Biomedical subjects

M Rosselli

Publications and source records attributed to M Rosselli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Low serum tryptophan levels, reduced macrophage IDO activity and high frequency of psychopathology in HCV patients.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a key enzyme of tryptophan (TRP) metabolism, is induced in various tissues of patients with bacterial and viral infection or with neoplastic diseases. This induction is considered the main cause of the decreased serum TRP levels, the reduced brain serotonin synthesis and the occurrence of psychopathological disorders often detected in patients with chronic infections or different forms of cancer. We studied 89 subjects including: (a) 39 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and mild liver damage (b) 40 healthy controls, and (c) 10 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We measured serum TRP and kynurenine levels and IDO activity in macrophages. Furthermore, each patient had an accurate psychopathological evaluation. HCV-infected patients had lower (-28%) serum TRP concentrations than healthy volunteers or HBV-infected patients with comparable liver damage. Depression and anxiety symptoms were particularly common in HCV patients. Unexpectedly, serum kynurenine levels and IDO activity in cultured macrophages (under both basal or stimulated conditions) were lower in HCV patients than in controls. Our study shows that HCV patients have reduced serum TRP levels and confirms that they frequently suffer from anxiety and depression-related symptoms. The reduced IDO activity found in the macrophages of these patients suggest that HCV infection may hamper macrophage functions.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Ifosfamide, cisplatin, and 13-Cis retinoic acid for patients with advanced or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a phase I-II study.

BACKGROUND: Ifosfamide (IFO) and cisplatin (CDDP) are active drugs in the treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck. 13-Cis retinoic acid (RA), along with its antiproliferative and differentiating activity on SCC cell lines, has immunomodulatory and chemopreventive effects. The objective of the current Phase I-II study was to evaluate the combination of CDDP, IFO, and RA in patients with advanced or recurrent SCC of the head and neck. METHODS: Patients with measurable recurrent, metastatic, or locally advanced SCC of the head and neck were eligible. Patients received a fixed dose of 20 mg/m(2) CDDP, and IFO was administered with sodium mercaptoethanesolfonate in three-dose increments (1000 mg/m(2), 1200 mg/m(2), and 1500 mg/m(2)) up to dose limiting toxicity. Both drugs were given for 5 consecutive days every 3 weeks. RA (0.5 mg/kg) was given orally for 5 days per week. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients either with locoregional recurrence or distant metastases (50%) or with locally advanced SCC of the head and neck beyond surgery or radiation therapy (50%) were entered into the trial. Fifteen patients were enrolled in the Phase I study, during which the maximum tolerated dose of IFO was 1500 mg/m(2). In the Phase II study (CDDP 20 mg/m(2) and IFO 1200 mg/m(2)), the response rate was 72% (95% confidence interval, 57-83%). After a median follow-up of 23 months, the median time to disease progression was 10.4 months (range, 2.9-47.2+ months), and the median overall survival was 12.95 months (range, 1.7-47.2+ months). Two patients were converted from a partial response to a complete response with RA. Toxicity was relatively well tolerated and caused no deaths. Grade 3-4 neutropenia was observed in 16 patients, and Grade 2-3 diarrhea toxicity occurred in 9 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The dose and schedule for the combination of CDDP, IFO, and RA that were used in this study are feasible and active in the treatment of patients with SCC of the head and neck, with durable responses and a relatively well tolerated toxicity.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutation in inflammatory bowel disease in a Mediterranean area.

BACKGROUND: Thromboembolism has been reported to be associated with inflammatory bowel disease. AIM: To evaluate the association of factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutation with inflammatory bowel disease in a population of patients with thromboembolic events and inflammatory bowel disease and in a control population of patients with inflammatory bowel disease without thromboembolic events. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A series of 18 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and a history of arterial or venous thrombosis and 45 patients with inflammatory bowel disease without thromboembolic events were evaluated for the presence of factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutation. Frequency of gene mutation was compared with its occurrence in 100 healthy controls. RESULTS: One patient with inflammatory bowel disease without thromboembolic events was heterozygous for factor V Leiden mutation. whereas no patient with a thromboembolic event had factor V Leiden mutation. No patients (either cases or controls) had prothrombin gene mutation. In the healthy population the frequency of factor V Leiden and prothrombin mutation was 5% and 2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Data emerging from the present study do not support any role of factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutation as the cause of thromboembolism in inflammatory bowel disease.

