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F Cremonini

Publications and source records attributed to F Cremonini.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

A lyophilized and inactivated culture of Lactobacillus acidophilus increases Helicobacter pylori eradication rates.

BACKGROUND: Acid suppression plus two antibiotics is considered the reference anti-Helicobacter pylori treatment. Reported eradication rates are around 65-80%. Human Lactobacillus acidophilus shows an in vitro inhibitory effect on the attachment of H. pylori to gastric epithelial cell lines. Culture supernatant of this bacillus seems to decrease the in vitro viability of H. pylori. AIM: To evaluate whether the supplementation with an inactivated preparation of L. acidophilus could improve the efficacy of a standard anti-H. pylori therapy. METHODS: One-hundred and twenty H. pylori-positive patients were randomly assigned to a 7-day triple therapy based on rabeprazole (20 mg b.d.), clarithromycin (250 mg t.d.s.) and amoxicillin (500 mg t.d.s.) (RCA group: 60 subjects), or to the same regimen supplemented with a lyophilized and inactivated culture of Lactobacillus acidophilus (t.d.s.) (RCAL group: 60 subjects). RESULTS: In the RCA group, eradication was successful in 72% (42 out of 58 patients) from a per protocol (PP) analysis, or 70% (42 out of 60 patients) using an intention-to treat (ITT) analysis. In the RCAL group a significant increase in the eradication rate was observed: 88% (52 out of 59 patients) from PP analysis (P=0.03), 87% (52 out of 60 patients) from ITT analysis (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: These results seem to confirm the in vitro anti-H. pylori effect of L. acidophilus, suggesting that the inactivated L. acidophilus could be effective in increasing eradication rates of a standard anti-H. pylori therapy.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗
PubMed2000

Association between Helicobacter pylori cytotoxic type I CagA-positive strains and migraine with aura.

Recent studies have suggested an association between Helicobacter pylori infection and migraine. However, various strains of the bacterium are present, some endowed with greater pathogenicity. In particular, H. pylori type I CagA-positive strains induce a higher release of proinflammatory substances by the gastric mucosa that could trigger systemic vasospasms. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of H. pylori CagA-positive strains in subjects with migraine. One hundred and seventy-five patients affected by migraine (49 with aura, 126 without aura) were consecutively enrolled and matched for sex, age, social background and geographical origin with 152 controls. Helicobacter pylori infection was assessed through 13C-urea breath test. Specific serological IgG against CagA were detected through ELISA. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was similar in migraine patients and in controls (40% vs. 39%, respectively). Among migraine patients, prevalence of infection was not related to presence or absence of aura (45% vs. 37%, respectively). However, among infected subjects, a significantly higher prevalence of CagA-positive strains was observed in patients affected by migraine with aura when compared with those affected by migraine without aura (41% vs. 19%, P < 0.01) and with controls (41% vs. 17%, P < 0.01). CagA-positive H. pylori strains were found to be strongly associated with migraine with aura. A higher inflammatory response of the gastric mucosa to more virulent strains could release substances that may act as triggers of vasospasm in peculiar cerebral arterial districts, probably implicated in the 'aura' phenomenon.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Resolution of syndrome X after eradication of virulent CagA-positive Helicobacter pylori.

A 42-year-old man with chest pain was found to have ST depression in leads V1 through V4. The coronary arteries appeared normal on angiography. Positive results of ventricular pacing and acetylcholine test led to a diagnosis of syndrome X. Other studies revealed gastritis due to CagA-positive Helicobacter pylori. Classic therapy for angina did not resolve chest pain, but eradication of H. pylori led to disappearance of symptoms and negative test results.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The role of Helicobacter pylori in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Classical risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases do not fully coincide with the prevalence of these conditions. Emerging evidences show that new factors may be predisposing for the development of ischemic events. It has been demonstrated that atherosclerosis has a strong inflammatory background; such state of chronic inflammation may be related to the presence of persistent infectious agent. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), among other microorganisms, has been extensively investigated for its possible role. Many molecular mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain its eventual action. Epidemiological studies do not exclude a correlation between the infection and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Many confounding factors, however, make difficult a definitive evaluation of the huge number of data present in the literature. Moreover, various therapeutic studies have been attempted to show if antibiotic treatment improves prognosis in patients affected by ischemic heart disease. Still, none of these trials focused specifically on the effects of H. pylori eradication on the clinical progression of vascular lesions.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1998

Helicobacter pylori infection and ischaemic heart disease.

