PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Ferruccio Fazio

Publications and source records attributed to Ferruccio Fazio.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Cerebral D2 and 5-HT2 receptor occupancy in Schizophrenic patients treated with olanzapine or clozapine.

We report the results of a double-blind, randomized prospective trial on D2 and 5-HT2 receptor occupancy and the clinical effects of olanzapine versus clozapine in a sample of neuroleptic-refractory schizophrenic patients. Receptor occupancy was evaluated in different cortical areas and in basal ganglia using [18F] fluoro-ethyl-spiperone ([18F] FESP) and positron emission tomography (PET). A total of 15 neuroleptic-free patients completed the study undergoing a baseline and a post-treatment PET scan (olanzapine, nine patients, one female; clozapine, six patients, three female) 8 weeks after starting treatment. PET data were analysed both by regions of interest and on a voxel-by-voxel basis using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM96). Olanzapine and clozapine induced a similar and significant inhibition of [18F] FESP binding index in the cortex. In the basal ganglia, receptor occupancy was significantly higher with olanzapine than with clozapine (p=0.0018). By contrast, no differences in receptor occupancy were detected at the level of the pituitary gland. Clinical outcomes, in particular a full extra pyramidal tolerability, were similar. In this sample of neuroleptic-refractory schizophrenic patients, olanzapine and clozapine showed a different pattern of occupancy of D2-like receptor despite a common lack of extrapyramidal side-effects.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Early lung-cancer detection with spiral CT and positron emission tomography in heavy smokers: 2-year results.

BACKGROUND: Low-dose spiral CT of the chest effectively detects early-stage lung cancer in high-risk individuals. The high rate of benign nodules and issues of making a differential diagnosis are critical factors that currently hamper introduction of large-scale screening programmes. We investigated the efficacy of repeated yearly spiral CT and selective use of positron emission tomography (PET) in a large cohort of high-risk volunteers. METHODS: We enrolled 1035 individuals aged 50 years or older who had smoked for 20 pack-years or more. All patients underwent annual low-dose CT, with or without PET, for 5 years. Lesions up to 5 mm were deemed non-suspicious and low-dose CT was repeated after 12 months (year 2). FINDINGS: By year 2, 22 cases of lung cancer had been diagnosed (11 at baseline, 11 at year 2). 440 lung lesions were identified in 298 (29%) participants, and 95 were recalled for high-resolution contrast CT. PET scans were positive in 18 of 20 of the identified cancer cases. Six patients underwent surgical biopsy for benign disease because of false-positive results (6% of recalls, 22% of invasive procedures). Complete resection was achieved in 21 (95%) lung cancers, 17 (77%) were pathological stage I (100% at year 2), and the mean tumour size was 18 mm. There were no interval lung cancers in the 2.5 years of follow-up (average time on study from randomisation to last contact), although 19 individuals were diagnosed with another form of cancer (two deaths and 17 non-fatal admissions). INTERPRETATION: Combined use of low-dose spiral CT and selective PET effectively detects early lung cancer. Lesions up to 5 mm can be checked again at 12 months without major risks of progression.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

5-HT(2A) receptor binding is reduced in drug-naive and unchanged in SSRI-responder depressed patients compared to healthy controls: a PET study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate differences in 5-HT(2A) receptor binding between healthy volunteers and patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), either never treated before with antidepressants (drug-naive: DN) or responding to paroxetine treatment (drug-treated: DT). METHODS: Nineteen DN patients with MDD and 15 euthymic DT (paroxetine 4 weeks) patients were compared with a group of 20 healthy controls (C) with positron emission tomography (PET) using [(18)F]fluoroethylspiperone ([(18)F]FESP), a 5-HT(2A) and D(2) receptor antagonist. A "binding index" (BI) of [(18)F]FESP to cortical and basal ganglia regions was calculated as the ratio of the activity in these regions to that of cerebellum. Differences in BI between groups, i.e. C versus DN or DT, were assessed by ANOVA, with or without age as covariate (ANCOVA). RESULTS: A significant reduction in BI ( P=0.003 ANOVA, P=0.001 ANCOVA) was found in DN patients in the frontal, occipital, temporal and cingulate cortices, but not in the striatum. No significant differences emerged between C and DT patients. CONCLUSIONS: The reduction of [(18)F]FESP BI in cortical areas of DN depressed, but not of euthymic DT patients suggests an association between the occurrence of depressive symptoms and impairment of cortical 5-HT(2A) receptors. [(18)F]FESP cortical BI may represent a state marker of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

