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Biomedical subjects

A Ruocco

Publications and source records attributed to A Ruocco.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Mutagenicity of pesticides containing 1,3-dichloropropene.

In a systematic study of the mutagenic effect of chemical compounds used as pesticides, we found that D. D. soil fumigant and Telone are mutagenic. The test was performed using the bacterial tester strains following the procedure developed by Ames. The active principle of D. D. soil fumigant and Telone is a mixture of the cis and trans isomers of 1,3-dichloropropene. Both isomers are mutagenic in Salmonella strains TA 1535 and TA 100. 2,3-Dichloro-1-propene, a minor component (5%) of the commercial preparation Telone, was also found to be mutagenic in strains TA 1535 and TA 100. Mutagenesis of these tester strains is an indication of a base-pair substitution event causing a missense mutation. 1,3-Dichloropropene is widely used in agriculture all over the world. In Italy 2,187,100 kg were produced in 1972. In California over 1,000,000 kg of 1,3-dichloropropene-containing pesticides were used in 1971.

Allyl Compounds↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Morphological and functional abnormalities in platelets exposed in vitro to ioglicinic acid, a new ionic contrast medium.

The inhibitory effect on platelet function induced by several radiographic contrast media is still poorly understood. In this study platelet abnormalities caused by in vitro addition of ioglicinic acid, a new ionic contrast medium, were evaluated. The appearance of several granules similar to dense bodies associated with shape change and internal reorganization were detected by electron microscopy techniques. A functional study revealed a marked decrease in the aggregating response of platelets to adenosine diphosphate and calcium ionophore A23187, while aggregation in response to collagen was completely normal. It is suggested that ioglicinic acid induces platelet abnormalities related to the effect on calcium movements and that studies with this contrast medium may help the understanding of some basic events of platelet activation.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Premature aging in Werner's syndrome spares the central nervous system.

Werner's Syndrome is a rare genetic disease, characterized by premature aging of many tissues and organs. We studied the brain morphology and function in two patients with Werner's syndrome to assess the possible involvement of the central nervous system in this premature aging process. The two patients (brother and sister, respectively) were studied by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and angiography (MRA), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with (99mTc)-d,l-hexamethyl propilene amine oxime (HMPAO), positron emission tomography (PET) with 2(18F)-Fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG), electroencephalography (EEG), and electromyography (EMG). Some of these investigations were also repeated after 1 year. The results of all these studies were normal. The premature aging process in patients with Werner's syndrome, while affecting most tissues, seems to spare the central nervous system.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Plasma folate, vitamin B(12), and total homocysteine and homozygosity for the C677T mutation of the 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase gene in patients with Alzheimer's dementia. A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Elevated total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) levels are considered a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease and may also play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). High values of plasma tHcy and low levels of vitamin B(12) and folate are frequently present in AD patients. Moreover, the homozygous mutation (C677T) of the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, related to a thermolabile type of the encoded enzyme, causes hyperhomocysteinemia by reducing the 5-methyltetrahydrofolate availability. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate plasma levels of folate, vitamin B(12) and tHcy in patients with AD. These values were also related to the severity and the duration of the disease and to the possible role of the MTHFR genotype (C677T). METHOD: Plasma tHcy levels, homozygosity for the C677T mutation of the MTHFR gene, and folate and vitamin B(12) plasma levels were evaluated in 74 patients with AD (45 men, 29 women, mean age 68 years) and in 74 healthy matched controls (42 men, 32 women, mean age 68 years). RESULTS: AD patients had higher mean (+/- SD) plasma levels of tHcy (20.9 +/- 15 micromol/l compared to 11.8 +/- 5 micromol/l, p < 0.001) and lower mean plasma folate (5.7 +/- 2.1 ng/ml compared to 8.5 +/- 3.2 ng/ml, p < 0.001) and vitamin B(12) (491 +/- 144 pmol/l compared to 780 +/- 211 pmol/l, p < 0.001) concentrations. Homozygosity for the C677T mutation of the MTHFR gene had a similar prevalence among controls (18%) and AD patients (20%). Homozygous AD patients (n = 15) had higher plasma tHcy values than nonhomozygotes, in spite of similar mean plasma folate and vitamin B(12) levels. This difference in plasma tHcy levels was not observed in controls. Patients with levels of plasma tHcy above and of plasma folate below the normal limits were more frequent in the homozygous AD group. The duration of the disease correlated with plasma levels of tHcy (r = +0.832, p < 0.001), plasma folate (r = -0.580, p < 0.05), and vitamin B(12) (r = -0.460, p < 0.05). However, when all the data were corrected for age, serum creatinine levels, and duration of the disease, mean plasma tHcy, folate, and vitamin B(12) levels were not statistically different between controls and AD patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that rather than a risk factor for AD, hyperhomocysteinemia is related to its progression and increasing severity. This might be particularly relevant in homozygotes for the C677T mutation of the MTHFR gene and supports the possible need for continuous supplements in this setting.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Clinical and electrophysiologic changes produced by (--) eburnamonine in acute and post-acute stages of head injuries].

