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G Aimo

Publications and source records attributed to G Aimo.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and benign lung diseases: a comparative study.

Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) was determined in the serum of 72 lung carcinoma patients. Twenty-four healthy subjects younger than 50 years and 10 healthy subjects older than 70 years were considered as control group. TNF was also measured in 20 patients with stage I sarcoidosis and in 15 patients with pulmonary fibrosis. The marker was detected in 32% of cases in the neoplastic group, in 37.5% of disease confined to the chest and in 25% of advanced disease cases. A large proportion of TNF-positive samples was found in sarcoidosis (30%), and even larger in pulmonary fibrosis (66.6%). TNF was also present in healthy subjects older than 70 (40%). We conclude that TNF is not specific of malignancy, being demonstrable in other benign pulmonary diseases and even in the course of physiological aging.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prostate cancer probability after total PSA and percent free PSA determination.

UNLABELLED: The percent free PSA value is a promising diagnostic tool for prostate cancer. However, its actual role has not yet been established because of the widely diverging sensitivity and specificity values. This could depend at least in part on analytical difficulties, since the free PSA concentration is much lower than that of total PSA. The present investigation was designed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the percent free PSA in the most favorable analytical conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 81 patients affected by newly diagnosed, untreated primary prostate cancer (CaP) and 239 patients with untreated benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were prospectively enrolled. Hybritech total and free PSA were measured by the same technician using the same reagent batch. RESULTS: The percent free PSA was not significantly associated with age, tumor stage, gland volume, Gleason score, and total PSA, nor was it significantly affected by concomitant prostatic complications either in CaP or BPH. Percent free PSA was more effective than total PSA in the differential diagnosis between CaP and BPH in every evaluated dose range of total PSA. Percent free PSA determination could have reduced the rate of unnecessary biopsies in cases with total PSA > or = 4 ng/mL and > or = 10 ng/mL (avoided biopsies 61% and 63%, respectively). The post-test probability of the disease, which represents the proportion of patients with a positive percent free PSA value who have the disease, was, however, relatively low in younger patients with total PSA within the normal range. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic performance of the percent free PSA value is enhanced when the methodological variability is reduced, particularly in men with low total PSA. Percent free PSA is superior to total PSA in distinguishing primary CaP from BPH in patients with total PSA between 2 and 30 ng/mL. The percent free PSA value is effective in reducing the rate of unnecessary biopsies in men with total PSA higher than 4 or 10 ng/mL. However, due to its relatively low post-test probability, the percent free PSA value should be interpreted with caution in the decision-making related to individual patients and should be used in association with clinical and instrumental evaluation of the patient.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Intact whole bioactive parathormone: problems arising from comparing different methods].

BACKGROUND: Parathyroid hormone (PTH) has important applications in the nephrological clinical practice. Because assays of Intact PTH (I-PTH) are liable to interferences by N-truncated fragments, a novel method for whole-(1-84) PTH has been proposed. This study is aimed at comparing the latter with some of the previous I-PTH assays. For each method the results are referred to pertinent markers of mineral metabolism. METHODS: We enrolled 171 subjects, including 56 healthy controls (C), 65 calcium stone- formers (CaSF), 40 haemodialysis patients (HD), 10 with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP). On blood samples we measured: I-PTH by four methods (N-Tact, Advantage, Elecsys, Scantibodies), whole-(1-84) PTH, defined as CAP (Cyclase Activating PTH), total and ionised calcium, phosphate, vitamin D, osteocalcin and Crosslaps. The difference between I-PTH and CAP Scantibodies is defined as CIP (Cyclase Inhibiting PTH). RESULTS: Despite relating to each other (r>0.97) PTH values varied remarkably among methods. For all methods, the reference intervals differed from those provided by the producer. Assuming these new ranges, 10 CaSF had over-range values not always associated with abnormalities of mineral metabolism. One of the PHP patients was normal for I-PTH with 2/4 methods. In HD the differences among methods were even greater, there were inverse (p<0.05) and direct (p<0.001) relationships with ionised calcium and osteocalcin-crosslaps, respectively. The CAP/CIP ratio was lower in low bone turnover patients, but the two subgroups widely overlapped. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the reliability of I-PTH assays is still unsatisfactory, and none of the four methods emerged as the best. Assay for CAP only improves diagnostic efficiency, whereas the CAP/CIP ratio does not exhibit powerful discriminating capacity. Our suggestion is that each Centre should establish its own reference ranges. PTH assay should always be coupled with measurements of other markers of mineral metabolism as well as renal function.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gastric emptying of liquids and solids evaluated by acetaminophen test in diabetic patients with and without autonomic neuropathy.

A delayed gastric emptying of solids but not of liquids has been recorded in diabetic patients with autonomic neuropathy by radionuclide labelled test meals. Acetaminophen test (rate of acetaminophen absorption after ingestion of 1500 mg of the drug) has been previously validated for quantitative indirect measurement of gastric emptying. In the present study we measured gastric emptying of liquid and solid meals by acetaminophen test in 14 insulin-requiring diabetic patients (7 with and 7 without autonomic neuropathy) and 14 healthy subjects, matched for age, sex, BMI and blood pressure. All values recorded after liquid meal were not significantly different in the three groups of subjects. After solid meal, the mean area under the plasma acetaminophen concentration-time curve was significantly lower in neuropathic diabetic patients vs control subjects (p less than 0.05), and the emptying index (peak time/peak plasma concentration ratio) was significantly higher in neuropathic diabetic patients vs non-neuropathic diabetic patients (p less than 0.01) and vs control subjects (p less than 0.05). These results confirm a delayed gastric emptying of solids but not of liquids in diabetic patients with autonomic neuropathy, and indicate that acetaminophen test may be proposed as simple, safe and noninvasive test for quantitative assessment of gastric emptying in diabetic patients.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alpha-fetoprotein and mediastinal germ cell tumors.

The Authors discuss the utility of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) determination in mediastinal dysembryomas. AFP should be determined in all cases of mediastinal lesion. High levels of up to 500 ng/ml are a sure sign of germ cell tumors. An extremely high level (greater than 1,000 ng/ml) is an indication that the lesion is a mesoblastoma. An increase in the AFP level in the follow-up of patients affected by germ cell tumors is a sure sign of the recurrence of the disease.

Humans↗