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Biomedical subjects

V Ruocco

Publications and source records attributed to V Ruocco.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment of toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Hyperbaric oxygen, useful in treating patients with extensive burns, was used alone in the treatment of three patients with drug-induced toxic epidermal necrolysis. These conditions, although they have different causes, result in a similar biological state of denuded dermis. The therapy was performed in a pressure chamber with pure oxygen at 2 atm for sixty to 120 minutes once a day. Re-epithelialization occurred quickly in all patients and was complete after approximately ten treatments. Our experience, although limited and uncontrolled, points to a beneficial effect of hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of toxic epidermal necrolysis. Activation of dermal metabolism, enhancement of epidermal regeneration, antishock and antiseptic action, and possibly an immunosuppressive effect are properties of hyperbaric oxygen that may account for its efficacy in the management of toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Distribution of [3H]-D-penicillamine in mouse kidney. An autoradiographic study.

3H-labeled D-penicillamine has been injected in mice in order to study by autoradiography its distribution in the kidney. The results show heavy accumulation of the drug in the epithelial cells of the proximal tubules of the kidney, whereas glomeruli and distal tubules do not show any significant accumulation. This peculiar tropism of penicillamine to proximal tubules is entirely consistent with the Heymann's nephritis model suggested by Bacon as a pathogenetic model for penicillamine-induced nephropathy.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Plasmapheresis as an alternative or adjunctive therapy in problem cases of pemphigus.

7 patients with pemphigus unresponsive to and/or with side effects from conventional therapy were treated by plasma exchange using three different procedures. Results were good and confirmed that plasmapheresis may actually be an alternative or adjunctive method of treating problem cases of pemphigus. The current drawbacks related to plasma exchange might be overcome in the future by dialysis of the patients' own plasma through suitable immunoadsorbent matrixes.

Cyclophosphamide↗
PubMed1983

Specific incorporation of penicillamine into the epidermis of mice: an autoradiographic study.

[3H]-D-penicillamine was injected intra-peritoneally in mice. The highest concentration of the drug was found in the skin, particularly in the epidermis, and a well-defined kinetic sequence of appearance in the epidermis was shown. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that penicillamine, by virtue of its chemical similarity to cysteine, can replace the latter during keratogenesis by a competition phenomenon, which could provoke acantholytic splitting both biochemically and immunologically.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Induced pemphigus.

The reports of induced pemphigus have multiplied over the last 10 years. Several heterogeneous factors, such as drugs (penicillamine, pyritinol, captopril, rifampicin, etc.), physical agents (burns, UV, and ionizing radiation) and viruses, can play an inducing role. Usually, the disease is preceded by prodromal, non-specific lesions. The full-blown stage shows features of pemphigus foliaceus, erythematosus or herpetiformis. Histologically, acantholytic splits mostly occur at the highest malpighian layers. Intercellular antibodies and frequently concomitant other auto-antibodies are found in the serum, the titre of the former usually being low and unrelated to the severity or course of the disease. The biological progress is variable and ranges from rapidly and definitively healing cases (induced pemphigus proper) to others which, in spite of the elimination of the inducing factor, self perpetuate just like true pemphigus (triggered pemphigus). Pathogenic hypotheses are based on the act that some inducing factors can alter the antigen distribution on keratinocyte membranes and/or interfere with immune surveillance by impairing T-suppressor cells.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1982

Pemphigus foliaceus in a haemophilic child: cytomegalovirus induction?

A 3 1/2-year-old haemophilic child, repeatedly transfused with blood products, developed pemphigus foliaceus with presence in serum of both intercellular and anti-cytomegalovirus antibodies at high titre. The locus A26, which seems to be a genetic marker of pemphigus, was detected in his haplotype. Cytomegalovirus infection of transfusional origin is suspected to have triggered the outbreak of pemphigus.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1982

Pemphigus provoked by D(-)penicillamine. An experimental approach using in vitro tissue cultures.

We present the results of our experiments with in vitro tissue cultures of normal human skin, carried out in order to clarify the mechanism(s) by which D(-) penicillamine provokes pemphigus. Various concentrations of D(-) penicillamine were added to the culture medium and produced acantholytic splitting, closely similar to control lesions produced by pemphigus serum, whereas no lesions occurred in controls cultured without the drug. This suggests to us that the pemphigus of D(-)penicillamine is due to biochemical mechanisms and is not mediated by antibodies. Integrating our data with those of previous clinical and experimental studies on idiopathic pemphigus vulgaris leads us to think that the pemphigus antigen(s) might be present in certain structures of the cell membrane of epithelial cells, which are linked with the initial phases of keratin differentiation.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

An abortive form of pemphigus vulgaris probably induced by penicillin.

A case of an abortive form of pemphigus probably induced by protracted penicillin treatment is reported. Because of a positive patch test with penicillamine and the finding of such an amino acid in patient's plasma, the authors are induced to believe that the trigger factor could really have been penicillamine formed by the metabolic breakdown of the penicillin molecule.

Female↗
PubMed1978

Pathogenicity of the intercellular antibodies of pemphigus and their periodic removal from the circulation by plasmapheresis.

The authors are convinced that the intercellular antibodies of pemphigus are pathogenic. Consequently periodic plasmapheresis in two patients with pemphigus has been performed to remove the antibodies from the circulation. After larger plasma-exchanges there was a decrease of the antibody titre and a parallel improvement of the clinical condition.

Autoantibodies↗