Colitis, Ulcerative↗

PubMed2001

Phase II study of epirubicin, mitomycin C, and 5-fluorouracil in hormone-refractory prostatic carcinoma.

Management of metastatic prostatic carcinoma when it becomes refractory to hormonal therapy is controversial, and no standard treatment exists. Nevertheless, chemotherapy for hormone-refractory prostatic carcinoma (HRPC) has shown some advantages compared with the best supportive care. In a prospective phase II study, we evaluated the combination of epirubicin (E), mitomycin C (MMC), and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in patients with HRPC. Twenty-eight patients with HRPC were treated with a combination of E (30 mg/m2), 5-FU (750 mg/m2), and MMC (5 mg/m2) day 1 and 2, every 4 weeks. Treatment was continued until evidence of disease progression or excessive toxicity. Patients were monitored with serial measurements of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Forty-seven percent of the patients exhibited a reduction of serum PSA concentration and an objective response; 38% exhibited disease stability, and 15% had disease progression. Toxicity was substantial. The median time to progression was 7.3 months (range, 1.7-16.8 months) and median survival was 14.5 months (range, 1.6-38.4 months). Performance status improved in 80% of patients, and bone pain was relieved in 70%. Thus the combination of E, MMC, and 5-FU shows activity in the treatment of HRPC, giving substantial palliation of symptoms. In one patient, PSA values remained low even when the tumor had progressed.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2001

Combined 5-fluorouracil infusion with fractionated epirubicin and cyclophosphamide in advanced breast cancer.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) given by continuous infusion (c.i.) allows higher dose delivery, causes less myelosuppression, and may interfere with repair of DNA damage caused by epirubicin and cyclophosphamide. With this rationale, we conducted a phase II study to test the activity and toxicity of 5-FU c.i., epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Twenty-eight patients with MBC were entered in the trial. 5-FU (200 mg/m(2)) was administered by c.i. from day 1 to day 20. Epirubicin (35 mg/m(2)) and cyclophosphamide (400 mg/m(2)) were administered from day 2 to day 4, every 4 weeks. All patients were evaluable for response and toxicity. A total of 125 courses of chemotherapy were administered, with a median of 4 per patient (range: 2--6). Toxicity, assessed using World Health Organization criteria, was as follows: nausea and vomiting grade III--IV occurred in 36%, alopecia (grade III) in 86%, neutropenia (grade III--IV) in 50%, and cardiac toxicity grade I--II in 11% of patients. Five patients (17.9%) had a complete response to therapy, and 16 (57.1%) had a partial response (response rate 75%, 95% CI 55--89%). Disease stability and progression occurred in 4 (14.3%) and 3 (10.7%) patients, respectively. Median time to progression was 13.1 months (range: 3.4--66.9+), and median survival time was 27.7 months (range: 5.4--67.1+). Outpatient treatment with combined 5-FU c.i., epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide shows high activity in advanced breast cancer and gives prolonged remission with acceptable toxicity.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Prevalence of cytomegalovirus infection in severe refractory ulcerative and Crohn's colitis.

OBJECTIVES: Cytomegalovirus infection has been reported as a cause of refractory inflammatory bowel disease, but no data are available on its prevalence in severe colitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and outcome of cytomegalovirus infection in a consecutive series of patients with severe steroid refractory colitis admitted to our department from 1997 to 1999. METHODS: Among 62 patients with severe colitis, 55 with ulcerative colitis and seven with Crohn's disease, 19 (30%) were resistant to intravenous steroids and bowel rest. In all of them, rectal biopsies were examined for cytomegalovirus (the flexible proctoscopy being performed without air insufflation and limited to the first 10 cm). Buffy coat preparation on leukocytes was also performed to detect systemic infection. If cytomegalovirus was not detected, cyclosporine was started. RESULTS: In seven (five with ulcerative colitis and two with Crohn's disease) out of 19 (36%) patients with refractory disease, cytomegalovirus was diagnosed in the rectal specimens as well as by buffy coat preparation. Five patients went into remission after antiviral treatment (three with ganciclovir and two with foscarnet). One patient did not respond and was operated on. In one patient, cytomegalovirus was found in the surgical specimen. CONCLUSIONS: Cytomegalovirus infection is a frequent cause of severe refractory colitis. Rectal biopsy should always be performed in severe steroid-resistant colitis.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Estradiol metabolites inhibit endothelin synthesis by an estrogen receptor-independent mechanism.

