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Biomedical subjects

D Guerra

Publications and source records attributed to D Guerra.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Neuropsychological performance in opiate addicts after rapid detoxification.

Neuropsychological performance before and after a rapid (1 week) detoxification treatment, was studied in heroin addicts. Ninety-three opioid dependents (DSM-III) were evaluated with a brief test battery assessing attention, memory and verbal fluency performance prior to their admission to a Detoxification Unit. Significant differences were noted between the addicts' performance and a group of 30 comparable normals, whose intellectual ability was similar. At re-evaluation addicts showed improvement in most measures, including general clinical status. Moreover, no differences between the sample of detoxificated addicts and controls on measures of neuropsychological performance were then detected. No relationship was found between psychopathological symptoms and neuropsychological functioning after the pharmacological detoxification of addicts. The length of addiction or drug consumption were not predictive of neuropsychological impairment in the present sample of heroin addicts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

[Antitetanic immunity in a sample of the Tuscan population].

In order to assess protection level against tetanus, the antitoxin titre was evaluated, by indirect haemagglutination test, in a sample, stratified by sex and age, of 805 subjects of three communes of Tuscany. On the whole the frequency of the serum protected is the 46.1% and it varies according to sex and age: under 20 years it is more than 90%, but it decreases in the successive ages, less in the male sex, probably owing to the vaccination made during the military service. The greatest percentage of immune subjects was observed in the most industrialized area. The less protected professional categories were pensioned people and housewives (25.8%). No differences of serum protection were found between those who practise or do not, recreative activities at the risk (sport, horticulture and gardening). No correlation was observed between the vaccinal anamnesis and the serological test.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Prolidase deficiency in two siblings with chronic leg ulcerations. Clinical, biochemical, and morphologic aspects.

Prolidase deficiency occurred in two sisters suffering from recurrent leg ulcers that appeared in early childhood. The patients presented the typical clinical symptoms of the disease, including characteristic facies, dermatologic manifestations of the lower extremities, splenomegaly, and hematologic anomalies. Large amounts of iminodipeptides were excreted into the urine, and prolidase activity in their erythrocytes was virtually absent. Changes associated with a connective-tissue disorder were demonstrated by light and electron microscopic studies of the patients' apparently normal skin. Collagen fibers were smaller than in controls and were irregularly packed; the fibrils had normal aspect but were significantly smaller than in one age-matched control. Elastin fibers appeared altered both in size and structure.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Efficacy of clonidine and of methadone in the rapid detoxification of patients dependent on heroin.

The efficacy of a rapid detoxification schedule (8 to 10 days) with clonidine or methadone was evaluated in 30 patients addicted to heroin. The dose of study drug was preestablished according to the subject's weight and the amount of opioid consumption, and the total daily dose was reduced by approximately 15% during the study. All subjects completed the detoxification program and stayed in the hospital for at least 12 days. Clonidine and methadone therapies proved to be highly effective. There was a marked reduction in anxiety during opioid detoxification, although subjects' experiences differed according to the drug used. On the day of discharge, subjects who had received methadone still had attenuated withdrawal symptoms, whereas there were no such symptoms in the clonidine group. Muscular aching, flatulence, and daily drowsiness were more common among subjects in the methadone group, while subjects in the clonidine group had more sleep disturbances and weeping. Syncopal episodes and bradycardia occurred more frequently in the clonidine group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Reduced phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and tyrosine ammonia-lyase activities and lignin synthesis in wheat grown under low pressure sodium lamps.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Fremont) grown in hydroponic culture under 24-hour continuous irradiation at 560 to 580 micromoles per square meter per second from either metalhalide (MH), high pressure sodium (HPS), or low pressure sodium (LPS) lamps reached maturity in 70 days. Grain yields were similar under all three lamps, although LPS-grown plants lodged at maturity. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and a tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL) with lesser activity were detected in all extracts of leaf, inflorescence, and stem. Ammonia-lyase activities increased with age of the plant, and plants grown under the LPS lamp displayed PAL and TAL activities lower than wheat cultured under MH and HPS radiation. Greenhouse solar-grown wheat had the highest PAL and TAL activities. Lignin content of LPS-grown wheat was also significantly reduced from that of plants grown under MH or HPS lamps or in the greenhouse, showing a correlation with the reduced PAL and TAL activities. Ratios of far red-absorbing phytochrome to total phytochrome were similar for all three lamps, but the data do not yet warrant a conclusion about specific wavelengths missing from the LPS lamps that might have induced PAL and TAL activities in plants under the other lamps.

Ammonia-Lyases↗
PubMed1984

Differential lethality following treatment with ionizing radiations of various energies in Drosophila.

