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Biomedical subjects

C Verna

Publications and source records attributed to C Verna.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Histomorphometric study of bone reactions during orthodontic tooth movement in rats.

The biological response to orthodontic tooth movement has generally focused on reactions within the periodontal ligament (PDL), whereas less attention has been paid to the behavior of neighboring bone. The purpose of the study was to describe the influence of orthodontic force on bone surrounding the displaced tooth and the adjacent, untreated teeth. Bone changes in relation to treatment time and different sites were investigated. A mesial tipping of the left maxillary first molar was obtained from 54 adult male Wistar rats. Oxytetracycline was injected subcutaneously 48 h before killing, which took place after 4, 7, or 14 days. The maxilla was fixed in paraformaldehyde and embedded undecalcified in methylmethacrylate. A set of thick horizontal sections was taken from the cervical, intermediate, and apical levels of the roots. The sections were microradiographed and analyzed microscopically under bright-field and fluorescent illumination. Bone fraction and PDL width was measured using a Zeiss Videoplan device equipped with an overlay system. New bone formation was detected by oxytetracycline labels. The analysis showed a consistent, significant decrease of the alveolar bone fraction around both displaced and adjacent teeth at all treatment times. Apposition, indicated by the tetracycline uptake, was found on the periosteal side of the treated hemimaxilla and, after 14 days, also on the surface toward which the tooth was moving and around the adjacent teeth. These results suggest that a time rather than a space relationship exists between bone resorption and formation and that the whole hemimaxilla reacts to the mechanical challenge, resembling the regional acceleratory phenomenon (RAP) observed in other circumstances.

Adaptation, Physiological

Differences in static cortical bone remodeling parameters in human mandible and iliac crest.

Knowledge of the baseline turnover characteristics, and of possible general and local factors influencing alveolar bone responses, is particularly important in the planning of oral rehabilitation. The conventional tool used to obtain information on bone turnover is the iliac crest biopsy, but it is not clear whether it mirrors the situation involving the jaws. The aim of this study was to compare static bone remodeling parameters in the mandible and in the iliac crest to obtain baseline values for the mandible and to test the hypothesis of site specificity of bone remodeling. Bone specimens were obtained from 50 subjects (mean age 64 +/- 17) at autopsy. Three sites were sampled: iliac crest; jaw angle; and foramen mentalis area. In addition, occlusal status was recorded. On undecalcified thin sections, cortical porosity (Ct.Po), eroded sites (ESi), formative sites (FSi), osteonal diameter (On.Dm), Haversian canal diameter (H.Ca.Dm), and wall width (W.Wi) were measured. Ct.Po in the jaw angle and in the foramen mentalis area was lower (48% and 50%, respectively) than in the iliac crest, as was ESi and FSi (80% in the jaw angle and 74% in the foramen mentalis area). In the foramen mentalis area, Ct.Po was greater in subjects with occlusion. On.Dm, H.Ca.Dm, and W.Wi were significantly larger and mutually correlated within the mandible, whereas no correlation was found between mandibular sites and iliac crest. Static cortical bone remodeling parameters are different in the mandible and the iliac crest, thus confirming the hypothesis of site specificity of bone remodeling. Within the mandible, the parameters were correlated, whereas there was no correlation between the mandible and the iliac crest. This could be ascribed to the different functional demands to the mandible and the iliac crest, which was also reflected in the observed influence of functional occlusion on bone remodeling in the mandible. It can thus be concluded that bone reaction to dental intervention is more dependent on the local environment than on general bone turnover as reflected by the iliac crest.

Analysis of Variance

Intramuscular hemangioma: a benign tumor masquerading as malignant soft tissue tumor. Report of two cases.

We report two cases of intramuscular hemangiomas, one arising from the left flank region of a 33-year-old female, and another from the mid right back of a 25-year-old man. In both cases the tumor masqueraded as malignancy and required a biopsy for correct diagnosis. Intramuscular hemangioma is a benign vascular tumor. Its tendency to deep location, infiltrative border, and fixity to surrounding tissues may cause it to be confused with malignant soft tissue tumors. Preoperative biopsy of the lesion is advised, and histopathologic examination is the only way to make a definitive diagnosis. Wide excision of the lesion is the treatment of choice. Follow up is required for any late recurrences.

Adult

[Renal angiolipoma associated with bilateral double ureter. A clinical case].

