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Biomedical subjects

M Greco

Publications and source records attributed to M Greco.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Rat liver mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase mRNA: isolation of mRNA by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

In order to obtain an enriched fraction of mRNA for mAAT we applied the following method: preparation of cytoplasmic polysomes; isolation of total RNA; isolation of mRNA by chromatography on oligo(dT)-cellulose column; polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; extraction of mRNA from the gel. The procedure seems to allow isolation of mRNA enriched fraction for mAAT. An enriched fraction of mRNAs can be useful for the preparation of corresponding cDNAs.

Animals↗

Prognostic factors in operable breast cancer.

A series of 743 consecutive cases of operable breast cancer, admitted and treated at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan from 1969 to 1970, was analyzed by a multivariate statistical method to evaluate a) the variables of the host and the primary tumor associated with the frequency of nodal metastases, b) the variables that significantly affect survival, and c) the identification of homogeneous risk groups. As regards the frequency of regional node metastases, they were more frequently observed in young than in old patients with large tumors (P values 10(-5) and 3 X 10(-5), respectively). Tumors that originated in the axillary tail, upper, outer and central quadrants were significantly associated with a higher rate of node metastases (P = 0.002). Each of these variables maintained its significant value when adjusted by the other two. Survival was affected at a statistically significant level by the age of the patients (P = 2 X 10(-4) ), the pathologic diameter of the primary tumor (P less than 10(-6) ), and the number of metastatic regional nodes (P less than 10(-6) ). The number of involved nodes appears to be the most relevant factor in the assessment of prognosis of patients with positive nodes, Age of the patients, size of the primary tumor, and number of involved nodes maintain their own statistical significance when each is adjusted by the remaining two. The site of origin of the primary tumor, even if associated with the frequency of regional node metastases, did not affect survival. Three groups with a significantly different risk of death were identified in patients with negative lymph nodes and three groups in patients with positive nodes. It is concluded that age, size of the primary, and number of involved lymph nodes are important pieces of information that clinicians should have at hand following radical surgery, not only to make a prognosis, but also to identify groups of patients with high risk of death on which the role of adjuvant treatment should be evaluated.

Adult↗

Comments on a series of 88 invasive microcarcinomas of the breast.

Eighty-eight women with minimal invasive breast cancer were treated at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan, in the decade 1970-1980. Their tumors were smaller than 0.5 cm in diameter and were clinically assessed as T1N0M0; surgery, consisting of radical or limited procedures, was performed, always with complete axillary dissection. Pathologic assessment showed that axillary lymph nodes presented with metastases in 21.5% of cases. In 1 of N-positive cases, more than 3 nodes were affected, and in 5 cases extracapsular invasion was observed. Five-year actuarial survival, calculated by the life table method, was as high as 90%, demonstrating that these have a favorable prognosis, even when they are treated by limited surgery followed by radiotherapy on the residual breast, provided that the axilla is completely dissected. Minimal invasive breast cancer should consequently be clearly distinguished from other pathologic entities termed as "minimal", such as lobular carcinoma in situ and intraductal carcinoma, for which complete axillary dissection is not worthwhile.

Adult↗

[Proglumetacine in rheumatoid arthritis].

Proglumetacin, 450 mg/day, was administered during 1 month to 32 rheumatoid arthritis patients in anatomical and functional stage II or III. Overall, more than 50% of pts responded to the treatment, in particular those in stage II, in whom Ritchie's articular index, nightly and daily pain significantly decreased. Those pts in stage III who did not respond to proglumetacin even when administered at high dose, did not respond to indomethacin, either. Tolerance resulted very good, as only 3 complaints of mild and transient epigastric pain and 1 of skin rash were observed, but no one related to the C.N.S. High efficacy and good tolerance set therefore proglumetacin aside from indomethacin, A.S.A. and most of the recent non steroidal anti-inflammatory agents.

Adult↗

Timegadine: long-term open study in rheumatoid arthritis.

