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Biomedical subjects

M Marchini

Publications and source records attributed to M Marchini.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Tight underpants and trousers and risk of dyspermia.

The association between the wearing of tight underpants and trousers and risk of dyspermia has been analysed using data from a case--control study. Cases included infertile men with a diagnosis of unexplained dyspermia. Normospermic men of infertile couples were eligible as controls. In comparison with men usually wearing loose underpants, the odds ratio (OR) of dyspermia was 1.9 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.9-4.1) in those wearing tight underpants. Likewise, the OR of dyspermia was 1.6 (95% CI 0.9-3.0) in men reporting usually wearing tight trousers (including jeans), in comparison with those wearing loose trousers.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Histological impact of medical therapy--clinical implications.

The medium- and long-term effects of gestrinone and danazol on the endometrium were examined in 36 patients with endometriosis. Endometrial biopsies were taken from each patient before treatment and after 3 and 6 months of treatment with 600 mg danazol daily (n = 17) or with 2.5 mg gestrinone twice weekly (n = 19). Endometrial samples were analysed by light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. At 3 months' treatment the endometria of patients treated with danazol appeared more atrophic than those of the women treated with gestrinone; some cell organelle involution was evident in all patients. After 6 months of treatment a marked atrophy was observed in patients of both treatment groups. A complete involution of cytoplasmic organelles with cytoplasmic collapse and a shift of nucleoplasmic ratio in favour of the nucleus occurred in patients treated with danazol; the cytoplasmic organelle involution was less marked in patients treated with gestrinone. Compared with gestrinone, danazol induces more rapid endometrial atrophy, with greater impairment of the cytoplasm and cell secretory activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Comparative efficacy of diclofenac dispersible 50 mg and ibuprofen 400 mg in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. A randomized, double-blind, within-patient, placebo-controlled study.

Sixty female out-patients suffering from moderate to severe primary dysmenorrhea, aged 14-40 years (mean 27 years), entered this randomized, double-blind, 3-period, within-patient study, evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of diclofenac dispersible 46.5 mg (equivalent to 50 mg of diclofenac sodium), ibuprofen 400 mg and placebo taken up to 4 times daily for a maximum of 3 days. Pain relief was evaluated on a verbal rating scale (0 = none, 1 = slight, 2 = moderate, 3 = considerable, 4 = complete) at 0.5, 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 hours after the first dose; the weighted sum of pain relief scores over the 6-hour observation period was also investigated (TOTPAR-6). Pain intensity was assessed on a verbal rating scale (0 = nil, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe) at baseline and at the above mentioned time points; the weighted sum of pain intensity differences at each time point was also analyzed (SPID-6). A rescue medication was permitted 1 hour or more after the intake of the test drug: in such cases the last value of pain intensity/relief scores was carried forward and used for the analysis. A global evaluation of efficacy and of trial medication as compared to her usual medication was performed by the patient at the end of each treatment period. Finally, adverse experiences were recorded throughout the study period. Analysis of covariance and Koch's adaptation of the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank sum test were used, where appropriate, for statistical analysis. Mean TOTPAR-6 values for diclofenac dispersible, ibuprofen and placebo were 16.5, 17.8 and 14.7, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Cartilage type II collagen fibrils show distinctive negative-staining band patterns differences between type II and type I unfixed or glutaraldehyde-fixed collagen fibrils.

