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Biomedical subjects

P Pazzi

Publications and source records attributed to P Pazzi.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Routine determination of biliary lipid composition with the entero-test.

A simple method for the assay of biliary lipids was used for routine determination of biliary cholesterol saturation index (CSI) in 17 healthy subjects, 40 untreated patients with radiolucent gallstones and 21 gallstone patients treated with ursodiol. The method is based on collection of bile with the Entero-Test, a device for easy sampling of gastrointestinal contents. The procedure was easy to perform and well accepted by the patients. Both CSI and the cholesterol content of bile were higher in untreated gallstone patients than in controls, and were significantly lower in treated than in untreated patients. Normal CSI was found in 35% of untreated gallstone patients, while 24% of healthy subjects had supersaturated bile. Supersaturated bile was still present in 14% of ursodeoxycholic acid treated patients, suggesting inefficacy of therapy. These results demonstrate the possibility of performing easy, routine determination of biliary lipid composition, which can yield useful information for the management of gallstone patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Structural characterization of the bronchial epithelium of subjects with chronic bronchitis and in asymptomatic smokers.

A morphometric study was carried out on biopsy specimens taken from 40 smokers (27 with chronic bronchitis and 13 asymptomatic) submitted to bronchoscopy to identify and quantify the possible structural differences between the two groups. The chronic bronchitic group had a mean age of 65.67 years and 57.04 pack-years of smoking, the asymptomatic group had a mean age of 44.69 years and 22.62 pack-years of smoking. 70 biopsy specimens (45 from chronic bronchitics and 25 from asymptomatic smokers), in which large areas of best-preserved and perpendicularly cut epithelium were present, were considered suitable for the study and examined by light and transmission electron microscopy. The mean thickness of surface epithelium (p < 0.001), the number of layers of basal cells (p < 0.001), the intercellular space of the superficial zone of the epithelium (p < 0.05) and the percentage of abnormal bronchial cilia (p < 0.05) were significantly greater in patients with chronic bronchitis than in asymptomatic smokers. No significant difference between the two groups was observed in the thickness of the lamina reticularis of the basement membrane. Goblet cell hyperplasia was more marked in chronic bronchitics than in the asymptomatic smokers (p < 0.001), whereas the frequency of epidermoid metaplasia did not show a significant difference. The morphological study of the bronchial epithelium has allowed the identification of transitional cells, which gives rise to the concept that epidermoid metaplasia may result from conversion of mucous cells. This finding suggests that the different histologic types appearing in lung tumours may originate from one undifferentiated pluripotential stem cell, which is able to differentiate into different histogenetic types.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Acute gastroduodenal mucosal injury after cisplatin plus etoposide chemotherapy. Clinical and endoscopic study.

The effects on gastric and duodenal mucosa induced by cisplatin plus etoposide (PE) chemotherapy were investigated in 32 patients with lung cancer. They were submitted to gastroduodenoscopy before receiving cisplatin 100 mg/m2 (day 1) plus etoposide at a mean dose of 107 mg/m2 (days 1, 3 and 5). Endoscopic examination was repeated on day 8. Before chemotherapy, 22 patients showed normal endoscopic appearance and 10 minimal lesions (3 or fewer erosions). After chemotherapy, 16 remained normal, 1 had minimal lesions and 15 developed major lesions: 11 gastric or duodenal multiple erosions, 1 diffuse erosive gastritis, 2 gastric and 1 duodenal ulcer (p less than 0.001). No difference was observed in the number of vomiting episodes nor in severity of upper gastrointestinal symptoms between the patients who remained normal and those who developed mucosal injury. We conclude that PE chemotherapy can have a properly called gastroduodenal toxicity, leaving nausea and vomiting out which are rather due to central than peripheral mechanisms. Some trials are necessary to investigate which kind of drugs (H2-receptor blockers, sucralfate, prostaglandin E analogues) may be useful in preventing acute gastroduodenal mucosal injury induced by PE chemotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Hyperkalaemia during infusion of hyperosmolar amino acid solutions enriched with branched chain amino acids. Report of two cases.

We report two cases of unexplained hyperkalaemia during infusion of amino acid solutions enriched with branched chain amino acids. The increase in potassium levels developed 24 hours after starting infusion and normalization was obtained within 24 hours after stopping infusion. Acidosis, acute renal failure, concomitant cell destruction and haemolysis were excluded; antialdosteronic diuretics were not given. The authors hypothesize that hyperkalaemia could be due to a sudden increase in plasmatic osmolality caused by the hyperosmolarity (900 mOsm/l) of the solution, not counterbalanced by adequate ADH release owing to malfunctioning of hypothalamic osmoreceptors. At present this hypothesis is lacking in experimental proofs.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Acquired ciliary defects in bronchial epithelium of patients with chronic bronchitis.

