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Biomedical subjects

F Vezzoli

Publications and source records attributed to F Vezzoli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Capillaria hepatica infection in wild brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) from the urban area of Milan, Italy.

Forty-seven wild brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) collected from the urban area of Milan (Italy) were screened for Capillaria hepatica liver infection. The liver of each rat was grossly and histologically examined for the presence of C. hepatica adults, eggs and typical C. hepatica induced lesions. In 17 rats (36%) liver lesions consistent with C. hepatica infection were detected. Grossly, white-yellow nodules of 1-5 mm in diameter were present, either scattered on the liver surface or localized in a single lobe. Histologically, granulomatous liver lesions associated with eggs and/or worms were observed. The degree of gross liver involvement was moderate in most of the positive cases (71%). About 30 cases of C. hepatica infection in humans have been documented world-wide, most of which are reported in children from 1 to 5 years of age. Our results suggest that the potential transmission of C. hepatica to children in the study area should be considered an important health issue.

Animals↗

Prevalence of pneumonia due to Legionella pneumophila and Mycoplasma pneumoniae in a population admitted to a department of internal medicine.

We studied 177 patients with pneumonia admitted to an internal medicine department over a period of 3 years to determine the incidence of two emerging pathogens, Legionella pneumophila and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Clinical, radiological and laboratory tests were performed and included blood cultures, serology, gram staining and sputum cultures. L. pneumophila was the agent involved in 9 patients (5.1%) and M. pneumoniae in 12 (6.8%). These prevalences were about in the middle of the range of previously published figures. Legionella pneumonia is a rare illness, which even in the absence of suggestive clinical signs must be considered because of its possibly serious course and to allow appropriate therapeutic decisions to be made.

Adult↗

Diagnostic outpatient aspiration curettage. Two years experience.

Endometrial aspiration curettage was performed on 1001 women, without anaesthesia. Our experience confirms that Vabra-curettage is, for patients, a simple and well tolerated sampling technic. We were not able to perform the technic in 18 patients for close cervical stenosis. In 41 patients the samples were quantitatively not adequate for a correct histological diagnosis. In all these cases a control by D & C was performed, in general anaesthesia, and no proliferative pathology was found. The most common presenting symptom in Intraepithelial Carcinoma of Endometrium (ICE) and in carcinoma was abnormal vaginal bleeding; nevertheless 5 cases of ICE and 2 cases of adenocarcinoma did not show any symptom. This study confirms that systematic screening of asymptomatic perimenopausal and postmenopausal women may lead to the discovery of occult endometrial cancers, some of which are advanced.

Adult↗

Respiratory function 8 years after a diagnosis of peripheral airways disease.

A program of screening for airways obstruction was designed to examine: (1) the precision and the reliability of the proposed tests (2) the evolution of respiratory impairment in 69 subjects, 8 years after a diagnosis of peripheral (small) airways obstruction. The tests that exhibit very good reliability are: vital capacity, total lung capacity, 1-second forced expiratory volume, single breath CO diffusion capacity, curvilinearity score; and the ratio of closing capacity to total lung capacity. 39% of smokers and 15% of nonsmokers developed central airways obstruction 8 years after the diagnosis of peripheral airways disease. These results confirm the hypothesis that small airways may be regarded as a noisy rather than a silent zone.

Airway Obstruction↗

Small airways disease: a trial of an easy functional discrimination of preclinical emphysema.