The cross striation of native and reconstituted collagen fibrils is believed to conform to a unique D-band pattern independently of the genetically distinct types of fibril-forming collagens. This investigation focuses on type II native collagen fibrils, whose negative-staining patterns are shown to differ from the usual banding exhibited by type I collagen fibrils. Negative staining with phosphotungstic acid, pH 7.4, was carried out on a) unfixed and b) glutaraldehyde-fixed collagen fibrils isolated from bovine hyaline cartilages. The band patterns obtained and their microdensitograms were compared to similarly processed type I collagen fibrils isolated from bovine fibrous tissues. Only minor differences were observed in unfixed fibrils. In the intraperiod light zones of type II fibrils, two dark bands (interbands X2-Y4 and Y4-Y2) showed different intensities with respect to their homologous bands in type I fibrils. In contrast, a marked difference was shown by glutaraldehyde-fixed fibrils. In comparison with type I fibrils, the greater stain exclusion capacity of type II fibrils yielded both the appearance of supernumerary bands, which altered banding in two intraperiod regions, and differences in the intensity of several bands in three intraperiod regions where the band distribution was similar. This stain exclusion pattern may be accounted for by molecular extradensity. The possibility that it depends on linkage with a higher number of glutaraldehyde residues and/or the persistence of cross-linked collagenic or non-collagenic proteins is discussed. To refer to the glutaraldehyde-induced band patterns in negatively stained type II and type I collagen fibrils, the terms "bands GA(II) 1-12" and "bands GA(I) 1-15," respectively, are proposed.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and risk of primary dysmenorrhea.

We analyzed the relation between cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and risk of dysmenorrhea using data from a case-control study in Milan, Italy. With never-smokers as the reference category, the relative risk (RR) of dysmenorrhea was 1.9 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.9-4.4] for women smoking 10-30 cigarettes per day. The risk of dysmenorrhea increased with duration of smoking in women who smoked for less than 10 years (RR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.6-2.6) and in those who smoked for 10-20 years (RR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.3-6.2). In comparison with teetotalers, the age-adjusted RR of dysmenorrhea was 0.8 (95% CI = 0.4-1.5) for alcohol drinkers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Correlations between amino acid hydrophobicity scales and stain exclusion capacity of type 1 collagen fibrils.

The relationship between the negative staining band pattern of type 1 native collagen fibrils and the amino acid distribution along the fibril axis was studied by comparing averaged microdensitograms with theoretical traces calculated on the basis of different amino acid parameters. As well as the spatial parameter "bulkiness" (volume/length, ratio), various literature-reported scales of "hydrophobicity" were tested. Two "hydrophobicity" sets allowed a better fit with the actual patterns than "bulkiness" values. However, a general improvement in simulations was achieved by associating most "hydrophobicity" sets with the "bulkiness" set. These results suggest that amino acid "hydrophobicity" plays a key role in the appearance of negative staining patterns but a composite mechanism would seem to occur: the accessibility of available intermolecular interstices may be conditioned by molecular hindrance, corresponding to amino acid "bulkiness" as well as by water-repulsion effect, which correlates with amino acid "hydrophobicity." Moreover, a detailed comparison of actual and simulated patterns suggests that a modulation exists in the effectiveness of these two factors along each D-period according to the different molecular packing and concentration of hydrophobic amino acid clusters within overlap regions and gap regions, respectively.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1993

Vaginal patterns during danazol and buserelin acetate therapy for endometriosis: structural and ultrastructural study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate histologic and ultrastructural changes of the vaginal mucosa in patients given buserelin acetate or danazol treatment for endometriosis. DESIGN: Controlled clinical study. SETTING: Infertility clinic of an academic unit. PATIENTS: Infertile women with endometriosis randomized to receive buserelin acetate or danazol and undergoing vaginal biopsies during treatment were selected. INTERVENTIONS: Buserelin acetate was administered IN 400 micrograms three times per day and danazol orally 600 mg/d. Vaginal biopsies were performed baseline and at 3 and 6 months of treatment, and specimens were examined by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. 17 beta-Estradiol and P levels were determined in each patient at the time of each biopsy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Structural and ultrastructural patterns of vaginal mucosa after 3 and 6 months of treatment. RESULTS: Buserelin acetate treatment induced early, marked hypotrophy of the vaginal mucosa with aspects typical of the menopause. The modifications caused by danazol occurred mainly in the intermediate layer, which was weakly hypotrophic only at the end of the treatment. CONCLUSION: Vaginal mucosa undergoes constant and well-defined modifications during both buserelin acetate and danazol treatment for endometriosis. The modifications are compatible with the biological effects of the drugs.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1993

Fertility after conservative surgery for adenomyomas.

