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Biomedical subjects

A Mancuso

Publications and source records attributed to A Mancuso.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

The role of computed tomography scans in evaluating sinus disease in pediatric patients.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence and severity of sinus abnormalities in children undergoing computed tomography (CT) of the sinuses for suspected chronic sinusitis. To compare these findings with abnormalities noted on random CT scans. METHODS: Sixty CT scans, performed for evaluation of sinus disease in symptomatic children aged 2-12, were compared with 50 CT scans of children aged 2-12 of the orbits or sinuses obtained for indications other than sinusitis. A staging system was applied to assess the severity of abnormalities. RESULTS: Mucoperiosteal thickening was present in 60% of symptomatic and 46%, of random CT scans (logistic regression, P = 0.144). Children aged 2-4 and 9-12 had an increased prevalence of abnormalities in both groups, although these findings were not statistically significant (logistic regression, P = 0.817). Early stage sinus disease was present in the majority of random (96%) and symptomatic (85%) children. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high incidence of mucoperiosteal thickening in the paranasal sinuses of children. CT scans of the sinuses should be obtained from children who are being considered for sinus surgery after failing the appropriate medical therapy. Decisions regarding the need for sinus surgery should not be solely based on imaging abnormalities.

Child↗
PubMed1999

Transient MRI-detected water apparent diffusion coefficient reduction correlates with c-fos mRNA but not hsp70 mRNA induction during focal cerebral ischemia in rats.

Cerebral ischemia induces immediate early genes such as c-fos and stress genes such as hsp70. In this study, the spatial relationships between c-fos and hsp70 mRNA expression and changes detectable with diffusion and perfusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging were examined. The middle cerebral artery (MCA) of young adult rats was occluded for 30 or 60 min. Diffusion MR (D-MR) images were acquired continuously during the ischemic period and dysprosium-contrast perfusion (P-MR) images were acquired at the end of the ischemic period. C-fos and hsp70 mRNA expression were examined with in situ hybridization. The most significant finding of this work was that for both durations of ischemia, c-fos induction was observed in cortical and sub-cortical regions exhibiting a transient reduction in the apparent diffusion coefficient of water (ADC). Transients which occurred on a time scale of 3 min may have been caused by spreading depression. Those occurring on a 10-min time scale may have been caused by an initial reduction in blood flow with occlusion that was followed by an ischemia-induced increase in collateral blood flow. P-MR imaging showed that perfusion in c-fos positive regions was higher than in regions with persistently reduced ADC. Hsp70 induction did not correlate with transient ADC reduction. It was induced in the MCA territory in regions showing persistent ADC changes, with induction being greatest at the periphery of these regions. It was also induced in regions that exhibited both spontaneous reversal of the diffusion changes and decreased perfusion.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Screening for gestational diabetes in Sicily.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of gestational diabetes in a universally screened population living in Messina, Sicily, as the first step in evaluating the cost: benefit ratio of screening for carbohydrate intolerance in pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: Between October 1989 and March 1995, 1,000 pregnant women underwent screening for gestational diabetes with a 50-g, one-hour glucose challenge test. All the risk factors were registered. RESULTS: Two hundred sixty subjects had a value of > or = 135 mg/dL and underwent a full three-hour oral glucose tolerance test. Of them, 46 (4.6%) met the Carpenter-Coustan diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes. CONCLUSION: The apparent incidence of gestational diabetes (1.2%) prior to screening was only 25% of the incidence determined with the protocol of universal screening (4.6%). If we assume that timely diagnosis and treatment of gestational diabetes provides an important opportunity to improve obstetric outcome and reduce perinatal morbidity, and since women with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of developing diabetes later, the knowledge that the true prevalence is almost four times that previously reported is a determinant of a future evaluation of the cost:benefit ratio of screening universally for gestational diabetes.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in pregnancy.