The efficacy and tolerability of Timegadine, a new antirheumatic agent, administered at a dose of 250 mg twice daily was evaluated in an open trial of 24 weeks' duration in 31 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. The subjective and objective clinical parameters improved significantly from the 2nd to 6th week of treatment. For some of the parameters further improvement was observed during the continuation of the treatment. At 6 weeks the ESR was significantly decreased, and a further reduction of the ESR was seen with the continuation of the treatment. At the end of the treatment period other humoral parameters of the disease were significantly modified. Moreover, in 65% of the patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis a reduction of the rheumatoid factor titre by at least two dilutions was observed. Five of the 31 patients were withdrawn from treatment due to the appearance of side effects. Although the study was open and the number of patients relatively small, the observed changes in the laboratory parameters of disease activity encourage further investigations to assess the potential of Timegadine as a remissive drug.

Adult↗

Risk of internal mammary lymph node metastases and its relevance on prognosis of breast cancer patients.

The risk of internal mammary chain metastases according to some parameters and its prognostic relevance was evaluated on the basis of the experience collected at the National Cancer Institute of Milan where, from January 1965 to December 1980, 1085 patients were submitted to Halsted mastectomy plus internal mammary chain dissection. A multivariate analysis was carried out, resorting to a multiple linear regression with logistic transformation of the dependent variable. The selection of prognostic factors has been performed with a step-down approach. The frequency of metastases to internal mammary chain nodes was evaluated according to four criteria: age, site and size of primary tumor, and presence of axillary metastases. Data of this series indicate that the frequency of internal mammary node metastases is significantly associated with the age of the patients (younger patients have a higher risk) (p = 0.006) with the size of primary tumor (p = 0.006) with the presence of axillary node metastases (p = 10(-9). Patients with both axillary and internal mammary positive nodes have a very poor prognosis (10-year survival 37.3%) while patients with either axillary metastases only or internal mammary metastases only have an intermediate less grave prognosis (59.6% and 62.4%, respectively). As regards the risk of internal mammary nodes involvement, it appears that knowing the age, the size, and the axillary nodes status, it is possible to calculate with good approximation the probability of their invasion.

Adult↗

Cholesterol behavior in human serum lipoproteins.

A derivative of ergosterol, ergosta-5,7,9,22-tetraen-3 beta-ol, was synthesized and characterized. Its properties in membranes are similar to those of cholesterol as measured by glucose-permeability and by order parameters derived from electron spin resonance of spin-labels. Thus, because of the three conjugated double bonds, this molecule can be used as an optical probe of sterol behavior in membranes. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of sonicated egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles containing the probe exhibited CD transitions whose intensity was dependent on sterol content. CD spectra from this probe in human low-density and high-density lipoproteins indicated distinctly different environments for the sterol in the two lipoproteins.

Animals↗

Surgery for malignant mesenchymal tumors of the breast: a series of 31 cases.

Thirty-one cases of malignant mesenchymal tumors of the breast were analyzed with the purpose of identifying the most suitable type of surgery to be recommended. All the cases considered underwent pathologic review. Even young women were affected, and menopausal status did not seem to influence the development of mesenchymal tumors. Mammography was of little use for diagnosis. All cases underwent surgery and 26 had an adequate follow-up. In 8 cases a relapse occurred with a mean free interval of 6 months. Total mastectomy was sufficient to provide local control, whereas axillary dissection turned out to be not worthwhile. Postoperative radiotherapy did not improve distant results. Relapses mainly consisted of lung metastases. Fifteen patients were alive, free of disease, at a time ranging from 9 months to 13 years after surgery.

Adult↗

Comparing radical mastectomy with quadrantectomy, axillary dissection, and radiotherapy in patients with small cancers of the breast.

From 1973 to 1980, we carried out a controlled study at the National Cancer Institute in Milan to consider the value of a conservative procedure in patients with breast cancer of small size. We randomized 701 patients with breast cancer measuring less than 2 cm in diameter and with no palpable axillary lymph nodes to Halsted radical mastectomy or to "quadrantectomy" with axillary dissection and radiotherapy to the ipsilateral residual breast tissue. We treated 349 patients with Halsted mastectomy and 352 with quadrantectomy. The two groups were comparable in age distribution, size and site of primary tumor, menopausal status, and frequency of axillary metastases. There were three local recurrences in the Halsted group and one in the quadrantectomy group. Actuarial curves showed no difference between the two groups in disease-free or overall survival. From these results, mastectomy appears to involve unnecessary mutilation in patients with breast cancer of less than 2 cm and no palpable axillary nodes.