Estradiol inhibits endothelin-1 synthesis, an effect that may contribute to the cardiovascular protective effects of estradiol. Recent findings that estradiol inhibits neointima formation in mice lacking estrogen receptors suggests that the cardiovascular protective effects of estradiol may be mediated by means of an estrogen receptor-independent mechanism. Because 2-hydroxyestradiol and 2-methoxyestradiol, metabolites of estradiol with little/no affinity for estrogen receptors, are more potent than estradiol in inhibiting vascular smooth muscle cell growth, we investigated whether these metabolites also inhibit endothelin-1 synthesis by means of an receptor-independent mechanism. Treatment of porcine coronary artery endothelial cells for 4 to 24 hours with 0.001 to 1 micromol/L of estradiol, 2-hydroxyestradiol, or 2-methoxyestradiol concentration-dependently inhibited basal as well as serum-induced (2.5%), TNFalpha-induced (10 ng/mL), angiotensin II-induced (100 nmol/L), and thrombin-induced (4 U/mL) endothelin-1 synthesis. Estradiol, 2-hydroxyestradiol, and 2-methoxyestradiol also inhibited serum-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase activity. As compared with estradiol, its metabolites were more potent in inhibiting endothelin-1 secretion and mitogen activated protein kinase activity. The inhibitory effects of 2-hydroxyestradiol and 2-methoxyestradiol on endothelin-1 release and mitogen-activated protein kinase activity were not blocked by ICI182780 (50 micromol/L), an estrogen receptor antagonist. Our findings indicate that the estradiol metabolites 2-hydroxyestradiol and 2-methoxyestradiol potently inhibit endothelin-1 synthesis by means of an estrogen receptor-independent mechanism. This effect of estradiol metabolites may be mediated by inhibition of mitogen activated protein kinase activity and may contribute to the cardioprotective effects of estradiol.

2-Methoxyestradiol↗

PubMed2001

Rehabilitation of Balint's syndrome: a single case report.

Very little research has been done in the area of rehabilitation of the visual perceptual deficits observed after Balint's syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by difficulties with visual scanning, dysmetria secondary to visual perceptual deficits, and an inability to perceive more than 1 object at a time. This article describes the effects of a neuropsychological treatment protocol on a 23-year-old patient who suffered a fat embolism involving the territory of the posterior cerebral arteries. A neuropsychological evaluation carried out 12 months after the brain embolism disclosed Balint's syndrome, alexia without agraphia, visual agnosia, prosopagnosia, and memory impairments. The rehabilitation protocol included both visuoperceptual retraining and a functional program designed to provide rehabilitation in contexts that were meaningful to the patient. After 1 year of treatment, a second neuropsychological evaluation was carried out. Significant improvement was demonstrated in terms of both objective testing and the return of an integrated and productive lifestyle.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2001

Neuropsychological test scores, academic performance, and developmental disorders in Spanish-speaking children.

Limited information is currently available about performance of Spanish-speaking children on different neuropsychological tests. This study was designed to (a) analyze the effects of age and sex on different neuropsychological test scores of a randomly selected sample of Spanish-speaking children, (b) analyze the value of neuropsychological test scores for predicting school performance, and (c) describe the neuropsychological profile of Spanish-speaking children with learning disabilities (LD). Two hundred ninety (141 boys, 149 girls) 6- to 11-year-old children were selected from a school in Bogotá, Colombia. Three age groups were distinguished: 6- to 7-, 8- to 9-, and 10- to 11-year-olds. Performance was measured utilizing the following neuropsychological tests: Seashore Rhythm Test, Finger Tapping Test (FTT), Grooved Pegboard Test, Children's Category Test (CCT), California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version (CVLT-C), Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT), and Bateria Woodcock Psicoeducativa en Español (Woodcock, 1982). Normative scores were calculated. Age effect was significant for most of the test scores. A significant sex effect was observed for 3 test scores. Intercorrelations were performed between neuropsychological test scores and academic areas (science, mathematics, Spanish, social studies, and music). In a post hoc analysis, children presenting very low scores on the reading, writing, and arithmetic achievement scales of the Woodcock battery were identified in the sample, and their neuropsychological test scores were compared with a matched normal group. Finally, a comparison was made between Colombian and American norms.

Achievement↗

PubMed2001

Personality profile and neuropsychological test performance in chronic cocaine-abusers.

