Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Grilli.
A patient with an inferior vena cava thrombosis in nephrotic syndrome was treated with heparin, AT-III concentrates and urokinase. After a few days on treatment he showed a complete resolution of the thrombosis. We suggest that this therapeutic combination may be a good approach to the treatment of thrombosis in nephrotic syndrome.
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An evaluation of the use of the histamine release test (HRT) in the diagnosis of human hydatidosis is presented. This technique, which makes it possible to evaluate directly IgE dependent immediate hypersensitivity by measuring the histamine released from leucocytes (basophils) after antigenic challenge, was compared with the detection of serum specific IgE by the radio-allergosorbent test (RAST), and with the determination of serum specific IgE by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Of the 54 patients with hydatidosis, all were positive according to HRT, 42 according to RAST and 47 according to ELISA. No false positive results were obtained by HRT in 43 patients with parasitosis other than hydatidosis, however, of these 43, 10 resulted in false positives according to RAST and five according to ELISA. It is concluded that HRT is more sensitive and more specific than RAST and ELISA.
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The authors used the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms in interviews of 96 psychiatric inpatients in Italy. They evaluated the interrater reliability and the internal consistency of these scales for the assessment of negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Their findings indicate that the results of these scales are similar in Italy and the United States, countries with different languages and cultures.
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The plant amino acid L-mimosine has recently been suggested to inhibit cells at a regulatory step in late G1 phase before establishment of active DNA replication forks. In addition, L-mimosine is an extremely effective inhibitor of DNA replication in chromosomes of mammalian nuclei. In this work, the effect of L-mimosine on chronic inflammation induced by dorsal injections of 0.2 ml of a 1:40 saturated crystal solution of potassium permanganate in mice, was studied. Seven days afterwards, all mice developed a subcutaneous granulomatous tissue indicative of chronic inflammatory response at the site of infection. The intraperitoneal administration of L-mimosine (200 microg/dose) to the potassium permanganate treated mice for 5 consecutive days (the first at the same time of inoculation of the KMnO4), produced a significant decrease in size and weight of the granuloma when compared to mice not treated with L-mimosine (controls). In addition, in all mice treated with L-mimosine, there was a strong inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha that was revealed in the serum (P<0.05) and in the minced granulomas. Interleukin-6 was not detected in the serum of treated and untreated mice. These findings show for the first time, that L-mimosine may have an anti-inflammatory effect on chronic inflammation and an inhibitory effect on tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6 generation in supernatant fluids of minced granulomas.
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Progressive ageing is associated with an increment of biomolecules modified through oxidation as a result of the action of free radicals deriving from reactive oxygen species that attack biomolecules. During ageing many alterations of renal functions have been reported. Renal ageing is associated with a progressive decline of glomerular filtration, renal blood flow and augmented vascular resistance. The kidney is a very important source of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in both epithelial and vascular structures. In this study we have investigated mRNA and protein iNOS expression and localization and nitric oxide (NO) production in young and aged rats. An increased expression of iNOS occurs in rat kidney during ageing. In the aged rat, an increase in the values of both iNOS-RNA and iNOS protein was observed through rtPCR and Western blot analysis. The activities of three isoforms of NOS were also seen. In the aged rat kidney the production of NO decreased, due to the reduction of the activities of the three NOS. This suggests that in the aged rat a progressive increase of superoxide anion does not imply an increase in the production of NO which functions as a scavenger molecule, causing oxidative stress with accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Some studies in animal models showed that several neurotrophins may be implicated in the regulation of light-dependent suprachiasmatic pacemaker and in other functions implicated in long-term memory acquisition during sleep. However, no data are known about the role played by NGF in ultradian regulation in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not there is a natural diurnal fluctuation during daytime in healthy and schizophrenic subjects with a normal light/dark cycle. In a sample of 33 subjects (10 male schizophrenics and 23 healthy subjects) an ELISA assay was used to study the ultradian NGF cycle in blood samples at 9.00, 13.00 and 20.00 hours. The study showed an ultradian rhythm of NGF in healthy subjects with a "V" trend: higher at 9:00 and 20:00 and lower at 13:00. We also show significant differences between male and female controls. No NGF ultradian rhythm among schizophrenic patients compared to healthy subjects was found. The results of this study lead to a rhythmic NGF regulation that appears altered in schizophrenics, where higher levels in the morning and lower levels in the evening were observed, compared to the controls, and support the hypothesis of a role played by NGF in schizophrenia.
Mimosine is a plant amino-acid which has been reported to block DNA replication in mammalian cells and to arrest cell reversibly towards the end of the G1 phase or at the beginning of the S phase. In this study, 42 mice were infected with T. spiralis a nematode parasite, and treated with the anti-inflammatory compound L-mimosine, to determine if any alteration in the chronic inflammatory state occurred, by investigating the hosts immunological response. MCP-1, a C-C chemokine and MIP-2, a C-X-C chemokine were tested and calculated in the sera of infected animals, after 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days post infection, by ELISA method. The diaphragm and the masseters of the infected mice, were tested for inflammatory response. Here we found, that MCP-1 was partially inhibited by L-mimosine, while MIP-2 was totally inhibited. Moreover in sections of the diaphragm and masseters, the infiltration of inflammatory cells, such as macrophages, lymphocytes and eosinophils were more intense in untreated animals compared to those treated with L-mimosine. These findings show, that L-mimosine may have an inhibitory effect on MCP-1 and MIP-2 serum levels in Trichinellosis and may influence the recruitment of inflammatory cells and the intensity of the inflammatory reaction in this parasitic disease.
Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) induce cellular changes and modulate signal transduction pathways, and may be beneficial in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. In this paper we studied two inflammatory chemokines, MCP-1 and RANTES produced by human cultured isolated monocytes from peripheral blood, with or without PHA and in the absence or presence of 50 Hz magnetic field of 1.0 mT for 24 h. The production of MCP-1 and RANTES was determined by ELISA method. Here, we found that ELF-EMF strongly inhibited the production of these chemokines stimulated by PHA, while the control was not affected. Since MCP-1 and RANTES exert chemoattraction for several populations inflammatory leukocytes, the inhibitory effect of these chemokines could be one of the mechanisms by which ELF-EMF is therapeutic in inflammatory diseases.
Sera of 489 children from Northern Greece aged between 6 months and 15 years of age and aflicted with different clinical entities, were tested for anti Leishmania infantum specific IgG and IgM antibodies, using an ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) technique. In this survey, a remarkably high percentage (8.5%) of hospitalized children reacted positively to this method. Twenty three out of 489 children (4.7%) had IgG antibodies, seventeen (3.5%) IgM, while two (0.4%) had both IgG and IgM antibodies against soluble antigen of L. infantum promastigotes. Females had a higher seropositivity than males. The highest prevalence was observed in males aged between 6 months and 5 years old (10 out of 19), while the lowest was observed also in males aged between 11 and 15 years old (5 out of 11). Seropositivity rate was higher in children below 5 years of age. Some epidemiologic, as well as clinical data of canine Leishmaniosis from Northern Greece are discussed.