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Biomedical subjects

F Cozzi

Publications and source records attributed to F Cozzi.

89 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prevalence and clinical significance of cathepsin G antibodies in systemic sclerosis].

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence and clinical significance of cathepsin G antibodies in patients affected with systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma). METHODS: 115 patients affected by SSc, 55 (47,8%) with diffuse scleroderma (dSSc) and 60 (52,2%) with limited scleroderma (lSSc), were tested for cathepsin G antibodies by ELISA method. Moreover these sera were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on ethanol and formalin fixed human neutrophils. RESULTS: By means of the ELISA method 16 (13,9%) patients were found to be sera positive for anti-cathepsin G, 2 (12.5%) of which showed a perinuclear fluorescence pattern (P-ANCA) and 4 (25%) an atypical ANCA staining, while 10 (62,5%) were negative on IIF. The IIF on scleroderma sera revealed 5 (4,3%) P-ANCA and 18 (15,7%) atypical ANCA patterns. The anti-cathepsin G antibodies significantly prevailed in scleroderma sera (p=0.02) when their frequency was compared with that of healthy controls; while they were not significantly associated to any clinical or serological features of SSc patients. CONCLUSIONS: The anti-cathepsin G antibodies were significantly frequent in scleroderma sera; however, no clinical correlations were found. Thus, the significance of their presence in SSc still needs to be clarified.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Italian consensus on Eular 2003 recommendations for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis].

The recommendations for the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee firstly proposed by the EULAR in 2000, have been updated in 2003. One of the most important objectives of the expert charged to provide these recommendations was their dissemination. Thus, the information generated may be used by each individual country to produce their own set of management guidelines and algorithms for treatment in primary care. The Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) and the Italian League against Rheumatism (LIMAR) have organised a Consensus on the EULAR recommendations 2003 with the aim to analyse their acceptability and applicability according to our own experience and local situations in the Italy. The results of this Consensus have demonstrated that a large majority of the EULAR recommendations are endorsed by the Italian experts. Furthermore, the final document of the Italian Consensus clearly indicated the need that specialists involved in the management of knee OA strongly encourage the dissemination of the EULAR 2003 recommendations also in Italy.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Tenosynovitis of the ankles as onset of sarcoidosis in a patient with ulcerative colitis].

Arthritis and tenosynovitis are frequently reported as complications of inflammatory bowel diseases. About 10% of patients with ulcerative colitis presents articular inflammation, usually in the phases of activity of intestinal disease. Tenosynovitis is also a frequent complication of ulcerative colitis. We describe here a case of tenosynovitis of both ankles occurring in a patient affected by ulcerative colitis not in active phase. Chest X-ray and TC showed hilar lymph node enlargement and transbronchial biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. In this disease tenosynovitis is very rare, unlike arthritis that is rather common. In conclusion we observed a case of ankle bilateral tenosynovitis as onset manifestation of sarcoidosis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Myositis specific and myositis associated autoantibodies in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: a serologic study of 46 patients].

OBJECTIVE: To characterize serum autoantibody profiles of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) by searching for myositis-specific (MSA) and myositis-associated (MAA) antibodies with sensitive and specific laboratory tests. METHODS: We tested the sera from 46 Caucasian patients diagnosed as affected with IIM at the Division of Rheumatology of Padova University (21 polimyositis, PM; 22 dermatomyositis, DM; 3 myositis overlap syndrome). All patients had definite IIM according to the criteria of Bohan-Peter. MSA including anti-tRNA synthetase (anti-Jo-1 and others) and anti-Mi-2 were determined by RNA immunoprecipitation and a modified immunoblot test, respectively. MAA (-U1RNP, -U2RNP, RoRNP, PM/Scl, Ku) were detected by counterimmunoelectrophoresis and immunoblot. RESULTS: Serum MSA and/or MAA were found in 30/46 (65%) patients with IIM. Twenty-three patients (50%) were positive for at least one MSA: anti-Jo-1 in 15 (33%), anti-Mi-2 in 6 (13%), and other anti-tRNA synthetase in 3 (6%). One patient was anti-Jo-1/Mi-2 positive. Moreover, 18 patients (39%) were positive for at least one MAA: anti-Ro/SSA in 13 (28%), anti-U1RNP in 4 (9%), anti-PM/Scl in 1 (2%) and anti-Ku in 1 (2%). Coexisting MSA and MAA were observed in 8 patients (17%), anti-Jo-1/SSA positive in most cases. Anti-Jo-1 was predominantly associated with PM (57% in PM vs 14% in DM), whereas anti-Mi-2 was exclusively found in DM patients (27%). Anti-synthetase antibodies were closely associated with interstitial lung disease and polyarthritis; anti-Mi-2 positive DM patients did not have lung involvement. Notably, anti-Ro/SSA antibody was frequently observed and almost equally detected in either PM or DM (about 30%): in more than 50% of cases the antibody was associated with one MSA. CONCLUSIONS: By means of analytically reliable methods, MSA was detected in 50% of our IIM patients. Searching for MSA in patients with IIM is recommended because of its diagnostic and prognostic value.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Paucity of interlobular bile ducts in twins and maternal abuse of psychopharmaceuticals during pregnancy].

