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R Rossi

Publications and source records attributed to R Rossi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

[Testosterone and the prostate].

Testosterone has a distinct role in benign and malignant diseases of the prostate. Therefore, knowledge about the physiological interactions between testosterone and the prostate and the special circumstances under testosterone substitution are of great impact for urologists.PSA value and prostate volume do not show significant changes under testosterone substitution therapy. Even if there are no long-term studies in men under substitution due to decreased testosterone, the therapy seems to be safe under regular control of the prostate with PSA and sonography, and the risk for prostate carcinoma is not increased. In hypogonadal men with high-grade PIN under testosterone substitution, 1 in 20 cases with suspicious rectal examination exhibited a carcinoma; the PSA values did not show a difference between men with or without PIN.Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether men after successful radical prostatectomy should receive testosterone substitution.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Chronic paracoccidioidomycosis in a female patient in Austria.

Presented here is a case of chronic paracoccidioidomycosis that occurred in a Cuban female living in Austria and was first misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. The clinical picture was one of progressive pulmonary insufficiency with fever, weight loss and productive cough. Since antituberculous therapy was started but did not achieve a long-term clinical response, an intensive diagnostic work-up was performed. Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was then diagnosed by histopathology, serology, microbiology and molecular identification. Antifungal therapy was commenced immediately with amphotericin B (1 mg/kg/day) for 10 days, followed by voriconazole (200 mg/day po) for at least 3 months, and the lesions disappeared almost completely. This report presents the first published case of imported paracoccidioidomycosis in a female patient in Austria.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Anthracycline-based chemotherapy as primary treatment for intravascular lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Optimal therapeutic management of intravascular lymphoma (IVL) lacks precise guidelines. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The clinico-pathological features of 38 HIV-negative patients with IVL were reviewed to define efficacy of chemotherapy in these malignancies. Clinical characteristics of 22 patients treated with chemotherapy and of 16 untreated patients were compared in order to understand better the impact and causes of potential patient selection. RESULTS: Median age was 70 years (range 34-90), with a male/female ratio of 0.9; 23 (61%) patients had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) > 1; 21 (55%) had systemic symptoms. Cutaneous lesions and anemia were significantly more common among patients treated with chemotherapy; central nervous system (CNS) and renal involvement were significantly more common among untreated patients. Chemotherapy was associated with a response rate of 59% and a 3-year overall survival of 33 +/- 11%. Five of six patients with CNS involvement received chemotherapy: four of them died early; only one patient, treated with adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, methotrexate, bleomycin and prednisolone (MACOP-B) followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), was alive at 19 months. High-dose chemotherapy supported by ASCT was indicated at diagnosis in another patient (43 years of age, stage I), who was alive at 71 months, and at relapse after cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOP) in two patients who died early after transplantation. PS < or = 1, disease limited to the skin, stage I, and use of chemotherapy were independently associated with better outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Anthracycline-based chemotherapy is the standard treatment for IVL. However, survival is disappointing, with a relevant impact of diagnostic delay and lethal complications. More intensive combinations, containing drugs with higher CNS bioavailability, are needed in cases with brain involvement, and the role of high-dose chemotherapy supported by ASCT should be further investigated in younger patients with unfavorable features.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Squamous cell carcinoma of the eyelid treated with photodynamic therapy.

The ocular tissues can be the site of a number of malignant tumors in adults. Approximately 5% to 10% of all skin tumors occur in the eyelid. Incidence studies indicate that basal cell carcinoma is the most frequent malignant eyelid tumor (90%) followed by squamous cell carcinoma (9%). A 55-year-old man presented a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of 8 mm diameter, localized in the middle third of the lower eyelid, 3 mm under the eyelid margin on the eyelids. The histopathologic examination of a biopsy specimen showed the typical features of squamous cell carcinoma. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with topical 5-aminolevulic acid (ALA) after Frost suture was employed. Very good results were obtained with rapid healing, without invasiveness, and without anesthesia. There was no evidence of scar formation and no signs of recurrence at 6 months follow-up. Many therapeutic methods have been suggested for squamous cell carcinoma of the eyelid. We consider photodynamic treatment of eyelid skin malignancies to be of great interest and it may represent an interesting future perspective for their management especially when surgical intervention cannot be tolerated by the patient.

