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A Fumarola

Publications and source records attributed to A Fumarola.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Trend in thyroid carcinoma size, age at diagnosis, and histology in a retrospective study of 500 cases diagnosed over 20 years.

Recently, the Italian Network of Cancer Registries analyzed 5101 cases of thyroid carcinoma showing a reduction of mortality rate of 4%/year. This prompts us to evaluate the temporal trend in tumor size, age at diagnosis, and histology in a retrospective analysis of 500 thyroid cancers diagnosed over 20 years. Thyroid cancers were divided in two groups. The first included 193 cases diagnosed from 1985 to 1994, and the second 307 from 1995 to 2004. The size of all tumors was significantly reduced from 30 +/- 1.4mm in the first group to 15 +/- 0.8mm in the second group. In particular, papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) size decreased from 28 +/- 1.2mm to 14 +/- 0.8mm and follicular carcinoma from 40 +/- 6.3mm to 17 +/- 4.5 mm. Age at diagnosis of all carcinomas increased significantly from 40 +/- 1.3 years in the first group to 48 +/- 0.9 years in the second group. Analysis of the histological types revealed a significant increase of PTC rate in the second decade from 82% to 92% and a concomitant reduction of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) from 3.7% to 1.0%. Moreover, a significant increase of micro-PTC rate, from 7.3% to 36.4%, was observed. In conclusion, it may be speculated that the above mentioned decreased mortality rate for thyroid carcinoma could be related to the significant reduction with time of cancer size, to the progressive increase of PTC rate and to the reduction of ATC rate. These data, if confirmed in other series, underscore the importance of evaluating thyroid nodules smaller than 10mm and corroborate recent findings suggesting that age be reconsidered as an independent prognostic factor for differentiated thyroid cancers.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2003

Iodine supplementation restores fertility of sheep exposed to iodine deficiency.

The aims of the study were to monitor sheep iodine intake in different sheep breeding farms in Abruzzo and to evaluate the effects of iodine supplementation on ovine fertility. The urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) in animals of 8 out of the 11 breeding farms analyzed were borderline (UIC 100-150 microg/l) or very low (UIC < or = 50 microg/l). Only animals bred in 3 farms showed an adequate iodine intake with a mean UIC > or = 300 microg/l. Animals with very low iodine intake had lower T4 and T3 (p < 0.01) serum levels, compared to those with adequate iodine intake. To investigate the effects of iodine supplementation on ovine fertility, 32 ewes and 20 rams, characterized by low UIC, were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group (16 ewes and 10 rams) received a sc injection of 1 ml of Lipiodol, containing 480 mg of iodine, while the remaining animals were employed as control. This treatment was able to maintain UIC above 300 microg/l for 3 months and to increase T4 and T3 serum levels (p < 0.01). After 9 months, the fertility of control and treated animals was assessed by monitoring the rate of successful matings by ultrasonography. The results showed that 100% of treated ewes mated with treated rams were pregnant vs 37% of the control ewes mated with control rams (p = 0.007). The iodine content was 4-fold higher in milk from treated ewes (2393 +/- 453 microg/l), compared to controls (675 +/- 154 microg/l). The results demonstrated that iodine supplementation restores fertility of sheep living in iodine deficient areas and may represent a means to achieve a silent iodine prophylaxis of local populations.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Structural organization and chromosomal localization of the human type II deiodinase gene.

OBJECTIVE: The selenoenzyme type 2 iodothyronine 5' deiodinase (DII) catalyzes the conversion of thyroxine into its active form tri-iodothyronine (T3), modulating thyroid hormone homeostasis in a local, tissue-specific manner. The amphibian, rodent and human cDNAs encoding this enzyme have been recently cloned and expressed. At present, little information regarding the genomic structure of mammalian DII is available. DESIGN AND METHODS: The complete structure, including intron-exon junctions, of the human DII (hDII) gene was obtained by long PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Chromosomal assignment of the hDII gene was performed by fluorescence in situ hybridization using a highly specific probe. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that hDII is a single copy gene located on chromosome 14, position 14q24.3. The gene spans over 15 kb, and the 7 kb transcript is encoded by three exons of 149 bp, 273 bp and 6.6 kb separated respectively by two 274 bp and 7.4 kb introns. A restriction map of the hDII gene is also reported. These data will help in further studies of the role of DII in the maintenance of peripheral thyroid hormone homeostasis.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed1995

Increased plasma levels of endothelin-1 in patients with hyperthyroidism.

