PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

F Lucchini

Publications and source records attributed to F Lucchini.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Emx2 developmental expression in the primordia of the reproductive and excretory systems.

The development of the urogenital system has always attracted many investigators owing to the peculiar aspects of the embryology of the reproductive and excretory organs and to the high number of congenital anomalies related to these structures. It is remarkable because of the common origin of the kidneys, gonads, and genital tracts from the intermediate mesoderm and because differentiation of these organs involves extensive mesenchyme to epithelium transition. Our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms controlling the differentiation of these diverse structures from the same precursor has taken advantage of gene expression data and gene-targeting experiments using genes with a specific expression pattern in the urogenital system. A more detailed function in kidney development has been postulated for transcription factors such as WT-1, Pax-2 or other molecules such as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), Wnt-4, c-ret. In the present work we have described the expression pattern of the homeobox-containing gene Emx2 during the development of the urogenital system in mouse embryos. We have found that Emx2 is expressed in the early primordia of the organs that will form the excretory and reproductive systems. In particular we have found that Emx2 is expressed in the epithelial components of pronephros and mesonephros, in Wolffian and Müllerian ducts, in the ureteric buds with their branches and in the early epithelial structures derived from metanephrogenic mesenchyme. Emx2 is also intensely expressed in the "bipotential" or "indifferent" gonads and ovaries. These data and the recent finding that Emx2 homozygous mutant mice die soon after birth because of the absence of kidneys indicate an essential role of Emx2 in the morphogenesis of the urogenital system.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Aggregation-promoting factor in human vaginal Lactobacillus strains.

A total of 60 Lactobacillus sp. strains were examined for expression of auto-aggregation and cell surface hydrophobicity. Isolates were obtained from the vagina of healthy women (n = 20). The results obtained showed that the occurrence of cell surface hydrophobicity correlated with auto-aggregative activity in 12 homofermentative Lactobacillus sp. strains. The aggregation mechanism was mediated by the presence of an aggregation promoting factor (APF) in one Lactobacillus sp. strain, HV 142. APF was confirmed by DNA hybridisation with a 1.3 kb PstI DNA fragment of recombinant plasmid pFDS containing the reading open frame of the APF gene derived from Lactobacillus plantarum 4B2. Coaggregation activity was seen in three strains of auto-aggregative human vaginal lactobacilli and five strains of P-fimbriated uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Moreover, one of four Lactobacillus sp. strains (HV 389) aggregated with two of five E. coli tested. These results suggest that APF producing lactobacilli could represent a further mechanism in the interaction of commensal microflora with strains of uropathogenic E. coli.

DNA, Bacterial↗
PubMed1996

Worldwide trends in cancer mortality in the elderly, 1955-1992.

Trends in age-standardised mortality for all cancers and 21 cancers or groups of cancers over the period 1955-1992 were analysed for 33 countries from four continents in a population aged 65-84 years. Mortality from all neoplasms in the elderly showed heterogeneous patterns in various countries and in the two sexes. Trends were generally more favourable for females than for males, reflecting essentially the earlier and more extensive impact of the lung cancer (and other tobacco-related neoplasms) epidemic in elderly males, in addition to the earlier decline of gastric cancer and a widespread decline of cervical cancer rates in females. In several countries, particularly from western Europe, but also Japan, cancer mortality trends were more favourable over the last two decades than in earlier calendar periods. Some countries of northern and central Europe (including Finland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland) showed stable or even downward trends over time for total cancer mortality in both sexes, particularly in males. This reflects the different patterns of the tobacco-related (lung) cancer epidemic in various countries, and the impact of a few other major neoplasms, including in particular the systematic downward trends in stomach cancer. In contrast, rates were moderately upwards in males in North America, and several countries of southern and eastern Europe, where cancer mortality in the elderly was comparatively low in the 1950s, showed appreciable upward trends, mostly in males. Thus, there was a generalised tendency towards a levelling of the differences in certified cancer mortality in the elderly population in various areas of the world. Although there are substantial limits and uncertainties in the reliability and validity of cancer death certification and their trends in the elderly, there is no widespread and generalised upward trend in cancer mortality, with a major exception of lung and other tobacco-related neoplasms. Furthermore, in several countries, cancer mortality trends over the last four decades have been favourable for elderly women.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Alcohol and breast cancer in the Swiss Canton of Vaud.