The authors have studied the behaviour of plasma glucose, insulinaemia and insulin-glucose ratio in 2 groups of pregnant women with BMI values > or = or <26, respectively. Each group was divided into 3 subgroups on the basis of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) response: GIGT (gestational impaired glucose tolerance), GD (gestational diabetes), and C (normal controls). Data from non-obese pregnant women demonstrate that both basal and OGTT-stimulated glucose levels were significantly different in all subgroups. The total insulin amount in the GIGT and GD subgroups is quite similar to or greater than the controls, but with a significant reduction of the insulin-glucose ratio. In GD also an absolute deficiency of insulin rise at 30 min during the glucose load, as in subjects with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), was observed. The behaviour of these parameters in obese pregnant women seems to be similar, even though with some significant differences: in these subjects, there is a less clear-cut differentiation among all subgroups, and the appearance of gestational diabetes is not accompanied by a significant decrease of insulin secretion at 30 min. Our data seem to demonstrate that insulin resistance with an inadequate hyperinsulinaemia is a common factor for the alterations of carbohydrate metabolism during pregnancy. Only in the non-obese patients with gestational diabetes, is there an absolute defect of early insulin response to the glucose load, as it is seen in T2DM.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Effect of extracellular glutamine concentration on primary and secondary metabolism of a murine hybridoma: an in vivo 13C nuclear magnetic resonance study.

The effect of changes in extracellular glutamine level on metabolism of a murine hybridoma was examined with in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Cells were cultured in a hollow-fiber bioreactor at high cell density to allow intracellular metabolite levels to be determined on a metabolically relevant time scale. Steady infusions of [1-13C] glucose were used to label glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, which permitted continuous monitoring with NMR spectroscopy during changes in environmental glutamine level. Samples of the extracellular medium were also analyzed to determine the effect of glutamine on other metabolites associated with primary and secondary metabolism. The changes in glutamine concentration had several effects on primary and secondary metabolism, depending on the rate the changes were made. For a brief reduction in feed glutamine concentration from 4 to 0 mM (which produced a rapid change from 0.67 to approximately 0 mM in residual glutamine), large changes were observed in the rate of consumption of metabolites normally associated with energy production. Antibody synthesis was strongly stimulated and nitrogen metabolism was significantly altered. For a more prolonged reduction from 2.4 to 1.2 mM (which produced a slower reduction from 0.30 to 0. 08 mM in residual glutamine), much smaller changes were observed even though the concentration of glutamine at the reduced feed level was very low. Energy metabolism did not appear to be limited by glutamine at 0.08 mM, which suggests that significant futile cycling may occur in energy producing pathways when excess glucose and glutamine are available. However, this concentration of extracellular glutamine appeared to affect some anabolic pathways, which require amino groups from glutamine.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Prediction of delayed ischemic injury with diffusion-weighted MRI following temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

Early reductions in the apparent diffusion coefficient of water (ADC) during focal cerebral ischemia are often reversible with reperfusion. With sustained ischemia, the magnitude of the ADC reduction generally increases with time, which could reflect increased severity of ischemic damage. Thus, a threshold in ADC reduction may exist beyond which damage can not be reversed with reperfusion. The goal of this study was to determine if such a threshold exists that is independent of the duration of ischemia in a rat model. Rats were subjected to either 30, 60, or 90 min of temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion. ADC maps acquired just before and 30 min after reperfusion were compared to histology performed after a 72 h survival period to determine the relationship between ADC reduction and final ischemic injury. Significant variability in tissue recovery was observed for the 30 min group. Regions with ADC reductions of up to 45% often recovered, while some regions not exhibiting any change in ADC during occlusion showed ischemic injury at 72 h. Similar observations were made in cortical regions of the 60 min group. In the caudate-putamen, reduced ADC was often associated with ischemic injury. For the 90 min group, results for the caudate-putamen were similar to those for the 60 min group, while reduced ADC was a much better predictor of final ischemic injury in cortical regions than it was in both the 30 and 60 min groups. Thus, no single threshold of ADC reduction that was independent of the duration of ischemia was associated with irreversible injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Metabolic and pathological effects of temporal lobe epilepsy in rat brain detected by proton spectroscopy and imaging.

