Wernicke's lethal encephalopathy in voluntary, total, prolonged fasting.
A lethal case of Wernicke's encephalopathy caused by prolonged fasting is reported; the liability of physicians is evaluated.
Brain↗
Biomedical subjects
E Ronchi
Publications and source records attributed to E Ronchi.
Detection of the 170 kDa P-glycoprotein in neoplastic and normal tissues.
A membrane purification procedure and an immunoblotting assay have been designed to allow screening of human solid tumors for overexpression of the GP170 glycoprotein without employing a disaggregation method to obtain cell suspensions. The electrophoresed membrane proteins were probed, after Western Blotting, with the C219 monoclonal antibody and iodinated Protein A. The labeling intensity of the bands on the autoradioimmunoblots were quantified by densitometry. To test for the presence of GP170, we used membranes from the UV 2237 fibrosarcoma line and its adriamycin-resistant variant ADMR, grown in vitro or as solid tumor in mice. Membranes of human normal and tumor tissues obtained from previously untreated patients were also tested. An immunoreaction was observed in the adriamycin-resistant UV 2237 lines grown in vitro or in vivo. Quantitatively, the binding of the resistant cell line grown in vitro was higher than that observed in cells grown in mice. Bands in the GP 170 region were observed in 4/7 normal and in 7/7 tumor colon tissues and in the normal medulla from 2 patients with cancer of the renal cortex. No reaction could be found in samples from normal tissue, primary tumor or nodal metastasis from 7 patients with breast cancer.
ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
Effects of daylength on androgen metabolism and pulsatile luteinizing hormone secretion in male golden hamsters.
In an effort to understand the potential neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying photoperiodic control of fertility in seasonally breeding species, we monitored the intracellular processing and nuclear uptake of [1 alpha, 2 alpha-3H]testosterone (3H-T) within the brain-pituitary complex as well as the patterns of episodic luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in male golden hamsters exposed to long day (14 h light:10 h dark) and short day (10 h light:14 h dark) photoperiods. Target tissue specific patterns of nuclear 3H-androgens and estrogens were observed in castrated, T-replaced hamsters exposed to long and short days for 7 weeks or longer. Significantly, 3H-T metabolism or receptor-mediated nuclear uptake in the hamsters in short days was not influenced in any manner that would explain their increased responsiveness to androgen feedback suppression of LH release. Comparable patterns of episodic LH secretion were observed in acutely catheterized hamsters castrated for 7 weeks prior to exposure to 8 weeks of long or short days. Similar patterns were also observed in animals maintained in long days and castrated 1 or 2 weeks prior to blood collection. However, such a pattern was not seen in acutely castrated hamsters maintained in the short-day photoperiod. The data suggest that steroid-independent mechanisms play an important role in suppressing gonadotropin release in short days in this species. However, such mechanisms appear to be most effective when the animals are or have recently been exposed to circulating androgens.
Androgens↗
[Diet therapy of obese and hypertensive patients. Efficacy and modality of the hypotensive action].
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Aldosterone↗
[Disorders of calcium metabolism in arterial hypertension].
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Animals↗
A double-labeling assay for simultaneous estimation and characterization of estrogen and progesterone receptors using radioiodinated estradiol and tritiated Org 2058.
Estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) appear to be a prerequisite to elicit a biologic response by a hormone-target organ. Current methodologies for analysis of these proteins (e.g., dextran-coated charcoal, DCC) in single-label assay (SLA) require relatively large amounts of tissue material, time and laboriousness. Therefore, we have developed for breast cancer tissue an improved dual-label assay (DLA) for simultaneous titration (by DCC) and/or characterization (by sedimentation properties) of ER and PgR on the same sample, using 125I-E2 and 3H-Org 2058 as tracers. The interaction of 125I-E2 with ER and plasma proteins in comparison to 3H-E2 was studied in terms of specificity, time course, affinity binding and sedimentation pattern. 125I-E2 bound the same molecular forms displayed by 3H-E2 (9 and 3S) but with lower titers (about 1.3-fold), irrespective of the technique used, and did not bind to sex hormone-binding globulin. Simultaneous detection of 125I and 3H was achieved by use of a gamma counter plus a beta counter sequentially. ER and PgR titrations with DCC in DLA were in good agreement with those obtained with SLA, in terms of titers and Ka values. An analogous result was obtained with sucrose density gradient (SDG) analysis. Both the DLA methods were highly reproducible (CV less than 8.0%). Between the rotors available for SDG, the vertical one was preferable because of the larger number of samples processed and of less perturbation of sedimenting receptor molecules. Furthermore, a biochemical application of the method is described. In conclusion, the DLA procedure, by simplifying ER and PgR estimation, makes it possible to study, even on small tumor biopsies, the molecular properties of these proteins in relation to the clinical response of the disease.