The relationship between alcoholic beverage drinking and the risk of breast cancer was considered using data from a case-control study of breast cancer conducted between 1990 and 1995 in the Swiss Canton of Vaud on 230 incident cases of breast cancer below age 75 years, linked with the Vaud Cancer Registry, and 507 controls admitted to the same network of hospitals for a wide spectrum of acute, non-neoplastic, non-hormone-related conditions. Overall, 70.4% of cases versus 57.4% of controls consumed alcohol, corresponding to a multivariate odds ratio (OR) of 1.5 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-2.2). The ORs were 1.3 for < 1 drink per day, 1.8 for 1 to 2, 1.5 for 2 to 4, and 2.7 for > 4 drinks per day, and the trend in risk with dose was significant. The association was consistent for wine (OR = 2.0), beer (OR = 2.6) and spirits (OR = 2.0) and was apparently stronger in premenopausal women, whereas no noticeable interaction was observed with any of the hormonal or reproductive risk factors for breast cancer. The alcohol-related risk was unrelated to duration; the OR was 1.8 for women who started drinking below the age of 30 years and 1.4 for those starting at the age of > or = 30 years. Thus, the present study confirms that alcohol is a correlate of breast cancer risk in this European population, where alcohol drinking among women is common and relatively high. Assuming that this association reflects causality, in terms of attributable risk, alcohol could explain 25% (8-42%) of breast cancer cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Oral contraceptives, menopausal hormone replacement treatment and breast cancer risk.

The relationship between oral contraceptives (OC), menopausal hormone replacement treatment (HRT) and breast cancer risk was analysed in a case-control study conducted in the Swiss canton of Vaud on 230 cases below the age of 75, linked with the Vaud cancer registry, and 507 controls in hospital for a wide spectrum of acute, non-neoplastic, non-hormone-related diseases. A total of 77 (37.4%) cases and 134 (31.6%) of controls below the age of 70 had ever used OC, corresponding to a multivariate odds ratio (OR) of 1.5, of borderline significance. The risk was related to duration of use, but this might be partly due to a recency effect. In fact, with reference to time since last OC use, the OR was above unity for up to 14 years, but declined to 1.0 for women who had stopped OC use for > or = 15 years. With reference to HRT, ever users were 64 (27.8%) of cases and 113 (23.3%) of controls, yielding a multivariate OR of 1.3. Also, for HRT the association was stronger for shorter time since last use; the OR was 1.5 for women who had stopped for < 10 years, but declined to 0.8 for those who had stopped for 10 years or longer. The association with HRT was stronger for women aged > or = 65. Thus, the present study confirms that breast cancer risk is moderately related to OC and HRT. The association, however, is essentially restricted to the 10-15 years after stopping use. This pattern of risk is consistent with a late-stage effect of steroid hormone preparations on the process of breast carcinogenesis, and has relevant implications for any risk/benefit assessment and public health evaluation.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Trends in mortality from bronchial asthma in Switzerland, 1969-1993.

Several unfavourable trends and epidemics of fatal asthma have been registered in various developed countries of Europe, the United States and New Zealand over the last three decades. These have been related to problems in the treatment of the disease, following the introduction and/or inappropriate utilization of selected beta-agonist treatments. Thus, trends in mortality rates from bronchial asthma have been analyzed in Switzerland, where the Eighth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases has been in operation from 1969 to 1993. Overall age-standardized mortality rates (world standard) declined, from 4.3/100,000 males in 1969-73 to 2.8 in 1989-93, and from 2.0 to 1.5/100,000 females. The declines were consistent in both sexes for the age group 35 to 64 years, and some downward trend was observed also above age 65, particularly in males. Asthma mortality trends were inconsistent in children and young adults ( < 35 years), with some increase in males aged 15 to 34 after 1983, in the absence however of any significant linear trend in rates. Thus, trends in asthma mortality in Switzerland showed a moderate and steady decline in rates, particularly in middle aged males, in the absence of any systematic upward trend or epidemic peak. Still, the trends were only moderately favourable, and in the early 1990's about 250 deaths per year were attributed in Switzerland to bronchial asthma, i.e. an avoidable, in principle, cause of death.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Patterns of childhood cancer mortality: America, Asia and Oceania.