The role of age of acquisition and language usage in early, high-proficient bilinguals: an fMRI study during verbal fluency.

We assessed the effects of age of acquisition and language exposure on the cerebral correlates of lexical retrieval in high-proficient, early-acquisition bilinguals. Functional MRI was used to study Spanish-Catalan bilinguals who acquired either Spanish or Catalan as a first language in the first years of life. Subjects were exposed to the second language at 3 years of age, and have used both languages in daily life since then. Subjects had a comparable level of proficiency in the comprehension of both languages. Lexical retrieval with the verbal fluency task resulted in the well-established pattern of left hemispheric activation centered on the inferior frontal region. The effect of age of acquisition was assessed by dividing the subjects into two groups, on the basis of the language acquired first (Catalan-born or Spanish-born bilinguals). Functional comparisons indicated that less extensive brain activation was associated with lexical retrieval in the language acquired earlier in life. The two groups were also different in language usage/exposure, as assessed with a specific questionnaire; in particular, the exposure to the second language (Spanish) was less intensive in the case of Catalans. This was reflected in a significant interaction, indicating a more extensive activation in Catalans during production in Spanish. Overall, these results indicate that, during a production task, both age of acquisition and language exposure affect the pattern of brain activation in bilinguals, even if both languages are acquired early and with a comparable level of proficiency.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Brain activation patterns during video sexual stimulation following the administration of apomorphine: results of a placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the in vivo effect of apomorphine sublingual versus placebo on cortical and subcortical brain activation during video sexual stimulation. METHODS: Ten patients with psychogenic erectile dysfunction and six potent controls underwent functional magnetic resonance of the brain during video sexual stimulation after the administration of either apomorphine sublingual 4mg or placebo following a randomized, double blind design. Functional magnetic resonance sessions were performed with a 7-day interval. RESULTS: In potent controls, viewing erotic versus neutral films induced bilateral activations in a network of occipito-parietal and temporal inferior regions, in dorsolateral and premotor frontal cortex, in anterior temporal limbic areas and the thalamus, which were comparable to the patient activations during erotic stimulation in the placebo condition. However, a striking difference was found in patients, who demonstrated a significant and extended activation in the cingulate gyrus, frontal mesial and frontal basal cortex, bilaterally, in comparison with potent controls. These activated neural systems were modulated by apomorphine administration which produced a picture that was similar to the one seen in potent controls. In patients with spychogenic erectile dysfunction apomorphine sublingual caused an increase in the extension of the activated networks, plus additional activation foci in subcortical and deep structures, namely in the nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus and mesencephalon: this activation was greater than that seen with placebo. Interestingly, a down-regulation in the frontal basal and temporal limbic cortex was present as shown by a decrease of functional magnetic resonance imaging signal reflecting a deactivation of these regions. CONCLUSIONS: Apomorphine significantly enhances the activation of cortical and subcortical brain function during video sexual stimulation. Patients with psychogenic erectile dysfunction may have an underlying functional abnormality of the brain acting as a previously unrecognised aetiological factor.

Administration, Sublingual↗
PubMed2003

Predominant ventromedial frontopolar metabolic impairment in frontotemporal dementia.