The goal of these experiments was to test the hypothesis that in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), magnetic resonance spectroscopic measurement of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and other metabolites, together with magnetic resonance imaging, provides a sensitive in vivo method to localize and monitor the progression of neuronal cell death and gliosis. Seizures were induced in rats by unilateral hippocampal injection of kainate. Magnetic resonance measurements were made from 1 to 84 days using proton spectroscopic imaging (1H-MRSI), T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The results were compared with findings on histological sections. Decreased NAA and creatine levels and increased apparent diffusion coefficient of water were found in the ipsilateral hippocampus after 14 days where neuronal loss and gliosis were observed. In the contralateral hippocampus a significant increase of choline level was observed. These results suggest that 1H-MRSI is a useful in vivo method for localizing neuronal loss and may also indicate additional pathological and metabolic alterations. In addition, DWI may be a useful method for in vivo detection of tissue alterations due to TLE.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Hepatitis C virus infection among institutionalised psychiatric patients: a regression analysis of indicators of risk.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Institutionalised psychiatric patients are at increased risk of developing chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). However, little information is available on transmission and epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in this setting. The aim of this study was to identify potential risk factors of acquiring HCV infection in two large psychiatric institutions in northern Italy. METHODS: We designed a case-control study using randomly selected controls from the same study database, consisting of a total of 1180 patients, in order to satisfy the principle that both cases and controls should be representative of the same base experience. A multiple regression logistic analysis was used to identify features that could predict exposure to HCV as evidenced by the presence of circulating anti-HCV antibodies. RESULTS: Anti-HCV was detected in 79 patients (6.7%). The prevalence of viraemia and the distribution of genotypes were very similar to those found in subjects with chronic HCV infection drawn from the same geographical area. Multivariate analysis indicated that a diagnosis of psychosis and a history of trauma were statistically significant independent risk factors associated with a positive anti-HCV result (OR 2.615, 1.273-5.373 95% CI and OR 2.096, 1.133-3.877 95% CI, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this large epidemiological study show for the first time that prolonged residence in psychiatric institutions does not entail per se a significant risk of acquiring HCV infection. Since transmission of HCV in this setting appears to occur predominantly via classical parenteral routes, simple prophylactic measures appear to be adequate to prevent infection.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Metabolite 1H relaxation in normal and hyponatremic brain.

Proton spin relaxation rate constants in normal and hyponatremic rat brain were measured to determine the sensitivity of metabolite relaxation properties to cytotoxic edema and to quantify metabolite concentration in normal and edematous brain. Relaxation rate constants for protons of water and spectral regions with dominant contributions from methyl protons of cholines (Cho), creatines (Cr), N-acetylaspartate (NA), and lactate (Lac), and for methylene protons of glutamate (Glu) were measured at 7 T. Changes in metabolite relaxation properties associated with cytotoxic edema were a decrease in the Cr longitudinal rate constant, from 0.63 +/- 0.02 s-1 (mean +/- SE) in controls to 0.50 +/- 0.03 s-1 in edematous brain, and an increase in the transverse rate constant of NA from 5.3 +/- 0.2 s-1 in controls to 6.6 +/- 0.3 s-1 in edematous brain. Four hours after induction of hyponatremia, there was a 14% reduction in summed metabolite concentrations of Cho, Cr, and NA, and a 200% increase in Lac signal intensity. It is concluded that changes in both metabolite spin relaxation and detectable spin concentration accompany the cerebral pathology of cytotoxic edema complicated with secondary ischemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

MR spectroscopic imaging and diffusion-weighted MRI for early detection of kainate-induced status epilepticus in the rat.

