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Biomedical subjects

F Lolli

Publications and source records attributed to F Lolli.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Intrathecal synthesis of beta-2-microglobulin in multiple sclerosis and aseptic meningo-encephalitis.

Beta-2-microglobulin (beta 2m) levels were studied in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of 52 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS) and of 14 with aseptic meningo-encephalitis (AM). Reference values for beta 2m were defined in 72 subjects of different age groups with tension headache (TH). Plasma levels of beta 2m increased with age in TH controls, particularly in the older age group, while no significant age variation could be detected for CSF beta 2m. Increased levels of beta 2m were found in the CSF and plasma of AM patients and in the CSF in MS. Calculations of CSF/plasma beta 2m ratios showed higher values in AM, reflecting intrathecal beta 2m synthesis, while only borderline alterations were evident in MS. Demonstration of intrathecal production of beta 2m is an additional CSF finding that may be useful in evaluating, among others, inflammatory nervous system disorders, but it has limited importance in the study of MS patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Increased reactivity to HTLV-I in inflammatory nervous system diseases.

The presence of IgG antibodies reacting with purified and disrupted human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) was examined by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in sera from 49 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), 21 patients with aseptic meningoencephalitis (AM), 12 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GB), and 30 patients with tension headache (TH). This was also assessed in the concentrated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of most of these patients, as well as in sera of 60 blood donors (BD). Standardized amounts of serum IgG and CSF IgG were used in ELISA. For sera, higher reactivity with HTLV-I was found in all four patient groups compared with the BD group, but no significant differences were observed among the four groups. There was higher reactivity with HTLV-I in the CSF of patients with MS, AM, and GB compared to findings in patients with TH. Ten serum (2 MS, 3 GB, 3 TH, 2 BD) and 3 CSF (1 MS, 1 GB, 1 TH) specimens considered positive by ELISA for HTLV-I were found negative on confirmatory Western blot analysis. We extended this study to analyze the in vitro production of anti-HTLV-I-IgG antibodies by the 24-hour cultivation of unstimulated lymphocytes from peripheral blood and CSF of 6 additional patients with MS directly in HTLV-I antigen-coated wells of microtiter plates. This was followed by determination of specific antibodies by ELISA in the same wells. No antibody production was measurable. Our data do not favor the hypothesis of an HTLV-I-related human retrovirus in the etiology of MS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Suppression of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by retinoic acid.

Administration of retinoic acid (RA) prevented the development of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats. RA suspended in corn oil was given for 3 days before the expected onset of the disease to rats immunized with myelin and to controls. The drug suppressed the neurological symptoms as well as the perivascular infiltrates observed in vehicle-treated animals. The results indicate that under these experimental conditions, RA has immunosuppressive activity by interfering with the efferent phase of the immune response.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Polymorphonuclear neutral protease activity in multiple sclerosis and other diseases.

Polymorphonuclear neutral protease activity (PMN-NPA) was examined in 87 patients with definite multiple sclerosis (MS) (48 active, 39 inactive), 49 patients with other neurological diseases (OND), 24 patients with immune-mediated non-neurological diseases (INND), and 32 normal subjects. PMN-NPA was found to be significantly increased in active MS compared with inactive MS and compared with each of the control groups. No differences were found between the group of normal subjects and the groups of patients with OND, INND, or inactive MS. Levels of PMN-NPA were significantly higher in the OND group than in inactive MS group. The differences for INND versus normal controls, neurological controls, and patients with inactive MS were not significant. No significant differences have been detected between active and inactive INND. These results suggest that PMN-NPA may be useful in the diagnosis and evaluation of MS.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Extracorporeal photochemotherapy reduces the severity of Lewis rat experimental allergic encephalomyelitis through a modulation of the function of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Extra corporeal photochemotherapy (ECP) is an immunomodulating procedure used in several nonneurological diseases which, similarly to multiple sclerosis, are likely to be due to T-cell-mediated autoimmunity and it is probable that ECP can modulate the normal activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Using the Lewis rat experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of human multiple sclerosis (MS) we examined the effect of extracorporeal UV-A irradiation on psoralen-activated PBMC. In our experiment the comparison between the two groups of animals (ECP or sham-treatment) evidenced that the ECP treatment reduced the severity of EAE on clinical grounds and this result was confirmed by the pathological examination. The changes in the titers of anti-myelin antigen antibodies typical of EAE were also modulated by the procedure. Ex vivo examination evidenced a significant reduction in tumor-necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) released by PBMC after lipopolysaccharides (LPS) stimulation in culture. We conclude that ECP modifies the normal activity of PBMC during the course of EAE and it is possible that one of the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of action of ECP is correlated to a down-regulation of T-helper 1 lymphocytes activity.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The ischaemia-hyperpnea test in the evaluation of neuronal hyperexcitability syndrome.

Electromyography (EMG) identifies abnormalities in the neuronal hyperexcitability syndrome (NHS) with high frequencies of false positive results. We examined 25 subjects with autonomic, psychic and neuromuscular symptoms of NHS. They underwent the ischaemia-hyperpnea test using stringent time criteria to study their symptoms as well as their electrolytical balance. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significantly different incidence of repetitive discharges in the two groups in the post-ischaemic period (p < 0.004) and during hyperpnea (p < 0.001). The ischaemia-hyperpnea EMG test, when evaluated in relation to the the duration of activation procedure, was able to differentiate NHS patients from controls only within 4-6 minutes of ischaemia or hyperpnea. When restricted to this period, EMG observation with the triggering of Ischaemia-hyperpnea identified NHS with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity.

Action Potentials↗