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Biomedical subjects

G F Altomare

Publications and source records attributed to G F Altomare.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Intramuscular low dose alpha-2B interferon and etretinate for treatment of mycosis fungoides.

BACKGROUND: Mycosis fungoides is a lymphoma of cutaneous origin characterized by a proliferation of cells with a T phenotype. METHODS: In this pilot study, 13 men with mycosis fungoides in various stages were treated with alpha-2b interferon and etretinate. RESULTS: In ten of them, such a therapy proved to be effective (7 complete responses, 3 partial responses), sometimes with prolonged remissions (up to 20 months, and still persistent) after suspension of the drugs. CONCLUSIONS: We chose low-dose interferon administration in order to prevent side effects, which are said to be dose-dependent. In our experience this is not true, but this drawback seems to be overcome by the very good, sometimes spectacular, response to this combination therapy, particularly in low stage forms of the disease. This fact, compared with results provided by other groups, prompts us to plan new research protocols based on associations of retinoids with different interferon types (or even associations of different interferons), because we believe they will have an important place in treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in future.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Disodium cromoglycate versus diet in the treatment and prevention of nickel-positive pompholyx.

In some cases that have been diagnosed as contact allergy to nickel, there are repeated cutaneous eruptions of pompholyx, even in areas with no direct contact with the metal. The possible alimentary origin of dyshidrotic eczema should be considered when deciding on therapy. We have collected the clinical data for 24 patients with dyshidrotic eczema caused by nickel, to evaluate the benefit of a low-nickel diet versus treatment with oral disodium cromoglycate, comparing both objective and subjective symptoms. A low-nickel diet does not improve these patients but those treated with DSCG reacted better, from both objective and subjective point of view, than either the controls or the patients treated by diet. We next did intestinal permeability tests before therapy and after 15 days of treatment. We found that nickel uptake diminishes simultaneously with the reduction of absorption through the smaller aqueous "pores". This phenomenon was greatest after DSCG. We suggest that DSCG can help selected cases of pompholyx.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa inversa: a case report.

The inverse form of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is a rare genodermatosis characterized by a smouldering course of integumental blistering with improvement of lesions in adulthood, preferential localizations of lesions in flexural areas, severe oral and esophageal mucosal involvement and nail dystrophy. We describe a 41-year-old patient showing all the typical features of this form of epidermolysis bullosa. Ultrastructural findings in specimens obtained from perilesional and healthy skin were similar to those usually observed in the Hallopeau-Siemens form of epidermolysis bullosa. The patient has been treated with phenytoin for a period of 9 months with considerable improvement of the skin manifestations.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Laser flow cytofluorimetry in the study of papilloma virus-induced lesions].

HPV insertion into the genome can cause permanent changes in cellular DNA that disturb the regulation of cell proliferation. Most HPV-induced epithelial proliferative disease are benign, but not all. We have studied both types of lesion by automated laser flow cytometry to see if there were any permanent changes in the DNA that might serve as reliable prognostic indicators. There were 101 lesions of interest to the dermatologist, stomatologist and gynecologist. Although fluctuations in yields of cells make it difficult to formulate definite conclusions, since many results are heterogeneous and hard to summarize, we found dysplastic and metaplastic lesions always to be hyper- or hypodiploid and to our surprise two cases of common wart were hyperdisploid and another hypodiploid. This present study shows that laser flow cytometry can detect changes in the genome of lesions known to become malignant when the histological degree of transformation still indicates only a preneoplastic condition. This raises the problem of how we should label lesions like common warts, since laser flow cytometry clearly shows that they have net changes, though slight, in DNA content.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1989

[Growth factors in the pathogenesis of progressive systemic sclerosis].

Scleroderma is a connective tissue disorder characterized by vascular lesions, fibrosis and inflammation. The pathogenesis of this disease is not clear. A vascular lesion, possibly caused by deposition of immune complexes or by release of cytotoxic factors, seems to be at the origin of the disease. As a consequence, platelet adhesion and activation might occur in sclerodermic patients. The observation that platelet might release, upon aggregation, a potent mitogenic factor, named Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) has focused interest on platelets as the potential mediators of the fibrotic process, characteristic of systemic scleroderma. We found an increased mitogenic activity in plasma derived serum (PDS) of a group of patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), as compared to control subjects. The activity was inhibited by incubation with anti-PDGF IgG's, suggesting that abnormal PDGF levels might indeed be present in plasma of PSS patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Ketanserin in the treatment of progressive systemic sclerosis.

Now progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) is considered a disease of small vessels with which many immunologic alterations are associated. The presence in the blood of large amounts of serotonin can be considered a very important aggravating factor able to cause the sclerodermic alterations. The authors have treated 10 PSS patients with ketanserin, a selective antagonist of the S2 serotonin receptors, which are found in small vessels and platelets. Their results show that ketanserin represents an efficacious and very well tolerated therapy for treatment of the initial vascular symptoms of PSS.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Arachidonic acid and LTB4 enhance aggregation of psoriatic peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes in vitro.

The aim of the reported series of experiments was to examine the possible role played by arachidonic acid (Aa) derivatives in monocyte aggregation in psoriasis. Twenty patients with active plaque-type psoriasis covering not less than 20% of body surface area and 20 age-matched controls were investigated. Peripheral blood monocytes were harvested according to the technique recently set up by Colotta et al. These preparations usually contained more than 95% monocytes, as assessed by morphology and esterase staining. Aggregation tracings were plotted using a common platelet aggregation recorder system and expressed in arbitrary units. Aa sodium salt, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), indomethacin, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) were used during testing. Aa induced an enhanced aggregation of mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) in psoriatic patients versus normal controls in a concentration-dependent way. Furthermore, neither ASA nor indomethacin inhibited Aa aggregation, while both markedly increased the aggregation response in psoriasis. LTB4 induced an enhancement aggregation in psoriasis, whereas NDGA strongly inhibited it. Although the pathophysiological significance of MNL aggregation described here remains obscure, assembly of the cells at the site of psoriatic skin might be a crucial event.

Adult↗