Supercooled water and the kinetic glass transition.
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Journal Article↗
Biomedical subjects
P Gallo
Publications and source records attributed to P Gallo.
Giant pseudoaneurysm of the extracranial vertebral artery: case report.
Pseudoaneurysms of the extracranial vertebral artery are extremely rare due to their deep location and the anatomical protection of this artery. They can be caused by cervical traumas (firearm injuries, sports, hyperextension of the neck and iatrogeny). The authors report the case of a patient who developed a giant pseudoaneurysm of the extracranial vertebral artery after surgery for the removal of a tumor of the cerebellopontine angle in which surgical lesion of the artery occurred. Treatment was performed by endovascular approach. Literature is reviewed and comments are made on the physiopathogeny of the lesion and the different forms of treatment.
Adult↗
[Anatomo-clinical correlations of cardiopathies diagnosed during fetal life: analysis of 110 cases of cardiopathies].
BACKGROUND: Fetal echocardiography has achieved high sensibility and specificity rates and it has become a reliable tool to detect intra-uterine congenital heart defects. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to clarify the potential of anatomo-clinical correlation in fetal echocardiography not only for diagnosing heart defects, but also for understanding and following their morphogenesis and natural history in utero. METHODS: Nine hundred pregnancies, referred by several first-level centers, have been followed up from the sixteenth week to birth, and the newborn baby has been studied, too. In case of either voluntary abortion, or intra-uterine or neonatal death, a post-mortem examination was performed whenever possible. RESULTS: Since 1982, 110 fetal heart defects have been detected: 94 were diagnosed by means of fetal echocardiography (in 21/94 an autopsy was carried out) and 16 were directly observed at the post-mortem (spontaneous or voluntary abortions not previously referred). The heart defects most commonly observed were the atrioventricular (14.5%), ventricular (9.0%), and atrial (7.2%) septal defects, the absent left atrioventricular connection (8.1%), and atrial isomerism (6.3%). The congenital heart defects diagnosed in utero vary from those observed in the newborn and infants in terms of distribution (because of difficulties in diagnosis, selection of pregnancies, and differences in manifestation) and morphology (because of the coexistence with other extracardiac malformations, the changes due to altered fetal hemodynamics, and the intrauterine evolution of the morphology of cardiac defects). CONCLUSIONS: Heart defects observed in utero have a peculiar prevalence and a different morphology in respect to their infantile counterparts and can be followed in their morphologic evolution.
Abortion, Induced↗
[Mitochondrial cardiomyopathies: a new entity in cardiology research and diagnosis].
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Aging↗
Specific interaction between cyclophilin and cyclic peptides.
Cyclophilin A, a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans is isomerase that catalyzes the otherwise slow isomerization of Xaa-Pro imidic bond, specifically binds the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A. Herein we report evidence on binding of cyclolinopeptide A and its synthetic analogue, [Aib5,6-D-Ala8]cyclolinopeptide, to bovine cyclophilin A. Binding experiments were monitored by fluorescence, CD, and second-derivative spectroscopies, evidencing no remarkable rearrangement of protein structure organization. The possibility that cyclolinopeptide A could act as a substitute of cyclosporin A in the immunosuppression modulation is also briefly discussed.
Amino Acid Isomerases↗
The pattern of desmin filaments in myocardial disarray.
"Myofiber disarray" defines a nonparallel arrangement of cardiac myocytes. The presence of a sufficient quantity of myocardial fibers showing this change is considered to be a specific histological feature of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, small zones of myofiber disarray are found in both cardiac hypertrophy and other pathological conditions. Recently, we demonstrated an altered pattern of desmin intermediate filaments in disarrayed myofibers from specimens of HCM. To test the hypothesis that desmin alterations might be specific for cardiomyopathy, we performed an immunohistochemical study on myocardial surgical samples from 11 patients with HCM and from 12 patients with tetralogy of Fallot (toF) on 14 endomyocardial biopsy specimens (EMBs) from transplant recipients with myofiber disarray surrounding areas of scarring (previous biopsy site) and on specimens of four autoptic hearts with severe acquired left ventricular hypertrophy. Disarrayed myofibers from all specimens of HCM showed the following abnormalities in the pattern of desmin intermediate filament distribution: (1) decrease or loss of labeling of intercalated discs and Z bands, (2) longitudinal arrangement of desmin intermediate filaments, and (3) intense, granular staining of several myocytes. This spectrum of desmin alterations was never observed in disarrayed myofibers in specimens of toF or acquired myocardial hypertrophy or in EMBs. Altered distribution of desmin intermediate filaments seems to be specific to myofiber disarray in HCM and it may play a role in the altered myocyte arrangement in HCM.
Adult↗
The costimulatory molecule B7 is expressed on human microglia in culture and in multiple sclerosis acute lesions.