In order to quantify and classify ciliary changes of bronchial epithelium in chronic bronchitis, an ultrastructural study on biopsy specimens of 30 patients submitted to bronchoscopy was performed. Fourteen patients were affected by endoscopically and clinically confirmed chronic bronchitis, 8 showed an endoscopic picture of chronic bronchitis but without the clinical features of this pathology, 8 were free of chronic bronchitis. The mean percentage of abnormal cilia in control subjects (1.9 +/- 1.0%) was significantly lower than in patients either with only 'endoscopic' chronic bronchitis (5.7 +/- 2.6%; p less than 0.001) or with 'clinical' chronic bronchitis (14.8 +/- 15.9%; p less than 0.05). Like the ciliary body, the ciliary tip can also show some abnormalities. It is possible to subdivide them in two types: (1) ciliary membrane blebs; (2) ciliary membrane extrusions, variously shaped and sized, with homogeneous content. Bronchial cilia abnormalities become more serious as soon as the clinical picture worsens and this is likely to contribute to the impairment of the mucociliary clearance in chronic bronchitis patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Clinical importance of echographic screening of the entire abdomen].

Unsuspected abnormalities are occasionally detected during real-time examinations. To determine the frequency of such findings detected during the standard ultrasound examination of the entire abdomen, the records of 765 consecutive patients were reviewed. A significant number of occult abnormalities were detected: approximately one-fourth of all abnormalities were found in the abdominal survey. The influence of the abdominal survey on the clinical management and improved radiological consultation are discussed.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1989

Campylobacter-like organisms, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and gastric lesions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

A histological study was performed in order to evaluate the prevalence of Campylobacter-like organisms (CLO) and gastric antral lesions in 85 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients using NSAIDs, and in 100 nonrheumatoid outpatients comparable in terms of sex and age, not using NSAIDs. Histological evidence of gastritis was a common finding both in RA patients (88.2%) and in nonrheumatoid outpatients (89.0%). On the other hand, CLO were detected in a significantly lower proportion (p less than 0.001) of RA patients than outpatients (30.6 and 59.0%, respectively). Considering each NSAID used separately (aspirin, diclofenac sodium and ketoprofen), no significant difference in the presence of CLO in the three groups was found; in the small group of patients treated with aspirin, however, bacteria were never detected. MICs of each NSAID used against 15 isolates of Campylobacter pylori were also determined.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1989

[The effect of age and sex on gallbladder motor dynamics. An echographic study].

Aging and female sex are major risk factors for cholesterol gallstones: in addition to hepatic secretion of lithogenic bile, decreased gallbladder contractility may play a role in such physiological conditions. This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of age and sex on gallbladder kinetics in healthy subjects. Gallbladder volume was measured on the US images of 157 fasting subjects using the sum-of-cylinders method. No significant difference was observed between males and females. On the contrary, age was shown to have a significant positive correlation with fasting gallbladder volume, particularly in males. In a second group of 63 healthy volunteers gallbladder volumes were evaluated both before and after a standard meal. The subjects were grouped according to age, and fasting gallbladder volume appeared to be significantly greater in the groups formed by older people. Gallbladder volumes were compared in younger groups (under 35), and gallbladder emptying resulted to be much more complete in males than in females. On the contrary, no significant difference was observed between males and females over 50--which suggests a possible role of sex- and age-related hormonal factors. The above changes in gallbladder function may facilitate bile stasis which might in turn contribute to the increased risk for cholesterol gallstones notoriously associated with advanced age and female sex.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Patterns of physical modes of contact between Campylobacter pylori and gastric epithelium: implications about the bacterial pathogenicity.

Since the exact mechanisms of the pathogenicity of Campylobacter pylori are not known, we performed an ultrastructural study with the aim of focusing on patterns of possible physical contact between C. pylori and gastric epithelium, and of considering them in relation to the bacterial pathogenicity. Among 20 random consecutive patients referred for routine gastroscopy, we studied ultrathin sections from the 11 patients with Campylobacter-like organisms, and recognized three patterns of physical contact between bacteria and epithelial cells. These patterns seem in accord with published data of C. pylori toxicity, and they could represent different evolutive stages of the infection.

Campylobacter↗
PubMed1988

Structural and chemical characterization of gallstones resistant to dissolution therapy.

X-ray diffraction, i.r. spectroscopic, and chemical analyses have been carried out on radiolucent gallstones resistant to dissolution therapy. Cholesterol represents the main component of all the examined stones, while the ratio between the amounts of pigmented material and calcium carbonate is about 1 in the inner and outer layers of the stones and 3 in the medial layer. Calcium carbonate is present in two distinct crystalline forms: vaterite, which is the main inorganic crystalline phase, and calcite. The cell parameters of vaterite and calcite are shorter in the inner and outer layers of the stones than in the medial layer. The observed variation of the cell parameters has been related to the substitution of copper to calcium in the carbonate structures, on the basis of the data obtained on vaterite and calcite synthesized in presence of different copper concentrations in solution. The results indicate that the failure of the dissolution therapy can be related to the inhomogeneous distribution in the stones of calcium carbonate and calcium bilirubinate.

Calcium↗
PubMed1988

HPLC assay of conjugated bile acids in gastric juice during ursodeoxycholic acid (Deursil) therapy of bile reflux gastritis.

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the direct assay of the taurine and glycine conjugated bile acids in human gastric juice is described. After extraction with Sep-Pak C(18) cartridges, compounds are baseline resolved on a reversed-phase column and detected by UV absorption. The procedure is linear from 10 micromol l(-1) to 1200 micromol l(-1), with recovery rates ranging from 87 to 100%. The present method is applicable to the quantification of bile acid conjugates in human gastric bile with satisfactory sensitivity, selectivity and precision. Intragastric bile acid compositions in 10 patients with bile reflux gastritis during Deursil or placebo treatment are presented.

Journal Article↗