In a multicenter study, FDG-PET images in a population of 29 patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) were compared to controls with similar age from each center. A conjunction analysis led to identification of the ventromedial frontopolar cortex as the single region affected in each and every FTD patients. This precise regional metabolic impairment should be integrated with recent neuropsychological researches, such as those showing that the ventromedial frontal cortex is critically involved in decision-making processes based on personal experience, feelings of rightness or social knowledge, processes that are characteristically impaired in FTD.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

[11C]RN5: a new agent for the in vivo imaging of myocardial alpha1-adrenoceptors.

The radiolabelling with the positron-emitter Carbon-11 and the biological evaluation in rats of 3-[2-[4-(2-[11C]methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl]ethyl]pyrimido[5,4-b]indole-2,4-dione ([11C]RN5), alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist (K(i)=0.21 nM), as a putative radioligand for the non-invasive assessment of alpha1-adrenoceptors with positron emission tomography (PET) is reported. The radiosynthesis procedure consisted of O-methylation of des-methyl precursor with [11C]methyl iodide in the presence of potassium hydroxide in dimethylformamide (DMF) at 80 degrees C. [11C]RN5 was obtained in >99% radiochemical purity in 25 min with a radiochemical yield in the 20-30% range, end of synthesis (EOS) (non-decay corrected) and a specific radioactivity of 92.5+/-18.5 GBq/micromol. Pre-clinical studies in rats showed a high uptake of [11C]RN5 in heart, spleen, adrenal gland, lung and kidney but not in the brain. Inhibition studies with high doses of different adrenergic antagonists indicate that more than 70% of myocardial uptake of [11C]RN5 is due to specific binding to alpha1-adrenoceptors. Our results indicate that [11C]RN5 is suitable to be further developed as a potential radioligand for the in vivo PET imaging of myocardial alpha1-adrenoceptors in humans.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed2002

Automation of [11C]acyl chloride syntheses using commercially available 11C-modules.

In implementing published procedures for the incorporation of [11C]carbon dioxide on the immobilized Grignard reagents for the radiosynthesis of [11C]acyl chlorides, several modifications on a commercial PET tracer synthesizer module for 11C-methylations were made to obtain reliable and reproducible production processes for routine clinical applications. High yields of [carbonyl-11C]WAY-100635 and [11C]zofenoprilat were obtained via 11C-carboxylation using [carbonyl-11C]cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride and 2-methyl-[l-11C]acryloyl chloride prepared with the modified module.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

High prevalence of (99m)tc-tetrofosmin reverse perfusion pattern in patients with myocardial infarction and angiographically smooth coronary arteries.

BACKGROUND: There are no published data in the literature on the scintigraphic perfusion pattern in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and normal coronary arteries (NCA). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate myocardial perfusion imaging in a series of patients with MI and NCA. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients who had developed a MI and had NCA were studied. As a control group we included 27 patients with a recent MI and coronary artery disease (CAD). All patients underwent stress/rest tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion SPECT within 6 months from MI. RESULTS: In patients with NCA tetrofosmin stress images revealed 41 hypoperfused segments in 17 patients (63%). On rest images, 13 segments remained unchanged, 4 showed partial reperfusion, 10 normalized and 14 worsened. Additionally, there were 18 new hypoperfused segments in nine patients. Therefore, perfusion worsened at rest in 18 patients (67%) (32 segments). Overall, at rest there were 49 hypoperfused segments in 22 patients (81%). In patients with CAD, stress images revealed 71 hypoperfused segments. On rest images, 39 segments remained unchanged, 16 showed partial reperfusion and 12 normalized. Four segments worsened at rest and only four patients (15%) showed new perfusion defects at rest. CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial perfusion with tetrofosmin might appear considerably worse at rest than at stress in patients with MI and NCA. Specifically, a reverse perfusion pattern in the infarct area is a frequent finding and is likely to be due to residual tissue viability. We postulate that in these patients the hyperemic response to exercise may mask resting underperfusion areas.

Adult↗