In the genesis of small airways obstruction (SAO) we have to consider two alterations with different prognoses: the first, in which the obstruction depends on a reduction of the diameters of the small bronchi (i.e. with prevalent 'intrinsic mechanism)'), is reversible; the second, probably irreversible, is due to pulmonary emphysema in its pre-clinical stage. It is useful to distinguish between these two mechanisms by means of functional tests which are easily applicable in epidemiological screening. We have studied, by means of different lung mechanics tests, 5 normal, male, non-smoking subjects (N) and 10 male smokers considered to be affected by SAO. Several theoretical considerations, experimental data and prospective studies suggest that under various tests of easy execution for a screening program there are some which have, in some cases, a prognostic value and seem to be coupled to a qualitative meaning: this is the case for delta N2 which is significantly greater in subjects of the extrinsic group where the abnormality is considered irreversible. Some other tests are very sensitive to detect SAO subjects by they are lacking in specificity and in prognostic meaning (CV, VEmax, FDC). Finally, other tests [maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF) and residual volume (RV)] seem to have a prognostic value only because they indicate an advanced stage of the illness, not depending on the kind of the affection (SAO Ex or SAO In).

Adult↗

Drive and performance of ventilatory system during rebreathing.

In eight normal subjects, eight patients with asthma, and six patients with chronic obstructive lung disease, the first derivative of occlusion pressure at FRC during rebreathing has been studied. The maximal dP/dt was always lower in patients. Such a behavior may depend on reduced neuronal discharge as well as on reduced effectiveness of the contraction of the respiratory muscles. Though (dP/dt)max. may provide a reliable measure of the sensitivity of the respiratory center only in a homogeneous group, the results of plotting its value against ventilation and end-tidal Pco2 confirm the failure of the thoracomuscular system to convert the output of respiratory centers into increase of pulmonary pressure and ventilation.

Adult↗

Early discrimination between intrinsic and extrinsic factors in chronic obstructive lung disease.

15 subjects, divided into (1) normal, (2) with small airway obstruction (SAO) and (3) with chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD), were studied to understand the mechanism of the obstruction. The curves of maximal expiratory flow versus static pressure are particularly useful for this purpose, when we have a SAO. In fact, only at this early stage, we can identify by this way two different groups: subjects obstructed by a pure extrinsic mechanism, and subjects obstructed by a pure intrinsic mechanism.

Airway Obstruction↗

Peripheral pulmonary wedge angiography in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Relationship to pulmonary function, chest x-ray film, and hemodynamic data.

Peripheral pulmonary wedge angiographic studies can investigate only limited areas of the pulmonary vascular bed; nevertheless, this technique is very useful in emphasizing the morphologic changes of small vessels (less than 1 mm in diameter) in pulmonary emphysema. The aim of this work is to determine the relationship between peripheral wedge angiographic appearances and pulmonary function, the chest x-ray film, and hemodynamic data in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Three healthy subjects, four patients with type-A chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and eight patients with type-B chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were studied. Among the tests of pulmonary function, only a marked reduction (less than 60 percent of predicted) of the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide is always indicative of severe widespread emphysema. No relationship was found between hemodynamic data and peripheral wedge angiographic findings. Some agreement resulted between the chest x-ray film and peripheral wedge angiographic abnormalities only in patients with type-A chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; on the contrary, in patients with type-B chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, both false-positives and false-negatives were noted.

Angiography↗

Simple parametrizations of maximum expiratory flow-volume curves.

Four elementary mono-compartmental lung models yield parametrizations of Maximal Expiratory Flow-Volume curves of normal subjects. The respective analytical functions are fitted to the measured curves and the mathematically derived ventilation indices are compared with standard measured data. While individual values of resistance and compliance seem devoid of a simple physical interpretation, their product indeed matches the models.

Asthma↗

[Indications and limits in the use of digitalis in chronic cor pulmonale (author's transl)].

The analysis of the haemodymanic responses and the behaviour of many "contractility indices" of the right ventricle -- after acute intravenous injection of large doses of acetil-digoxin, in twelve patients with CPC caused by COLD with predominant clinical signs of emphysema (group A) or bronchitis (group B) -- showed an alarming, although transient, increase of the average pulmonary pressure (PAP), accompanied by rise of pulmonary arteriolar resistanced (RAP), especially in patients of the first group. In these cases a slow and cautious digitalization is required. It furthermore suggested that such treatment should start only after an efficient restoration of ventilation, in order to allow a good response of the heart to cardiocynetic treatment.

Chronic Disease↗