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D Costantino

Publications and source records attributed to D Costantino.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Analyzing the radiation of the proenkephalin gene in tetrapods: cloning of a Bombina orientalis proenkephalin cDNA.

Analyzing the Radiation of the Proenkephalin Gene in Tetrapods: Cloning of a Bombina orientalis Proenkephalin cDNA: A proenkephalin cDNA was cloned from the brain of the anuran amphibian, Bombina orientalis (Family: Discoglossidae). This cDNA is 1358 nucleotides in length, and contains an open reading frame that codes for 251 amino acids. Within the open reading frame there are seven opioid (YGGF) sequences. There were five Met-enkephalin (YGGFM) sequences that are flanked by sets of paired basic amino acid proteolytic cleavage sites and two C-terminally extended Met-enkephalin sequences: YGGFMRGY and YGGFMRF. No Leu-enkephalin sequences were found in B. orientalis proenkephalin. It was possible to align the amino acid sequences of proenkephalin from several vertebrate taxa (human, Australian lungfish, B. orientalis, Xenopus laevis, Spea multiplicatus) by inserting a minimum of nine gaps. This alignment was then used to analyze the corresponding nucleotides for each proenkephalin sequence using maximum likelihood. This analysis yielded a single tree. In this tree, the Australian lungfish sequence was the outgroup or the tetrapod ingroup. The amphibian sequences form a clade separate from the human sequence. The bootstrap value for the amphibian clade was 100%. Within the amphibian clade the Bombina sequence was the sister group to a clade composed of the X. laevis and S. multiplicatus sequences. The bootstrap value for the X. laevis/S. multiplicatus clade was 94%. Collectively, these data indicate that the sequence of Bombina proenkephalin may be more similar to the proposed ancestral anuran proenkephalin sequence, than either X. laevis or S. multiplicatus proenkephalin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Use of recombinant hemoglobin solution in reversing lethal hemorrhagic hypovolemic oxygen debt shock.

OBJECTIVE: To compare recombinant hemoglobin solution (rHb1.1) with colloid/blood (CB) resuscitation in a hemorrhagic shock (HS) model based on oxygen debt (O2D). METHODS: Twenty-two anesthetized canines (weight 23.3 +/- 0.2 kg) were bled to an O2D of 99.9 +/- 2.1 mL/kg over 60 minutes (estimated lethal dose 31%), blood loss 65.9 +/- 2.3% of estimated blood volume, - 199 g hemoglobin (Hgb). Prospectively randomized resuscitation done in 20 minutes with 120% of shed blood volume, either colloid 60%/blood 60% shed blood volume (CB), 118 g Hgb, or 120% shed blood volume as 5% rHb1.1, 85 g Hgb, and fall in O2D was quantified over 80 minutes. Six animals died during HS, one after CB resuscitation (32% actual mortality). Blood lactate (L) and base deficit (BEA) were related to O2D. RESULTS: Both lactate (L) and BEA quantified O2D during hemorrhage: L = 0.0671 (O2D) + 1.209; r2 = 0.90, p < 0.0001; BEA = 0.1313 (O2D) + 1.764; r2 = 0.90, p < 0.0001, but L was a better indicator than BEA of fall in O2D during resuscitation (L = 0.069 (O2D) + 1.083; r2 = 0.80). Both groups were followed for 7 days after HS and had normal renal and hepatic function by day 7. However, at equal resuscitation volume, rHb1.1 resuscitation with 41% of Hgb loss produced a more rapid initial fall in O2D than CB at 60% of Hgb loss (p < 0.002). rHb1.1 resuscitation also caused a more complete washout of metabolic acids than CB. CONCLUSIONS: Lactate and BEA accurately quantify O2D in HS and resuscitation. rHb1.1 replacement is as good as CB with regard to survival, but leads to a more uniform reperfusion and produces a more complete resolution of ischemic acidosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Influence of oral contraceptives on fasting gallbladder volume.

A total of 615 healthy fertile women (518 pill users and 97 non-users) were examined by real-time ultrasonography for fasting gallbladder volume, gallstones and biliary dysmorphism. None of the six examined combinations of oral contraceptives appeared to influence fasting gallbladder volume significantly. When fasting gallbladder volumes were reanalyzed according to the presence or absence of recognized biliary risk factors, significant modifications were detected, in both pill users and non-users. These changes related only to age and parity. Relative risks of cholelithiasis and biliary dysmorphism were not affected by contraceptive treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[Mebendazole in the therapy of hydatidosis].

The effectiveness of mebendazole as adjuvant treatment in hydatidosis was evaluated in 19 patients; 12 were treated both before and after surgery, 6 were not treated, one had primary treatment only, owing to the refuse of surgery. Mebendazole was administrated at the dosage of 30-50 mg/kg/day po for 30 days followed by a washout of 15 days, for a mean of 4 cycles (range 1-7) and 12 cycles (range 1-24) before and after surgery, respectively. Patients were monitored by total IgE, specific anti-echinococcus IgE and IgG, at diagnosis, just before surgery and thereafter every six months. Antibody titer decrease was observed soon after the first cycles of medical treatment before surgery, as well as a clear-cut drop after surgery, followed by a continuing decrease after the following cycles of mebendazole. Relapse of disease was observed in two patients only at one and two years after surgery respectively. These preliminary results seem to point out that mebendazole might play a role in the treatment of hydatidosis as adjuvant of surgical therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Therapy with L-thyroxine in thyroid struma. Study with ultrasonic evaluation].