Aminolevulinic Acid↗
PubMed2004

New proposal for the treatment of nodular basal cell carcinoma with intralesional 5-aminolevulinic acid.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment modality using a photosensitizer, light and oxygen to cause photochemically-induced selective cell death. Topical PDT is most suitable for thin lesions such as superficial basal cell carcinoma and actinic keratoses in dermatology. Results with PDT as treatment of thicker lesions such as nodular basal cell carcinoma appear to have a limited role because the photosensitizer or the light cannot penetrate deeply enough into the thicker tumor volume. In this preliminary study we use intralesional administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid to enhance the efficacy of the photosensitivity of nodular basal cell carcinomas, thus improving clinical cure.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Hippocampal MRI volumetry in cognitively discordant monozygotic twin pairs.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether hippocampal atrophy, a proxy for incipient Alzheimer's disease, can be detected in non-demented monozygotic co-twins of demented twins by using volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Seven pairs of monozygotic female twins discordant for cognitive function (mean (SD) age 75 (4) years), and 10 age and education matched healthy controls (seven women, three men; mean age 73 (3) years) were studied with volumetric MRI. RESULTS: The mean normalised right hippocampal volume was 31% lower (p = 0.002) in the demented twins, and 6% lower (p = 0.45) in the non-demented twins than in the controls. In the left hippocampus, the mean normalised volume was 36% lower (p<0.001) in the demented twins, and 9% lower (p = 0.13) in the non-demented twins than in the controls. CONCLUSIONS: Significant hippocampal atrophy was detected in the demented twins compared with the controls. This is in line with previous imaging and pathological studies, with hippocampus showing the early changes in Alzheimer's disease. In the non-demented twins, only a minor, non-significant reduction was observed in the hippocampal volumes compared with the controls. This could reflect gene-environment interactions that have protected the non-demented twins longer than their demented co-twins and contributed to the relative preservation of their hippocampal volumes, or it could be a sign of preclinical Alzheimer's disease in the non-demented twins.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Higher frequency of early local side effects with aqueous versus depot immunotherapy for hymenoptera venom allergy.

Venom immunotherapy has proven a very effective method for the treatment of allergy to Hymenoptera venom. Aqueous instead of depot extracts are prevalently used for this immunotherapy. The advantage of using aqueous extracts has not been fully investigated. We made an open, non-controlled study on 45 subjects sensitized to either Apis mellifera or Vespula spp. Patients were assigned to either a depot (N=27) or an aqueous (N=18) immunotherapy regimen, and side effects were monitored during the induction and the 3-year maintenance phase. The effect of naturally occurring stings during the treatment and after its interruption was recorded as well. Side effects were less frequent with the depot extract both on a "per patient" (22.2% versus 50.0%) and on a "per dose" (2.9% versus 10,2%) basis (p=0.026 and p<0.000, respectively). Better tolerance was mainly due to the lower frequency of local side effects occurring at early times after vaccination. The efficacy of vaccination was comparable in the 2 cohorts, as expected. We conclude that depot immunotherapy to Hymenoptera venom should be preferred to aqueous immunotherapy for the lower occurrence of local side effects. This might influence a better compliance with this potentially life-saving treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Coronary pressure measurement for functional evaluation and treatment of intermediate angiographic stenosis].

Accurate understanding of the physiopathology of a coronary stenosis is a major objective in management during diagnostic coronary angiography. Measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFR) by coronary pressure measurement is a reliable method for evaluating the functional consequences of a lesion of the myocardium. This retrospective monocentric study of 114 patients showed that routine coronary pressure measurement for assessing the functional consequences of intermediate (30 to 70% stenosis) lesions or those of ambiguous topography: was necessary in 4% of diagnostic coronary angiographies enabling an immediate management decision. Using this method, 34% of complementary investigations were not performed (stress test, myocardial scintigraphy, dobutamine stress echocardiography). Seventeen per cent of unnecessary angioplasties were also avoided so that acute coronary event were also avoided when lesions with a FFR >0.75 were not treated by angioplasty. A 10-14% reduction in cost was achieved compared with a strategy of systematic angioplasty in respectively mono- or multivessel disease patients and 39% compared with performing ambulatory myocardial scintigraphy in patients with multivessel disease.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Orthologous myosin isoforms and scaling of shortening velocity with body size in mouse, rat, rabbit and human muscles.

