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Biomedical subjects

A M Moretti

Publications and source records attributed to A M Moretti.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Multicenter randomized trial comparing meropenem (1.5 g daily) and imipenem/cilastatin (2 g daily) in the hospital treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.

An open, multicenter study with 144 patients, aged between 18 and 94 years, was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of meropenem with imipenem/cilastatin in the hospital treatment of community-acquired pneumonia. Patients were randomized to receive either intravenous meropenem (500 mg every 8 h) or intravenous imipenem/cilastatin (1,000 mg every 12 h). The primary end point was considered to be clinical efficacy and the secondary end points were bacteriological response and safety assessment. At the end of therapy, cure or improvement in signs and symptoms as a satisfactory clinical response was observed in 57 of 64 (89.1%) meropenem-treated patients and in 60 of 66 (90.9%) imipenem/cilastatin patients. The mean duration of treatment was 10 days for meropenem and 9.7 days for imipenem/cilastatin. In patients who were followed up for weeks 2-4, the response was satisfactory (100%) for both treatments. A satisfactory bacteriological response, defined as either presumed or confirmed eradication of all pathogens, was found in eight patients who had received meropenem and in 14 patients who had received imipenem/cilastatin. Response was considered satisfactory in 100% of the meropenem group and in 92.9% of the imipenem/cilastatin group and at follow-up, it was 100% for both treatments. Drug-related adverse events were reported in three (4.2%) meropenem-treated patients and in eight (11.0%) imipenem/cilastatin-treated patients. None of these events was classified as serious. The results of this study show that the clinical and bacteriological efficacy and tolerability of meropenem (500 mg every 8 h) are similar to that of imipenem/cilastatin (1,000 mg every 12 h) in the hospital treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

[Gastric localization of sarcoidosis].

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology, characterized by an immunological disorder with accumulation of activated lymphocytes and macrophages in all the organs and apparatus. The intrathoracic lymphnodes and the lung remain the most common sites of such disease. The gastrointestinal sarcoidosis, particularly of the stomach, is very rare. The stomach may be the primitive or the secondary (systemic sarcoidosis) site of sarcoid granuloma. The endoscopic aspects of the gastric mucosa are variable: localized or diffused hyperemia, single or multiple ulcers, aspects of atrophic gastritis with easy bleeding during contact, rigid mucosa and so on. Generally asymptomatic, the disease may show symptoms as pain in the epigastrium, nausea, vomiting, haematemesis and so on. The wide range of gastric pathologies resembling sarcoidosis both on a histological level and on a clinic-endoscopical one (syphilis, histoplasmosis, Crohn's disease, stomach cancer) require an extremely accurate diagnosis above all for the setting out of the therapy with steroids which are the most appropriate drugs (prednisone). Three out of thirty-two patients observed for respiratory problems, already affected by cutaneous and pulmonary sarcoidosis, started suffering from gastric symptoms of different kind: pain in the epigastrium, haematemesis, weight loss, nausea and post-prandial vomiting. Gastroscopy and biopsy, with histopathologic examination of gastric mucosal specimens taken from the most suspicious sites, confirmed the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Thymostimulin administration modulates polymorph metabolic pathway in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Several studies outline the imbalance of phagocyte functions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this regard, here, we have assessed either monocyte- and polymorphonuclear cell (PMN)-mediated chemotactic, phagocytic and killing capacities or PMN-triggered metabolic pathway in a group of COPD patients before and at different times after thymostimulin administration. Before therapy, an increase of O2-generation and a decrease of myeloperoxidase release were found in these individuals when compared to controls. Moreover, a reduction of either PMN-mediated chemotaxis and killing or monocyte chemotactic capacities was observed. By contrast, no differences were seen in terms of beta-glucuronidase release, monocyte-mediated killing and PMN or monocyte phagocytic function. During a one-year monitoring following immunotherapy, O2- production and myeloperoxidase activity fell within normal values, while phagocyte functional capacities were unaffected by such a treatment. Furthermore, COPD subjects exhibited a significant improvement of their clinical status as assessed during a one-year followup. All together, these findings suggest a potential role for thymostimulin in the treatment of COPD patients.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Natural and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in patients with active sarcoidosis.

Lymphocyte surface markers, natural killer activity, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and lymphocyte binding to target cells were evaluated in a group of 16 subjects with active sarcoidosis. A reduction of E-RFC and a relative increase of EA-RFC were observed. At the same time, ADCC activity was similar to that of normal controls, while NK cytotoxicity was significantly decreased. On the other hand, the percentage of conjugates between lymphocytes and target cells was lower than in controls. These observations account for a selective defect of NK activity, suggesting that the NK assay might be an useful tool to support the impairment of cellular immunity in active sarcoidosis.

Adult↗