Renal angiomyolipoma is a rare renal tumor usually associated with tuberous sclerosis, a syndrome characterized by adenoma sebaceum, mental insufficiency and epilepsy. The authors present a rare case of renal angio-myolipoma associated with bilateral double ureter, in a young male patient not affected by tuberous sclerosis. Histologically, the angiomyolipoma is defined by the presence of smooth muscular cells, new formed vessels and fat. Clinical diagnosis requires the utilization of various imaging techniques, like intravenous pyelogram, ultrasonic scan, CT scan, and FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration). In the histopathologic diagnosis of angiomyolipoma the use of immunohistochemical techniques with different antibodies has been helpful, for the necessity to differentiate angiomyolipoma from other epithelial tumors, as renal cell carcinoma and sarcomatous neoplasms. As for as treatment is concerned, the indication for surgery is still maintained by two factors not affected by these diagnostic improvements: tumor size and presence of symptoms. Tumor size is an important predictive growth factor of the tumor. In the absence of symptoms a close follow-up with ultrasonographic scan may be indicated, keeping in mind the possible presence of a synchronous renal cell carcinoma. Hemorrhage can be a fatal complication of renal angiomyolipoma, requiring emergency surgery or embolization.

Adult

[Use of Valtrac in digestive surgery. Initial clinical experience].

Stapling instruments are being currently used for digestive or colorectal anastomoses with definite advantages. The authors report their initial clinical experience about BAR utilization to restore intestinal continuity after upper digestive and colorectal resections. The authors have been carried out 20 anastomoses on 18 patients: 11 males and 7 females. Eleven (61.1%) of them were affected with malignant neoplasms and in 9 cases were performed an urgency procedure. The colorectal and jejunal-jejunal anastomoses were performed, respectively, in 8 cases; gastric-jejunal and ileo-colic anastomoses, respectively, in 2. The satisfactory results obtained seem to demonstrate that the biofragmentable anastomotic ring constitutes a "safe" method of bowel junction of the whole digestive apparatus.

Adult

Testicular feminization syndrome diagnosed in an elderly patient at surgery. A case report.

A case of Morris' syndrome in which the diagnosis has been realized only in old age is reported. A 69 year-old patient, with female external genitalia and secondary sexual characteristics, was referred to us with a diagnosis of a mass in the right inguinal region. Her personal history was based on a primary amenorrhoea, which was unsuccessfully investigated since she was adolescent. At the age of 63, during surgery for a left inguinal hernia realized in another hospital, a testis-like mass with the spermatic cord was casually found. During our hospitalization, a surgical removal of the right inguinal mass was performed, and the histologic examination showed the presence of a dominant sclerohyalin testicular tissue without evidence of seminal epithelium and sparse focuses of Leydig cells hyperplasia. Besides, the determination of gonadotropins and sex hormones yielded an increased production of LH, FSH, estradiol, testosterone and androstenedione. A cytogenetic analysis showed a 46, XY karyotype. The diagnosis realized only in old age has compelled the patient to live all her life, from sexual maturity, with indecision and doubt, and without a clinical explanation of fundamental utility even from the psychological point of view. Finally, in our patient the absence of cytologic aspect of malignant transformation in the removed testes in a six years period, seem fortuitous. It is always necessary to consider Morris' syndrome among the possible diseases causing primary amenorrhoea in the clinical evaluation of young phenotypic female patients.

Aged

[Emergency abdominal surgery in the aged].

The results of 93 elderly patients, subdivided in two age groups (> 65 < 80 years; > 80 years), undergoing abdominal surgery in immediate or delayed emergency over the past five years are reported. The overall morbility was 47.3% (48 complications in 44 patients); among the complications, sepsis was the first factor in frequency in either group (group I: 28.1%, group II: 17.2%), and was reported mostly in patients with associated diseases (group I: 61.1%, group II: 60%). Overall mortality was 16.2% (group I: 15.6%, group II: 17.2) related to 15 patients; among them, 10 had associated diseases (66.6%). The authors try to identify risk factors and their influence in prognosis and propose a multidisciplinary approach in the pre and postoperative period.

Abdomen

[Unusual presentation of bilateral ureterocele in an adult Black male. Clinical case].

