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Biomedical subjects

F Leone

Publications and source records attributed to F Leone.

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

Reinfection of Somali children with Trichuris trichiura after chemotherapy: relevance of immunostimulation.

The intestinal helminth status of an age-stratified sample (6 to 20 years old) from a Somalian community has been assessed and the typical pattern of highly aggregated parasite distribution found. A reinfection study on a sample of 40 children (treated and untreated with a pentapeptide identical to the active site of the thymic hormone thymopoietin) seemed to indicate that immunological factors play a significant role in modulating the population dynamics of infection in endemic communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A multicentre study to evaluate the effect of sulbactam/ampicillin combination on anaerobic micro-organisms.

Ampicillin combined with the beta-lactamase inhibitor sulbactam was compared with ampicillin alone, cefoxitin and metronidazole against 569 clinical strains of anaerobic organisms. The strains included 289 species of Bacteroides, 160 strains of Clostridium and 120 strains of various species of Streptococcus/Peptostreptococus, Fusobacterium, Veillonella, Eubacterium, Bifidobacterium, Actinomyces and Propionibacterium. Sulbactam/ampicillin was as effective as cefoxitin and metronidazole against all anaerobic species tested, inhibiting more than 90% of strains at the breakpoints (16, 32 and 32 mg/l, respectively). Sulbactam/ampicillin was also significantly more active than ampicillin against strains of Bacteroides, the minimal inhibitory concentration being at least four-fold lower. In contrast, the activity of the combination did not differ from that of ampicillin alone against Fusobacterium species and Gram-positive rods and cocci.

Ampicillin↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An epidemic of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a Somali orphanage.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated from 53 young females (6-14 years old) in a Somali orphanage. A male guardian was found to be the effective transmitter having sexually abused the children. All the bacterial isolates were of the same serogroup WI and the same serovar Aedih. This presents an unusual example of a tight geographic cluster of infected people which is often characteristic of gonorrhoea epidemics.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The cytoskeleton of chondrocytes of Sepia officinalis (Mollusca, Cephalopoda): an immunocytochemical study.

Our previous electron microscope study showed that chondrocytes from cephalopod cartilage possess a highly developed cytoskeleton and numerous cytoplasmic processes that ramify extensively through the tissue. We have now carried out a light microscope immunocytochemical study of chondrocytes from the orbital cartilage of Sepia officinalis to obtain indications as to the nature of the cytoskeletal components. We found clear positivity to antibodies against mammalian tubulin, vimentin, GFAP, and actin, but not keratin. The simultaneous presence of several cytoskeletal components is consistent with the hypothesis that cephalopod chondrocytes have the characteristics of both chondrocytes and osteocytes of vertebrates, which endow the tissue as a whole with some of the properties of vertebrate bone. We confirm, therefore, the presence in molluscs of the ubiquitous cytoskeletal proteins of metazoan cells that have remained highly conserved throughout phylogenetic evolution.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The use of trilostane for the treatment of alopecia X in Alaskan malamutes.

Three Alaskan malamutes with hair loss and slightly elevated blood concentrations of 17-hydroxyprogesterone after stimulation with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were treated with trilostane. Trilostane, an inhibitor of 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, was given twice daily at a dose of 3.0 to 3.6 mg/kg per day orally for 4 to 6 months. Routine ACTH stimulation tests were performed over 8 months to evaluate the degree of adrenal function suppression. Treatment with trilostane led to complete hair regrowth in all three dogs within 6 months. No adverse effects associated with trilostane were recognized.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Technics for identifying Cryptosporidium spp. in feces: synthetic review and personal experience on anti-HIV seropositive, AIDS-related complex and AIDS subjects].

The authors describe the most common techniques used for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. in the faeces. Coproparasitological investigations have been carried out on 216 patients anti-HIV seropositives, 192 of them with no symptoms, 5 with ARC and 19 with AIDS. The techniques that have been used are: the FPC concentration, the colouring of Henriksen and Pohlenz and modified Koster, the indirect immunofluorescent assay with monoclonal antibodies. Oocystis of Cryptosporidium spp. have been recovered in three patients, two ARC and one AIDS. On the ground of the authors' experiences the used techniques must be considered particularly suitable for the diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Determination of specific IgM using column chromatography in immunologic diagnosis of toxoplasmosis].

The usefulness of detecting specific IgM antibodies in the immunodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis is fraught with false positive and false negative results. For instance false positivity can be obtained when rheumatoid factor is present in the serum while false negativity can occur because competing levels of IgG antibodies. We report the results obtained by the use of a simplified chromatographic method, commercially available in kits, for the separation of IgM from IgG in the immunodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis. The 1564 sera tested by indirect immunofluorescent technique (IFA) showed that 119 (7.6%) were positive if the whole serum was tested and only 7 (0.4%) after the chromatographic separation. This suggests that the use of this method can notably reduce the number of false results in sera with high IFA titer of IgM to toxoplasma.

