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Biomedical subjects

A Gatto

Publications and source records attributed to A Gatto.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a 1994-2001 audit on 13,718 operations in the area of Rome.

BACKGROUND: Bile duct injuries (BDIs) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) still are reported with greater frequency than during open cholecystectomy (OC). METHODS: In 1999, a retrospective study evaluating the incidence of BDIs during LC in the area of Rome from 1994 to 1998 (group A) was performed. In addition, a prospective audit was started, ending in December 2001 (group B). RESULTS: In group A, 6,419 LCs were performed (222 were converted to OC; 3.4%). In group B, 7,299 LCs were performed (225 were converted to OC; 3.1%). Seventeen BDIs (0.26%) occurred in group A and 16 (0.22%) in group B. Overall, mortality and major morbidity rates were 12.1% and 30.3%, respectively, without significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and clinical relevance of BDIs during LC in the area of Rome appeared to be stable over the past 8 years and were not influenced by the use of a prospective audit, as compared with a retrospective survey.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

[Esophageal achalasia: etiopathogenesis and possibility of treatment. Review of the literature and presentation of a clinical case].

The Authors report a particular case and make a careful international literature regarding etiopathogenesis and surgical treatment of oesophageal achalasia. First they consider the infection mechanisms as the cause of underlying motor disturbances of the oesophagus. Afterwards holding as parameters of reference for the evaluation of effectiveness of the therapy both the relief of dysphagia and the appearance of postoperative RGE, the various surgical options are then examined: pneumatic dilatation as opposed to surgery; the approach to thoracic and abdominal surgery and the possible assembly of a reflux protection mechanism. Finally, they propose the discussion on the challenge that the new technological systems have opened to the international surgical scene: the minimal-access surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Endoscopic retrieval of a surgical gauze from the common bile duct.

Non-parasitic foreign bodies in the common bile duct are rare and usually require laparotomy. We report the successful removal by endoscopy of a surgical gauze seven years after a simple cholecystectomy. The foreign body had been cholangiographically misdiagnosed as a large stone. The possibility of a foreign body that has migrated into the common bile duct should be considered in patients with cholangitis. Endoscopic sphincterotomy is the procedure of choice, though other extraction techniques may occasionally be necessary.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗
PubMed1994

Butyrate, mesalamine, and factor XIII in experimental colitis in the rat: effects on transglutaminase activity.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Butyrate and factor XIII may improve ulcerative colitis; they also affect tissue and serum transglutaminase levels. We investigated the therapeutic potential of sodium butyrate and factor XIII and the role of transglutaminase during mucosal repair in experimental colitis. METHODS: Rats with induced colitis were treated with sodium butyrate, mesalamine, sodium butyrate plus mesalamine, or saline enemas. Thromboxane B2 was monitored as index of inflammation. In a fifth group, the effectiveness of intravenous Factor XIII was assessed. RESULTS: Sodium butyrate, alone or plus mesalamine, reduced histological activity from 13.7 +/- 1.7 (saline) to 2.5 +/- 1.3 and 2.3 +/- 1.1 (P < 0.01), respectively. Transglutaminase, reduced in the colons of the saline group (783 +/- 157 vs. normal 1800 +/- 192 mU/g; P < 0.01), returned toward normal values in the sodium butyrate or sodium butyrate plus mesalamine groups (1390 +/- 228 and 1226 +/- 172 mU/g, respectively; P < 0.01 vs. saline). Furthermore, sodium butyrate plus mesalamine reduced thromboxane B2 levels by day 5 (0.92 +/- 0.16 vs. saline 1.85 +/- 0.34 ng/mL; P < 0.05). Factor XIII therapy improved the histological picture (2.7 +/- 2.1 vs. saline 13.8 +/- 1.7; P < 0.01) and increased transglutaminase levels both in serum (2.81 +/- 0.11 vs. saline 1.45 +/- 0.09 mU/mL; P < 0.01) and in colon (1503 +/- 127 vs. saline 747 +/- 103). CONCLUSIONS: Sodium butyrate and factor XIII improve colitis, sodium butyrate plus mesalamine reduce early thromboxane B2 synthesis, and transglutaminase(s) plays a role in ulcer healing.

Aminosalicylic Acids↗
PubMed1994

[Psychological differences between ulcer and non-ulcer dyspeptic patients].

The existence of differences in the psychological profile of 39 endoscopically evaluated patients with ulcer (U) and non ulcer (NU) dyspepsia were examined. There were 21 U and 18 NU subjects. Cigarette smoking, intake of alcohol, coffee, mate, aspirin and NSAID were recorded, but there were no significant differences between the two groups. Personality traits were determined by the Rorschach Test, considering psychological profile (introversive, extroversive, self-restrained), impulse and emotion control (do not allow their expression, impulsive, adequately conveyed) and level of social adaptation (low, normal, high). U and NU subjects experienced a similar number of potentially stressful life events. However, U patients perceived their events more negatively. Although no one type of "ulcer personality" was found consistently, ulcer patients tended to be more introversive and they had a better social adaptation than NU.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Serum and tissue transglutaminase correlates with the severity of inflammation in induced colitis in the rat.