Little is known about the association between personality disorders and neuropsychological test performance in chronic cocaine users. The aims of the present study were to (1) pinpoint the specific neuropsychological characteristics of chronic cocaine abusers, (2) analyze their personality profile, and (3) explore the association between personality traits and neuropsychological test performance. A sample of 42 drug-abusers (mean age = 34.15; SD = 6.73; mean educational level = 11.44; SD = 2.01) was selected from a state rehabilitation facility and was compared to a control group (mean age = 34.53; SD = 9.01; mean educational level = 12.29; SD = 1.31). The following information was collected for each subject: (1) A clinical history adapted from Horton (1996). (2) The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) (Morey, 1991). (3) A neuropsychological test battery including: Arithmetic and Digits subtests from the WAIS-R, California Verbal Learning Test, Trial Making Test, Verbal Fluency tests, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Benton Visual Retention Test, Stroop Neurological Screening Test and Hooper Visual Organization. Thirty-seven of the drug-dependent subjects obtained an abnormal score in at least one PAI scale. The personality profile of the drug-dependent subjects found via the PAI pointed to a Borderline/Antisocial personality, frequently associated with mania features. In six of the drug-abusers, a normal personality profile was observed. Neuropsychological test performance scores were within the low average or borderline range. The most abnormal scores were observed in attention, memory, and executive functioning tests. The results did not show any robust association between personality profile and neuropsychological test performance.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Phase 1B study of subcutaneously administered interleukin 2 in combination with 13-cis retinoic acid as maintenance therapy in advanced cancer.

At present, no therapeutic strategy is available to maintain responses achieved in patients treated with chemotherapy. This Phase IB study was aimed at identifying the optimal biological dose of chronic maintenance therapy using s.c. interleukin (IL) 2 and oral 13-cis retinoic acid (RA) in patients with either tumor stabilization or response to chemotherapy. IL-2 has no cross-resistance with chemotherapy and improves cancer-related lymphocytopenia, a factor that determines poor prognosis, whereas RA has immunomodulatory properties, potentially synergistic with IL-2. Eighteen patients with advanced solid tumor who achieved a response or stable disease as a result of standard chemotherapy, received RA (0.5 mg/kg) and IL-2 5 days/week for two cycles of 3 weeks/month for up to 1 year. Three doses of IL-2 were used: 9.0, 4.5, and 1.8 x 10(6) IU/day. Monitoring consisted in a weekly blood differential count and a bimonthly assessment of tumor markers, CD4+, CD8+, and natural killer cells. Patients were evaluated for toxicity, response maintenance, time to progression, and survival. Patients chronically treated with 9 and 4.5 x 10(6) IU of IL-2 developed dose-limiting toxicity grade III or IV, consisting of fever, fatigue, thrombocytopenia, mucositis, and local cutaneous reaction. No grade III or IV toxicity was observed with the 1.8 x 10(6) IU dose, considered as the optimal biological dose. Fifty courses of IL-2 were administered (median, 3 per patient). An increase in total lymphocyte number, CD4:CD8 ratio and natural killer cell count was observed at all of the three dose levels with respect to baseline values. Two patients with a partial response to chemotherapy achieved a complete response after 6 and 7 months, respectively, of IL-2 + RA maintenance therapy. Median time to progression and overall survival were, respectively, 8.1 and 13.7 months (range, 2-48.8+ months). Low-dose IL-2 + RA as maintenance therapy after chemotherapy is, therefore, feasible and well tolerated and improves immunological parameters known to have a prognostic value in cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Primary chemotherapy in stage IV ovarian cancer. A prospective phase II study.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: Non-curative surgical cytoreduction of advanced tumors is associated with increased proliferation of the remaining tumor cells. Thus, appropriate preoperative chemotherapy should prevent both cell proliferation and the increase of resistant cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of primary chemotherapy (P-CT) in previously untreated patients with stage IV ovarian cancer (OC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients with stage IV OC were treated from January 1993 to April 2000 with P-CT. Eligibility criteria included: histologically or cytologically confirmed, unresectable stage IV OC and performance status < or = 3. P-CT consisted of four courses of carboplatin, cyclophosphamide and epirubicin until October 1996, and paclitaxel, carboplatin thereafter. Surgery followed P-CT. After the operation patients received two further courses of chemotherapy that were tailored according to their individual response. Median (M) age was 61 years, range 32-73; median performance status was 2. A total number of 197 courses of CT were administered, median 5.7 per patient. RESULTS: Complete or partial response (CR, PR) was observed in 28 patients (response rate 82%, 95% CI: 65.4% to 93.2%), disease stability and progression (SD, PD) was observed in three and three patients, respectively. Median time to progression was 16.45 months (range 4.8-90.4+), median survival time was 28 months (range 4.5 - 90.4+): 1-year survival rate was 94%. Toxicity according to WHO: nausea and vomiting grade (G) 2, 30% of patients; gastrointestinal G 2-3, 20% of patients; alopecia G 3, 88% of patients; hematological G 3-4, 73% of patients; neurologic G 2, 12% of patients. Nine pathological CRs were observed. CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant treatment with CBDCA with either CTX and EPI or Taxol is feasible and shows activity in OC.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Methoxyestradiols mediate the antimitogenic effects of estradiol on vascular smooth muscle cells via estrogen receptor-independent mechanisms.