Antibodies, Protozoan↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Warm ischemia in kidney from non-heart beating donor . Instrumental evaluation].

A dramatic shortage of kidneys available for transplantation, due do the widespread reduction in consent, has urged us to explore alternative sources of kidney harvesting, in the attempt to reduce the current gap between the small number of donations and the large number of patients on waiting-list. We set our attention on non-heart-beating donors (NHBD). In the "first step" of our research, we tested an experimental technique, by using commercial pigs' kidneys, that has been useful to determinate the maximum warm ischemic time that a kidney of NHBD could tolerate. Parameters of this research were the resistance of the kidney in perfusion machine and the renal scintigraphy. Our results permitted to establish that the maximum warm ischemic time that a kidney of NHBD could tolerate, is 50 minutes (p > 0.001). This experimental technique could be employed to remove every doubt about the effective condition of NHBD kidney before the transplant, in the outlook, by using those kidneys, to reduce the organ shortage.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diagnostic paracentesis. A two-step approach.

Diagnostic paracentesis is usually considered the first test to be performed in the assessment of the ascitic patient and a large number of investigations on ascitic fluid have been proposed. To assess the value of a simplified procedure, serum to ascites albumin gradient and ascitic white blood cell counts were employed as a first step. One hundred and fifty-three paired serum and ascitic fluid samples were analysed and allowed patients to be divided into three groups: 1) serum to ascites albumin gradient > = 11 g/L and white blood cells < 0.5 x 10(9)/L predicted cirrhosis (or liver carcinoma) without peritonitis with 83% efficacy, 96% positive predictive value and 65% negative predictive value; 2) serum to ascites albumin gradient > = 11 g/L and white blood cells > = 0.5 x 10(9)/L predicted cirrhosis (or liver carcinoma) with peritonitis with 86% efficacy, 45% positive predictive value and 99% negative predictive value; 3) serum to ascites albumin gradient < 11 g/L predicted the other diagnoses with 92% efficacy, 77% positive predictive value and 95% negative predictive value. As serum to ascites albumin gradient > = 11 g/L and white blood cells < 0.5 x 10(9)/L predicted cirrhosis (or liver carcinoma) without peritonitis in 96% of the cases and excluded peritonitis in 99% of the cases, further fluid ascitic analyses could be considered as a second step only in patients with serum to ascites albumin gradient < 11 g/L and/or white blood cells > = 0.5 x 10(9)/L. In a group of ascitic patients where the prevailing diagnosis is cirrhosis (or liver carcinoma) without peritonitis, this simplified approach could provide a favourable cost/benefit ratio.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

High prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2 in Italian patients with chronic liver disease.

The prevalence of different genotypes of Hepatitis C virus may vary between geographic areas and it is possible that various genotypes have different pathogenic characteristics. Therefore, 90 consecutive Italian patients anti-Hepatitis C Virus positive with a broad spectrum of chronic liver disease, have been analysed to observe prevalence of various genotypes of Hepatitis C Virus. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction with a set of nested biotinylated primers, located in 5'UTR region. Genotype 1b and genotype 2a were the most commonly encountered (respectively, 50% and 37%) whereas other genotypes were rare. The unexpected high prevalence of genotype 2a allowed direct comparison of clinical characteristics and response to therapy between patients with genotype 2a and those with 1b. Genotype 1b was more prevalent than 2a in patients over 60 years (29 vs 12) and in those with more severe liver disease (34 vs 16). In a univariate analysis, genotype 2a was associated with less severe liver disease (p = 0.02) and younger age (p = 0.018), in comparison with genotype 1b. Patients with genotype 2a responded to interferon alpha therapy better than those with 1b (p = 0.007). In a multivariate analysis, only younger age was associated with genotype 2a. Genotype 2a (in comparison with 1b) and absence of cirrhosis were independent predictors of response to interferon alpha. In conclusion, genotype 2a is playing an emerging role in younger Italian patients and seems more sensitive than 1b to interferon alpha therapy.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy: research on 2295 women in Rome and its province.

The authors report the data concerning 2295 women tested for toxoplasmosis immunodiagnosis, in the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases of "La Sapienza" University of Rome in the years 1993-1994. Four hundred eleven cases (17.9%) were positive for IgG only; 2 cases (0.1%) for IgM only; 15 cases (0.6%) for both IgG and IgM while 1867 cases (81.4%) were negative. 1668 women were pregnant. In this group 260 (15.6%) were positive for IgG only, 2 (0.1%) for IgM only, and 10 (10.6%) for both IgG and IgM; in one case there was a spontaneous absorption in the 10th week of pregnancy, in another case a still-birth in the 20th week with brain lesions; a child was born with phocomelia of the right arm and one with a clubfoot. While it is possible to explain the absorption and the still-birth with the toxoplasma infection, it is difficult to understand the causes of the abnormality of the limbs.

Adult↗