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Biomedical subjects

A Mercurio

Publications and source records attributed to A Mercurio.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Neurotrophic spread of both neuroblastoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma in the maxillofacial district: common aspects of pre- and postsurgical adjuvant treatment. Multidisciplinary study.

We have studied a common aspect of both adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) and neuroblastoma (NB) with the purpose of finding the optimal medical and surgical treatment. This article is based on a case study involving 22 cases of ACC and NB performed at the University of Rome La Sapienza from 1993 to 2001. Of the 22 cases, 17 were diagnosed with ACC and 5 with NB. ACC largely involved the maxillae, having been detected in this location in eight cases. Two of these patients, one affected by ACC and the other affected by NB, received neoadjuvant treatment, whereas 14 were affected by ACC, and 3 with NB received adjuvant treatment. Despite the fact that the two neoplasms have different embryogenic structures, they share common aspects. Both spread invasively through the perineural sheets, and both are responsive to radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The common biologic behavior and the similar response that both show to neoadjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy may suggest a way to develop a more effective treatment protocol. The aim of this article is to suggest a line of research along that path.

Adult↗

Cancer-related patient education: an overview of the last decade of evaluation and research.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of cancer-related patient-education research to determine future research needs. DATA SOURCES: A literature search of peer-reviewed articles from 1989-1999. Databases that were searched included Medline, CINAHL, HealthStar, ERIC, CancerLit, and PubMed. DATA SYNTHESIS: 176 articles were analyzed and synthesized into narrative form. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cancer want and benefit from information, especially when making treatment decisions. Education helps patients manage side effects and improves adherence. Literacy is an important factor in materials development. The efficacy of computer-assisted learning, audio and video programs, and telephone interventions is supported in a variety of patient groups. Pain education can improve pain control, but the impact on fatigue has not been well researched. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Patient education is an important component of nursing care. Research has confirmed its impact in many areas but questions still remain.

Communications Media↗

Sucrase-isomaltase is an independent prognostic marker for colorectal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Expression of disaccharidase sucrase-isomaltase (SI) is significantly enhanced during neoplastic transformation of colonic epithelium. Our study was designed to determine whether expression of SI within primary tumors was significantly associated with survival in patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC). METHODS: SI expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in paraffin sections from 182 Stage I to III CRC that had been resected for cure at the New England Deaconess Hospital between 1965 and 1977. Expression was scored as absent or present in 1 to 50 percent or more than 50 percent of tumor cells. Associations were explored among SI expression, other clinical or pathologic variables, and overall survival. The data set is mature, with 91 (56 percent) patients who had died of CRC at a median follow-up of 96 months. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of primary CRC expressed SI. When the multivariate Cox analysis was performed, nodal status, T stage, primary site, grade, and SI expression were independent covariates. SI expression was not associated with the expression of other clinicopathologic variables but increased the risk of death from colorectal carcinoma by 1.83-fold. DISCUSSION: These results indicate that SI is a prognostic marker for CRC that is independent of stage-related variables in patients who have undergone potentially curative resections.

Aged↗

A case report of naltrexone treatment of self-injury and social withdrawal in autism.

The endogenous opiate release theory of self-injurious behavior (SIB) was investigated through double-blind placebo-controlled administration of naltrexone hydrochloride (Trexan) to a 14-year-old autistic and mentally retarded male for treatment of severe SIB. Results yielded a marked decrease in SIB during two phases of active drug treatment, though SIB did not revert to originally observed placebo levels during a second placebo phase. An increase in social relatedness also was observed during phases of active drug treatment. Opiate theories of self-injury and the possible interrelationship of self-injury with pituitary-adrenal arousal and with social relatedness are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Biological tissue simulation and standard testing material for MRI.

The polyacrylamide gel is proposed here as a phantom material for NMR imaging. This substance has electrical and NMR relaxation characteristics very similar to those of biological tissues. The thermal and time stabilities also make this material a convenient standard for MRI.

Acrylic Resins↗

Cellular localization and export of the soluble haemolysin of Vibrio cholerae El Tor.

The cellular location of the haemolysin of Vibrio cholerae El Tor strain 017 has been analyzed. This protein is found both in the periplasmic space and the extracellular medium in Vibrio cholerae. However, when the cloned gene, present on plasmid pPM431, is introduced into E. coli K-12 this protein remains localized predominantly in the periplasmic space with no activity detected in the extracellular medium. Mutants of E. coli K-12 (tolA and tolB) which leak periplasmic proteins mimic excretion and release the haemolysin into the growth medium. Secretion of haemolysin into the periplasm is independent of perA (envZ) and in fact, mutants in perA (envZ) harbouring pPM431 show hyperproduction of periplasmic haemolysin. These results in conjunction with those for other V. cholerae extracellular proteins suggest that although E. coli K-12 can secrete these proteins into the periplasm, it lacks a specific excretion mechanism, present in V. cholerae, for the release of soluble proteins into the growth medium.

Animals↗

[Gastric lesions in closed abdominal injuries (considerations on 8 cases)].

The Authors present 8 cases of traumatic lesions of the stomach, during the course of closed abdominal trauma, observed in the First Aid and Emergency Surgery Division of the Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan, in the years 1970-1979. They take this as the starting point for a re-examination of the etiopathogenetic and anatomopathological data, and for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic considerations.

Abdominal Injuries↗

[Considerations on two cases of spigelian hernia (author's transl)].

The Authors describe two cases of abdominal hernia through the linea semilunaris (spigelian hernia) of their own observation; they outline the anatomic substrate and clinical picture of this condition and conclude by advocating surgical correction as a constant indication.

Aged↗