Maximum shortening velocity (V(0)) was determined in single fibres dissected from hind limb skeletal muscles of rabbit and mouse and classified according to their myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform composition. The values for rabbit and mouse V(0) were compared with the values previously obtained in man and rat under identical experimental conditions. Significant differences in V(0) were found between fibres containing corresponding myosin isoforms in different species: as a general rule for each isoform V(0) decreased with body mass. Myosin isoform distributions of soleus and tibialis anterior were analysed in mouse, rat, rabbit and man: the proportion of slow myosin generally increased with increasing body size. The diversity between V(0) of corresponding myosin isoforms and the different myosin isoform composition of corresponding muscles determine the scaling of shortening velocity of whole muscles with body size, which is essential for optimisation of locomotion. The speed of actin translocation (V(f)) in in vitro motility assay was determined with myosins extracted from single muscle fibres of all four species: significant differences were found between myosin isoforms in each species and between corresponding myosin isoforms in different species. The values of V(0) and V(f) determined for each myosin isoform were significantly correlated, strongly supporting the view that the myosin isoform expressed is the major determinant of maximum shortening velocity in muscle fibres.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Reversible S-glutathionylation of Cys 374 regulates actin filament formation by inducing structural changes in the actin molecule.

S-glutathionylation, the reversible formation of mixed disulphides of cysteinyl residues in target proteins with glutathione, occurs under conditions of oxidative stress; this could be a posttranslational mechanism through which protein function is regulated by the cellular redox status. A novel physiological relevance of actin polymerization regulated by glutathionylation of Cys(374) has been recently suggested. In the present study we showed that glutathionylated actin (GS-actin) has a decreased capacity to polymerize compared to native actin, filament elongation being the polymerization step actually inhibited. Actin polymerizability recovers completely after dethiolation, indicating that S-glutathionylation does not induce any protein denaturation and is therefore a reversible oxidative modification. The increased exposure of hydrophobic regions of protein surface observed upon S-glutathionylation indicates changes in actin conformation. Structural alterations are confirmed by the increased rate of ATP exchange as well as by the decreased susceptibility to proteolysis of the subtilisin cleavage site between Met(47) and Gly(48), in the DNase-I-binding loop of the actin subdomain 2. Structural changes in the surface loop 39-51 induced by S-glutathionylation could influence actin polymerization in view of the involvement of the N-terminal portion of this loop in intermonomer interactions, as predicted by the atomic models of F-actin.

Actins↗
PubMed2003

Monochromatic excimer light (308 nm): an immunohistochemical study of cutaneous T cells and apoptosis-related molecules in psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Various types of UVB radiation source (290-320 nm) are used in treating psoriasis and their therapeutic mechanism has been attributed to immunosuppressive properties. Recently, a new UVB source generated by a 308-nm excimer laser has been introduced for the treatment of psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: In this study we investigated the immunohistochemical evaluation of T cells and the expression of various apoptosis-related molecules in the psoriatic hyperproliferative skin before and after treatment with 308-nm monochromatic excimer light (MEL). METHODS: Ten patients (three women and seven men), ranging in age from 29 to 79 years, affected by plaque-type psoriasis vulgaris, were treated with MEL. Biopsies from psoriatic lesions of MEL-treated sites were taken before, 24 h and/or 48 h after the first irradiation and analysed by the immunophosphatase alkaline technique (APAAP). RESULTS: MEL treatment was found to cause a significant decrease in the rate of proliferation of keratinocytes and a relevant depletion of T cells in all psoriatic lesions, 48 h after the first irradiation: 308 nm light eliminated T cells from the psoriatic epidermis and also from the dermis, highlighting the ability of this UVB source to penetrate the skin compared with normal UVB and establish direct cytotoxic action on T cells infiltrating skin lesions. Rapid clearing of psoriatic lesions involves potential molecular targets of UVB in T cells including p53, which is upregulated after direct irradiation with 308-nm UVB. Moreover, Bcl-2 expression in healing psoriasis epidermis after MEL treatment is significantly decreased compared with untreated skin and the TUNEL (TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labelling) technique revealed the presence of relevant apoptotic keratinocytes in the irradiated epidermis. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that psoriatic skin after monochromatic excimer light therapy is associated with significant T-cell depletion and alterations of apoptosis-related molecules accompanied by a decreased proliferation index and clinical remission.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

