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Biomedical subjects

G Becchi

Publications and source records attributed to G Becchi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Accounting for water quality effects of future urbanization: diffuse pollution loads estimates and control in Mantua's lakes (Italy).

The three shallow lakes of Mantua (Upper, Middle and Lower) formed by the Mincio River are today classified by Italian water authorities as sensitive areas, after, in the second half of the 20th century, the hydrologic regime of the lakes was heavily modified, and the influence of industrial activities operating in the 1960s--without much environmental consideration--created a substantial decline in the water quality of the lakes. The City of Mantua is one of the most vital industrial centers of Northern Italy, and development plans are under way, that should approximately double the extension of the urban and industrial area within the next 20 years. This paper deals with estimating the effects of the aforementioned urbanization on the future water quality of the three lakes.

Cities↗
PubMed2000

On the myoepithelium of human salivary glands. An immunocytochemical study.

This study investigated the immunocytochemical characteristics of normal myoepithelial cells (MECs) of human major and minor salivary glands using the LSAB method. Other human exocrine glands were used as controls. Immunoreactivity of MECs was observed exclusively with fully differentiated smooth muscle antibodies (a-SMA; SMMS-1; CALP; hCD) and with epithelial markers (cytokeratins) Ck14 and Ck17. This epithelial-muscular immunophenotype was similarly expressed in the MECs of other human exocrine glands used as control. In the salivary MECs, we did not observe evidence for neuroectodermic phenotype (S-100 protein, GFAP, NSE). On the contrary, positivity was observed for S-100 protein in Mecs of control glands (mammary, bronchial and sweat glands). Immunoreaction for extracellular matrix markers (fibronectin, laminin and collagen IV) and vimentin always were negative. Our data show that in normal "non transformed" MECs of the salivary glands the smooth muscle phenotype is in a state of complete differentiation, while the epithelial phenotype expresses only Ck14 and Ck17. This double and simultaneous immunoreactivity represents a differential marker of MECs from the epithelial basal cell (EBCs).

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1998

Surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm in association with horseshoe kidney. Three case reports and a review of technique.

Horseshoe kidney is a rare congenital anomaly that can create various technical problems during surgery for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm. The diagnosis of this anomaly should be confirmed preoperatively in order to plan surgical strategy. Nowadays, in more than 90% of all cases, ultrasonography, contrast computerized tomography, urography, and angiography are the best instrumental methods of detecting this anomaly in association with abdominal aortic aneurysm. The transperitoneal approach assures the best exposure of the kidney, the ureters, the aneurysm, and both iliac vessels, but the renal isthmus can pose a problem in reimplanting aberrant renal arteries. When it is known preoperatively that renal revascularization should be performed, the left extraperitoneal approach is a better choice. In any event, the coexistence of horseshoe kidney and abdominal aortic aneurysm does not preclude the treatment of the latter. In elective surgery of abdominal aortic aneurysm, the morbidity and mortality rates in the presence of horseshoe kidney are much the same as those in the presence of normal kidneys. The best results in this kind of surgery are obtained by adapting one's surgical technique to each anatomical variant that is encountered.

Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal↗
PubMed1992

[Valvular prolapse in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney].

BACKGROUND: The involvement of the cardiovascular system in hereditary connective tissue disorders has been known for a long time and produces abnormalities that usually affect valves and arterial walls. Valvular diseases in typical autosomal dominant illnesses such as polycystic kidney (PK) have recently been reported. METHODS: To test the prevalence of valvular prolapses in this disease, we studied [with clinical, chest x-ray, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic (monobidimensional and Doppler) examination] 21 subjects with PK (Group A) and 34 unaffected relatives (Group B). 36 subjects comparable in sex, age, blood pressure, body build and renal function, with other kinds of kidney diseases, were the control group (Group C). RESULTS: In group A, 7 subjects (33.3%) were found affected by mitral valve prolapse (MVP), of whom 3 also had mitral incompetence, 4 tricuspid valve prolapse and 2 aortic cusp prolapse with mild valvular insufficiency. Another 2 patients had evidence of mitral and aortic incompetence, respectively, without valvular prolapse, annulus ectasia or morphological features of a rheumatic valvular disease. In Group B, 8 subjects (23.5%) had MVP; In Group C, MVP was seen in only 1 patient (2.7%) and aortic incompetence in one other. Statistical analysis confirmed the significance of the greater prevalence of MVP in group A and B in comparison with group C (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of valvular abnormalities in autosomal dominant PK suggests a common genetic disorder producing a defect in the extracellular matrix. An alternative hypothesis is that of two discrete yet adjacent genes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Comparative phase II study of idarubicin versus doxorubicin in advanced breast cancer.

The aim of the present study is to confirm the antitumor activity of orally administered idarubicin (IDA) in patients with advanced breast cancer. Doxorubicin (ADRIA) was chosen as control treatment and the patients were randomized to receive either IDA or ADRIA according to a 2:1 ratio. Sixty-three patients, 77% of whom were pretreated with chemotherapy excluding anthracyclines, entered the study. The doses were: IDA 45 mg/m2 orally on 3 consecutive days every 28 days: ADRIA 75 (60) mg/m2 intravenously every 21 days. A complete + partial response (CR + PR) was observed in 11/37 (30%) evaluable cases treated with IDA and in 6/19 (32%) cases treated with ADRIA. If all the patients were included, the CR + PR remission rates were 27.5 and 27%, respectively. There were no significant differences as regards time to remission, duration of remission and survival. None of 10 cases who crossed over the treatments responded to the second therapy. The most frequent side effects of IDA were myelosuppression and nausea/vomiting. The only significant statistical difference between the two anthracyclines was the lower incidence of alopecia after IDA. Although there were 3 cases of cardiotoxicity after ADRIA, 2 of which severe, no case of clinical cardiotoxicity was observed after IDA. The present study confirms that orally administered IDA is an active agent in advanced breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1988

Plasma and tissue CEA and TPA markers in operable breast cancer. Preliminary results.