Ureterocele is a congenital urinary abnormality characterized by the presence of an intra-bladder hernia or cystic ballooning of the lower end of a ureter between the mucosa and muscle of the bladder. The abnormality leads to urinary retention and recurrent urinary tract infection which can cause irreversible damage to the kidney. Antenatal ultrasound diagnosis of ureterocele is possible but remains difficult. The disease is confirmed during radiologic examination after birth, and renal function is assessed by 99mTc-DMSA. Ureterocele, while not an uncommon pediatric urologic problem, has been reported only rarely in adults. It is bilateral in 10% of cases, is rare in black people, and requires thoughtful management decisions. A relatively uncommon case of bilateral ureterocele with single ureter, associated with left vesicoureteral reflux, in African black man is reported. The patient was investigated by ultrasonography and intravenous urography. Surgical transvesical right "osteoplasty" and excision of the left ureterocele plus ureteric reimplantation, using Politano-Leadbetter technique, were performed. The surgical approach to ureterocele is discussed and we underlined the difficulty of therapeutic decisions, especially if surgery is considered.

Adult

[Cephalometry and digital radiography. Technical note].

Conventional and digital lateral teleradiographs of the skull were performed on 6 consecutive patients (3 men and 3 women). The study was aimed at comparing the diagnostic capabilities of the two imaging techniques to measure points and angles, as derived from different cephalometric analyses (see text for details). These variables were analyzed by three different operators: for both techniques, 18 cephalometric tracings were made, including a total of 414 points and 36 angles. Correlation coefficients between the two types of measurements (points and angles) were calculated; Wilcoxon's non-parametric test was also used. This study demonstrates digital radiography to be superior to conventional radiography to detect cephalometric landmarks, which is especially evident in the evaluation of the so-called "questionable" landmarks: the latter were 15 of 23 with conventional radiography and 9 of 23 with digital radiography. On the other hand, correlation coefficients and significance of the values of the considered angles were in close agreement with the two techniques. Therefore, its simultaneous demonstration of anatomical structures of different thickness--i.e., bone and soft tissues--and its lower exposure dose make digital radiography the diagnostic procedure of choice in cephalometrics, especially in the pediatric age, as well as in monitoring the patients.

Adolescent

[Frequency of in vitro sensitivity to netilmicin and ceftizoxime on selected highly resistant flora in surgical intensive therapy].

The in vitro sensitivity of 132 gram positive and gram negative bacterial strains to Netilmycin and Ceftizoxime was assessed in order to update the statistics on the a priori efficacy of the antibacterial drugs. The flora studied were carefully selected as an extreme case of resistance to the standard antibiotics. Netilmycin was found to be effective against Staphylococci, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter, Ceftizoxime against Serratia, Acinetobacter, Proteus and Klebsiella. Both drugs were equally effective against E. coli and Citrobacter.

Cefotaxime

[Prevalence of caries and malocclusion in Ferrara school children].

The Authors examined 459 children for caries and malocclusion in Argenta. 77% of the whole sample had caries and 65% of children had malocclusion. Dental health education and public preventive programs should be organized to prevent caries and malocclusion. An extension and improvement of local epidemiological studies are needed to achieve this purpose.

Child

[Radiographic screening of asymmetry and postural changes in orthodontic patients].

The role of OPM and of the teleradiography in the diagnosis of the asymmetries and of the postural problems of the orthodontic patients, is pointed out from this analysis on the group of 204 patients from mixed dentition to the adult age with different types of malocclusion. The evidence of a significant amount of patients with asymmetries and incorrected posture shows the utility of this radiological screening and gives advises for a therapeutic approach more corrected.

Adolescent

[Epidemiological aspects of mandibular asymmetry in the developmental period].

The prevalence of mandibular asymmetry in developmental age has been evaluated by a clinical and photographic survey. The signs of dysfunction increased with age from 14 to 34.5%. The heterogeneous predisposing or concurrent factors are discussed, with special attention for postural and breathing problems.

Adolescent

[Computerized archives in surgery. Our experience].

In recent years, the necessity for a surgical department to obtain a wide range of clinical data in a short period is greatly increased. This necessity has been almost satisfied with widespread use of information systems in medicine using database programs and the integration of these database with other programs has allowed graphic representation of data. Anyhow, some difficulties are still present, such as low knowledge in using personal computers and lacking of a common program for all surgical departments. In the article the authors present a computerized program for the filing of medical records in a surgical department. Starting from January 1992, clinical data of all patients admitted in our department have been recorded in the described program. After three years of use, the system has shown to be easy to use, and able to give useful information for data analysis regarding the population observed, the clinical activity performed and the level of quality obtained. For these reasons, it can represent an attempt to diffuse and uniform computerized data recording in surgical departments.

Archives