Reproductive performance was evaluated after conservative surgery for uterine adenomyoma in a prospective, observational study. Twenty-eight women with histologically proven adenomyomas had conservative surgery in the period 1985-1990. Eighteen patients wanting children were regularly followed for a mean +/- SD period of 53.2 +/- 23.5 months. Crude and cumulative pregnancy rates were calculated after the operation. Thirteen (72.2%) women conceived, for a total of 18 pregnancies: nine (50%) ended in term deliveries, seven (38.8%) in spontaneous abortions, one (5.6%) in ectopic pregnancy and one (5.6%) in a pre-term delivery with neonatal death. The cumulative pregnancy rate at 36 months of follow-up was 74.7%. This analysis of a small series indicates that conservative surgery for adenomyomas is associated with a good reproductive prognosis.

Adenomyoma↗
PubMed1993

Collagen-glutaraldehyde interaction as revealed by the D-banding of negatively stained fibrils and computer-drawn band patterns.

Band patterns exhibited under electron microscope by native collagen fibrils fixed with glutaraldehyde (2.5%-5% GA diluted in 0.1M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4) and negatively stained with phosphotungstic acid (1% PTA diluted in the same buffer) were digitized to form both bandings and microdensitometric traces. Collaterally, computer-drawn band patterns and traces were yielded on the basis of the "quarter stagger" model and primary structure of alpha 1(I) and alpha 2(I) tropocollagen chains and by selecting options related to specific collagen-GA interactions. Comparisons between actual and simulated patterns suggest that lysines and hydroxylysines should react with GA residues in a 1:3 ratio, while GA-reactivity of histidyl and tyrosyl residues seem to be excluded. On the other hand, an improvement of simulations was achieved by also selecting hydroxyprolines (in addition to lysines and hydroxylysines), which seemed to react with GA in a 1:1 ratio. Considering the bifunctionality of GA, it is suggested that during fixation, heteropolymers form, composed of GA-hexamers bonded to couples of lysyl and/or hydroxylysyl residues. The hypothesis is advanced of an additional formation of GA-dimers, each bonded to two hydroxyprolines.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Glutaraldehyde-induced D-band pattern of type II collagen fibrils as revealed by negative staining.

A study was carried out on the negative staining band patterns (1% phosphotungstic acid (PTA) in phosphate buffer, 0.1 M, pH 7.4) exhibited by type II collagen fibrils after treatment with glutaraldehyde (5% in phosphate buffer 0.1 M, pH 7.4) and a comparison was made with the negative staining patterns of glutaraldehyde-fixed type I collagen fibrils. A characteristic D-band pattern was observed for type II collagen fibrils. The gap/overlap ratio was unusually low, with a 0.40 long gap zone and a 0.60 D overlap zone. This banding displayed eleven major light bands instead of the fifteen bands per period observed in the type I collagen patterns. On comparing the two types of microdensitograms, seven negative peaks (light bands) coincided and among them were the peaks corresponding to the N-terminal and C-terminal telopeptide regions. Although less numerous, the negative peaks of type II fibril traces were broader and more marked than those of type I microdensitograms and this feature accounts for the greater stain exclusion capacity of the type II fibrils. This is consistent with the larger quantity of hydroxylysines in type II collagen and, perhaps, with the more abundant hydroxyprolines.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Correlation between amino acid composition and ultrastructural features of type I and type II native collagen fibrils.

The D-band patterns of native collagen fibrils negatively stained with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) of type II (bovine cartilaginous nasal septum) and type I (bovine reticular dermis) were compared in order to find differences and correlate these with the different amino acid composition of these two collagen types. By analyzing the averaged microdensitograms of the two types of D-banding, differences in type II fibrils were observed: a) the overlap zone was more electron-transparent on average; b) there was a different hierarchy of positive peaks (intraperiod dark bands) b1, b2 and c1; c) a more marked negative peak (intraperiod light band X3) corresponded to the C-terminal extrahelical region; d) there was a different D-location of one negative peak (intraperiod light band Y3). At the same time, different values were calculated for type I and type II tropocollagen molecule total amino acid "bulkiness" (molecular volume/length ratio) and "hydrophobicity", on the basis of literature-reported data. Consistency was found between these values and the differences of the two types of D-banding. The assumption of a correlation between the above two amino acid parameters and negative staining band patterns was supported.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1993

"GA-banding": a new terminology and a study of the glutaraldehyde-induced band pattern of type I collagen fibrils.