Breast Neoplasms↗
Relationship between ER-ICA and conventional steroid receptor assays in human breast cancer.
We applied a new immunocytochemical assay for estrogen receptors (ER-ICA) to 82 human breast tumors. Results were correlated with cytosolic estrogen receptors (ERc) and nuclear ER (ERn) determined on the same sample respectively by the radioligand binding assay and by an ER enzyme immunoassay (ER-EIA). All ER-ICA-positive tumors contained more than 10 fmol/mg of protein of ERc and were therefore considered as ERc positive. In contrast, 15.4% of ERc-positive cases were ER-ICA negative. Comparison of ER-ICA results with ERn showed extensive agreement of negativity (92%), whereas 38% of ER-ICA-positive tumors were ER-EIA negative. However, the latter had ERc levels above the positivity threshold. Quantitative features of the immunocytochemical staining such as intensity and percentage of labelled cells, considered separately, did not reflect the amount of ERc or ERn. Cellularity was not significantly correlated with ER-ICA and biochemical results.
Breast Neoplasms↗
Adjuvant medroxyprogesterone acetate and steroid hormone receptors in category M0 renal cell carcinoma. An interim report of a prospective randomized study.
From July 1, 1979 to June 30, 1983, 136 consecutive patients with category M0 renal cell cancer who had undergone transperitoneal radical nephrectomy at 5 centers entered a prospective randomized trial to compare 500 mg. adjuvant medroxyprogesterone 3 times a week for 1 year to no treatment. Sex steroid hormone receptors also were studied in the renal tumor and in the surrounding healthy parenchyma with the dextran-coated charcoal technique. After a median followup period of 3 years (range 13 to 60 months) 30 of 121 evaluable patients (24.8 per cent) experienced relapse, usually in the lung or bones. Relapses occurred in 15 of 58 evaluable patients in the adjuvant treatment group (25.8 per cent) and 15 of 63 evaluable controls (23.8 per cent). The disease recurred more frequently (35.1 per cent) in the 57 patients with no receptors in the tumor than in the 45 with at least 1 receptor (17.8 per cent). These results were independent of adjuvant therapy. After a median 3-year followup, adjuvant medroxyprogesterone acetate was of no therapeutic benefit in patients who had undergone radical nephrectomy and the side effects of the therapy were evident in more than 50 per cent of the patients.
Antineoplastic Agents↗
[Lipomatous hypertrophy and Lev-Lenègre disease].
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Aged↗
Comparison of immunochemical and radioligand binding assays for estrogen receptors in human breast tumors.
We have compared a new enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for estrogen receptors (ER) with our conventional radioligand binding assays (multipoint dextran-coated charcoal assay for cytoplasmic ER and hydroxylapatite exchange assay for nuclear ER). Cytoplasmic ERs were measured in 76 human breast cancer specimens by EIA and by five-point Scatchard analysis. The correlation between the two assays yielded a straight line with a slope of 0.92 (r = 0.95; P less than 0.001); conversely, in 31 nuclear salt extracts, linear regression analysis of hydroxylapatite exchange assay data with EIA showed a clear correlation (r = 0.93; P less than 0.001) but a slope of 1.7, demonstrating that EIA detects more ER sites. The binding of the antibody to the cytoplasmic ER molecules was investigated by sucrose density gradient analysis, which showed that EIA recognizes both cytoplasmic forms (9 and 3S), but does not distinguish between them. Advantages and drawbacks of this method are discussed with respect to its application for routine receptor determination for clinical management of breast cancer patients.
