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Biomedical subjects

P Graziotti

Publications and source records attributed to P Graziotti.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Autoantibodies against Leydig cells in patients after spermatic cord torsion.

This study is aimed at searching for the presence of circulating antibodies against frozen sections of human testis, ovary and trophoblast in patients that had spermatic cord torsion. Sixty-eight sera samples were studied. Nine patients (13.2%) were positive for organ specific anti-testis autoantibodies. Six patients were positive for antibodies against Leydig cells: five were positive only with the indirect immunofluorescence technique of complement fixing (ITT/CF), the sixth patient was positive only with the indirect immunofluorescence technique (ITT). The other three patients were positive for antibodies against germ line cells: two patients were positive with both techniques, the third was positive only with indirect immunofluorescence technique. Eight of these patients were negative for antibodies against adrenal cortex while only one case was positive with indirect immunofluorescence technique both on adrenal cortex and Leydig cells. Human lyophilized testis absorbed the reactive antibodies against Leydig cells and germ line cells, while adrenal cortex and lyophilized testosterone were ineffective. This study shows the identification of a specific antibody against Leydig cells and germ line cells in patients after spermatic cord torsion.

Adolescent↗

[An unusual case of entero-vesical fistula caused by a foreign body].

The authors describe a rare case of sigmoidovesical fistula due to a foreign body and giving trouble 30 years after the causative surgical procedure, namely an oopheroctomy. The cause of the fistula was apparently some suture material that had not been reabsorbed. Surgical excision of the fistula produced a complete recovery.

Castration↗

[Treatment of renal carcinoma with metastases].

They stress the need to evaluate certain characteristic of the tumour metastasis in the light of a series of limit events pin-pointing the lack of understanding of the natural history of renal carcinoma. They stress the need to evaluate certain characteristic of the tumour which are not normally taken into consideration by the surgeon: rate of proliferation, monitoring of hormonal receptors, and immunological monitoring. They reach the conclusion that treatment of renal carcinoma with metastasis must be the outcome of multidisciplinary planning.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

[Surgery of the left renal vein (author's transl)].

The authors offer a review of surgical procedures involving the left renal vein and including some major manipulation (disobstruction, ligature, or change of connections), either as part of a planned operation or as an emergency measure. They stress the concept that the surgical trunk of the left renal vein can be ligated and cut with no permanent functional damage to the left kidney.

Adult↗

Mechanisms for intracellular calcium regulation in heart. I. Stopped-flow measurements of Ca++ uptake by cardiac mitochondria.

Initial velocities of energy-dependent Ca(++) uptake were measured by stopped-flow and dual-wavelength techniques in mitochondria isolated from hearts of rats, guinea pigs, squirrels, pigeons, and frogs. The rate of Ca(++) uptake by rat heart mitochondria was 0.05 nmol/mg/s at 5 microM Ca(++) and increased sigmoidally to 8 nmol/mg/s at 200 microM Ca(++). A Hill plot of the data yields a straight line with slope n of 2, indicating a cooperativity for Ca(++) transport in cardiac mitochondria. Comparable rates of Ca(++) uptake and sigmoidal plots were obtained with mitochondria from other mammalian hearts. On the other hand, the rates of Ca(++) uptake by frog heart mitochondria were higher at any Ca(++) concentrations. The half-maximal rate of Ca(++) transport was observed at 30, 60, 72, 87, 92 microM Ca(++) for cardiac mitochondria from frog, squirrel, pigeon, guinea pig, and rat, respectively. The sigmoidicity and the high apparent K(m) render mitochondrial Ca(++) uptake slow below 10 microM. At these concentrations the rate of Ca(++) uptake by cardiac mitochondria in vitro and the amount of mitochondria present in the heart are not consistent with the amount of Ca(++) to be sequestered in vivo during heart relaxation. Therefore, it appears that, at least in mammalian hearts, the energy-linked transport of Ca(++) by mitochondria is inadequate for regulating the beat-to-beat Ca(++) cycle. The results obtained and the proposed cooperativity for mitochondrial Ca(++) uptake are discussed in terms of physiological regulation of intracellular Ca(++) homeostasis in cardiac cells.

Animals↗

Immunological and clinical study of patients after spermatic cord torsion.

We studied 25 patients with spermatic cord torsion occurring after puberty. The elapsed time between the onset of symptoms and observation varied from 6 months to 7 years. We evaluated the semen of these patients and found that the number of spermatozoa was lower in patients with an atrophic testis (13 patients) than in those with a normal testis or, in those with torsion treated by orchidectomy. Moreover, the number of spermatozoa was lower in patients who had torsion for more than 2 years before being checked (12 patients) than in patients who had a more recent torsion (13 patients). Agglutinating antibodies were present in 20% of the patients but, they are not correlated fertility or sterility. Immunofluorescent antibodies also were not correlated with the changes found by semen analysis. They are not present in patients with a normal testis at the time of observation. On the other hand, immobilizing antibodies were significantly correlated with sterility and, particularly with changes of motility. These data suggest that sterility after spermatic cord torsion is correlated with an autoimmune mechanism. It may occur particularly in those patients with atrophic testes and has a slow onset taking more than 2 years to evolve completely.

Adolescent↗

Histological study of the removed testes of patients after acute monolateral spermatic cord torsion.

Infertility is frequent in patients after spermatic cord torsion usually when the twisted testis is not removed and becomes atrophic. The mechanism seems to be autoimmune. To see if the atrophic testis may be the source of antigens we carefully examined the histology of atrophic testis of 6 patients. The two patients that had spermatic cord torsion more than 3 years before surgical removal did not show recognizable testicular structures while the other patients that had spermatic cord torsion less than 1 year still showed some spermatogonia in the tubules and some spermatozoa in the epididymis. We think that the surgical removal of the atrophic testis after more than 1 year from the acute episode is of doubtful utility for preventing or blocking the autoimmune phenomenon because testicular antigens are absent and the autoimmune mechanism is able to maintain itself.

Acute Disease↗