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Biomedical subjects

G Gargani

Publications and source records attributed to G Gargani.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Polyurethane-covered mammary implants: a 12-year experience.

Polyurethane-covered mammary implants are the implants of choice in aesthetic and reconstructive mammary surgery. These implants give very good results in regard to breast contour and consistency, and have a very low complication rate. We present our 12-year experience using polyurethane-covered prostheses. We place the implant mostly in the subglandular or subcutaneous site, and their capsular contracture rate is extremely low (3.3%). Based on our experience, we also review the other complications and side effects occurring with polyurethane prostheses and discuss them in detail.

Breast

Subdermal liposuction.

Liposuction is a widely used technique today and indications are that it is becoming even more popular due to new technical refinements. The use of cannulae with a smaller diameter allows suction of the fat immediately under the dermis. The cannula we use to perform this new kind of fat suction is straight and has an external diameter of less than 2 mm. This cannula, the so-called Mercedes cannula, has a bullet tip and a three-hole head. Moreover, the holes are not round but are slit-shaped and oriented in the same plane at 120 degrees. This cannula is specifically designed to produce less trauma. The cannula with one downward-facing orifice is not suitable for suction of the subdermal layer and an upward-facing orifice would be too traumatic. The advantage of this new technique, apart from the possibility of treating patients with very slight adiposity, is to allow an effective skin retraction. When a large amount of fat has already been aspirated, residual deformities can occur. These skin irregularities represent the lack of an effective cutaneous retraction mostly due to the permanence of the subdermal fat. In fact, the presence of a thick subdermal adipose layer decreases the possibility of skin retraction. Therefore, indications for liposuction of the subdermal fat are mainly the slight adiposities and the remnant deformities of a previous liposuction operation. Moreover, this technique is applied to every lipoplasty whenever better skin retraction is needed.

Adipose Tissue

Scanning electron microscopic pattern of recurrent vaginitis by Candida albicans in the mouse.

The scanning electron microscopic pattern of the development of yeasts of Candida albicans on the vaginal mucosa of mice in oestral phase, was studied in four consecutive infections performed at 30 d intervals. The findings were practically identical following the 1st and 2nd infections, evidencing a progressive mycelial development starting from 12 to 72 h after inoculation with C. albicans yeasts. In the 3rd and 4th infections the mycelial tufts appeared extremely reduced in number and size, although there was an acceleration in the early evolutive phases and the filamentation process had already started 6 h after infection. It can be concluded that, after successive infections with C. albicans, mouse vaginal mucous membrane develops a local state of resistance evidenced by the decrease in mycelial tufts. The possible causes of the early onset of the filamentation process are discussed.

Animals

Brucella phagotypes: their relation to the spread of infection in Italy.

The spread of Brucella infection in man in Italy during the last three years is briefly reviewed with reference to the Brucella strains collected and typed. The strains were tested by H2S production, dye-inhibition, agglutination by monospecific sera, and sensitivity to a phage set. From 108 tested strains, 91 have been identified by means of the traditional tests as Br. melitensis, sometimes with some irregularities, 10 as Br. abortus, while 7 were not typable. It was possible to recommend some phage sensitivity patterns of Br. melitensis for epidemiological purposes: one phagotype is much more frequent in the north, another in the south of Italy. However, the currently recommended phagotypes must be considered provisional and will be modified in the light of more extensive studies.

Animals

Antigenic differences between Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis recognized by a monoclonal antibody.

By means of somatic hybridization of spleen cells from BALB/c mice inoculated with Brucella abortus and of a line of murine myeloma, a monoclone was obtained producing an antibody which specifically recognizes an epitope of Brucella abortus by means of the agglutination reaction. This epitope is not only on the surface of the homologous strains but on all the Brucella abortus biotype I, on the Brucella melitensis biotype II and on the Brucella suis biotype II tested. On the contrary it is not present on the Brucella melitensis biotype I and in just one of six Brucella melitensis biotype III. Very few strains of the other biotypes of Brucella suis were tested: the results are often negative.

Agglutination

Sensitivity of 115 strains of the genus Brucella to some antibiotics (cephalosporins, ureidopenicillins and aminoglycosides).

The Authors tested piperacillin, azlocillin, aztreonam, cefotaxime, ceftizoxime, ceftriaxone, cefotetan, moxalactam, gentamicin, sisomicin and dibekacin, on about 120 strains of the genus Brucella, using as control drugs tetracycline, streptomycin and rifampicin. Cefotaxime, ceftizoxime, gentamicin, and sisomicin exhibited antibrucella activity comparable to that of tetracycline and just a little superior to that of rifampicin. Among the aminoglycosides tested, gentamicin, sisomicin and dibekacin were, in decreasing order, more active than streptomycin. For all the other drugs tested there was a large variability among the brucella strains, with roughly a peak of activity on the strains which have a history of repeated in vitro passages.

