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Biomedical subjects

F Manenti

Publications and source records attributed to F Manenti.

89 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Ethanol-induced increase in cytosolic estrogen receptors in human male liver: a possible explanation for biochemical feminization in chronic liver disease due to alcohol.

The hepatic cytosolic estrogen receptor content was measured in liver samples from patients with normal livers and from patients with nonalcoholic cirrhosis, alcoholic cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis. The estrogen receptor content of normal liver was 5.2 +/- 3.5 fmoles per mg of cytosolic protein. Levels which were not significantly different from this were found in the samples from patients with nonalcoholic cirrhosis (2.1 +/- 2.0 fmoles per mg of cytosolic protein). The cytosolic estrogen receptor content in the livers of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis who were abstaining was 4.2 +/- 3.6 fmoles per mg of cytosolic protein, but it increased to 10.4 +/- 4.9 fmoles per mg of protein in the livers of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis who were drinking, to 17.3 +/- 8.7 fmoles per mg of protein in the livers of patients with alcoholic hepatitis with cirrhosis and to 22.7 +/- 15.7 fmoles per mg of protein in the livers of patients with alcoholic hepatitis without cirrhosis. Alcohol abuse appeared, therefore, to induce an increase in the estrogen receptor content of human liver, especially in patients who were drinking and had histological evidence of acute liver damage (alcoholic hepatitis). The increase in hepatic estrogen receptor which we have observed may be involved in the molecular mechanisms underlying the feminization of the liver in alcoholic males.

Aged↗

Impact of insecurity, the AIDS epidemic, and poverty on population health: disease patterns and trends in Northern Uganda.

A retrospective analysis of the discharge records of 186,131 inpatients admitted to six Ugandan hospitals during 1992-1998 was performed to describe the disease patterns and trends among the population of Northern Uganda. In all hospitals, malaria was the leading cause of admission and the frequency of admissions for malaria showed the greatest increase. Other conditions, such as malnutrition and injuries, mainly increased in the sites affected by civil conflict and massive population displacement. Tuberculosis accounted for the highest burden on hospital services (approximately one-fourth of the total bed-days), though it showed a stable trend over time. A stable trend was also observed for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is in contrast to the hypothesis that AIDS patients have displaced other patients in recent years. In conclusion, preventable and/or treatable communicable diseases, mainly those related to poverty and poor hygiene, represent the leading causes of admission and death, reflecting the socioeconomic disruption in Northern Uganda.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Teaching the teachers.

The author analyzes how the problem is dealt with in Italy in comparison with other European countries. He also recalls the early moves taken in Italy for teachers' training, very often started outside the university. The possible ways of intervention are discussed for the improvement on the present situation which, as a whole, is considered unsatisfactory, in spite of commendable individual initiatives in a few Italian medical faculties.

Education, Medical↗

Hepatocellular carcinoma: risk factors other than HBV.

The putative risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are several, even in countries endemic for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Cirrhosis characterizes more than 90% of HCC cases. The phases of inflammation, necrosis and regeneration, present for long periods in cirrhosis, might be most relevant in hepatocarcinogenesis. It is not clear what role is played by sex hormones while alcohol probably has a promoter role. Aflatoxins are known carcinogenins in the experimental animal: however it is difficult to evaluate the impact in human carcinogenesis due to the lack of reliable methods of measuring aflatoxin exposure in population studies. In conclusion, the aetiology of HCC is multifactorial and the main risk factor resides in the presence of underlying chronic liver disease.

Aflatoxins↗

Urothelial cell changes due to busulfan and cyclophosphamide treatment in bone marrow transplantation.

Since the administration of cyclophosphamide and busulfan can cause hemorrhagic cystitis and changes in urothelial cells, an investigation was carried out to see whether patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) who were treated with these drugs showed such urothelial changes and whether exfoliative urinary cytology can contribute to the early diagnosis and monitoring of such changes. Morphologic and morphometric analyses were performed on cytocentrifuged, Papanicolaou-stained preparations of 700 samples from 107 patients. Various degrees of urothelial cell changes were found in 30.8% of the cases. These changes consisted mainly of a considerable increase in the size of the nucleus and of a cytoplasm that was often bizarrely shaped. Even the structures of the nucleus and the cytoplasm changed. The results of this study showed that exfoliative urinary cytology permits an early diagnosis and monitoring of urothelial cell changes related to the administration of busulfan and cyclophosphamide in connection with BMT.

Adolescent↗

Urinary cytologic abnormalities in bone marrow transplant recipients of cyclosporin.

The role of urinary cytology in the early diagnosis of cyclosporin nephrotoxicity was studied in 20 bone marrow transplant recipients. There was an evident cyclosporin cytopathy in 35% of bone marrow transplant recipients examined, consisting mainly of degenerative and necrotic abnormalities in cells of the proximal convoluted tubules seen in urinary samples. These findings regressed to normal after reduction of the cyclosporin dose. Urinary cytology proved to be a useful method for the early diagnosis of cyclosporin nephrotoxicity.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