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Biomedical subjects

A Moretti

Publications and source records attributed to A Moretti.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Comparison of anti-hepatitis C virus detection with ELISA assay and RIBA 4 in dialysis patients: our experience.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been demonstrated to be the main cause of non-A, non-B hepatitis and the emergent infectious illness in dialysis units. At present, the anti-HCV 100 ELISA and an immunoblot assay in which 2 new antigens are included, are available. We have tested 110 patients on chronic dialysis with anti-C100 ELISA. Twenty-seven of them were anti-HCV positive. We tested the 27 anti-HCV-positive and 7 anti-HCV-negative patients with the RIBA 4 assay. The results were similar with both test.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay↗
PubMed1991

Antibodies to hepatitis C virus in patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia.

The prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCVAb) was investigated in 52 unselected patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia and in 84 patients with other systemic immunologic diseases. HCVAb were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and their specificity was evaluated by a recombinant-based immunoblot assay. The presence of HBV-related markers was investigated in the same samples. HCVAb were found in 54% of mixed cryoglobulinemia patients, and the finding was confirmed by recombinant-based immunoblot assay in all cases. HCVAb and/or HBV markers were present in 70% of the patients. HCVAb seropositivity was significantly more frequent in mixed cryoglobulinemia patients with biopsy-proven liver involvement (P less than 0.01) and with increased serum transaminase levels (P less than 0.01). HCVAb were virtually absent in control patients with other immunologic diseases. These results support the notion that viral agents, i.e., HCV and possibly HBV, have a role in the pathogenesis of mixed cryoglobulinemia patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Thyroid gland and carcinoma of the hypopharyngeal-laryngeal region].

The thyroid gland harbours many diseases which require a surgical treatment; the gland may also be involved by some secondary malignant neoplasms. Such type of involvement by laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers is more often due to direct extension rather than metastases. In this paper the Authors report their experience of tumoral involvement of the thyroid gland in 35 patients with laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer observed from 1986 to 1990. All patients had an epidermoid carcinoma of the larynx or hypopharynx that required an hemithyroidectomy (always plus isthmectomy) or an isthmectomy associated to laryngectomy. On pathologic examination 5 thyroid specimens revealed tumoral involvement in patients with laryngeal neoplasms: 1 case of solitary metastasis and 4 cases of direct extension. In patients with hypopharyngeal lesions, on the contrary, the gland was, in all cases, undamaged. For this very interesting and uncommon finding the Authors agree with Harrison's proposal suggesting total thyroidectomy is necessary in case of subglottic lesions while in all the other laryngeal and hypopharyngeal lesions the homolateral lobe of the thyroid gland and the isthmus should be removed with the specimen also performing a frozen section examination of the contralateral lobe. In this study tumoral involvement of the thyroid gland appeared to be a very important negative prognostic factor and was higher in the subglottic and anterior commissure lesions.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

GABA content and synthesis in the aging rat brain.

The content and synthesis of GABA were measured in the cortex and striatum of young adult (4 months), mature (14 months), and old (24 months) male Wistar rats. GABA synthesis was determined from the GABA accumulation induced by aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA). Aging did not affect GABA content in the cortex (1.03 +/- 0.04 mumoles/g in young and 1.06 +/- 0.04 mumoles/g in old rats), or in the striatum (1.63 +/- 0.04 mumoles/g in young and 1.56 +/- 0.05 mumoles/g in old rats). Aging did not significantly change the AOAA-induced GABA accumulation in the striatum (+34% in young, +16% in mature, and +28% in old rats), but significantly reduced it in the cortex where this process takes place to a greater extent than in the striatum: +164% in young, +116% in mature, and +120% in old animals. It can be concluded that while in the striatum aging did not affect AOAA-induced GABA accumulation, in the cortex this was less in mature than young rats, with no further change in the old ones. GABA content was not affected by aging in either region.

Aging↗
PubMed1989

[Study of the respiratory profile in symptomatic asthma patients].

