial diseases, makes it a biological marker of visceral leishmaniasis, and gives this method its value in immunodiagnosis.

Antigens, Protozoan↗
PubMed1992

The cutaneous form of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma in a woman from the Ivory Coast. Clinical, immunovirologic studies and a review of the African adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma cases.

A 36-year-old woman from Ivory Coast, who has lived in France since 1976, had multiple cutaneous nodules and tumors in 1988. Histopathologic studies showed a massive infiltration of the dermis and hypodermis by a diffuse proliferation of mature activated T-cells (CD4-positive, CD25-positive, HLA-DR-positive) with irregular nuclei. The patient did not present with a leukemic picture and only few lymphoid cells with abnormally shaped nuclei were present in the blood. Human T leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I) antibodies were present in the serum and specific HTLV-I pol sequences were detected in the DNA extracted from the tumor nodules and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) using the polymerase chain reaction technique. Whereas only a polyclonal integration of HTLV-I provirus was detectable in the PBMC, a clonal integration of three HTLV-I proviruses was demonstrated in the tumor nodules DNA, establishing with certainty the diagnosis of HTLV-I-induced adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). This case illustrates the need for molecular studies to differentiate without ambiguity an ATL from any other type of cutaneous lymphoproliferation, even when it occurs in a HTLV-I-seropositive individual. The situation of HTLV-I-associated ATL in Africa is reviewed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

IL-6 induced by IL-1 inhibits malaria pre-erythrocytic stages but its secretion is down-regulated by the parasite.

The capacity of IL-6 to mediate the antiparasitic activity of IL-1 on intrahepatic development of malaria parasite was demonstrated. The comparisons of IL-6 levels in infected and noninfected hepatocyte cultures, either purified or enriched with nonparenchymal cells and stimulated by IL-1 or IL-6, indicate that subtle interactions exist between intrahepatocytic development of Plasmodium yoelii and liver synthesis of IL-6. During its intrahepatic multiplication, the parasite causes a decline in IL-6 production. IL-6 mRNA was not detected in the livers of infected mice during development of either hepatic or blood stage parasites although IL-6 activity was found in the sera during both stages.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

AIDS-associated mucocutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma treated with bleomycin.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate efficacy and tolerance of bleomycin in AIDS-associated mucocutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma. A previous study showed that bleomycin was effective and well tolerated in this setting. DESIGN: A non-comparative, open, prospective study. METHODS: Seventy patients were treated with 5 mg per day intramuscular bleomycin on 3 consecutive days every 2 weeks. RESULTS: Two patients achieved a complete response and 50 a partial response (overall response rate, 74%). Median time to treatment response was 4 weeks (range, 2-12 weeks) and median time to relapse 10 weeks (range, 2-36 weeks). Dose-limiting toxicity consisted of cutaneous adverse reactions. CONCLUSION: Bleomycin is active against AIDS-associated mucocutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma; relapse occurs after discontinuation of therapy.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1992

Mefloquine-halofantrine cross-resistance in Plasmodium falciparum induced by intermittent mefloquine pressure.

The study was designed to evaluate how exposure of Plasmodium falciparum to mefloquine modifies the sensitivity of the parasite to four major antimalarial drugs. A recently culture-adapted strain of P. falciparum was subjected to intermittent drug pressure at three different mefloquine concentrations (2.34, 4.68, and 9.37 ng/ml). Growth was monitored by daily evaluation of parasitemia on thin smears. Drug sensitivity tests were done weekly, using a radioisotope microdilution method. Mefloquine was removed from culture media when decreasing parasitemia was observed, and reintroduced when multiplication reoccurred. Parasite survival was inversely proportional to drug concentrations. The parasites tolerated progressively higher concentrations of mefloquine with prolonged exposure to the drug. Throughout this adaptation, the 50% inhibitory concentration for chloroquine and quinine showed no modification, but it increased considerably for mefloquine, exceeding known levels of resistance. Furthermore, a parallel increased resistance to halofantrine was observed, surpassing the normal range of sensitivity. Cross-resistance between mefloquine and halofantrine shown in this study has now been confirmed by epidemiologic in vitro surveys and clone analysis. These findings may have important in vivo consequences and eventually affect the choice of antimalarial therapy.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Foscarnet induction therapy for cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS: comparison of twice-daily and three-times-daily regimens.