Age-standardised mortality rates for childhood cancers for the calendar period 1950-1989 were reviewed for 22 countries (Canada, U.S.A., 10 Latin American countries or territories, Egypt, seven countries or territories from Asia, Australia and New Zealand) using data from the World Health Organization database. The highest mortality rates (between 6 and 7.5/100,000 boys, between 5 and 6/10,000 girls) for all childhood neoplasms were registered in Latin American countries (Uruguay, Cuba, Argentina, Costa Rica), Kuwait, New Zealand and Singapore. Rates were low in most developed countries, such as Canada, U.S.A., Australia, Japan and Israel (3.5 to 4.5/100,000). The pattern was similar for leukaemias, which account for approximately 50% of all childhood cancer mortality. From the 1960s onwards, a 50% decline in childhood cancer mortality was observed in the U.S.A. and Canada, and substantial declines were also observed in other developed countries, such as Australia, Israel and Japan. The pattern was much less favourable for other areas of the world, including Latin America and a few countries from Asia for which there were data. These declines in childhood cancer mortality are essentially attributable to improved management of the disease. The delay observed in the decline in mortality for most developing countries emphasises the scope and the importance of extending adequate treatments for childhood cancers to these areas of the world.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Trends in mortality from nonneoplastic gallbladder disease.

Trends in mortality rates from gallstones and other nonneoplastic gallbladder and biliary tract diseases between 1955 and 1990 for 38 countries (8 from America, 3 from Asia, 25 from Europe, Australia, and New Zealand) were analyzed. Age-adjusted mortality rates standardized on the world population were computed from official death certifications derived from the World Health Organization database. There were generalized and substantial declines in the rates in both sexes and all countries considered, except for males in Czechoslovakia and Poland. Over the calendar period considered, the average declines were over 70% for males and over 80% for females in North America, over 60% for males and 70% for females in Latin America, although mortality remained relatively high in Chile. The declines were 80% for both sexes in Japan and over 70% for males and 80% for females in Australia. The pattern was more heterogeneous in Europe, with decreases of approximately 70 to 80% in northern Europe, but more modest in central and southern Europe, with particularly moderate downward trends for males. In several countries the decreases were rather steady over the calendar period considered, but in a few others the decline was restricted or larger during the most recent calendar period. The trends in gallstone and other gallbladder disease mortality in various areas are affected by differences and potential biases in death certification reliability, and by underlying variations and changes in the prevalence of gallstones and gallbladder surgical removal. A likely interpretation for the generalized decline in mortality over the last calendar period is, however, improved diagnosis and treatment of gallstone disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Cancer mortality in Europe, 1990-92.

Histograms of all age-standardized (world population) death certification rates for 23 cancers or groups of cancers for the period 1990-92 were produced for 35 countries of the European region (including a dozen new national entities) providing data to the World ealth Organization database. Substantial variations were observed in mortality from most common sites. For lung cancer the rate in males was 81/100,000 in Hungary, followed by Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation and Poland, while in Sweden, Iceland and Norway, where comprehensive antismoking campaigns have been adopted over the last two decades, the rates were between 24 and 30 per 100,000 males. The lung cancer epidemic in European females is still in its early phases in most countries, with the sole exception of Scotland (29/100,000, ie the highest rates in the world), the rest of the UK, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland and Hungary. With reference to colorectal cancer, the highest rates were in the Czech Republic (38/100,000 males, 21/100,000 females) and other central European countries, and the lowest in Greece, Romania and a few Republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as Finland and Sweden. The highest gastric cancer mortality rates were in the Russian Federation (41/100,000 males, 18/100,000 females), followed by a few Republics of the former Soviet Union and Portugal in Western Europe. The highest breast cancer rates (25-29 per 100,000 females) were in the UK, Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands, Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. For overall cancer mortality, the range of variation was between 260/100,000 in Hungary and 132/100,000 in Sweden for males, and between 142/100,000 in Denmark and 76/100,000 in Kyrgizstan for females, ie approximately a twofold variation in both sexes.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