Plasma concentrations of endothelin-1 (ET-1) were measured in 25 hyperthyroid subjects, 15 hypothyroid subjects, and 21 age-matched normal controls. In hyperthyroid patients, plasma concentrations of ET-1 were significantly higher than in the control group (P < .0001) and in hypothyroid patients (P < .0001). In contrast, no differences were found between hypothyroid patients and controls. Plasma levels of ET-1 were similarly elevated as in patients with Graves' disease and those with toxic adenoma. No correlations were found between plasma ET-1 levels, thyroid hormones, and thyrotropin (TSH) in hyperthyroid, hypothyroid, and euthyroid groups. The results of our study clearly indicate that in hyperthyroidism, circulating levels of ET-1 are strongly increased, although the pathogenesis of the increase is unclear.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[The autonomous nodule. Clinical aspects].

Autonomously functioning thyroid nodule (AFTN) includes a wide spectrum of unique or multifocal diseases, either hyper or euthyroid, which share the same independence from thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) regulation in terms of growth and function. The pathological basis and the recent molecular implications of the disease are briefly discussed. Clinical and epidemiologic data of 1572 patients with AFTN, out of a population of 14107 patients with thyroid diseases, sequentially evaluated from 1974 to 1992, have been retrospectively examined. The mean age of AFTN occurrence is 41 years and it appears more frequently in women (F/M = 5.3/1). Clinical hyperthyroidism occurs only in 17% of patients and is more frequently observed in men over 40 years of age. The presence of sonolucent area inside the nodule is detectable in 8.6% of cases and may be associated with spontaneous arrest of growth. When AFTN is submitted to cytologic evaluation, patterns similar to those observed in nodular goiter are shown (colloid lesion, cyst and nodular hyperplasia). Signs of hyperactivity are also shown by follicular cells. In the presence of a cyst, a fine needle aspiration was performed and a complete resolution was observed in 40% of cases. When cyst recurred after aspiration, a solution of tetracycline was inserted into the cavity. Sclerosing therapy was efficient in evacuating the volume of the nodule in 50% of the cases. Patients with AFTN were followed for a mean period of 61 months and 84.7% of them did not show any morphological or functional change, while the remaining 15.3% of cases became hyperthyroid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Role of color Doppler in the evaluation of the hyperfunctioning thyroid nodule treated with ethanol injection].

Color Doppler gives us the possibility to study autonomous thyroid nodules and their qualitative and morphological aspects and allows us to hit session by session the most vascular area of the nodule with alcohol (Percutaneous ethanol injection). The use of color gives an easier flowmeter analysis reducing its time of performance. Today this method with the latest up to date echographs can provide very good clinical pathology at relatively low costs. We studied 18 patients, with autonomous thyroid nodules. They were all treated by percutaneous echo-guided ethanol injection (PEI). Before the beginning we make sure that the rest of the thyroid gland may function normally. The color Doppler test was carried out by using the multidisciplinary ecotomograph AU 560 CFM supplied with a linear probe 7.5 mHz, AL 35 by Esaote Biomedica. Before the PEI treatment, with the eco color Doppler test we noticed that the hot nodules clearly presented a higher vascularization compared to the remaining parenchyma. The vascularization was more evident in the peripheral area of the nodule even if few signs of flow were present inside the nodule. During a 24 months followup, 10 patients showed an important reduction and sometimes even the extinction of the intranodular flow signs followed by a clear reduction of the nodule's volume.

Ethanol↗