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D Barbieri

Publications and source records attributed to D Barbieri.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Studies of the relationship between cell proliferation and cell death. II. Early gene expression during concanavalin A-induced proliferation or dexamethasone-induced apoptosis of rat thymocytes.

Several data in the literature suggest that an intriguing relationship exists between cell proliferation and cell death. Accordingly, we studied the early expression of different genes in the same cells, i.e. rat thymocytes, undergoing cell proliferation upon stimulation with Concanavalin A or cell death following dexamethasone treatment. We showed that an early accumulation of c-fos, c-jun and c-myc mRNA occurred in both phenomena but with different kinetics. It can be speculated that the early induction of nuclear oncogenes is necessary to allow the later induction of other genes probably regulated at the transcriptional level by the AP-1 complex and/or by Myc protein. The accumulation of the transcript for another gene, i.e. poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase, an enzyme responsible for posttranslational modifications of several nuclear proteins, could instead be related to chromatin modifications occurring in both processes.

Animals↗

Inhibition of apoptosis by zinc: a reappraisal.

Apoptosis--or programmed cell death--is an active type of cell death, occurring in several pathophysiological conditions. One of the most important characteristics of apoptosis is that cell death is preceded by DNA fragmentation, consequent to the activation of nuclear calcium- and magnesium-dependent endonuclease(s). DNA fragmentation can be inhibited by zinc ions. By using several techniques, such as DNA agarose gel electrophoresis, cytofluorimetric analysis of DNA content and of cell cycle, 3H-thymidine incorporation and trypan blue dye exclusion test, we show that zinc, despite completely inhibiting DNA fragmentation and the consequent loss of nuclear DNA content, does not protect rat thymocytes from spontaneous or dexamethasone-induced death. Our data also suggest that DNA fragmentation, although characteristic, is not a critical event for thymocyte death of apoptotic type.

Animals↗

Italian multicenter study on a single lead VDD pacing system using a narrow atrial dipole spacing.

Since November 1988, 514 patients with advanced atrioventricular (AV) block and normal sinoatrial function have received the single lead VDD pacing system Twinal 30 Lem/CCS in 30 Italian centers. At implantation, particular attention was paid to the correct positioning of the atrial dipole in the mid- to mid-high right atrium and to the atrial electrogram characteristics. The follow-up included a chest X ray, to be performed before discharge of the patient from the hospital, telemetric evaluations of the endoatrial potential, provocative tests for interferences by myopotentials, 24-hour ambulatory EGG recordings, and where possible, exercise stress tests. The mean follow-up duration was 15.2 months, ranging from 1 to 42 months. A very low percentage of chronic atrial fibrillation, loss of atrial sensing, and system replacement was reported, most of the patients (93.5%) being paced in VDD mode. All investigations indicated an excellent overall system performance, stable AV synchrony, and infrequent myopotential interference, and a low complication rate throughout the follow-up period.

Aged↗

[Transient hyperglycemia in acute myocardial infarct: the short- and long-term risk factor for mortality].

To evaluate the prevalence and prognostic significance of hyperglycemia in acute myocardial infarction, we studied 700 patients (mean age 63.3 +/- 10.97) subsequently admitted to the UCIC of Tradate Hospital during the period January 1976 to December 1987. Patients were followed up for a median period of four years. On the basis of fasting blood glycaemia values in the first five days of hospitalization, excluding the admission day, patients were divided into groups: 401 patients (57.0%) with constantly normal glycaemia; 84 patients (12.0%) with glycaemia equal or superior to 120 mg/100 ml, and with subsequent normalization; and 215 patients (31.0%) with diabetes mellitus diagnosed before hospitalization and/or with persistent hyperglycaemia. The overall mortality was 284 (40.5%) and cardiovascular deaths were 90.8%. Within the first month of myocardial infarction 98 patients died. The mortality rate was 9.4% in normoglycaemic patients and 20.2% in transient hyperglycaemic patients, similar to the value observed in diabetic patients (20.0%). During the follow-up 186 patients died. Late mortality after the first month is higher in diabetic patients (40%) and patients with transient hyperglycaemia (37%) compared to normoglycaemic patients (25.3%). Multivariate analysis shows that independent predictive variables are: for mortality in the first month, Killip class only; and after the first month, Killip class, metabolic classification, sex and supraventricular arrhythmias. The present study shows that transient hyperglycaemia has a low prevalence in the first days of acute myocardial infarction. Transient hyperglycaemia could be attributed not only to increased sympathetic tone elicited by acute myocardial infarction, but is probably a pathologic condition with an adverse outcome to which multiple factors contribute.