Mortality from benign prostatic hyperplasia: worldwide trends 1950-92.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To provide a systematic overview of worldwide trends in mortality from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) over the past four decades. DESIGN: This was a descriptive analysis based on age adjusted mortality rates for BPH between 1950 and 1992 for 41 countries from five continents. SETTING: Official death certifications from the World Health Organization database. MAIN RESULTS: In the 1950s, the highest age adjusted (on the world standard population) mortality rates for BPH in Europe were in Denmark (22.8/100,000) and Germany (18.1), followed by Scandinavian countries, the UK, and Switzerland. Italy had rates around 10/100,000, and rates were lower in eastern and southern Europe (5-8/100,000). Between 1950 and 1990, a fall of over 90%, or even 95%, was observed in most western European countries. Thus, in the early 1980s, overall mortality from BPH ranged between 0.5 and 1.5/100,000 in most western European countries. In proportional terms, similar reductions were registered in other developed countries of North America, Asia (that is, Japan or Singapore), and Oceania. A fall in rates was also observed in eastern Europe and in Latin America, particularly from the late 1970s onwards, although these reductions were generally much smaller. Thus, in the early 1990s, most countries in these areas had BPH rates between 1 and 5/100,000. The pattern of trends was, at least qualitatively, similar at younger ages, although most falls were proportionally greater. CONCLUSIONS: The most probable interpretation of these trends is that therapeutic improvements--including more widespread and timely surgery, introduction of less invasive techniques, such as transurethral prostatectomy, and possibly the development of medical treatments--have had a favourable and substantial impact on BPH mortality. There are, however, areas of the world, including several countries of western Europe and South America, where rates are still very high.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1994

Trends in pancreatic cancer mortality in Europe, 1955-1989.

Trends in death certification rates from pancreatic cancer over the period 1955-1989 were analyzed for 25 European countries (excluding the former Soviet Union and a few smaller countries). In 1985-1989, rates for males ranged between 5.3/100,000 (age-standardized world population) in Spain and 10.3/100,000 in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Other high-mortality areas were located in Northern Europe (Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Denmark) and Central Europe (Austria, Poland, Germany), whilst mortality was lower in Southern Europe (Portugal, Greece). Between 1955 and 1989, mortality rates increased in all the countries considered, the change ranging between 6% in Scotland and 279% in Spain; the rises were higher in the Mediterranean and Eastern European countries than in Northern Europe. Among females, Nordic countries such as Iceland, Sweden and Denmark had the highest mortality rates in 1985-1989 (over 6/100,000) and, as for males, Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Greece) appeared as a low-mortality area (around 3/100,000). During the 1955-1989 period, upward trends were observed in all the countries studied, with the highest increase in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland and Spain. A negative correlation was observed between the percent change in mortality rates between 1955-1959 and 1985-1989 and the rate in 1955-1959 among both males (r = -0.95, p < 0.001) and females (r = -0.81, p < 0.001). Thus, a systematic levelling of rates was observed in most countries, with the exception of the UK and some Nordic countries, whose rates were already high in the late 1950s. Tobacco smoking and dietary factors could account for some of the generalized upward trends. Improved diagnostic and death certification of the disease might also partially explain the observed figures.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1994

Organization of the human CD40L gene: implications for molecular defects in X chromosome-linked hyper-IgM syndrome and prenatal diagnosis.

Recently, CD40L has been identified as the gene responsible for X chromosome-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGM1). CD40L on activated T cells from HIGM1 patients fails to bind B-cell CD40 molecules, and subsequent analysis of CD40L transcripts by reverse transcription PCR demonstrated coding region mutations in these patients. This approach, however, is of limited use for prenatal diagnosis of HIGM1 in the early-gestation fetus. In this report, we have defined the genomic structure of the CD40L gene, which is composed of five exons and four intervening introns. With this information, we have defined at the genomic level the CD40L gene abnormalities for three previously described HIGM1 patients who demonstrated clustered deletions in the CD40L coding region. These different deletions arose from three distinct mechanisms, including (i) a splice donor mutation with exon skipping, (ii) a splice acceptor mutation with utilization of a cryptic splice site, and (iii) a deletion/insertion event with the creation of a new splice acceptor site. In addition, we have performed prenatal evaluation of an 11-week-old fetus at risk for HIGM1. CD40L genomic clones provide a starting point for further studies of the genetic elements that control CD40L expression. Our knowledge of the CD40L gene structure will prove useful for the identification of additional mutations in HIGM1 and for performing genetic counseling about this disease.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Trends in cancer mortality in the USSR, 1965-1990.