Estrogen receptors (ERs) are widely held to mediate the ability of 17 beta-estradiol (estradiol) to attenuate injury-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) leading to vascular lesions. However, recent findings that estradiol prevents injury-induced vascular lesion formation in knock-out mice lacking either ER alpha or ER beta seriously challenge this concept. Here we report that the local metabolism of estradiol to methoxyestradiols, endogenous metabolites of estradiol with no affinity for ERs, is responsible for the ER-independent inhibitory effects of locally applied estradiol on rat VSMC growth. These finding imply that local vascular estradiol metabolism may be an important determinant of the cardiovascular protective effects of circulating estradiol. Thus, interindividual differences, either genetic or acquired, in the vascular metabolism of estradiol may define a given female's risk of cardiovascular disease and influence the cardiovascular benefit she receives from estradiol replacement therapy in the postmenopausal state. These findings also imply that nonfeminizing estradiol metabolites may confer cardiovascular protection in both women and men.

2-Methoxyestradiol↗

PubMed2000

Classical (HIV-negative) cutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma: a case report and a short review of the literature.

Classical Kaposi's sarcoma is a sporadic disease with a markedly higher incidence in the Mediterranean area. The two original forms of this disease, the Caucasian (classical) and the African, are now well-documented entities. The immunosuppression-related form is a new, recently described subset of the disease, arising from the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection and/or the widespread use of immunosuppressive treatments. Cutaneous lesions are the most common manifestation of classical Kaposi's sarcoma. The case described in the present report is characterised by a history of slowly evolving disease affecting the lower extremities without spread to thoracic or abdominal organs, a lengthy remission following initial radiation therapy, and local relapse with a further remission after a second course of radiation. Current treatments, in particular radiation therapy, achieve disease control or at least control of disease-related symptoms (mainly pain) in most cases, even when cure is not possible.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination-Spanish version: the influence of demographic variables.

The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination Battery (BDAE) is one of the most widely used aphasia tests worldwide. Information about general population performance, however, is limited. This paper analyzes the effects of gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), academic achievement, and occupation on the BDAE Spanish version. The BDAE was administered to a randomized sample of 156 occupationally active 19-60-year-old participants (75 male and 81 female) from two SES groups. Gender and age had a significant effect on some reading and writing subtests. Body-part naming and mechanics of writing scores were significantly decreased in the low SES group. Education had a significant impact over most of the BDAE subtests. A stepwise regression model showed that academic achievement was best able to predict the variance in BDAE scores with a low (< 15%) to modest (> 17%) but significant capability (F MANOVA p < .01). A factor analysis disclosed 7 factors that explained 67% of the total variance.

Achievement↗

PubMed2000

Randomized trial of sequential administration of G-CSF and GM-CSF vs. G-CSF alone following peripheral blood progenitor cell autograft in solid tumors.