Two groups of patients suffering from cranial trauma have been submitted to a double-blind acute (1-2 per phlebo ampules/die for 7-10 days) and chronic (1 i.m. ampule for 30 days) at random treatment, respectively with (--) Eburnamonine and Papaverine. The evaluation of the clinical symptoms (state of consciousness, neurologic and post-traumatic symptoms) and of some electrophysiological responses (REG, visual and somato-sensorial evoked potentials) were investigated in basal conditions, during the acute stage, at the end of the chronic treatment and 30 days after the drugs withdrawal. The results showed (--) Eburnamonine to induce a superior improvement than Papaverine of some clinical symptoms (motor disorders, retrograde amnesia, vertigo) and of cortical bioelectrical activity, as rheoencephalographic data and reduction in early latencies of evoked response to somato-sensorial stimulation (SEP) revealed. Local and systemic tolerability was good with both drugs; a slight hypotensive action, more marked with Papaverine, was noted at the end of the treatment.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Our experience with rheoencephalography. Qualitative REG study of 1000 cases of verified chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency].

After a detailed review of literature basic and clinical data on rheoencephalography (R.E.G.) the findings of 1000 patients suffering from verified brain blood supply impairment submitted to REG studies are exposed. Following parameters of REG curve have been analysed: sphygmic amplitude, sphygmic interrelations between two homologous brain regions; sphygmic speed, rise time, slope of REG curve, dicrotic incisure, random oscillations of catacrotic phase. A reduction in sphygmic speed has been observed in 70 % of cases, with changes in slope of REG curve in 90 % and reduction or disappearance of catacrotic dicrotism in 93.5 % and progressively less frequent changes in the remaining REG parameters. The obtained data have been submitted to statistical analysis. Significant associations have been observed between two or more pathological REG parameters and between the pathology of REG curve as a whole and the different invasive methods employed for assessing the cerebrovascular insufficiency such as CT, CBF studies and angiographic data. Not significant correlations between the focal REG pathology, and the focal changes of REG or of the invasive methods have been found. The systematic employment of REG study as a non invasive method for the screening of cerebral blood impairment is recommended.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Electrophysiological variations induced by (-) eburnamonine in patients with chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency].

Twenty adult patients, (13 males and 7 females) aged from 20 to 57 years, suffering from chronic brain blood supply impairment verified by different techniques (CBF measurement, ophthalmoangioscopic study; CAT, Carotid angiogram) have been submitted to REG and various EEG investigations (Standard and spectral EEG analysis, VEP and SEP studies) prior and during a chronic treatment with eburnamonine intramuscularly given for 60 days and after drug withdrawal. A significant reduction in prominent EEG frequency during the first 30 days treatment has been observed whereas a significant increase in mean EEG amplitude during 60 days treatment could be recorded. A significant and progressive increase in mean REG sphygmic amplitude after 60 days treatment and 30 days after the withdrawal, together with a significant increase in rise time and a significant reduction in culmination time of REG, could be observed. A reduction in VEP latencies of P1 either over the occipital or over the centrofrontal regions with increase in total VEP duration and significant improvement in postero-anterior transmission of evoked response have been observed. A reduction in SEP latencies of P1 either on contralateral or on ipsilateral somatosensory cortex has been observed. A significant decrease in delta content over all brain regions and in theta content over parieto-occipital regions with significant increase in alpha content during the whole treatment and after the suspension with a transient increase in beta frequency during the first 30 days treatment have been revealed by spectral EEG analysis. Bearing in mind the different and frequently antithetic trends in EEG amplitude and frequency changes observed in patients suffering from partial blood supply impairment versus the total blood supply impairment the antihypoxic effects of (--) eburnamonine have been confirmed, with increase in blood flow, specially of cortical grey matter, revealed by REG changes.

Adolescent↗