Simple rat models of acute and chronic colonic inflammation were used to study the behaviour in serum and mucosa of transglutaminase (TG), an enzyme recently found to be reduced in serum of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related to the activity index of the disease. In the first model the intraluminal administration of 400 mM lactic acid in the colon caused an acute inflammation resembling that of florid ulcerative colitis in humans. In the second, intraluminal administration of the hapten 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNB) (10 or 30 mg) in 0.25 ml of ethanol as a 'barrier breaker' produced a chronic inflammatory disease. The results showed a reduced TG activity in colon of rats in both acute and chronic induced colitis (447 +/- 75 versus 1344 +/- 59 mU/g protein (p less than 0.001) and 484 +/- 59 versus 1204 +/- 75 mU/g protein (p less than 0.001)). This decreased activity was related to the severity of mucosal damage, which was dose-dependent. Moreover, in severe colitis the immunohistochemistry showed a TG location in repairing tissue. Serum TG activity was decreased after TNB administration (1.36 +/- 0.05 versus 3.44 +/- 0.20 mU/ml (p less than 0.001)) but not after lactic acid treatment (3.97 +/- 0.11 versus 3.78 +/- 0.16 mU/ml). In summary, the reduction of TG activity in both tissue and serum when the damage is stabilized reflects the altered morphofunctional integrity of the colon and suggests that serum assay of this enzyme could be a simple marker of intestinal mucosal status in IBD.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

Serum transglutaminase in inflammatory bowel diseases.

We evaluated the serum transglutaminase activity in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to correlate its level with clinical status. There were 49 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), 50 with ulcerative colitis (UC), 35 with diseases other than IBD as control group and 42 healthy subjects matched for sex and age. Enzyme activity was significantly lower in both IBD groups than in controls and in normal subjects (p less than 0.001); we found a significant negative correlation between serum transglutaminase (TG) activity and clinical severity of the disease in both IBD patient groups (r = -0.54 in CD, and r = -0.69 in UC). Moreover, in UC and CD patients, a serum TG value lower than 0.80 mU/ml retrospectively proved to predict the need for major surgery and/or total parenteral nutrition. These results suggest that serum TG may prove useful in the management of inflammatory intestinal diseases in predicting clinical outcome.

Colitis, Ulcerative↗
PubMed1989

[Socioeconomic status and chronic diseases of the aged. A multicenter study].

The above study was carried out in a population sample of 1250 elderly subjects living at home, from five Italian regions (Budrio in Emilia-Romagna, Ponte S. Nicolò in Veneto, Bernareggio in Lombardy, Sezze in Latiumm, Melito in Campania). The results obtained lead to the following conclusions: 1. The condition of loneliness appears to have a detrimental influence on health in both sexes. Among other consequences, loneliness leads to progressive spontaneous reduction of daily milieu and social requirements, as well as to an impression of dependence that cannot be easily overcome. 2. The study of the relationship between the presence or absence of chronic pathologies and legal title of domicile has shown that if the home is their own by legal property or usufruct this has a favorable influence, especially in males. Property also satisfies emotional needs, through the profound ties between personal history and certain places. 3. Positive changes in life style may have beneficial effects on the interaction between socio-economic variables and the onset of chronic pathologies, especially in old age.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Behaviour of transglutaminase activity in intestine of starved and refed rats.

Starvation causes an intestinal mucosa atrophy which is greater in jejunum than in ileum. Hypoplasia is promptly reversed by refeeding. Transglutaminase (TG) has been controversially implicated in cell proliferation and its role in intestine is not defined. We investigate, by the above described model, the behaviour of TG in proximal and distal small bowel as well as in colon of rats after 4 days of starvation and at day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 of refeeding. Our results emphasize a significative reduction of TG in small bowel induced by starvation (day 0) and a prompt recovery of the enzyme activity after refeeding; furthermore, in the first intestinal tract TG activity reaches from day 2 to day 5 values which are significantly higher than basal. Four days of starvation do not affect TG in colon. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that in rats high values of TG activity are coincident with the intense proliferative phase in small intestine subsequent to starvation atrophy.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

[Several aspects of osteoarticular aging of the hand].

The articular amplitudes (abduction of the thumb, flexion/extension of the digital joints), arthritic localizations and the mineralization of the bones of the hand were studied in 155 subjects of both genders and classified by decades from 20 to 90 or more years old. There was a significant decrease in articular amplitudes with age and a considerable increase of arthritis especially after 70 years. Arthritic changes were seen most frequently in the distal interphalangeal joints, then with an equal prevalence, arthritis was encountered in the metacarpophalangeal and in the proximal interphalangeal joints. Articular chondrocalcinosis had a prevalence of 15 p. cent in subjects over 60 years and was always associated with arthritic changes in subjects over 80. The cortical index of the second metacarpal bone, which was chosen to express osteopenia, diminishes significantly with age only in female subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

[Raynaud's syndrome, Dupuytren's disease, force of prehension and sensitivity of the hand. Study of age-related changes].

The prevalence of Raynaud's syndrome, of arterial calcifications and of Dupuytren's contracture was studied in 155 subjects of both sexes, decade by decade from 20 to 90 years. Moreover the force of prehension and two-point discrimination were measured separately. The prevalence of Raynaud's syndrome was 9% independent of variations in age or of sex. The prevalence of Dupuytren's contracture was equally 9% but only subjects over 60 years old (and one woman) were affected. The force of prehension diminished significantly with age, more in women than in men, and more in older patients presenting arthritis. Lastly, tactile sensibility decreased with age but individual variations were important.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

[Thiadenol in the short-term treatment of patients with blood lipid disorders].

Short-term treatment has been used with 5 tablets/day of BS 530 (Eulip) in 25 patients suffering from various forms of hyperlipoproteinaemia, prevalently of Fredrickson's type IV, with or without signs of general or local arteriosclerosis. The preparation was always very well tolerated and proved to act rapidly in the lowering of both cholesterolaemia and triglyceridaemia.

Aged↗