B7 is a costimulatory molecule which is expressed on antigen-presenting cells and which plays a pivotal role in T cell activation and proliferation. To elucidate mechanisms regulating intracerebral immune responses, expression of B7 was examined in cultured microglial cells and in brain tissue from control and multiple sclerosis patients. Using immunocytochemical and polymerase chain reaction techniques, we show that B7 was expressed in cultured microglial cells from the human embryonic brain. Microglia also bound the soluble form of the B7 receptor CTLA-4 (CTLA-4-Ig). B7 gene expression and binding of anti-B7 antibodies and CTLA-4-Ig increased after treatment with interferon-gamma. B7 was not inducible in human astrocytes. Human microglia expressed other costimulatory molecules, such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1, LFA-1 and LFA-3. In sections of multiple sclerosis brains, B7 immunoreactivity was detected on activated microglia and infiltrating macrophages within active lesions. In chronic lesions, only perivascular cells were stained. B7 immunoreactivity was undetectable in sections from Alzheimer's disease or normal brain tissue. These data suggest that B7 may be involved in T cell activation and lesion development in multiple sclerosis and that the regulated expression of B7 on microglia may contribute to the local stimulation of T cell proliferation and effector functions.
Acute Disease↗
[Mutism after posterior fossa tumor surgery. Report of 2 cases].
The authors present two cases of mutism after posterior fossa surgery. Two patients aged 16 and 5 years old respectively with astrocytoma and medulloblastoma, developed mutism after the operation. Topographic aspects of the condition are discussed and its neurological expression.
Adolescent↗
[Considerations on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy of renal venous aneurysm].
An aneurysms of a renal vein is very uncommon an entity and even more so when a visceral vein is affected. The venous aneurysms are generally asymptomatic and are detected either at post-mortem examination or by Echography, CT scan or MR investigation. Occasionally they become symptomatic because of rupture, thrombosis and embolism, but even in those cases they are difficult to be diagnosed and can be life threatening particularly when bleeding occurs. Exceptionally an aneurysm of a visceral vein is an unexpected intraoperative finding and is detected during an abdominal procedure undertaken for other pathology. In our experience a true aneurysm of the main trunk of the left renal vein was detected during a procedure of aorto-bifemoral by-pass graft repair for chronic aorto-iliac occlusive disease. The aneurysm was resected and the vein repaired by direct suture. Congenital weakness of the vein wall was very likely the cause as suggested by the extreme thinness and media atrophy of the aneurysm and normal appearance of the wall of renal vein and inferior vena cava. Differences between varices and aneurysms of the renal veins are discussed as well as indications for surgical treatment.
Aneurysm↗
Aneurysms of the infrapopliteal arteries.
Atherosclerotic aneurysms involving only infrapopliteal arteries are extremely rare. The present report describes a patient with two completely separate aneurysmal dilatations involving the tibioperoneal trunk and the anterior tibial artery. To our knowledge, this condition has not been previously described. An international bibliographic review was also made, collecting four patients affected by atherosclerotic infrapopliteal aneurysms. Clinical presentation, radiographic findings, and surgical management are discussed.
Aged↗
[Endomyocardial biopsy in pediatric cardiovascular pathology].
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Adolescent↗
[Comparison between nutritional status of school children of low socioeconomic level from Santiago, Chile and Sao Paulo, Brazil].
The objectives of this study were to determine and compare the anthropometric profiles of schoolchildren from low income household from Santiago, Chile and Sao Paulo, Brasil. A total of 1779 children from Santiago and 2210 from Sao Paulo were evaluated. Z-score distribution of the height/age (H/A), weight/age (W/A) and weight/height (W/H) indicators were utilized to assess the children. As a reference, the pattern recommended by WHO was used. The distribution of the H/A curves from both cities were deviated to the left. This deviation was more evident in Santiago. This situation points out the existence of a greater prevalence of growth retardation of the children from this city. In relation to the W/A indicator, both groups showed a similar distribution curves, Sao Paulo group however, had an increment of cases in the left extreme of the curve, under -2 < >. According to the W/H indicator the profile of both groups are different; one-Santiago-is deviated to the excess and Sao Paulo to the deficit. The differences observed in both groups of children studied indicated higher deficit of height, but lower current undernutrition in Santiago and increased wasting with conservated height in Sao Paulo. The observed situation suggests that the distinct patterns are consequences of socioeconomic factors at different stages of the growing process of the children and/or etnic differences of the population.
Anthropometry↗
Functional significance of myocellular hypertrophy in dilated cardiomyopathy: histomorphometric analysis on 40 endomyocardial biopsies.
Dilated cardiomyopathy is characterized by an increase in myocardial mass. In order to study the functional significance of myocellular hypertrophy in dilated cardiomyopathy, 40 left ventricular endomyocardial biopsies were investigated, by comparing morphometrical data with functional indexes. The extent of myofibril volume fraction was directly associated with a better functional condition, as measured by ejection fraction (p < 0.01) and cardiac index (p < 0.05). Patients with oversize nuclei (nuclear area being > or = 70 microns 2) had a worse functional status (p < 0.05), as determined by ejection fraction and cardiac index. Finally, the extent of interstitial fibrosis was directly correlated to mean right atrial pressure (p < 0.01), right ventricular end-diastolic pressure (p < 0.02) and mean pulmonary artery pressure (p < 0.02). In conclusion, a worse functional status correlates with a reduced myofibril volume fraction and an oversize nuclear area, as in hypertrophic cells undergoing regressive changes.