The negative staining D-band patterns of glutaraldehyde-reacted collagen fibrils were compared to those of fresh collagen fibrils. Negative staining was obtained by using 1% phosphotungstic acid (PTA) diluted in phosphate buffer 0.1 M, pH 7.4. The stain was dripped onto grids where native type I collagen fibrils, isolated from bovine dermis, were collected. Ultrastructural pictures were digitized to form microdensitometric traces. The glutaraldehyde-induced patterns showed fifteen light bands (micrographs) or negative peaks (microdensitograms), whose D-locations were constant and characteristic. In order to make this ultrastructural feature a precise reference parameter, these bands were called "GA-bands" and numbered. When comparing this averaged microdensitogram with that of negatively stained fresh fibrils, peak "GA1" and peak "GA7" were observed to correspond to peak "X2" (known as N-terminal telopeptide region) and peak "X3" (known as C-terminal telopeptide region) respectively, while there was no correspondence between the other peaks of the two traces. It means that the regions where preexistent crosslinks exist are unaffected by interaction with glutaraldehyde, while in the other regions, where new glutaraldehyde-crosslinks occur, the band pattern modifies. The unchanged D-location of peaks "GA1" and "GA7" leads to the conclusion that the D-shortening induced by glutaraldehyde is not due to shifting of tropocollagen molecules but to changes in their orientation with respect to fibril long axis or in secondary-tertiary structure of collagen.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

A gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist versus a low-dose oral contraceptive for pelvic pain associated with endometriosis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of goserelin versus a low-dose cyclic oral contraceptive (OC) in improving pelvic pain in women with endometriosis and to compare recurrence of symptoms during follow-up. DESIGN: Open-label, randomized trial. SETTING: University hospital endometriosis center. PATIENTS: Fifty-seven women with moderate or severe pelvic pain and laparoscopically diagnosed endometriosis. INTERVENTIONS: Six-month treatment with goserelin depot (n = 29) or a low-dose cyclic OC (n = 28) followed by 6-month follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Variation in severity of symptoms during treatment and at the end of follow-up as shown by a linear analog scale and a verbal rating scale. RESULTS: At 6 months of treatment, a significant reduction in deep dyspareunia was observed in both groups, with goserelin superior to the OC at linear analog scale assessment. Nonmenstrual pain was diminished on both scales without differences between treatments. Women taking the OC experienced a significant reduction in dysmenorrhea. At the end of follow-up, symptoms reappeared without differences in severity between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose cyclic OCs may be a valuable alternative for the treatment of dysmenorrhea and nonmenstrual pain associated with endometriosis. Symptoms recurred in most subjects 6 months after drug withdrawal.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Endometrial patterns during therapy with danazol or gestrinone for endometriosis: structural and ultrastructural study.

We treated 36 women with laparoscopically proven endometriosis with danazol 600 mg/d (n = 17) or gestrinone 5.0 mg/wk (n = 19) for 6 months. Endometrial samples were obtained before and at 3 and 6 months of treatment and were studied by light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. At 3 months of treatment, the endometria of the danazol-treated patients were more atrophic than those of the women who received gestrinone. Some cell organelle involution was evident in patients of both treatment groups. After 6 months of treatment, marked endometrial atrophy was observed in all the patients, including those in whom spotting had occurred. The ultrastructural investigation demonstrated complete involution of the cytoplasmic organelles with cytoplasmic collapse in glandular cells of patients treated with danazol, whereas in the gestrinone group degeneration phenomena were observed in both nucleus and cytoplasm. Irregular secretory transformation was seen in the endometria of patients in both groups. Long-term treatment with danazol caused endometrial atrophy similar to that induced by gestrinone, but it appeared earlier; thus, the former drug seems preferable in short-term treatment.

Adult↗