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Biomedical subjects

S Angeloni

Publications and source records attributed to S Angeloni.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Pharmacological prophylaxis of hepatic encephalopathy after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: a randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatic encephalopathy is a frequent event after transjugular-intrahepatic-portosystemic-shunt (TIPS), especially during the first months. Aim of this study was to compare two different treatments (lactitol 60 g/day, rifaximin 1200 mg/day) with no-treatment in the prevention of post-TIPS hepatic encephalopathy. METHODS: Seventy-five consecutive cirrhotics submitted to TIPS were randomized to receive either one of the above treatments or no-treatment. The main end-point was the occurrence of an episode of overt hepatic encephalopathy during the first month post-TIPS. Before the procedure and weekly thereafter the patients were evaluated by examining their mental status, asterixis, ammonia and trail-making-test Part-A (TMT-A). RESULTS: The three groups were comparable for age, sex, etiology, Child-Pugh-score, post-TIPS porto-systemic gradient, previous hepatic encephalopathy, basal values of ammonia and psychometric performance. Twenty-five patients developed hepatic encephalopathy (33%, CI 95%=22-45%). One-month incidence was similar in the three groups (P=0.97). Previous hepatic encephalopathy (Relative Hazard=3.79;1.27-11.31) and basal-TMT-A Z-score>1.5 (RH=3.55;1.24-10.2) were predictors of post-TIPS encephalopathy at multivariate analysis. A <5 mmHg porto-systemic gradient was also significantly related to the occurrence of encephalopathy. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that treatment with lactitol or rifaximin is not effective in the prophylaxis of hepatic encephalopathy during the first month after a TIPS.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Glycoprofiling with micro-arrays of glycoconjugates and lectins.

To facilitate deciphering the information content in the glycome, thin film-coated photoactivatable surfaces were applied for covalent immobilization of glycans, glycoconjugates, or lectins in microarray formats. Light-induced immobilization of a series of bacterial exopolysaccharides on photoactivatable dextran-coated analytical platforms allowed covalent binding of the exopolysaccharides. Their specific galactose decoration was detected with fluorescence-labeled lectins. Similarly, glycoconjugates were covalently immobilized and displayed glycans were profiled for fucose, sialic acid, galactose, and lactosamine epitopes. The applicability of such platforms for glycan profiling was further tested with extracts of Caco2 epithelial cells. Following spontaneous differentiation or on pretreatment with sialyllactose, Caco2 cells showed a reduction of specific glycan epitopes. The changed glycosylation phenotypes coincided with altered enteropathogenic E. coli adhesion to the cells. This microarray strategy was also suitable for the immobilization of lectins through biotin-neutravidin-biotin bridging on platforms functionalized with a biotin derivatized photoactivatable dextran. All immobilized glycans were specifically and differentially detected either on glycoconjugate or lectin arrays. The results demonstrate the feasibility and versatility of the novel platforms for glycan profiling.

Caco-2 Cells↗
PubMed2003

Malnutrition is not related to alterations in energy balance in patients with stable liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Little information are available on the relationship between energy balance and the alterations in nutritional status occurring in cirrhotic patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the daily energy balance in clinically stable cirrhotic patients with or without malnutrition. PATIENTS: Seventy-four consecutive cirrhotic patients and nine healthy controls were studied. METHODS: Basal energy expenditure was measured by indirect calorimetry and adjusted according to the patients' physical activity to estimate the daily energy expenditure. Food intake was evaluated based on a 3-day dietary diary. Nutritional status and body composition were assessed using skinfold anthropometry and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, respectively. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients in the cirrhotic group were classified as severely malnourished according to anthropometric parameters. Two different patterns of soft-tissue loss were observed in the malnourished cirrhotic group: a significant reduction in fat mass and in fat-free mass was observed in males, whereas, females showed a significant reduction in fat mass only. Basal energy expenditure was similar in all groups, while the non-protein respiratory quotient was lower in cirrhotics notwithstanding their nutritional status. This suggests that lipids were the preferred oxidized fuel in the post-absorptive state in these patients. No difference in the estimated daily energy expenditure and energy intake was observed among groups. Lipid content of the diet was significantly lower in malnourished cirrhotics than in controls (33.1+/-1% vs 37.8+/-1%, P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Cirrhotic patients in stable clinical condition with malnutrition show a normal energy balance.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1979

Determination of antithrombin activity by an amidolytic and a clotting procedure.

Plasma antithrombin activity was measured using an amidolytic method (substrate Chromozym TH) and a clotting method. The mean antithrombin values found in 76 hospital outpatients were 9.4 micronmol/min/ml with the amidolytic procedure and 100.1% of antithrombin activity with the clotting procedure. The two methods correlate fairly well (r = 0.85, P less than 0.01) and show satisfactory reproducibility. Coefficients of variation of 5.9% and 8.8% were obtained respectively with the amidolytic and the clotting procedures. In the presence of very high levels of fibrinogen degradation products, falsely elevated antithrombin activity levels were observed with the clotting procedure but the amidolytic method is essentially unaffected. It is concluded that both methods are suitable for determining antithrombin activity but a well-standardised amidolytic procedure has advantages.

Aniline Compounds↗
PubMed1977

New method for determining thrombin-clottable fibrinogen.

We describe a new method for determination of thrombin-clottable fibrinogen, which eliminates the systematic error caused by occlusion of other serum proteins in the fibrin clot and reduces the sensitivity to high concentrations of fibrin degradation products. Essentially, the method consists of densitometric quantitation of the fibrin band after a standard electrophoresis run of plasma, thrombin fixation of the fibrinogen, and removal of the non-clotted proteins by washing in saline. The procedure shows good precision and gives results that are accurate, significantly correlate with results for the classical thrombin clotting method (r = 0.92, P less than .001), and are not affected by fibrin degradation product concentrations up to 900 mg/liter. These characteristics make the method especially valuable in establishing fibrogen concentration in patients who are undergoing thrombolytic therapy.

Blood Protein Electrophoresis↗