Age Factors↗

AV delay and exercise stress tests: behavior in normal subjects.

In normal subjects the atrioventricular (AV) conduction is accelerated during exertion. The relationship between heart rate and AV delay is usually described as "linear". Looking at the increasing importance given to an appropriate AV synchrony in permanent dual chamber and P synchronous pacing we present the results of an investigation performed to study the correlation between AV conduction time and heart rate under stress conditions, and disclose some new aspects of this matter, which will possibly be useful for a further improvement of pacemaker technology.

Adult↗

A new single lead VDD pacing system.

In 24 patients with advanced heart block and normal sinus node function, a new single lead VDD pacing system was implanted. At implantation, the endoatrial, bipolar electrogram was recorded in all patients. The lead position was checked by means of chest X-ray. At discharge and after 1, 3, and 6 months, testing for myopotential inhibition, telemetric evaluation of the endoatrial potential, and Holter recordings were made. After discharge, 18 patients performed two cardiopulmonary exercise tests at two different rate-matched AV intervals. All investigations showed good AV synchrony and a lack of interferences by myopotentials. The maximum rate-matched AV interval provided a significantly improved exercise capacity, which was more evident in patients with signs of myocardial failure.

Aged↗

A procedure to obtain long-lasting fluorescence in formaldehyde fixed tissues.

The authors made a study of the small intestine by immunofluorescence in 5% phosphate-buffered formaldehyde fixed tissues, using the Nairn (1976) technique associated with Evans blue (Fry and Wilkinson 1963). The ability of the sections to fluoresce has been maintained after a storage time of more than 4 years. Similar very good results were obtained when skin biopsies from pemphigus foliaceus patients were fixed in formaldehyde for two h and afterwards washed in 30% sucrose solution for 12 to 18 h.

Biopsy↗

Morphometric quantification of plasma cells in the intestinal mucosa of children. A comparative study between two sampling procedures.

In an attempt to obtain a sampling procedure of known accuracy for plasma cell quantification, applicable for routine analysis, we counted IgA, IgM and IgG producing cells in the lamina propria of the small intestine of six children by the method II of Aherne (1976), using two sampling procedures. In the first, we determined the number of cells in each one of 200 successive microscopic fields without specifying their localization in the mucosa. Proper tests upon this data showed that in order to estimate the number of IgA producing cells per mm3 of lamina propria with a confidence of 95% that the mean of the sample would not differ by more than 5% from the mean of the population, it would be necessary to count 850-900 microscopic fields. With a confidence of 90% that the two means cited will not differ between them by more than 10%, the number of fields to be counted would lie in the range of 150 to 200. In the second procedure we arbitrarily divided the mucosa into upper, middle and lower segments, identifying and counting the number of cells in each segment. Consistent results for the number of IgA, IgM and IgG-containing cells were obtained by averaging the data of sufficient number of counts of 30 fields: 10 in the upper segment, 10 in the middle segment and 10 in the lower segment. Means obtained by stratified counts of IgA producing cells in 60 microscopic fields, 20 in each segment, differed, in 93% of the samples, by no more than 10% from the mean derived from the counts of 200 successive fields. Stratified sampling also enabled us to detect a segmental variation which had not thus far been quantified. In all cases, it was observed that the numerical concentration of IgA producing cells was greater in the lower region than in the middle zone, while for both IgM and IgG cells the larger numbers occurred in the middle and lower segments. The lowest concentration of IgA, IgM and IgG cells occurred at the top of the villi.