[Hypothyroidism in dizygotic premature twins due to excessive prepartal vaginal iodine application].

In dizygotic premature twins delivered by Caesarean section after prolonged efforts to effect premature birth we found markedly enhanced thyroid stimulating hormone levels. The mother had been subjected to local polyvidone iodine therapy for seven weeks with PVP suppositories to prevent vaginal infections. Control checks revealed persistently elevated TSH levels, whereas T3/T4 levels were always reduced. Greatly pronounced iodine excretion was seen in the urine of both the babies. This raised the suspicion of iodine-induced hypothyroidism in both children. Substitution with 1-thyroxine was initiated and a withdrawal trial performed after 12 weeks. The patients remained euthyroid after the treatment had been discontinued. Due to possible transfer of iodide to the fetus associated with the risk of iodine-induced hypothyroidism, it is recommended to abstain from vaginal application of iodine during pregnancy.

Cesarean Section↗
PubMed2003

Ifosfamide in the treatment of malignant epithelial ovarian tumors.

Ifosfamide is one of the best-known alkylating agents. In advanced epithelial ovarian cancer, it has been tested in association with cisplatin, achieving results equal, if not better than cyclophosphamide, with acceptable toxicity. In second-line therapy, it shows remarkable activity, even in patients refractory to cisplatin already treated with cyclophosphamide, with more severe, but always manageable toxicity. In gynecological sarcomas, ifosfamide is, together with doxorubicin, the reference drug for chemotherapy.

Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating↗
PubMed2003

Effect of conjugated linoleic acid on meat quality, lipid metabolism, and sensory characteristics of dry-cured hams from heavy pigs.

We investigated conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation administered to heavy pigs, assessing carcass characteristics, meat quality, and sensory characteristics of dry-cured (Parma) ham. Thirty-six pigs, averaging 97 kg BW, were assigned randomly to three feeding groups in which diets were supplemented with either 0, 0.25, or 0.5% (as-fed basis) of a CLA preparation containing 65% CLA isomers. All pigs were slaughtered at 172 kg BW. No (P > 0.05) differences were observed in dressing percentage, loin and ham weight, or pH and color of longissimus and semimembranosus muscle. Tenth-rib backfat thickness tended to be lower (P < 0.10) in carcasses from CLA-fed pigs. The oxidative stability of longissimus muscle was greater (P < 0.05) in pigs fed CLA than control, but only at the longer (300 min) oxidation time. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in adipose tissue of CLA-fed pigs was less (P < 0.05) than that of pigs fed diets devoid of supplemental CLA. Composition of ham fat was markedly affected (P < 0.01) by dietary CLA, with higher saturated fatty acids, lower monounsaturated fatty acids, and higher CLA in the fat of CLA-fed pigs regardless of supplementation level. Although melting quality was improved (P < 0.05), most sensory characteristics and the chemical composition of dry-cured hams were not (P > 0.05) affected by incorporation of CLA. Results indicated that dietary CLA alters lipid metabolism, producing lower concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids and increased concentrations of CLA isomers in the fat of heavy pigs. Moreover, supplementing diets with CLA produced only minimal improvements in Parma ham sensory traits and had no appreciable effects on fresh pork quality.

Adipose Tissue↗