Biomedical subjects

Carlo Rossi

Publications and source records attributed to Carlo Rossi.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Indoor and outdoor genotoxic load detected by the Comet assay in leaves of Nicotiana tabacum cultivars Bel B and Bel W3.

Environmental pollution assessment and control are priority issues for both developed and developing countries of the world. The use of plant material for a more complete picture of environmental health appears to be particularly appealing. Here we validate a previous plant-adapted Comet assay on leaf tissues of Nicotiana tabacum cultivars Bel B and Bel W3. The effects of H(2)O(2) on DNA damage in Bel B and Bel W3 agree with the hypothesis that some component of the machinery that protects DNA integrity from oxidative stress may be impaired in cv. Bel W3. Exposure in the field on sunny summer days (peak ozone concentration >80 p.p.b.) showed significantly higher DNA damage in cv. Bel W3 if plants were collected and subjected to the Comet assay when the air ozone concentration was reaching its peak value, but not when plants were sampled early in the morning and hence after a period of low ozone concentration. The different results suggest that Bel W3 possesses a less efficient recovery apparatus that requires a longer period of activity to be effective and/or is less protected against reactive oxygen species production during exposure to ozone. However, it cannot be excluded that the increase in mean DNA damage is the result of the presence of a genotoxic agent(s) other than ozone. Interestingly, Bel W3 also appears to be more responsive, compared with Bel B, when exposed to ambient indoor pollutants. The use of cv. Bel W3 increases the sensitivity of the assay under both indoor and field conditions. However, different classes of mutagens should be tested to define the range of profitable utilization of this tobacco cultivar for environmental genotoxicity detection.

Air Pollutants↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cerebral perfusional effects of cholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer disease.

Cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors improve or stabilize cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). However, the regional metabolic and perfusion correlates of treatment with ChE inhibitors are not fully known. Twenty-four patients with mild to moderate AD were evaluated with Tc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) single-photon-emission CT scanning (SPECT), before and after 4.3 +/- 1.1 months of treatment with ChE inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine). Clinical evaluations included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) as well as the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Inclusion criterion was a clear favorable response to therapy with ChE inhibitors (MMSE improvement of at least 2 points; total NPI improvement of at least 4 points). SPECT data were analyzed by Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM 99, Wellcome, Department of Cognitive Neurology, London, UK). SPM analysis showed a significant increase (P < 0.01) of regional cerebral perfusion (rCBF) after short-term ChE inhibitor therapy with respect to baseline in the right anterior cingulate, the dorsolateral prefrontal, and the temporoparietal areas bilaterally. These data suggest that cognitive or behavioral benefits after ChE inhibitor therapy are related to a clear increase of rCBF in crucial areas specifically involved in the attentional and limbic networks.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Early gastric cancer: a single-institution experience on 60 cases.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The 5-year survival rate of early gastric cancer (EGC) is 85-100% after "curative" resection, as compared to 20-30% in advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Because of this relatively high cure rate, the interest in the diagnosis and therapy of EGC has been steadily increasing. The present study, based on 60 EGCs, in a single-institution, is aimed at critical evaluating the diagnostic procedures and surgical options. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty patients with early gastric cancer (36 men and 24 women; median age, 61 years; range, 28-84) were diagnosed and operated on. They represented 21% of all patients with gastric cancer (281) treated in the period January 1987 to December 2001. The most frequent symptom was epigastric pain (84%). Barium upper gastrointestinal radiography findings were strongly suggestive of malignancy in 56 cases (93%). Preoperative histopathological diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was performed in 57 cases (95%). In 3 cases (5%) severe epithelial dysplasia (associated with ulcer) was the first diagnosis, but the final diagnosis, on the basis of resected specimens, was well differentiated adenocarcinoma. The primary surgical procedure included: a) subtotal distal resection (49 cases); b) total gastrectomy (6) for proximal neoplastic extension; c) proximal gastric resection (2) for cardial cancer; d) degastro-total gastrectomy (3) for cancer of the stump. Two patients, previously treated with conservative surgery, underwent degastro-total gastrectomy for neoplastic microfocal extension to the resection margin and for early anastomotic recurrence, respectively. Mural infiltration was limited to the mucosa and submucosa in 36 and 24 cases, respectively. Lymph node metastases were found in 3 mucosal and 9 submucosal tumor cases, involving either the first and second echelon. No operative deaths or postsurgical complications occurred in this series. In the follow-up period (median, 63 months; range, 3-178) 7 patients died due to other causes; 1 developed liver metastases, another developed oropharyngeal cancer and 2 died of biopsy-proven lung cancer without evidence of recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical presentation of EGC is aspecific. Preoperative endoscopy with multiple biopsies remains the most sensitive diagnostic procedure. For treatment, subtotal distal gastric resection with lymphadenectomy is the gold standard, but in some instances total gastrectomy may be indicated. Accurate pathological examination establishes the depth of infiltration, as well as the superficial extension of tumors and lymph node status. Although the prognosis of EGC is favorable, a medium-term follow-up should be planned.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Combined modality treatment for locally advanced gastric cancer.

The positive results recently reported by the Intergroup 0116 Study with adjuvant chemoradiation have stimulated an increasing interest in the combined modality treatment of gastric cancer. The significant improvement in disease-free and overall survival reported in this study was related mainly to an improvement in local control rather than to a decrease in the incidence of metastatic disease. Therefore, new and potentially more effective chemotherapy regimens could be considered and the feasibility of their integration with radiation therapy needs to be explored to further improve the treatment in gastric cancer. Our experience with combined radiation therapy and 5-FU-with or without 5-FU based chemotherapy--in unresectable and in partially or radically resected gastric cancer is retrospectively reviewed. In addition, an initial prospective evaluation of the feasibility and toxicity of radiation and 5-FU following adjuvant chemotherapy with modern platinum containing regimens is reported. Our data and the current available experiences with investigational approaches in gastric cancer involving preoperative chemotherapy and intraoperative radiotherapy will be considered in exploring a new combined modality treatment program.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of drinking water of two networks supplied by surface water].

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of cytotoxic and genotoxic load of drinking water in relationship to the source of supplies, the disinfection process, and the piping system. SETTING: Two treatment/distribution networks of drinking water, the first (#1) located near the source, the second (#2) located near the mouth of a river supplying the plants. DESIGN: Water samples were collected before (F) and after (A) the disinfection process and in two points (R1 and R2) of the piping system. The samples, concentrated on C18, were tested for DNA damage in human leukocytes by the Comet assay and for gene conversion, reversion and mitochondrial mutability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae D7 strain. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The approach used in this study is able to identify genotoxic compounds at low concentration and evaluate their antagonism/synergism in complex mixtures. RESULTS: Comet assay results show that the raw water quality depends on the sampling point, suggesting that a high input of environmental pollutants occurred during river flowing; they also show that the disinfection process can both detoxify or enhance biological activity of raw water according to its quality and that the piping systems do not affect tap water cytotoxic/genotoxic load. The yeast tests indicate the presence of some disinfection by-products effective on mitochondrial DNA. CONCLUSION: The biological assays used in this study are proven to be able to detect the presence of low concentrations of toxic/genotoxic compounds and assess the sources of their origin/production.

Comet Assay↗