We have evaluated the effects of induction therapy with foscarnet 100 mg/kg b.i.d. via i.v. infusion in 60 AIDS patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis and compared the findings with those in 37 such patients receiving a foscarnet induction regimen of 60 mg/kg t.i.d. via i.v. infusion. Induction therapy was given for at least 3 weeks, with the treatment period being extended in cases of slow resolution of retinitis. There was no significant difference between response rates in the two groups, with ophthalmologic response being observed in 52 (96%) of 54 evaluable b.i.d. patients and 33 (97%) of 34 evaluable t.i.d. patients over mean durations of therapy of 26 and 27 days, respectively; complete and partial responses were observed in 91 and 6%, respectively, of b.i.d. patients and 85 and 12%, respectively, of t.i.d. patients. Foscarnet was discontinued because of adverse events in 3 (3%) of 97 patients, with treatment being stopped in 2 patients because of renal insufficiency and in 1 patient because of an acute neurologic disorder. Serum creatinine concentrations increased significantly in both the b.i.d. group (from 82 to 98 mumol/L, p less than 0.01) and the t.i.d. group (from 73 to 122 mumol/L, p less than 0.001), with the difference between increases not being statistically significant. Serum creatinine concentrations greater than 200 mumol/L were observed in two b.i.d. patients and four t.i.d. patients; in four cases, concomitant medications or conditions contributed to renal impairment. Hypocalcemia of less than 1.75 mmol/L occurred in 18% of b.i.d. patients and 28% of t.i.d. patients during treatment (p = 0.03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1992

[Prevention of iodine deficiency disorders in children in the rural African zone].

The effectiveness of iodinated silicone polymers placed in bore wells for combating goiter in children under 15 years of age was evaluated in two villages in Mali. Of the 581 included children, 367 did and 214 did not receive supplemental iodine. Overall, follow-up data at one year were available for 86% of study subjects. At baseline, Goiter was present in 43.3% of the children in the supplemental iodine group and in 69.2% of controls. Stage G1B predominated in both sexes. After one year, 36% of the goiters had resolved in the supplement group. Effectiveness of iodine supplementation was greater in young children with small goiters. Urinary iodine levels returned to normal by the third month. Iodine levels in the supplemented water remained above 50 micrograms/l throughout the year; daily intake of iodine was 50 to 100 micrograms. In the unsupplemented village, 21 new cases of goiter occurred, for an annual incidence of 40%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[Diseases observed after return from travels outside Europe. 109 cases].

We report a prospective study of travel-associated illnesses observed after their return in 109 French travellers, including 86 tourists. Sixty-three were returning from Africa and 84 percent had been abroad for less than 4 weeks. The percentages of travellers immunized against tetanus, poliomyelitis and typhoid fever were 70, 63 and 36 percent respectively. Malaria prophylaxis was well adjusted to current recommendations in only 19 patients; for 9 patients it was a routine visit. One hundred patients reported 105 diseases. The diagnosis was undetermined in 31 patients, including 19 with diarrhoea and 8 with fever, and it was determined in 74 patients who were found to have malaria (14), cutaneous myiasis (12) or bacterial skin infections (12).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Imported and autochthonous kala-azar in France.

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological, clinical, and biological features of imported and autochthonous kala-azar in France. DESIGN: Prospective survey of all patients in France with kala-azar diagnosed over the two years 1986-7. Information was obtained from parasitology laboratories in regional hospitals and all hospital laboratories and haematology departments capable of diagnosing leishmaniasis in the south of France. SETTING: 107 public hospitals in France. PATIENTS: 89 patients with kala-azar. INTERVENTIONS: All patients were treated with drugs. In the first instance meglumine antimonate was given to all but two patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of the various clinical and biological features of kala-azar; proportion of patients with HIV infection. RESULTS: Half (44) of the patients were children under 8 years old. Seventy patients acquired the disease in France. Imported kala-azar was acquired mainly in Mediterranean countries (9/18 cases). Only 46 (52%) of the patients had all three of the classic associated clinical features of fever, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly. Anaemia was the commonest biological sign, and the association of the four usual biological signs--anaemia, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, and hypergammaglobulinaemia--was present in only 14 (33%) of the children under 8 and 26 (60%) adults. Fourteen of the patients over 8 years old were infected with HIV. CONCLUSION: Doctors must be aware of kala-azar in Mediterranean areas, especially as patients often present without the characteristic features and the disease affects young children preferentially.

Adolescent↗