The following indexes were measured in 10 normal volunteers and 25 symptomatic asthmatic patients: --tidal volume (VT), breathing frequency (f), minute ventilation (Ve); --forced expiratory volume in 1 s. (FEV1), vital capacity (VC), residual volume (RV) and partial pressure of 02-C02 in arterial blood (Pa02-C02); --mean inspiratory flow (VT/Ti); --inspiratory duty cycle (Ti/Tt). Our data suggest a "ventilatory pattern" of the asthmatic patients may be characterized by the following features: --increasing of tidal volume (VT) and minute ventilation (Ve); --increasing of the mean inspiratory flow (Vt/Ti); --reduction of inspiratory duty cycle (Ti/Tt). This suggest that the breathing pattern may help to differentiate symptomatic asthmatic patients form patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who have similar degrees of pulmonary hyperinflation, but breathe with faster rates and slightly elevated tidal volumes.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Susceptibility of gram positive cocci to teicoplanin. Three year survey (1984-1986) at Perugia University.

From 1984 to 1986, 1038 Gram positive cocci (865 Staphylococci and 173 Enterococci) have been tested for sensitivity to teicoplanin by the agar diffusion method: only one strain (Staphylococcus haemolyticus) resulted to have no zone of inhibition around the teicoplanin disk. All Staphylococcus haemolyticus strains showed higher MIC: 2.79 mcg/ml after 24h of incubation and 20.50 mcg/ml after 48h. The reduced teicoplanin sensitivity of Staphylococcus haemolyticus was not detected by the agar diffusion test.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1989

Technical factors influencing the bactericidal activity of teicoplanin against staphylococci.

Considering 99.9% Killing after 24h of incubation, mean bactericidal activity of teicoplanin against 48 clinical isolates of Staphylococci resulted to be 67.7 micrograms/ml. Fortyfour out of 48 strains (91.7%) resulted tolerant. The high percentage of tolerant was dependent on survivors above the 0.1% allowed in several tube dilutions. Prolonged incubation consistently reduced this number. Only 37.5% of our strains remained tolerant after 48h of incubation. Bactericidal activity of teicoplanin was also significantly influenced by other technical factors. Human serum enhanced the killing of teicoplanin. For 9 strains of Staphylococcus aureus geometric mean MBC decreased from 49.9 muug/ml to 3.9 micrograms/ml (p less than 0.05); also actively growing bacteria demonstrated a higher killing rate, resulting in lower MBCs (mean 3.8 micrograms/ml). Micromethod technique was greatly influenced by the carryover phenomenon. The spot subculture technique is not accurate for bactericidal studies. A standardized technique for determining the minimal bactericidal activity is needed.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1989

Killing rate and serum bactericidal activity of oxacillin, rifampin and ciprofloxacin against Staphylococcus aureus.

The bacterial activity of oxacillin, rifampin and ciprofloxacin was examined at two concentrations by the serum bactericidal rate (SBR) technique against 5 strains of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus. The activity of oxacillin plus ciprofloxacin and oxacillin plus rifampin was also determined for 5 strains of staphylococci examining in vitro the SBR and the serum bactericidal activity (SBA). We simulated SBR and SBA in vitro using pooled human serum containing know concentrations of antimicrobial agents. The rate at which the antibiotics kill S. aureus did not rise by increasing the concentrations over the MBC. The oxacillin-ciprofloxacin combination was indifferent when tested by the rate of killing, whereas an antagonistic interaction was frequently observed with the oxacillin-rifampin combination. The SBA was determined by two methods: the technique of the Mayo Clinic that uses Mueller-Hinton broth (MHB) as the diluent and the method of Stratton in which the diluent was prepared with MHB supplemented with Ca++ and Mg++ and combined with 50% pooled human serum. The activities of oxacillin and rifampin were decreased in the presence of human serum. These results were attributed to the high protein binding of these antibiotics. Rifampin in combination with oxacillin showed antagonism against S. aureus also by the SBA method. The inhibitory activity of drugs in combination remained substantially the same as the single more active one.

Ciprofloxacin↗
PubMed1987

Effect of aging on monoamines and their metabolites in the rat brain.

Concentrations of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-HT) and their acid metabolites were assayed in specific brain areas of Wistar rats of various ages. DA and its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were significantly lower in striatum and mesolimbic areas of old (24 mos) rats than young adult (3 mos), but not mature (12 mos) rats. The decrease of homovanillic acid (HVA) was significant in mesolimbic areas but not in striatum. Neither cortical NE nor its metabolite methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol sulphate (MHPG-SO4) were significantly changed by aging. 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the brainstem showed a tendency to a decrease and increase respectively in aged animals compared with young adults, but the differences were not statistically significant. However, the ratio of 5-HIAA to 5-HT concentrations was significantly higher in aged animals. The conclusion can be drawn that, in these brain areas, DA is more vulnerable to aging than NE and 5-HT, the metabolism of the latter being even enhanced.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1987

[Computerized tomography in pulmonary sequestration].