Trends in age-specific and age-standardized mortality from 10 major cancer sites and total cancer mortality in the USSR were analyzed for the period 1965-1990, on the basis of the World Health Organization mortality database. Gastric cancer mortality declined substantially. Still, these rates were among the highest registered in the world, and in 1990 stomach cancer accounted for over 85,000 deaths, being the second cause of cancer death (and the first one until 1980); further, there was some indication of a levelling of the declines in gastric-cancer rates for both sexes over most recent calendar years. Likewise, uterine-cancer mortality declined between 1965 and 1985, but there was no further decline over the last 5 years. Upward trends were registered for cancers of the intestine, of the breast and of the prostate. Mortality from these neoplasms, however, was still comparatively low by worldwide standards. Leukaemia rates were stable in both sexes. Substantial rises were observed for cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, larynx and, chiefly, lung. Even more unfavourable was lung-cancer mortality in young and middle-aged males, since the truncated rate of 121/100,000 in 1990 was higher than the values reached by countries like England and Wales or Finland even at the top of their epidemic in the 1960s, and trends in the USSR were still upwards. Thus, total cancer mortality was 176/100,000 males in 1965, declined to 170 in 1970, but increased thereafter, particularly over the last decade, to reach 203/100,000, i.e., one of the highest rates on a worldwide scale. Among females, the overall cancer mortality rate declined between 1965 and 1975, but rose thereafter to a value intermediate on a worldwide scale. These recent unfavourable trends of cancer mortality in the USSR indicate that, in the absence of adequate intervention, particularly on the tobacco-related cancer epidemic, overall cancer mortality will continue to rise in the foreseeable future.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Worldwide pattern of mortality from motor vehicle accidents, 1950-1990.

Trends in age-specific and age-standardized death certification rates from motor vehicle accidents over the period 1950-1990 were analyzed for 48 countries from four continents (2 from North America, 10 from Latin America, 8 from Asia, 26 from Europe, Australia and New Zealand) on the basis of data produced by the World Health Organization mortality database. In most developed western and Asiatic countries, mortality rates increased until the late 1960's or early 1970's, and declined thereafter to reach values often lower than those of the early 1950's, although the number of circulating vehicles has substantially increased over the same calendar period. The extent of the decline was, however, different in various countries, as well as in the two sexes and in various age groups, thus leading to complex cohort and period patterns. In general, countries (like the U.S.A. or U.K.), where the number of motor vehicles had increased earlier, have now comparatively higher rates at younger than at middle and older age, while the opposite is observed in countries with later spread of motor vehicles. Further, there were a few countries, including Kuwait, Venezuela and several other Latin American countries, Australia and New Zealand, and several southern and eastern European countries, with exceedingly high rates from motor vehicle accidents, and where comprehensive interventions on this important cause of death are therefore a public health priority.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1994

Trends in cancer mortality in young adults in Europe, 1955-1989.

Trends in mortality in the age group 20-44 years for the 16 most common cancers or groups of cancer in young adults are presented for 24 European countries (i.e. those with > or = 1,000,000 inhabitants). The largest (up to 9-fold) and most frequent increases were recorded for cancer of the mouth and pharynx (> or = 2-fold increase from 1955-1959 to 1985-1989 in 10 countries), and oesophagus (in eight countries) in males, and for cancer of the skin, chiefly of melanomatous type, in males and females (in nine and eight countries, respectively). Consistent declines were observed for cancer of the stomach and uterus (chiefly, cervix), and for Hodgkin's disease, most notably in northern European countries. Little change emerged in the last 30 years or so in young adult mortality rates for cancer of the colon-rectum, pancreas, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukaemias and cancers of the breast and ovaries in women. More than 2-fold elevations in lung cancer mortality rates in men aged 20-44 years were found only in a few previously non-market economy countries, and in Spain and Portugal. In some northern European countries, favourable downward trends in young males were accompanied by more than 2-fold increases in lung cancer mortality rates in young women. Overall, total cancer mortality rates in women at aged 20-44 years have declined over the last 35 years by more than 20% in 12 countries, and have not increased anywhere. Total cancer mortality rates in young males showed similar decreases in nine northern European countries, but increases of the same magnitude were also observed in most formerly non-market economy countries, and in Spain and Portugal.

Adult↗