Previous studies have shown that reduction of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) is correlated with the degree of neuronal loss at 3 days after kainate-induced status epilepticus in the rat. In this study, magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), measurement of NAA and lactate, T2-weighted MRI, and diffusion-weighted MRI were used to study early alterations in rat piriform cortex at 12 and 26 h after kainate administration. The major findings are that decreased NAA signal, increased lactate signal, and decreased apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were observed at 12 h, with little evidence of histological and T2-weighted MRI changes. These results support the hypothesis that NAA, lactate signals, and ADC provide sensitive methods for detection of early and minimal brain damage in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Association of anophthalmia and esophageal atresia.

We report on a boy and a girl with bilateral anophthalmia and proximal esophageal atresia. In addition to vestigial optic nerves and chiasma, MRI studies showed other central nervous system abnormalities; one had ectopic tissue in the hypothalamic region, and the other hand generalized ventriculomegaly associated with atrophy. Two other cases, both males, have been reported with anophthalmia and esophageal atresia as their only malformations. These 4 cases are reviewed in light of recent advances in the understanding of ocular embryogenesis and of the midbrain as a development field. Concurrence of these defects appears to be non-random.

Anophthalmos↗
PubMed1995

Correlation of early reduction in the apparent diffusion coefficient of water with blood flow reduction during middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

To determine the relationship between reductions in the apparent diffusion coefficient of water (ADC) and in cerebral blood flow (CBF) during focal ischemia, we used diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (D-MR) imaging and autoradiographic CBF analysis to examine rats subjected to 30 or 90 min of permanent middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. In the 30-min occlusion group (n = 10), the area with substantially reduced ADC (15% or more below the contralateral level [ADC15]) corresponded best to the area with CBF below 25 ml/100 g/min and was significantly smaller than the area with CBF below 50 ml/100 g/min (CBF50), a level associated with reduced protein synthesis and delayed necrosis (40 +/- 13% versus 74 +/- 8% of the ischemic hemisphere; P < 0.0001). In the 90-min occlusion group (n = 6), the ADC15 area corresponded best to the CBF30 to CBF35 area and was again significantly smaller than the CBF50 area (54 +/- 13% versus 73 +/- 20%, P < 0.05). Thus, the area of substantially reduced ADC at 30 and 90 min represents only 53% and 74%, respectively, of the tissue at risk for infarction. These findings indicate a potential limitation in using early D-MR imaging to predict stroke outcome.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Anatomo-clinical considerations on the ovarian fibroma.

The Authors analysed from an anatomo-clinical point of view, 17 cases of ovarian fibroma, observed during the period between 1968 and 1992. The incidence of ovarian fibroma in this study was 2.52% and it affected women in different age groups, though with greater frequency those above 50 years. Even the symptomatology was variable and was characterized by pain in the hypogastric quadrant (47.1%); alteration of the menstrual cycle (17.6%); metrorrhagic episodes (17.6%); sterility (5.9%). Due to the fact that the ovarian fibroma can appear at any age, this suggests different surgical approaches according to age, general conditions of the patient and fertility.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Variations in fibronectin plasma levels after surgical stress].

Depletion of reticuloendothelial system following major operations or trauma closely correlates with a decrease of plasmatic levels of fibronectin. Aim of the study is to evaluate the changes in plasma fibronectin levels after a surgical stress. Twenty patients who underwent elective gynecological surgery for a variety of pathological condition were the subject of our study. Circulating levels of fibronectin showed a significative decrease, as compared to preoperative values, and returned to normal during the second postoperative day. The recovery to normal values of this plasma glycoprotein was associated, in our patients, with a normal postoperative course.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Seasonal changes of plasma prolactin concentration in the reproduction of the crested newt (Triturus carnifex Laur).

Plasma prolactin (PRL) and vitellogenin (VTG) concentrations were determined during the annual reproductive cycle of the newt Triturus carnifex Laur. Plasma PRL was measured by a radioimmunoassay using purified newt (Cynops pyrrogaster) PRL as standard and radioligand and its antibodies. Using ELISA, plasma VTG titers were related to ovarian weight. The trends in PRL differed in the two sexes: the PRL changes seemed to be related with vitellogenic processes in the female, whereas they were more related to reproductive behavior in the male.

Animals↗