Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Scaglia

Publications and source records attributed to M Scaglia.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Relationship between serum IgE levels and intestinal parasite load in African populations.

Serum IgE determinations and coproparasitological analyses were carried out on 161 individuals from two distinct ethnic groups (Hutus and Twas) from two regions in Rwanda (North and South). The cumulative parasitosis index (calculated for each individual as the sum of the scores for the four most frequent intestinal parasites) show a linear relation with IgE levels up to a plateau, with no clear pattern of correlation between the score for any given parasite and the IgE level. Such a direct quantitative (but not qualitative) relation reproposes the question on the role of IgE immunoglobulins in intestinal parasitoses.

Amebiasis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in heart transplant recipients.

Seven cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) (two in 1988, three in 1989, one in 1990 and one in 1991) have been observed in a group of 241 heart transplant recipients transplanted in Pavia, Italy, from November 1985 through December 1991. Median time to onset of symptoms was 100 days after transplantation (range 59-333 days). Diagnosis was achieved in all patients by cytological examination of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and/or transbronchial biopsy. Clinical and roentgenographic features were remarkably similar in all PCP-affected heart transplant recipients. A dry, persistent hacking cough associated with dyspnoea was consistently observed. Fever ranged from 37.6 to 39.4 degrees C, median leukocyte count and median arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) values were 7,300/mm3 (range 3,000-16,000/mm3) and 61% (range 49.3-93%), respectively. Median CD4+ count at the onset of symptoms was 211/mm3 (range 28-739/mm3). The only patient experiencing a recurrence of PCP had a CD4+ cell count of 28/mm3 at the end of treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX). In all patients human cytomegalovirus was isolated from BAL fluids; however, treatment with TMP-SMX alone (20 mg/kg/day of TMP) was consistently followed by a complete recovery.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mediterranean leishmaniasis in HIV-infected patients: epidemiological, clinical, and diagnostic features of 22 cases.

Twenty-two Italian HIV-infected patients developed leishmaniasis, clinically manifested as visceral (13 cases), cutaneous (2 cases) and disseminated disease (7 cases). Twenty were males and two females (mean age: 32.8 years) with a mean CD4+ cell count of 46.8/microliter at diagnosis; risk factors were intravenous drug use (17 patients) and sexual behaviour (two bisexual, two homosexual, one heterosexual). All but one patient lived or travelled in hypoendemic Italian regions and other Mediterranean countries. Apart from the two patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, the clinico-pathological and biological spectrum of the infection was often atypical, especially in patients with disseminated disease. The diagnosis was routinely made by direct recovery of parasites in biological specimens, mainly in bone marrow aspirate, whereas serology was negative or borderline in most of the patients. Among 17 in vitro isolates, Leishmania infantum was the only species involved with previously undescribed isoenzyme patterns in two cases. Treatment with antimonials and other drugs showed only temporary clinical improvement in some patients. Relapses were the rule. Leishmaniasis confirms itself as an opportunistic infection in HIV-positive persons. Secondary chemoprophylaxis should be considered in cases of relapsing disease.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reappearance of human diphyllobothriasis in a limited area of Lake Como, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Very few sporadic cases of autochthonous diphyllobothriasis have been reported in Italy during the past 20 years, probably due to the drastic decrease or disappearance of some fish species, mainly Perca fluviatilis L., known as the intermediate host of the infective larval stage of this tapeworm. However, increasing consumption of raw or undercooked fish during the last years as influenced by Oriental cuisine, played an important role in a number of new single cases of the infection or microepidemics. PATIENTS: We describe six cases which were diagnosed within a period of 4 months, which all originated from the area of Lake Como (Lombardy region). All subjects had previously eaten raw perch fillets. Four individuals complained of gastrointestinal signs and symptoms, whereas two were asymptomatic. DISCUSSION: Parasitological diagnosis was achieved in four cases by recovery of typical operculated eggs in stool specimens; in two others by morphological features of proglottids recovered from feces. Treatment with niclosamide, as a single oral dose, cured the infection in all subjects. This is the first report of this infection in Italy in the last 10 years.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transmission of Entamoeba histolytica within a family complex.

A limited outbreak of symptomatic intestinal and extraintestinal amoebiasis within a family complex is described. The infection was almost certainly transmitted by a Philippino housemaid, who was an asymptomatic carrier of Entamoeba histolytica infection acquired in her native country. Starch-gel electrophoresis showed isoenzyme patterns characteristic of pathogenic zymodeme XIX in all the amoebic isolates.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Microsporidian spore wall: ultrastructural findings on Encephalitozoon hellem exospore.

A study of the spore wall of Encephalitozoon hellem was performed on thin sections, freeze-fracture, and deep-etched samples to obtain information on spore wall organization and composition. Our observations demonstrate that the spore wall is formed by an inner 30-35 nm electron-lucent endospore and an outer 25-30 nm electron-dense exospore. The exospore is a complex of three layers: an outer spiny layer, an electron-lucent intermediate lamina and an inner fibrous layer. Freeze-fracture and deep-etching techniques reveal that the intermediate lamina and the inner fibrous layer result from the different spatial disposition of the same 4-nm thick fibrils. In thin sections the endospore reveals a scattered electron-dense material that appears in the form of trabecular structures when analyzed in deep-etched samples. The presence of chitin in the exospore is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ultrastructural features of spindle microtubule organization during the nuclear division of Encephalitozoon hellem.

Ultrastructural studies were carried out to describe the nuclear division cycle of a strain of Encephalitozoon hellem isolated from an Italian AIDS patient. The nuclear division occurs during the proliferative vegetative phase and it is characterized by the intranuclear mitosis and by the lack of centrioles. The spindle termini are electron dense spindle plaques (ESPs), resembling to the spindle pole bodies (SPBs) of Saccharomycetes. The ESPs are bifacial organella forming microtubules on both nucleoplasic and cytoplasmic faces. In the outer layer of the spindle plaque are present vesicular elements lined by a double membrane of unknown function. The peculiar morphological features of E. hellem ESPs indicate that both intranuclear spindle and cytoplasmic microtubules are involved in the nuclear division.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