Child↗

[The effect of age and sex on gallbladder motor dynamics. An echographic study].

Aging and female sex are major risk factors for cholesterol gallstones: in addition to hepatic secretion of lithogenic bile, decreased gallbladder contractility may play a role in such physiological conditions. This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of age and sex on gallbladder kinetics in healthy subjects. Gallbladder volume was measured on the US images of 157 fasting subjects using the sum-of-cylinders method. No significant difference was observed between males and females. On the contrary, age was shown to have a significant positive correlation with fasting gallbladder volume, particularly in males. In a second group of 63 healthy volunteers gallbladder volumes were evaluated both before and after a standard meal. The subjects were grouped according to age, and fasting gallbladder volume appeared to be significantly greater in the groups formed by older people. Gallbladder volumes were compared in younger groups (under 35), and gallbladder emptying resulted to be much more complete in males than in females. On the contrary, no significant difference was observed between males and females over 50--which suggests a possible role of sex- and age-related hormonal factors. The above changes in gallbladder function may facilitate bile stasis which might in turn contribute to the increased risk for cholesterol gallstones notoriously associated with advanced age and female sex.

Adolescent↗

Failure of the stem in total hip replacement. A study of aetiology and mechanism of failure in 13 cases.

Thirteen failed stem of Total Hip Replacement were studied: 9 were Charnley THR from an homogeneous series, which gives an incidence of 2.4% of stem fractures with a follow-up of 9-16 years; 4 were Mueller THR. Fatigue fracture of the stem occurred by defective support of the proximal part of the femur, following resorption of the calcar. In all cases reactive tissue to foreign body particles, metal and polyethylene, was found where bone resorption occurred. In Mueller THR wear of the cup produced the large amount of polyethylene particles; in Charnley THR metal particles prevailed and corrosion of the stem is suggested to be the initiating factor.

Aged↗

An epiphyseal giant cell tumor associated with early Paget's disease. A case report.

An epiphyseal giant cell tumor occurred in a 50-year-old woman in the absence of roentgenographic signs of Paget's disease adjacent to the tumor area. Only one case with similar features has been previously reported. Treatment increased bone remodeling changes in the whole femur. Two years later the high bone turnover of the femur was arrested. This case suggests that a giant cell tumor of the epiphysis developed in an early phase of Paget's disease.

Bone Neoplasms↗

Variations in alpha-2-HS glycoprotein level in neoplastic disease with and without involvement of bone.

Variations in the serum level of alpha-HS-glycoprotein may be observed in all pathological conditions which induce changes in bone turn-over, as well as in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases. This study includes 162 patients divided into four groups according to the TNM classification (tumour, lymph node metastasis). The first consisted of patients with neoplasms at TNM stages 1 and 2 with no bone metastases; the second of similar patients at TNM stages 3 and 4. The third group were patients with primary or secondary neoplasms of bone, and the fourth were patients with viral or bacterial diseases. The levels of alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein serum were determined for all the groups and these were compared with AAG (alpha-1-glycoprotein) and CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen). There were no significant differences in the levels of alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein for the first group as compared with normal controls, while in the other groups the differences were significant. The levels of alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein were diminished when the levels of CEA and AAG were both high, but increased when only one of these other parameters was high.

Adult↗

Involvement of chromosomes 12 and 14 in the cutaneous stage of mycosis fungoides: cytogenetic evidence for a multistep pathogenesis of the disease.

Cytogenetic studies were performed on the cells of bone marrow, peripheral blood, and skin tumor biopsies from a patient with mycosis fungoides at an early stage. Chromosome abnormalities were detected in 100% of the cells harvested from the cutaneous specimen, whereas the cells of the bone marrow and blood were karyotypically normal. Three related clones, showing increasing cytogenetic complexity, were found. Chromosome #12 was abnormal in all metaphases, and an abnormal 14q chromosome was present in a minority of cells belonging to the most complex emerging subclone. These data, along with the findings of important signs of chromosome imbalance, suggest a polyphasic evolution of this chronic T lymphoproliferative disease.

Chromosomes, Human, 13-15↗