CEA and TPA were studied in sera and in histologic specimens of 200 patients with benign (77) or malignant (123) breast pathology. The frequency and expression of the two markers was different in benign and in cancer tissues. Histologic positivity and high levels of circulating markers were observed more frequently in cancer patients than in patients with benign disease. Tissue positivity for the two tumor markers did not always correlate with elevated levels of circulating markers. Positive CEA and TPA incidence was higher in tissue samples than in serum samples. In the breast cancer group, among 33 patients with histologic positivity for CEA, only 5 cases had circulating CEA levels higher than 5 ng/ml; among 91 patients with histologic positivity for TPA, only 45 cases showed circulating levels for TPA higher than 95 U/l. These findings confirm that tumor size, secretory characteristics and vascular supply are factors affecting the achievement of high circulating marker levels. Combined marker measurement in serum and tissues can provide more information about the presence of a given tumor marker. A limited evaluation of the prognostic meaning of the study of combined CEA and TPA in sera and in tissues was carried out during the follow-up of 60 evaluable patients. Only 5 patients had cancer relapses in the first 12 months from surgery; in 2 of 5 patients TPA was positive initially and at the time of recurrence, in serum as well as in tissues. Circulating CEA gave negative findings in all relapsed patients; 2 of them showed weak positivity only in the histologic staining at the time of presentation.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Phase III randomized study of fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide v fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide in advanced breast cancer: an Italian multicentre trial.

From February 1983 to January 1985, 497 patients with advanced breast cancer were randomly allocated to receive either epirubicin or doxorubicin in the following combination chemotherapy regimen: fluorouracil (5-FU) 500 mg/m2 intravenous (IV) on days 1 and 8; epirubicin or doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 IV on day 1; cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 IV on day 1 (FEC or FAC). Cycles were repeated every 21 days until progression or to cumulative doses of 700 mg/m2 for epirubicin and 550 mg/m2 for doxorubicin. Dose reductions were applied according to the standard criteria. Activity was evaluated in 443 patients (222 in the FEC arm and 221 in the FAC arm). The two experimental groups were comparable in age, performance status, menopausal status, histology, previous treatments, and site of the disease. The overall response rate (complete response and partial response [CR + PR]) was not significantly different: 53.6% for FEC and 56.5% for FAC. The median time to progression was 273 days for FEC and 314 days for FAC; the median survival time was 591 and 613 days, respectively. Leukopenia, anemia, nausea, and vomiting were significantly lower in patients treated with FEC. As for cardiotoxicity, four cases of congestive heart failure (CHF) were recorded among patients treated with FAC while only one was observed in the FEC group. These results indicate that epirubicin in a combination chemotherapy regimen is as active as doxorubicin and is significantly less toxic.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[Value of modern diagnostic technics in rupture of the spleen].

Personal experience is reported of the latest instrumental techniques used to diagnose ruptures of the spleen following a closed abdominal trauma. Particular interest was taken in patients with unclear clinical symptoms who were given a series of surgical and/or non-surgical tests in order to diagnose ruptured spleen in the asymptomatic phase. Tests analysed included: peritoneal injection-douche, laparoscopy, angiography, scintiphotography, echography and CAT scanning.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

Tissue polypeptide antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen in colon tumors: serum levels and immunohistochemical localization.

Patients with malignant and benign colon disease (59 colon cancer and 96 polyps) were studied by means of tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) tests. The evaluation of the circulating levels of the markers showed that the overall sensitivity for the TPA test was 57.6% and for the CEA test was 55.9%. Their specificities were 89.5% and 94.7%, respectively. The analysis of results indicated no considerable difference between CEA and TPA in detecting individuals with malignant diseases. There was only a slight difference in Dukes stages: in stages A and B, TPA sensitivity was higher than CEA sensitivity. On the contrary, in the group of patients with polyps, more false-positive results were obtained with the TPA test than with the CEA test. Immunohistochemical studies on the small group of patients (12 colon cancers) allowed us to evaluate the relationship between the staining positivity for the anti-TPA and anti-CEA antibodies and the circulating levels of the markers. The staining in some cases was not correlated either with the stage of cancer or the circulating TPA or CEA levels. This fact further shows the need to investigate the mechanism that determines the blood levels of many tumor markers. All the specimens examined were positive for TPA and CEA staining, but they were composed of varying proportion of positive and negative tumor cells. The degree of positivity was frequently variable not only between the specimens but also within the same specimen.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen↗
PubMed1981

[Usefulness of sequential isotopic cholangiography in biliary surgery follow-up].

Personal experience in the follow-up of 39 patients subjected to bile duct surgery is reported. The results indicated that sequential isotopic cholangiography is less effective as a supplementary examination in the postoperative period by comparison with its use in preoperative diagnosis. It does, in fact, constitute the only possibility of visualising the main biliary pathway in subjects who have been operated for biliodigestive anastomosis, with the exception of invasive methods, such as PTC, itself out of the question in the execution of periodic postoperative controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

[Use of single-layer anastomoses in intestinal surgery; experimental and clinical studies].

Reference is made to an experimental and clinical investigation of single-layer intestinal anastomoses. The techniques of Gambee, D'Onofrio, Lembert, Halsted Connel were applied in six groups of 10 rabbits. The survival and weight data, gross and microscopic inspection, and the stenosis index showed that the best results were obtained with Halsted's, D'Onofrio, and Gambee's techniques. An account is also given of a clinical series of 124 patients in which Halsted's technique was employed.

Animals↗