Breast Neoplasms↗
Hormone steroid receptor variation after tamoxifen administration in endometrial adenocarcinoma from postmenopausal patients.
Cytoplasmic and nuclear variations of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) induced by tamoxifen (TAM) treatment were investigated in 38 postmenopausal women with endometrial carcinoma. The treatment consisted of a daily oral administration of 40 mg for 7 days. Tumor samples from each patient were withdrawn before TAM administration under hysteroscopy and at the time of hysterectomy. Cytoplasmic and nuclear receptors were respectively determined by the dextran-coated charcoal assay and the hydroxylapatite technique. In the cytoplasmic fraction no significant change in mean ER value was observed, but a statistically significant increase in PgR was found (P less than 0.001). Conversely, in the nuclear fraction PgR did not vary, but a significant increase in ER content (P less than 0.001) was observed. PgR, analyzed by sucrose density gradient after TAM, showed the same sedimentation property (9 S) as the preexisting receptor, but with a single peak profile, indicating a lower heterogeneity. Our data support the hypothesis that the mechanism of PgR synthesis is induced by the ER-TAM complex and suggest the possibility of increasing the PgR content in these patients for sequential endocrine therapy.
Adenocarcinoma↗
[Hormone receptors and endocrine therapy of renal carcinoma].
One hundred sixty-five consecutive patients with resectable renal cancer entered a cooperative study to evaluate hormone treatment and steroid receptors. Twenty-nine patients with concomitant distant metastases (category M1) received intramuscular medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) 500 mg/day for at least two months after the operation. No measurable remission was observed, but 8 of 24 evaluable patients (33%) had disease stabilization for a median duration of 6 months. One hundred thirty-six cases with category M0 cancer were randomly allocated to a control group or to a treatment group with MPA 500 mg/3 times a week for one year. After a median follow-up period of over 3 years, 30 of 121 evaluable patients (24.8%) had a relapse, usually in distant sites. Relapses and survival were independent from postoperative treatment and sex. Only the extent of the disease and the presence of steroid receptors in the tumor were related with prognosis, but no relation could be found between receptors and response to hormone treatment. The presence of low concentrations of hormone receptors in a proportion of renal cancers remains unclear. However, MPA is confirmed to be only marginally active in metastatic renal cancer and the drug cannot be recommended as adjuvant to radically resected patients because of significant toxicity and lack of therapeutic activity.
Adolescent↗
The value of CEA assay in tissue, serum and urine in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.
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Aged↗
Variations in estrogen and progesterone receptor content in premenopausal breast cancer patients throughout the menstrual cycle.
Estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptor content was assayed in 290 premenopausal women with primary breast cancer, in order to investigate the influence of endogenous hormones on cytoplasmic receptor concentrations throughout the menstrual cycle, subdivided into four phases of ovarian function (early and late follicular phase, early and late luteal phase). Of the total population, 231 (79.7%) patients were ER positive and 59 (20.3%) were ER negative; 220 (75.9%) were PgR positive and 70 (24.1%) were PgR negative. The percentages of positive cases were almost constant in each phase. No significant difference in mean values of ER concentration was noted throughout the cycle. Instead, the PgR concentration significantly increased from the first to the third phase (P = 0.02) and decreased from the third to the fourth phase (P = 0.01). Our results suggest that ER- and PgR- cases are homogeneously distributed and not influenced by the phase of the cycle. Moreover, they suggest that PgR measurement in the luteal phase, rather than in other phases, prevents the occurrence of false low PgR levels and, at the same time, improves its prognostic significance and response rate to endocrine therapy.
Adolescent↗
Prognostic significance of progesterone receptors alone or in association with estrogen receptors in human breast cancer.
Estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptors were measured simultaneously in 1144 consecutive breast cancer patients to determine the distribution of patients according to receptor and menopausal status when receptor occurrence rates were considered. The prognostic significance of PgR, either alone or in association with ER, was studied on 187 consecutive breast cancer patients treated only by radical mastectomy. All the cases, as regards axillary node status, were pathologically assessed as node negative. These patients did not receive any adjuvant treatment after mastectomy. At 36 months after mastectomy, the follow-up indicated that PgR- patients have a worse prognosis than PgR+ ones. This is evident when PgR alone is considered as a prognostic factor as well as when it is used to identify, within ER+ cases, those with a higher probability of relapse. In conclusion, it can be stated that although PgR status is an independent prognostic factor, it is useful to evaluate ER and PgR simultaneously for better patient management.
Adenocarcinoma↗
Distribution of estrogen and progesterone receptors in primary tumor and lymph nodes in individual patients with breast cancer.
Primary breast cancer tissue and lymph nodes were obtained from 48 patients. Estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) were determined by a dextran-coated charcoal assay. ER were present in 72.9% of the primary tumors and in 62.4% of the malignant lymph nodes, whereas PgR were present in 73.0% and 50.0% of the cases, respectively. The primary tumor and the corresponding malignant lymph nodes showed an identical ER and PgR status, i.e., both tumor sites were receptor positive or both receptor negative in 89.6% and 77.1%, respectively. However, 10.4% of the patients had ER-positive tumors but ER-negative lymph nodes and 22.9% had PgR-positive primaries with PgR-negative lymph nodes. No receptor-positive lymph nodes showed a combination with receptor-negative primary tumor. This preliminary data shows that receptor-positive malignant lymph nodes mostly display the same receptor status as the corresponding primary tumor, whereas receptor-negative lymph nodes may have a receptor-positive primary tumor.
Axilla↗
Hormonal and receptor status in postmenopausal women with endometrial carcinoma before and after treatment with tamoxifen.
Twenty-four patients with endometrial carcinoma received tamoxifen (Nolvadex) for 7 days. Before and after administration, circulating hormones (estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, gonadotropins FSH and LH) were evaluated. Estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) in neoplastic tissue were also assayed. Our results show a net increase in PgR content and a significant decrease in gonadotropin levels after the treatment. The authors suggest that clinical trials be conducted using tamoxifen and progestins for adjuvant therapy after surgery of endometrial carcinoma and for the therapeutic approach of advanced carcinoma.
Carcinoma↗
Steroid hormone receptors in normal and malignant human renal tissue: relationship with progestin therapy.
Documented hormone dependence of renal tumors in animal models, hypothetical hormonal environment of human kidney neoplasms and their controversial response to endocrine therapy prompted us to undertake a prospective multicentric cooperative study to evaluate the hormone-dependence/responsiveness of renal tumors. Patients with renal carcinoma were stratified according to the TNM classification and after nephrectomy were treated with high-dose medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA). Specimens of tumor and healthy surrounding kidney tissue were studied for titration of steroid receptor proteins (78 for androgen, AR, 89 for estrogen, ER, and progestin, PgR). Their true receptor nature was estimated. Very low titers (on an average less than 10 fmol/mg protein) were found, especially for ER and PgR in neoplastic samples. Occurrence rate of AR was low for both tissues (less than 20%), whereas ER and PgR were detected at a higher frequency in healthy parenchyma than in tumor tissue (42.2 vs 23.3% and 30.7 vs 11.2%, respectively). AR was moderately affected by metastatic status of the disease and by sex. All three steroid receptors were simultaneously detected in normal tissue in 11.7% of cases and in tumor tissue in only 3.8%. No significant correlation between receptor status in the tumor and clinical response to hormone therapy was found. In 27 cases who received adjuvant MPA therapy, relapses were respectively 43.8 and 18.2% in the patients with negative receptors or with at least one detectable receptor. In metastatic renal carcinoma, stabilization of the disease with MPA was achieved more frequently in receptor-negative patients. Therefore, we conclude that the receptor assay is not a valid tool to select renal carcinoma patients for therapy with MPA.
Adolescent↗