We report the case of twins with intrahepatic cholestasis in "paucity of interlobular bile ducts". Both the children presented an associated cardiac defect even if dissimilar and a transient tubulopathy. Despite the presence of these alterations we suppose that these cases can be included among the group of rare nonsyndromic paucity of interlobular bile ducts. The different extent of the pathology in the two patients suggest a toxic etiology which could have struck more severely the twin who were less protected by the utero-placental barrier. In the literature reports we found some cases of extrahepatic biliary atresia related with maternal amphetamine addiction, but no cases of intrahepatic atresia. As during pregnancy the mother had abused of a number of drugs and in particular of amphetamine, we suppose that the amphetamine addiction can account for the hepatic pathology.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anti-inflammatory effect of mud-bath applications on adjuvant arthritis in rats.

OBJECTIVE: The real effects of mud-bath applications on the inflammatory process are still not clarified. We studied these effects on rat adjuvant-induced arthritis. METHODS: Arthritis was induced in 30 rats by subplantar injection of Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) into the right hind paw. Ten days after FCA injection, the rats were randomized in 3 groups of 10 each: the first one was submitted to a cycle of mud-bath applications, the second one was treated with indomethacin, the third one received only saline per os (control group). The paw volume, measured by plethysmometry, and the serum levels of TNFalpha and IL-1beta were considered as evaluation parameters. RESULTS: FCA injection caused a progressive enhancement of paw volume and a rapid increase of TNFalpha and IL-1beta serum levels. After the randomization, mud-bath applications reduced inflammation and at the end of the treatment the paw volume and the TNFa and IL-1beta serum levels were significantly tapered in comparison to the controls (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results of the study suggest an anti-inflammatory effect of mud-bath applications on adjuvant arthritis in rats. These results could explain the beneficial effects of thermal treatments observed in some inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Multicenter study of the effectiveness and tolerance of clotiazepam in cardiology].

In a phase IV study with clotiazepam 9 cardiologists were involved to treat 86 patients (52 female, 32 male, mean age 51 years) effected by cardiovascular diseases and anxiety. The dosage was 5-10 mg TID, and the treatment lasted for 3 weeks. Variations of the dosage were requested in 21% of patients and generally at the 2nd week of treatment. The safety of clotiazepam was good: only in the 14% of patients side-effects were observed (especially drowsiness 9.3% and asthenia 2.3%). Clotiazepam was judged to be effective in 75% of patients. The Hamilton psychiatric rating scale for anxiety showed a progressive decrease both of the total score and of the scores of every item; the cardiovascular symptoms particularly improved at both the controls.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neonatal neuroblastoma: stage of disease influences survival.

The results of the analysis of 102 neonatal neuroblastomas collected from literature from 1940 to 1978 are reported. Frequency of stages, primary site, and metastatic diffusion of the tumour are considered. Survival rate is 54%. This study shows that the more favorable prognosis of neonatal cases is not related either to age or primary site, but only to the stage of the tumour. The presence of skin metastasis is a favorable prognostic factor (survival rate in babies with skin metastasis is 95%).

Age Factors↗