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Biomedical subjects

T Lotti

Publications and source records attributed to T Lotti.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Controlled clinical studies of nimesulide in the treatment of urogenital inflammation.

Two double-blind, randomised studies were conducted to compare the efficacy and tolerability of nimesulide (200 mg/day) with those of placebo or bromeline (240 mg/day). Treatments were administered orally to patients of either sex (aged 19 to 70 years) with acute infection and inflammation of the urogenital tract, and were given concomitantly with antimicrobial therapy for approximately 9 days. In both studies, a clinically significant improvement in symptoms, leading to complete remission, was achieved in most patients treated with nimesulide. Furthermore, treatment with nimesulide resulted in a more rapid improvement in symptoms and complete remission in a greater number of patients than did treatment with bromeline. Both nimesulide and bromeline were well tolerated.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Steroids versus nonsteroids in the treatment of cutaneous inflammation: therapeutic modalities for office use.

Inflammatory skin diseases are often treated successfully with topical substances alone. The basic prerequisites for proper treatment are that the specialist has a good knowledge of the products available, their active substances and bases and their relative properties and actions, as well as precise indications for and effects of long-term use. Treatment should be individualized, and best results are usually achieved with a two-phase schedule, beginning mainly with administration of steroids followed by application of nonsteroid products, such as, in psoriasis, anthralin, coal tar, and calcipotriol.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1992

Expression of T6 antigen on keratinocytes in alopecia areata.

The expression of T6 antigen within hair follicles in alopecia areata was studied using the APAAP technique (alkaline phosphatase monoclonal anti-alkaline phosphatase method). Scalp biopsies were taken from 15 subjects with alopecia areata, nine in an active stage and 6 in a stationary stage of the disease. Six-micrometer-thick frozen sections were stained with OKT6 antiserum. OKT6 are monoclonal antibodies raised against human thymocytes; they cross-react with epidermal Langerhans cells and are a highly specific marker. Nine of the specimens displayed T6 staining on keratinocytes in the bulb matrix, and all nine were from the subjects presenting the active stage of disease. The specimens from the other six biopsies, from subjects in a stationary stage, did not show T6 staining of bulbar keratinocytes. Moreover, in four of the active-stage cases we found T6 staining also on epidermal keratinocytes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Immunohistochemical study on the pattern of 50 kd cytokeratin in psoriasis.

Three biopsies of normal skin and 15 biopsies collected from patients with psoriasis vulgaris were analyzed for the expression of the 50 kd cytokeratin using direct immunofluorescence and ABC technique before and after local treatment with anthralin 0.1% in a petrolatum base, with 0.05% betamethasone dipropionate cream, and finally, after PUVA treatment. Antiserum against the 50 kd anti-cytokeratin reacted with tissue sections of normal skin, staining cells in the basal layer, while the psoriatic skin sections before the various treatments showed a staining concerning the whole thickness of the epidermis. After the various therapies, the 50 kd cytokeratin immunoreactivity was observed only in the basal layer of those psoriatic skin sections that showed complete clinical clearing, while it was observed in the whole thickness of psoriatic patches that did not clear. These data suggest that the normalization of the 50 kd cytokeratin expression pattern can be considered as a marker of clinical remission of psoriasis.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1992

Carotenoderma: a possible pit-fall in the immunopathologic diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris.

A 30-year-old woman presented with an orange-yellow discoloration of the skin, most noticeable on the palms and soles and nasolabial folds; sclera appeared normal. The patient had observed the abnormal pigmentation of her skin 3 months earlier and noticed that it had become more evident after a sauna she had taken 2 days before our examination. In the last 3 years the patient's diet included about 2 kg of oranges daily (which are notoriously rich in carotene) following her own original idea. Complete laboratory analyses were normal. In particular, thyroid and liver function tests were in the normal range as were serum lipid levels. The serum carotene levels were 410 mg/dL (NV 20-150 mg/dL) and the levels of vitamin A 68 mg/dL (NV 25-60 mg/dL). A punch biopsy, taken from the palm of the right hand, observed under an optic microscope showed an autofluorescence in the superficial horny layer and a pemphigus-like pattern of intercellular autofluorescence. A month after the interruption of the orange-rich diet, the abnormal coloration of the skin disappeared and serum levels of carotene and vitamin A were normal.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Substance P provokes cutaneous erythema and edema through a histamine-independent pathway.