Aged↗

Rubella in Umbria (Italy): serological assessment of immunity in adult women and congenital rubella detection after 1978.

Antibody to rubella virus was measured in 3655 serum samples collected during 1973-1979 from females of child bearing age in Umbria (Italy). The overall incidence of seronegatives was 24 percent (hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) antibody less than 1:16), with a higher proportion of seronegatives in the first years studied (1973-1976). A history of rubella infection was shown to be an unreliable index of immunity. One case of rubella congenital syndrome was detected following laboratory screening of newborn babies after the rubella virus circulation in Umbria during 1978. The persistence of a risk associated with rubella virus in women living in Umbria indicates the importance and the urgency of the adoption of a full-scale rubella control campaign.

Adolescent↗

Immunologic reactivity in patients bearing solid tumors.

The immune reactivity of 50 patients with solid tumors before therapeutic treatment and 26 healthy controls was assessed by both in vitro and in vivo tests. No significant differences between controls and patients were found in peripheral lymphocyte counts or in delayed hypersensitivity to recall antigens. However, impairment of lymphocyte stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and a decrease in the number of E-rosette forming cells (E RFC) were detected in cancer-bearing patients irrespective of tumor type. The results of the present study further confirm the usefulness of the PHA and E-RFC tests in monitoring the immune competence of cancer patients.

Adult↗

[In vivo synthesis of mitochondrial RNA immediately after fertilization in Paracentrotus lividus].

In the present paper the in vivo incorporation of 3H-guanosine into mitochondrial RNA and of 35S-methionine into mitochondrial ribosomal proteins of Paracentrotus lividus embryos have been studied. Mitochondrial rRNA and low molecular weight RNA are newly synthesized in vivo by Paracentrotus lividus embryos as early as at 2-cell stage. Labeled RNA but not labeled proteins have been extracted from the mitochondrial ribosomes of the Paracentrotus lividus embryos at 32-cell stage.

Animals↗

[Surgical treatment of minimal breast carcinoma].

The surgical approach to minimal breast cancer is still under discussion. In fact by the term "minimal" three lesions are meant, namely "lobular carcinoma in situ", "intraductal carcinoma" and invasive "microcarcinoma". It is really difficult to indicate appropriate treatment for these tumors, also because the series reported in the literature are few and represented by a small number of cases. The present paper is a critical review of the literature on the subject. According to the most recent view lobular carcinoma in situ and intraductal carcinoma demand for radical surgery (total mastectomy) due to the high percentage of multicentricity and bilaterality of these lesions. More particularly with regard to lobular carcinoma in situ recent reports claim for a "wait and see" policy which is gaining favour, on the ground that the risk of developing invasive cancer in women with lobular carcinoma in situ is not so high and that the period of time between diagnosis of the lobular carcinoma and the development of the invasive cancer is usually very long. On the other side, for intraductal carcinoma, axillary dissection seems to be pleonastic due to the low percentage of secondary deposits in axillary lymph-nodes (1-3%) in women operated on for intraductal carcinoma. Invasive microcardinomas, less than 5 mm in diameter, should be considered as T1N0 tumors; actually there is no reason to treat them by a more conservative surgery than is done for T1N0 cancers, as they present the same involvement of the axillary lymph nodes. In a small series of 38 microcarcinoma observed at the Milan Cancer Institut N+ cases were 27%.

Breast Neoplasms↗

The state of antitetanus protection in the commune of Perugia.

A serological survey was carried out on the population in the Perugia district to assess the protection level against tetanus. The antitoxin titre was evaluated by indirect haemagglutination test in 983 sera from healthy subjects of both sexes and all age-groups. Only 285 males and 144 females, 33.47% of the subjects, had been immunized prior to the investigation. The research made it clear that the serological antibody level does not always correspond to the anamnestic data on previous immunization. Therefore, it appears that prophylactic treatment against tetanus should be based on objective data, that is, serum antibody titre, in all subjects at risk. This information, thanks to the indirect haemagglutination test, is not difficult to obtain.

Adult↗