Male and female gametes of Drosophila were treated with various doses of ionizing radiations: X-rays at different energy, and gamma-rays from 2 sources given singly and in 2 temporal sequences. The induced lethality was assessed in successive developmental stages by scoring the number of eggs, larvae and adults. The results clearly show that the effects of various radiations appear in terms of difference among developmental stages and/or between treated sexes/genotypes. It is suggested that the various energies affect different gene functions which are not completely independent, as supported by the non-additive effects of the two temporal sequences.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Dermatoglyphics in Cuban mongols.

Finger and palm prints of 220 Cuban mongols, all trisomic 21, were statistically compared with those of a group of 400 normal Cuban individuals. The most important dermatoglyphic findings in the patients were: an excess of ulnar loops on the 2nd and 3rd fingers, and radial loops on the 4th and 5th fingers; a paucity of patterns in the thenar/I area; more hypothenar true patterns, specially ulnar loops, higher percentages of patterns in the II and III interdigital spaces with less true patterns in the IV interdigital space; distal position t" of the axial triradius and large atd angles of more than 70 degrees; high values of the main-line index; predominance of radial type of the C line and higher frequencies of type 11 of the D line. The simian crease, especially the complete variety, had more diagnostic value than the Sydney line. Parathenar patterns which did not seem to have been described previously in mongols, were significantly more frequent in the patients than in controls. The results are very similar to those observed in other countries and it seems that the peculiar dermatoglyphic pattern of patients with Down syndrome is not affected by ethnic influences.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Growth inhibition of Entamoeba histolytica and E. invadens produced by pomegranate root (Punica granatum L.)].

The purpose of the present work has been to evaluate the biological activity of alkaloids and tannins extracted from roots of Punica granatum L. on axenic cultures from Entamoeba histolytica and E. invadens, strains. Initially, the total aqueous extract and later some of its components obtained by thin layer chromatography were tested. These compounds were identified by chromatography as alkaloids or tannins. The density of amebic cultures was determined with a hemocytometer after 48 and 96 hours of incubation, which was calculated by the difference between number of trophozoites obtained at the times chosen and the number of amoebae inoculated. Two milliliters of aqueous extract had higher activity on cultures from E. histolytica than E. invadens strains, producing growth inhibitions of about 100 and 40 per cent respectively. Alkaloid concentrations of 1 mg/ml had no amebicide activity, however tannins at concentrations of 10 micrograms/ml for E. histolytica, and 100 micrograms/ml for E. invadens were sufficient to produce an growth inhibition about 100 per cent. Tannic acid was also tested on the cultures of E. histolytica observing an high inhibitory activity on the growth, this effect was produced at 0.01 mg/ml was similar to that observed with the tannins mixture.

Alkaloids↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dermal elastin and collagen in systemic sclerosis. Effect of D-penicillamine treatment.

Skin biopsies from 4 systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, 6 SSc patients treated with D-penicillamine (from 8 to 60 months) and 4 normal subjects were analyzed by light and electron microscopy. By light microscopy, collagen bundles of SSc dermis were thicker and more compact than in age-matched controls; D-penicillamine treatment did not significantly modify their organization. On the contrary, a stereological analysis showed that the elastin volume density was higher in patients than in controls, and increased again after D-penicillamine treatment: moreover, the number of elastin fibers per unit area was significantly higher in the dermis of patients compared to controls, and became even higher after D-penicillamine treatment. The phenomena were evident in all strata of the dermis; however, the most significant increase of elastin in SSc patients compared to controls was in the superficial dermis, whereas after D-penicillamine treatment, all the strata of the dermis showed a significant increase in the percentage of elastin and in the number of elastin fibers per unit area compared to untreated patients and to controls. There were no relationships between elastin increase and time from the onset of SSc or time and dose of D-penicillamine treatment. At the ultrastructural level, collagen fibrils had rather heterogeneous diameters and formed more compact fibers, especially in the reticular and in the deep dermis of SSc patients compared to controls. After D-penicillamine, collagen fibril diameters in three of 5 patients examined were statistically wider and more heterogeneous than in controls and in untreated patients, whereas in the other 2 subjects both the mean diameter and the distribution of the class diameter were similar to both controls and untreated patients. This could suggest a specific individual reaction to the drug. Elastin fibers were smaller, more numerous and polymorphous in all patients compared to controls. After D-penicillamine, elastin fibers became even more numerous and smaller than in untreated patients. There was no correlation between the number and size of the elastin fibers and the time or dose of D-penicillamine. The internal organization of the elastin fibers was normal. These data indicate that the amount and distribution of collagen and elastin are altered in the dermis of SSc patients, and that D-penicillamine interferes with the deposition of both fibrous proteins in the dermal extracellular space.

Adult↗