Helicobacter pylori infection is probably one of the most widely spread infectious diseases in man and a growing body of knowledge provides evidence in favour of a causal link between this infection and the majority of upper gastrointestinal conditions. For example, we now know that peptic ulcer disease is an infectious disease; if the infection is diagnosed and treated, ulcer can be cured. On the other hand, in recent years, a number of epidemiological studies have focused on the possible relation between ischaemic heart disease and several infectious disorders, such as chronic dental infections, Cytomegalovirus, Coxsackie viruses, Chlamydia and, finally Helicobacter pylori. The results of studies on the association between ischaemic heart disease and Helicobacter pylori have, in particular, often been contradictory, and only some studies adjusted the results for confounding factors, and the adjustment of the results in some cases modified the association. In conclusion, even if coronary atherosclerosis may now be considered as an inflammatory process, according to several histologic and pathophysiologic studies, we cannot, for the moment, be sure that it is an infectious disease.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed1981

[Influence of age on blood glucose levels: percentile reference intervals determined on ambulatory patients].

Data of routine chemical and hematological laboratory tests regarding outpatients were collected in four different hospitals of the provinces of Ferrara, Rovigo and Bologna. Data of about 1500 subjects per hospital were cumulated without preliminary selection of patients; sex, age and pregnancy status were also recorded. At the end of the collection, the second (and third) record of the same patient was discarded; only those referring to the first examination were retained. In this report we consider only the values of the blood sugar level which were obtained by enzymatic methods. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed utilizing a CDC CYBER 70/76 computer. The means and the variances of the data collected at the four hospital laboratories were very similar (Tab 1). The interlaboratory analysis of variance was poorly significant. All frequency distributions were leptocurtic and skewed to the right (Fig. 1). The blood sugar level tend to increase with age (Tab. 2). This correlation is graphically depicted in a two-dimensional plot (Fig 2) in which the regression line and the 2, 5 and 97,5 percentile levels corrected for age were also reported. We think that this diagram may be more helpful to the clinicians interpreting laboratory results than the usual "normal values".

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacy and tolerability of antibiotics in patients undergoing H. pylori eradication.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. An increasing number of people undergo different treatment options. Unfortunately, H. pylori therapy may be troublesome for drug side effects and inefficacious for resistance to antibiotics. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and ninety-three (193) H. pylori-positive patients were randomly assigned to one of the following 7-day treatments: Group A (N = 64): amoxicillin, clarithromycin and rabeprazole; Group B (N = 64): tinidazole, clarithromycin and ranitidine bismuth citrate; Group C (N = 65): tinidazole, clarithromycin and rabeprazole Eradication was assessed by 13C-Urea Breath Test 6-8 weeks after the end of the therapy. Not-eradicated patients underwent a second cycle with tinidazole, tetracycline, bismuth and rabeprazole. All patients were asked to complete a validated questionnaire regarding presence and intensity of drug side effects. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-eight out of the 193 H. pylori-positive patients (96%) completed therapy. No significant difference in eradication rates was observed among the three groups both in intention to treat analysis and in per protocol analysis. No significant difference in incidence of side effects occurred among groups after the first-line regimens: 48% in group A, 44% in group B and 46% in group C. Twenty-two out of the 193 enrolled subjects (11%) were not eradicated after the first-line therapy. Among them, 86% were successfully eradicated by the tinidazole, tetracycline, bismuth and rabeprazole therapy. Moreover, during quadruple therapy, a higher prevalence and intensity of side effects than in each one of the groups submitted to the first-line triple therapy was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that triple rabeprazole-based eradicating regimens are effective and safe. Incidence of side effects seems low and similar in different three-drug regimens used. Quadruple therapy, which appear highly efficacious as a second line therapy, is associated with a significantly higher incidence of side effects when compared to first-line treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Helicobacter pylori and gastric carcinoma].

Among the suspected bacterial causes of cancer, H. pylori is the agent more consistently linked to malignancy. After its discovery in 1983 and the later confirmation as the leading cause of chronic gastritis, several studies were performed to prove an association between H. pylori infection and gastric carcinoma. The epidemiological data have been so strong that in 1994 the International Association for Research on Cancer stated that "there was sufficient evidence" to classify H. pylori as a group I carcinogen in humans. However, the exact mechanisms underlying the link between H. pylori infection and gastric carcinoma remain still to be elucidated. The natural history of H. pylori infection shows that, although roughly half of the world's human population bears the organism, only a minority of individuals develop clinically important outcomes (e.g. peptic ulcer, lymphoproliferative diseases, atrophic gastritis and gastric carcinoma): host's genetic make-up, duration of infection, diet and differences between H. pylori strains have been proposed as factors potentially able to influence the outcomes in different individuals. The damaging agents by which H. pylori could promote gastric carcinogenesis are produced either by the organism or as a consequence of the host inflammatory response to the infection. Gastric mucosal chronic damage may, therefore, lead to changes in the pattern of epithelial cell kinetic (increase in cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis) in gastric glands which may induce DNA injury with irreversible genetic lesions. Finally, a direct association between H. pylori infection and the induction of gastric carcinoma has been recently demonstrated in an animal model, giving further credence to the role of this organism in gastric carcinogenesis.

Helicobacter Infections↗