The authors describe two cases of intra and extralobar pulmonary sequestration and evaluate its principal clinical and pathological characteristics. They outline the key role of T.C. in the approach to this pathology. The T.C. enables to collect in a short time a large quantity of useful information for a correct diagnosis which could not be obtained by means of other methods of imaging.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

[Bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity, resistance and tolerance of 16 strains of thermophilic Campylobacter to 12 antibiotic drugs].

The majority of gastrointestinal infections due to "thermophilic" Campylobacter is self limiting and does not need antibiotic treatment. Anyhow there are some serious cases (sepsis, persistent and relapsing gastroenteritis, severe immunodeficient patients) which require appropriate therapy. The susceptibility of 15 strains of Campylobacter jejuni and of 1 strain of C. coli, isolated from patients with acute gastroenteritis, has been studied against 12 antibiotics with the broth microdilution method at two different inocula (10(3)-10(4) CFU/ml and 10(7)-10(8) CFU/ml), and with the standard agar disk diffusion test, modified to allow sensitivity testing of Campylobacter. For each antibiotic, the geometric mean of MIC and of MBC and the concentrations of the various drugs needed for inhibition and killing of 50 and 90% of the strains (MIC-MBC50 and MIC-MBC90 respectively) have been calculated. Finally the percentage of resistant strains and the percentage of tolerant strains (ratio MBC/MIC: greater than or equal to 32) at low and high inoculum was determined. Erythromycin and aminoglycosides resulted the most active antibiotics against Campylobacter, being bactericidal as well as bacteriostatic at both low and high inoculum. Among the beta-lactams, cefotaxime was the most active, followed by piperacillin and ampicillin. Ceftazidime, aztreonam and rifampin were inactive. Ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole and tetracyclines showed some activity against Campylobacter at low inoculum. The agar disk diffusion method cannot be used for the "routinary" assay of susceptibility of Campylobacter, because it is a "naggy" microaerophilic organism.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1986

Brain dopamine autoreceptors in aging rats.

The function of dopamine (DA) autoreceptors is evaluated in vivo in striatum and mesolimbic regions of young adult (4 months), mature (14 months) and old (26 months) male Wistar rats. gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL)-induced dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) accumulation in rats also treated with an inhibitor of aromatic L-aminoacid decarboxylase was used to determine the presence of synthesis-modulating nerve terminal autoreceptors while its reversal with apomorphine served as an index of autoreceptor stimulation. GBL-induced DOPA accumulation in striatum is very high at all three ages (130-150% increase in comparison with controls) as is its reversal by apomorphine (65-80% decrease in comparison with GBL alone). In mesolimbic regions, GBL has much less effect than in striatum (31% rise at 4 and 26 months, 12% rise at 14 months), but apomorphine's effect is of the same order of magnitude (down 60-80%). The conclusion can be drawn that aging does not significantly affect DA autoreceptor function in striatum and mesolimbic areas.

Aging↗
PubMed1985

Brain catecholamine content and turnover in aging rats.

The content and turnover of catecholamines were evaluated in various brain regions of young adult (4-months) and aged (24-months) male rats. Turnover was assessed from the concentrations of acid metabolites and the decline of catecholamine content after synthesis blockade with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine. Dopamine was reduced by aging in striatum, mesolimbic areas, and hypothalamus. Dopamine metabolites and turnover rate were significantly lower in striatum and mesolimbic areas of aged than of young animals. Hypothalamic norepinephrine content and turnover rate were unchanged in aged compared to young rats but its metabolite (MHPG-SO4) was increased in the cortex. These findings point to an extensive impairment of brain dopamine metabolism in aging rats, whereas norepinephrine seems to be less impaired.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1984

Cross-resistance between methicillin and cephalosporins for staphylococci: a general assumption not true for cefamandole.

The antibacterial activity of cefamandole was evaluated against 120 methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococcal strains, using both large (10(8) CFU per ml) and small (10(4) CFU per ml) inocula. Cefamandole appeared superior to cephalothin against methicillin-resistant strains, displaying at 10 micrograms/ml a bacteriostatic and for some strains a bactericidal action against a large inoculum of bacteria.

Cefamandole↗