L-thyroxine therapy in thyroid goiter. Study with ultrasound imaging evaluation. The literature contains conflicting reports regarding the treatment of thyroid goiter. We evaluated the efficacy of thyrotropin-suppressive therapy with L-thyroxine to reduce the goiter. We studied two groups of 15 and 19 patients with euthyroid goiter for a period of six months: the former were untreated, the latter received L-thyroxine. Six patients represented the controls. All patients treated had suppressed thyrotropin secretion (as evaluated by immunoradiometric assay); sonography was used to measure the goiter. We found no statistically significant difference in size nodule between the two groups. Therapy was also unable to prevent the formation of new nodules.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Expert systems in medical emergencies].

Computers have already been introduced into the field of medical applications and many support systems have been developed. Recently expert or knowledge-based systems have been employed in some specific fields. A project for the creation of an expert system for use in toxicological emergencies is presented. This system is designed to give the physician continuous support and to employ computer formulae as similar as possible to medical reasoning. For this reason, medical knowledge was examined and the event graphs, frames and production rules to represent it were chosen.

Amanita↗
PubMed1985

Therapy of cytotoxic mushroom intoxication.

Poisoning by cytotoxic mushrooms (Amanita phalloides and related species) is associated with severe morbidity and a high mortality rate. Due to the difficulty of performing controlled studies and to the poor knowledge of the pharmacodynamics of toxins in human poisoning, there is considerable debate about appropriate treatment, particularly the feasibility and the efficacy of detoxification. Because circulating amatoxins can be detected in the serum of poisoned patients as long as 30 h after ingestion, a detoxification treatment should ideally increase the rate of toxin elimination in order to minimize the toxic exposure of highly susceptible cells, such as hepatocytes. We found forced diuresis to be the most effective procedure for toxin removal. Other techniques, such as plasmapheresis and peritoneal dialysis, proved much less useful for this purpose. The administration of cathartics, adsorbent agents, and gastroduodenal lavage, are indicated for preventing further absorption of toxins from the gut. An important part of therapy is early and vigorous volume replacement, to correct the severe hypovolemia which results from massive fluid loss during the cholera-like phase of intoxication. Use of this therapeutic approach in 53 patients with amatoxin poisoning resulted in a high survival rate and a low incidence of severe liver injury.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

[The early removal of amatoxins in the treatment of amanita phalloides poisoning (author's transl)].

In a 3 year period (1975-77) 50 patients have been admitted to the I.C.U. of Polyclinic Hospital of Milan for poisoning from mushrooms of Amanita genus. In 47 cases the diagnosis was confirmed "a posteriori" by serum or urinary detection of amtoxins and/or by clinical evidence of typical liver injury. Besides the symptomatologic support, the therapeutic treatment included combined removal procedures, such as peritoneal dialysis, plasmapheresis, forced diuresis. The detection by radioimmunoassay of amatoxins [6] in the serum and in the urine of these patients proves that this therapeutic treatment can be effective within about 36 hours from ingestion time. The intensive medical care and the removal approach yielded as the whole favourable results in our patients (overall mortality was 6 patients, i.e. 12,7%). It should moreover be emphasized that of the 35 patients, who had been treated with early removal techniques, 12 with ascertained amanita poisoning, had neither clinical nor biochemical evidence of hepatic damage; 14 had a moderate liver damage; 9 experienced a severe liver failure and hepatic coma occurred in 4 of the latter. These poor results can be ascribed to the severity of the poisoning as well as to a peculiar kinetic of amatoxins in each subject.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

[Changes of plasmatic amino acids in various cases of acute hepatic necrosis and insufficiency in man].

Changes in total and individual plasma amino acid were examined in subjects with necrosis of the liver and acute insufficiency. Quantitative variations in single amino acids and their percentages were noted in all cases. The extent of such change and the number of amino acids involved were roughly proportional to the degree of insufficiency. A continuous and persistent increase in total blood amino acids can be regarded as a poor prognostic sign, especially if accompanied by a sharp fall in necrosis enzymes. Such an increase, in fact, was only observed in extremely serious cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

[The determination of amanitines in the serum of patients poisoned by amanita phalloides (author's transl)].

The serum of patients suffering from Amanita phalloides poisoning was analysed in order to determine whether amanitines, which are the principal toxins of this fungus, were still present in the blood at the time of hospitalisation. In addition, the authors measured the concentrations of amanitines in the blood of dogs at different intervals after the ingestion of a fatal dose of Amanita phalloides. Amanitines were detected in the serum of 9 patients out of 16. This discovery, together with the finding that, in the dog, very low concentrations of amanitines in the blood are associated with fatal cellular lesions, suggests the need for very prompt action in order to eliminate these toxins from the blood as soon as the diagnosis of poisoning is suspected.

Amanita↗
PubMed1977

[Phalloidine intoxication. Results of various forms of treatment in 47 patients].

The effectiveness of three plasma cleansing techniques (exchange transfusion, peritoneal dialysis and plasmapheresis) is studied in the treatment of phalloides intoxication. The severity of the latter is dependent upon the amount of toxin ingested, with can now be measured by radio-immunology, as well as the fixation of the toxin in the liver. Methods to ensure its elimination must be instituted as soon as possible. Thus in 43 patients who had consumed more than 50 g of fresh fungi, there were no deaths amongst those treated during the first 36 hours and 7 deaths out of 22 patients treated late. It is not yet possible to define the respective values of each method.

Adolescent↗