Substance P is a neuropeptide (contained in/and released from the A delta and C nerve fibers of the skin), which provokes erythema, edema, and pruritus after intradermal injection. Local pretreatment with capsaicin produces decreased substance P-dependent erythema, with edema similar to that observed before pretreatment with capsaicin. We injected histamine and in a parallel experiment, substance P in five volunteers before and after local treatment with capsaicin, with 48/80, after 5 days of hydroxyzine. The injection of SP provoked erythema centered by a wheal. After treatment with 48/80, SP provoked increased erythema and a wheal. After hydroxyzine treatment, the injection of histamine produced no erythema or edema in four of the five subjects, while SP provoked erythema in all five subjects and edema similar to that observed before treatment with hydroxyzine. These data support the hypothesis that substance P provokes erythema and edema both with histamine-dependent and histamine-independent pathways.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Gold salts and somatostatin: a new combined analgesic treatment for psoriatic arthritis.

In a group of patients affected with psoriatic arthritis the effects of the association between gold salts (GS) and somatostatin (SOM), in comparison with two groups treated with SOM and GS respectively, were investigated. Sixty patients with psoriatic arthritis were selected and randomly allocated in three groups of twenty patients each. Group 1 received SOM infusion (250 micrograms/h for 96 h) and was assessed at baseline and 1, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after; Group 2 received intramuscular GS and was assessed at baseline, four months later, and then every month for four months; Group 3 received GS for 8 months; at the fourth month SOM was infused (as in Group 1) and the patients assessed at baseline four months later and then as Group 1. Assessment was made with the Ritchie index, pain scale and morning stiffness evaluation. Growth hormone was assayed in Group 1 every 4 h for 24 h the day before and the day after SOM infusion. The association between GS and SOM demonstrated a particular analgesic activity, effective on joint pain and tenderness, that lasted for all four months of follow-up. SOM showed a good response only after 15 and 30 days, and GS proved to be effective at about the sixth month of treatment. Side effects were reported in Group 1 (abdominal cramps, mild erythrodermia and supraventricular arrhythmia). A growth hormone circadian rhythm was found in psoriatic patients both before and after SOM treatment. The beneficial effect of the SOM/GS combination is demonstrated in psoriatic arthritis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The role of cyclosporine A in the treatment of pemphigus erythematosus.

Steroids are effective in the autoimmune bullous disease pemphigus; however, treatment may be difficult to sustain because of severe side effects. Cyclosporine A acts mainly on helper/inducer T lymphocytes and has few side effects at low doses. We report three patients with pemphigus erythematosus who had a relapse while receiving the maintenance dose of steroid therapy. All patients who were treated with both cyclosporine A (5 mg/kg/d) and prednisone (1 mg/kg/d) responded remarkably well to combined therapy. After clearing, prednisone was discontinued and cyclosporine A was reduced to 2 to 3 mg/kg/d. With this treatment, all patients have been virtually free of symptoms, have remained well, and have had normal laboratory values.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The role of plasminogen activators in alopecia areata.