Adult↗
[Coronary disease in heart transplantation].
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Coronary Disease↗
Prenatal echocardiographic diagnosis of right atrial isomerism.
A prenatal diagnosis of right atrial isomerism is often inferred through the recognition of a constellation of cardiac anomalies on the four-chamber view or by the detection of visceral heterotaxy and asplenia. However, the actual occurrence of discordance between the arrangement of the atria and thoracic and abdominal organs makes the identification of the morphology of both atrial appendages the only reliable way to make a final diagnosis of atrial isomerism. Three cases of right atrial isomerism with visceral heterotaxy and a complex cardiac defect, diagnosed in utero by cross-sectional and colour flow Doppler echocardiography, are reported. In all the patients, the right atrial isomerism was associated with an atrioventricular septal defect, a single aortic outlet from the right ventricle, and total anomalous venous return. The diagnosis of right atrial isomerism, always confirmed by neonatal re-evaluation and/or by post-mortem examination, was made through identifying two pyramidal atrial appendages in an echocardiographic transverse plane at the level of the atria and of the origin of the great arteries. This report demonstrates that a final intrauterine diagnosis of atrial isomerism is possible, whatever the visceral situs is.
Echocardiography, Doppler↗
Circulating autoantibodies against central nervous system (CNS) antigens in neurological diseases.
A number of investigators have reported the detection of circulating autoantibodies directed against serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neuronal antigens in certain neurological clinical conditions. Using an immunohistochemical technique, we examined the sera and (when available) the CSF from 120 patients with several neurological disorders and 40 controls in order to analyze the incidence and specificity of the detection of these autoantibodies. Circulating autoantibodies were found in 3 patients with cerebellar degeneration and in 3 patients with stiff-man syndrome, and different staining patterns were revealed in the same disease. Our findings confirm the reported disease-specificity of the detection of these autoantibodies in biological fluids, suggesting that a standardized immunohistochemical technique could constitute an easy and reproducible diagnostic tool in selected neurological conditions. These procedures enable the identification of an immunological pathogenesis of the disease and, in some case, early cancer detection. When atypical staining patterns of staining are found at immunohistochemistry, Western blot characterization of the recognized neuronal antigens is recommended.
Aged↗
Histomorphometric features predict 1-year outcome of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy considered to be at low priority for cardiac transplantation.
Cardiac transplantation for patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) and poor left ventricular function usually is postponed until symptoms have become intolerable. However, the short-term prognosis of this subset of patients has been defined poorly. Accordingly, the 1-year outcome was investigated in 30 patients with IDC with an ejection fraction < or = 25% who showed a stabilized clinical condition at assessment for transplantation and were therefore considered at low priority for surgery. During follow-up, 10 patients (group A) showed a poor outcome: 2 died suddenly, and 8 had hemodynamic failure (4 of whom underwent transplantation and 4 of whom died from heart failure while on the waiting list). The remaining 20 patients (group B) had a benign outcome. At assessment for cardiac transplantation, clinical and electrocardiographic features, left ventricular dimension, and ejection fraction were similar between the two groups. However, group A patients had higher left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (p < 0.03) and lower cardiac index (p < 0.02) and stroke volume index (p < 0.03) with respect to group B patients. In addition, the former had a lower myofibril volume fraction (p < 0.001) and a higher nuclear area (p < 0.001) compared with the latter. Multivariate analysis selected myofibril volume fraction (p < 0.001) and nuclear area (p < 0.005) as the only independent predictors of a poor 1-year outcome. The combination of myofibril volume fraction < or = 89% and nuclear area > 50 microns 2 was found in all group A patients (sensitivity 100%) but in only 2 group B patients (specificity 90%). It is concluded that in patients with IDC considered at low priority for cardiac transplantation: (1) the 1-year freedom from a cardiac event is lower than that currently expected with surgery; (2) histomorphometric features, that is, the concurrency of low myofibril volume fraction and increased nuclear area, predict short-term outcome; and (3) endomyocardial biopsy at assessment for cardiac transplantation might improve the rationalization of the timing of the procedure.
Adult↗
Cerebrovascular and neurological disorders associated with antiphospholipid antibodies in CSF and serum.
Paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 70 patients with inflammatory and non-inflammatory neurological diseases, as well as 10 sera from patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAS), six of which presented with cerebrovascular ischemic syndromes, were studied for the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) of the G and M classes. PAS sera and some selected paired CSF and serum specimens, were also analyzed for the presence of anti-phosphatidylserine (PS) and anti-phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) antibodies. High levels of IgG and IgM ACA were synthesized intrathecally only in patients with neurosyphilis. Patients with other infectious or inflammatory neurological diseases very rarely showed detectable levels of ACA in serum and/or CSF. ACA were found not only in patients with untreated PAS but also in the serum of 3/7 patients with migraine, thus confirming a relationship between ACA and vascular disorders. The search for PS and PE antibodies disclosed that in PAS patients the serum titers of these antibodies mirrored ACA IgG and IgM titers, while they were never found in the CSF.
Adolescent↗