A trial was conducted to investigate whether the sequential administration of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) could accelerate reconstitution of hematopoiesis, compared with G-CSF alone following high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT). A group of 34 consecutive patients with solid tumors undergoing HDCT and autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplantation was studied. Conditioning regimen included carboplatin, etoposide, mitoxantrone, and melphalan for breast cancer and cyclophosphamide or ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide for the other tumors. HDCT was delivered from day -3 to day -1. PBPC were infused on day 0, and on the same day growth factors were administered subcutaneously (s.c.) 5 microg/kg each. Seventeen patients were randomized to receive G-CSF from day 0 to day 13 after HDCT (arm A), and 17 patients received G-CSF from day 0 to day 6 and GM-CSF from day 7 to day 13 (arm B). Patients were stratified, and their characteristics were homogeneous in both arms for age, performance status, and number of previous chemotherapy courses and CD34+ infused. The median time to absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >500/microl was 10 days in arm A and 9 days in arm B (p = 0.96). Days to platelet (PLT) count >20,000 were not different in the two treatment arms (p = 0.1), but patients randomized to arm A had a lower platelet count compared with patients in arm B. One month after PBPC transplantation, a statistically significant difference in PLT count was observed (arm A median 150x10(3)/microl (90-310), arm B median 254x10(3)/microl (117-387),p = 0.0013). The days patients had fever >38 degrees C were 39 in arm A and 26 in arm B (p = 0.18). The difference in the length of hospital stay was not statistically significant between the groups (Mann-Whitney sum rank test). After a median follow-up of 30 months, 21 patients were alive and 20 were disease free. These data show that the two growth factors are associated with different patterns of hematopoietic recovery, and larger randomized trials in groups of more homogeneous patients will be needed to define the effects and benefits of combination growth factor therapies.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Estradiol inhibits smooth muscle cell growth in part by activating the cAMP-adenosine pathway.

Estradiol inhibits smooth muscle cell growth; however, the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Because estradiol stimulates cAMP synthesis and adenosine inhibits cell growth, we hypothesized that the conversion of cAMP to adenosine (ie, the cAMP-adenosine pathway) mediates in part the inhibitory effects of estradiol on vascular smooth muscle cell growth. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effects of estradiol (0.001 to 1 micromol/L) on serum-induced DNA, collagen, and total protein synthesis and cell number in the absence and presence of 1, 3-dipropyl-8-p-sulfophenylxanthine (10 nmol/L; A(1)/A(2) adenosine receptor antagonist), KF17837 (10 nmol/L; selective A(2) adenosine receptor antagonist), 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (10 nmol/L; selective A(1) adenosine receptor antagonist), and 2', 5'-dideoxyadenosine (10 micromol/L; adenylyl cyclase inhibitor). Estradiol inhibited all measures of cell growth, and the concentration-dependent inhibitory curves for estradiol were shifted to the right (P<0.05) by 1,3-dipropyl-8-p-sulfophenylxanthine, KF17837, and 2',5'-dideoxyadenosine but not by 8-cyclopentyl-1, 3-dipropylxanthine. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of estradiol were enhanced by stimulation of adenylyl cyclase with forskolin and by inhibition of adenosine metabolism with erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine plus iodotubericidin (adenosine deaminase and kinase inhibitors, respectively). Estradiol also increased levels of cAMP and adenosine, and these effects were blocked by 2',5'-dideoxyadenosine (P<0.05). Our results support the hypothesis that estradiol stimulates cAMP synthesis and cAMP-derived adenosine regulates smooth muscle cell growth via A(2) adenosine receptors. Thus, the cAMP-adenosine pathway may contribute importantly to the antivasooclusive effects of estradiol.

Adenosine↗

PubMed2000

Syntactic comprehension, verbal memory, and calculation abilities in Spanish-English bilinguals.

This article analyzes the interfering effect of the second language (L2) on the first language (L1) in native Spanish speakers living in the United States. We examined 3 linguistic aspects: (a) syntactic comprehension, (b) verbal memory, and (c) calculation abilities. We carried out 2 different studies. In the 1st study, we studied syntactic understanding in 50 Spanish-English bilinguals. For all participants, L1 was Spanish and L2 was English, and all learned English early in life and had attended English schools. Results for the Spanish Syntactic Comprehension Test (Marcos & Ostrosky, 1995) were compared with the normative results obtained with 40 Spanish monolingual participants. We observed that the closer to the English syntax the sentences were, the easier it was for the participants to understand them. Participants who had been exposed to English between the ages of 5 and 12 outperformed participants exposed to English before 5 years of age. Language preference correlated with syntactic comprehension. Women outperformed men. In the 2nd study, verbal memory and calculation abilities were examined in L1 and L2 in a group of 85 Spanish-English bilinguals. Parallel versions of the different tests were administered in Spanish and English. The results indicated some significant differences between the 2 languages in several verbal learning and calculation ability subtests. Most of the verbal memory subtests were better performed in L1. Scores on tasks measuring speed and calculation accuracy were higher in the participant's native language. Best spoken language proved to be a significant variable in some verbal memory subtests performed in English but not in Spanish. We analyze implications of bilingualism in neuropsychological testing. We also present some suggestions to minimize the bilingualism effect.

Adult↗