Plasminogen activators are serine proteinases which transform the serum zymogen, plasminogen, into plasmin, a broad-spectrum protease with fibrinolytic effect. Two main plasminogen activators have been described in humans: urokinase (UK; molecular weight, 55,000) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA; molecular weight, 74,000). Thirteen subjects were studied who had alopecia areata (AA), nine in the active phase and four in remission. There were alterations in the perivascular and peribulbar fibrinolytic activity in the nine subjects in the active phase of disease, suggesting a possible role of plasminogen activators in AA. A modified Todd's autohistographic method was used to evaluate cutaneous fibrinolytic activity (which depended on the activity of plasminogen activators) in the 13 AA subjects and five volunteer controls. Cutaneous fibrinolytic activity was reduced in perivascular areas, but increased in peribulbar areas, in the nine subjects in the active phase of disease. Tests with monoclonal antibodies directed against the catalytic sites of tPA and UK showed that the perivascular fibrinolytic activity was tPA dependent, and the peribulbar fibrinolytic activity was UK dependent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Clinical correlations of plasma angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity in systemic sclerosis: a longitudinal study of plasma ACE level, endothelial injury and lung involvement.

Lung involvement was studied by perfusion scan, ventilation scan, pulmonary clearance rate of 99mTc DTPA and pulmonary function tests in 20 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Decreased plasma angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity and increased levels of von Willebrand Factor Antigen (vWF:Ag) were found in all patients with SSc. The relationship between ACE levels and lung involvement was not statistically significant, however levels of vWF:Ag correlated with parameters of lung vascular alterations. An inverse relationship between the reduced ACE levels and ESR was found. It is likely that ACE levels reflect the inflammatory aspect of the disease. Further studies of ACE synthesis, release and inhibition are needed to determine the mechanism of the observed decreased activity in SSc.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Fibrinolytic activity in the synovial membrane of osteoarthritis.

The fibrinolytic activity (FA) has been studied on the synovial membrane obtained from 16 patients with osteoarthritis (OA), 20 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 11 control subjects. Todd's autohistographic method, modified by Lotti, was used to investigate the FA and the monoclonal antibodies against u-PA and t-PA were used to identify the main plasminogen activator. Our results show that the FA is increased in the synovial membrane of patients with OA in comparison with the synovial FA of control subjects. In the synovial membranes from patients with RA, the FA shows different results: in some specimens FA is increased, and in others it is diminished or similar, compared with FA of samples from healthy controls. Thus, our data on synovial FA in OA confirm the previous reports, performed in vitro, on the activation of the plasmin system in this degenerative disease. The activity of the fibrinolytic system seems to participate in the cartilage degeneration and, via the activation of collagenase, to perpetuate the cartilage damage.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Role of specific membrane receptors in urokinase-dependent migration of human keratinocytes.

On the basis of both 125I-labeled plasminogen activator binding analysis and transmission electron microscopy studies of the interaction of a plasminogen activator/gold complex with cell membranes, we have found that human keratinocytes have specific receptors for human urokinase-type plasminogen activator distributed on the cell surface as singlets, or as small or large clusters. The use in binding experiments of the purified A chain of urokinase-plasminogen activator and of anti-A chain monoclonal antibodies has indicated that cell receptors are specific for a sequence present on the A chain, as previously reported for other cells. The interaction of both the native molecule and the purified A chain with such receptors stimulates mobilization of keratinocytes in an in vitro cell model system (Boyden chamber), when present in the lower compartment of the migration apparatus in nanomolar concentrations. Preincubation of chemoattractants with a monoclonal antibody which prevents receptor/ligand interaction also prevents plasminogen activator-induced cell migration. These data suggest that, under the conditions used in this in vitro model system, the plasminogen activator-dependent mobilization of keratinocytes depends on the interaction of the ligand with free receptors on the cell surface, and is independent of plasmin generation.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1990

Proteoglycans in so-called cellulite.

Glycosaminoglycans are a group of polysaccharide chains covalently linked to proteins to form proteoglycan molecules with high water-attracting properties. The ultrastructural localization of glycosaminoglycans in the so-called cellulite skin and in normal subjects was studied. Data show that there is increasing concentration of glycosaminoglycans in the cellulite skin, presumably leading to a rise in the amount of water retained in the skin in this disease.

Adipose Tissue↗