Aminoglycosides

Evaluation of ceftazidime in the treatment of 80 infectious episodes in compromised children.

The efficacy of ceftazidime in the treatment of infections in compromised children was evaluated in 80 such episodes occurring in 64 patients with various underlying diseases. Among the patients treated, 9 were newborns with severe neonatal distress, 21 were children with cancer and neutropenia, 8 were surgical patients, 22 had cystic fibrosis and 4 were suffering from meningitis. The following types of infections were treated: 19 bacteriologically documented and 8 possible septicemias (the latter only in newborns and neutropenic cancer patients); 2 severe upper respiratory tract infections in cancer patients; 8 soft tissue or skin infections; 1 cholangitis; 1 pneumonia; 1 osteomyelitis; 1 mediastinitis; 35 infectious exacerbations of underlying pulmonary disease in cystic fibrosis patients; and 4 meningitides. In almost all cases ceftazidime was administered intravenously in combination with an aminoglycoside. In 2 cases it was also given intrathecally or intraventricularly. Bacteriological documentation was achieved in 70 out of 80 episodes. A successful outcome was obtained in 79% of the cases with slight and statistically nonsignificant differences between groups of patients with different etiological patterns in terms of prevalence of gram-positive microorganisms. Tolerance of the treatment was uniformly good, only one patient showing a mild, transient transaminase elevation.

Adolescent

In vivo tests for antimycotic drugs.

Authors emphasize the pathogenetic importance of fungous dimorphism and its consequence in the usefulness of antimycotic drugs. For the study of drugs' activity on C. albicans, two models for the evaluation on yeast or mycelial form were developed. The first model is of candida growth on an animal cell culture, where a good mycelial form develops during the first 24 hours: authors demonstrated a synergism of the amphotericin B-rifampin combination, which is less evident in the traditional in vitro tests, and some activity of tolcyclate. The second model is an intracutaneous injection in the guinea pig of C. albicans, which quickly develops in the mycelial form, infiltrating the skin layers. Some interesting differences were recorded, comparing amphotericin B and ketoconazole. Moreover the authors used a therapy test in mice, based mainly on examination of the kidney.

Amphotericin B

Abnormal length of cilia as a possible cause of defective mucociliary clearance.

A 12-year-old girl with obstructive lung disease was examined with respect to the ultrastructure of her nasal mucociliate epithelium. She had the characteristics of the immotile-cilia syndrome: chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, and bronchitis, a severely decreased mucociliary clearance of the lungs, and nasal polyps. The nasal cilia showed a normal cross-sectional appearance but were found to have twice the normal length: 12 micron rather than 6 micron. We conclude that the patient represents a new subgroup of the immotile-cilia syndrome and that her cilia are unable to perform their normal tasks.

Bronchitis

Central versus peripheral airway obstruction in bronchial responsiveness due to exercise.

The change in the site of maximal flow-limitation with time in exercise-induced bronchoconstriction was studied in 16 asthmatic children by repeated measurements of maximal flow-volume curves in air and helium-oxygen (80/20). Bronchoconstriction shortly after exercise is determined by flow-limitation in the more peripheral airways in nearly all of the patients. Bronchoconstriction then fades away, while the site of maximal flow-limitation returns towards the central airways. Both variables have a significant relationship (P less than 0.05), which differs with time and among patients. The degree of protection by the beta-sympathetic agonist is more pronounced (mean 28%) than that of the parasympatholytic (mean 3%), and its action increases along with the degree of shift in the maximal flow-limitation towards the periphery. The implications for the mechanism involved and the therapy are discussed.

Adolescent

[Mechanisms of action of chemoantibiotics (author's transl)].

An useful drug for infectious diseases should have a selective antimicrobial activity and no action on animal cell. The general target, besides some very restricted process like in M. tuberculosis, are: 1) purine synthesis, 2) DNA replication, 3) protein synthesis, 4) cell-wall synthesis, 5) cytoplasmic membrane. On purine synthesis are active the sulphamidic on DNA replication nalidixic acid on Gram-negative bacteria, and griseophulvin on dermatophites. Many drugs have their target in the sequential stages of protein synthesis, among these the aminoglycosides are mainly bactericidal. The antibiotics which block the building of cell-wall are the best, according the target does not exist in animal cell; among them, penicillins and cephalosporins are bactericidal. On contrary cytoplasmic membrane, which is similar to the animal cell membrane has to be evaluated as a bad target. Polimyxins on bacteria, polyene antibiotics on fungi, have this target and are bactericidal, but their use is restricted for toxicity. Antibiotics must be selected in therapy according to their mechanism of action and to the immunological state of the patient. Some bactericidal antibiotics have to be reserved for immuno suppressed people.

Anti-Bacterial Agents

[Cockayne syndrome. 3 cases].

Three cases of Cockayne's syndrome, observed in patients aged 10, 5 and 1 years are reported and discussed; skeletal X-ray findings are illustrated and analysed.

Bone and Bones