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Biomedical subjects

G Iaquinto

Publications and source records attributed to G Iaquinto.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Gastrectomy, lack of gastric first pass metabolism of ethanol and alcoholic liver disease. Results of a multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Some conditions characterized by a loss (anatomical or functional) of parietal cells of the gastric antrum, containing an alcohol-dehydrogenase, may reduce the first pass metabolism of ethanol at that level and, simultaneously, raise its bioavailability. The observation that the first pass metabolism was drastically suppressed after gastrectomy would appear to suggest that the latter condition represents a risk for the development of liver damage in patients who continue to consume alcohol even in a non relevant amount. METHODS: Consecutively enrolled in the study were 304 individuals of both sexes aged between 45 and 70 years of whom 114 gastrectomized and 190 pair-matched control subjects all submitted to an Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for whatever disturbance. All the patients were diagnosed as having liver disease with routine clinical and instrumental means. Information was collected concerning the mean daily alcohol intake, both before and after the operation. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of hepatic lesions was shown to be higher in the gastrectomized than in the control group (42.1% vs 25.8%, p = 0.005). Moreover, referring only to alcohol-related hepatic lesions (steatosis, steato-fibrosis and cirrhosis), the prevalence was higher in the gastrectomized patients than in the controls (29.8% vs 17.9%, p = 0.02). As far as concerns alcohol consumption, the gastrectomized group had consumed 71 g/day and the control group 39 g/day alcohol per person (p < 0.05) in a similar period of time (35 and 33 years, respectively). Also the non alcohol-related liver damage (especially the viral type) was slightly higher in the gastrectomized patients (gastrectomized 12.3% vs control 7.9%, p = ns). Accordingly, the percentage of serum markers of viral infection was higher in this group (HBs Ag: gastrectomized 3.9% vs control 2.2%, p = ns; anti-HCV: gastrectomized 13.5% vs control 5.0%, p = 0.03). Finally, to test the eventual damaging effects of gastrectomy alone (excluding ethanol and/or viral infection), two groups of patients with a medium to low alcoholic negative assumption (30-60 g ethanol/day) and no signs of viral infection (HBsAg and anti-HCV negative) were extrapolated. In these two selected groups, the prevalence of alcoholic-related hepatic lesions were not statistically different (28 gastrectomized 20.3% vs 44 control 18.4%). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, data emerging from investigations on the population under study indicate that the alcohol and viral infection appear to play a more important role in determining hepatic lesions than gastroresection.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Pleuropericarditis in a patient with ulcerative colitis in longstanding 5-aminosalicylic acid therapy.

We report a case of pleuropericarditis in a 23-yr-old woman with ulcerative colitis (UC) treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). In our case we exclude a possible 5-ASA hypersensitivity in view of the longterm complication free treatment and the successful resolution of the case without withdrawal of 5-ASA. A 5-ASA induced lupus-like syndrome was also ruled out by immunoserological investigations. Infectious and endocrinologic causes of pleuropericarditis were also excluded. In conclusion pleuropericarditis must be considered a systemic complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) if adverse reaction to 5-ASA and sulfasalazine as well as other possible pathogenetic factors have been ruled out.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

A case of portal thrombosis arisen after treatment with dihydroergotamine.

We describe the case of a 42 year old woman with abdominal pain, ascites, and splenomegaly after having taken dihydroergotamine continuously for three months due to frequent hemicranic episodes. The celiac-mesenteric angiography demonstrated diffuse thrombosis of splenic, superior mesenteric and portal veins. No surgical intervention was possible. We believe that it is possible that dihydroerogotamine, a hydrogenated derivative of ergotamine, inasmuch as it is capable of causing peripheral vasoconstriction, intimal lesions, arterial and venous thrombi, was also the cause of our patient's portal thrombosis. We therefore suggest the minimum effective amount of the drug be utilized to achieve the relief of cephalalgia.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Famotidine in the management of acid-reflux oesophagitis: a multicentre study.

The management of gastro-oesophageal reflux still presents a considerable problem mostly because of its multifactorial pathogenesis. In this study, we tested the response to treatment with famotidine for 8 weeks in patients with reflux oesophagitis, taking into consideration, however, only cases with pathological gastro-oesophageal reflux of the acidic type. All the patients participating in the multicentre study underwent gastro-oesophageal 24-hr pH-metry. The results show a good response to the H2 antagonist treatment with regards to both symptomatology (improvement/healing in 98% of cases, asymptomatic in 68%) and the endoscopic and histological picture. In fact, endoscopy showed complete remission of the lesions in 60% of cases and an improvement in 21%. The histological picture of oesophagitis improved in 64% of cases, 36% of which were completely healed, with no modifications in the remaining 36%. These data, which are globally better than those reported in the literature, can probably be attributed to the original selection of patients treated by means of prolonged gastro-oesophageal pH-metry, who had exclusively pathological gastro-oesophageal reflux of the acidic type. For these patients the use of the H2 antagonist drug is more appropriate even as monotherapy, than it is for those patients who have combined or isolated alkaline gastrooesophageal reflux.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A simple and rapid method to evaluate lymphocyte response to mitogens.

A new method to evaluate lymphocyte response to mitogens is proposed. The method is based on the observation in fluorescence of the stimulated cells after their supravital staining on slides prestained with acridine orange in alcoholic solution. The results are expressed as Blast Index (IB). The method is very practical, easy to reproduce and shows a good correlation with 3H-thymidine uptake.

Acridine Orange↗
PubMed1987

Importance of showing HBsAg and HBcAg positivity in the liver for better aetiological definition of chronic liver disease.

Serum and tissue hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers were compared in 35 alcoholic and 23 non-alcoholic subjects affected by chronic liver disease. Seventeen point one per cent of alcoholic and 21.7% of non-alcoholic subjects had HBV tissue markers, but not serum markers, for this virus. It is therefore concluded that showing the presence of HBV tissue markers permits a better aetiological definition of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative chronic liver disease, both in alcoholic and non-alcoholic subjects.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antibody response to Helicobacter pylori CagA and heat-shock proteins in determining the risk of gastric cancer development.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the systemic antibody response to Helicobacter pylori heat shock protein B can be considered, in addition to anti cytotoxin-associated protein [CagA) antibody determination, a further serological marker of increased risk of gastric cancer development. METHODS: A total of 98 Giemsa positive Helicobacter pylori patients (28 with gastric cancer, 30 with duodenal ulcer and 40 with nonulcer dyspepsia) were studied. Serum samples obtained from all patients were tested for IgG antibodies to CagA (116 kDa), VacA [89kDa) and heat skock protein B (54 kDa) antigens of Helicobacter pylori by the Western blot technique. RESULTS: 26/28 patients [(92.9% with gastric carcinoma, 29/30 patients [96.7%) with duodenal ulcer and 30/40 patients (75.0%) with non-ulcer dyspepsia were seropositive for CagA protein. The prevalence of serum IgG antibody to CagA in the cancer patients was not significantly higher than in duodenal ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia patients. The prevalence of antibodies to VacA was not significantly different between gastric carcinoma and non-ulcer dyspepsia patients. In contrast the prevalence of systemic antibodies to heat skock protein B was significantly higher in gastric cancer patients (78.6%) than in duodenal ulcer (36.7%, p=0.002) or nonulcer dyspepsia patients (52.5%, p=0.029). CONCLUSIONS: The detection of antibodies to heat shock protein B is proposed as an additional test which, in association with the determination of serum antibodies to CagA, could help in determining the risk of developing severe gastroduodenal disease, and gastric cancer, in particular.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term follow-up evaluation in HCV chronic hepatitis treated with alpha-2b interferon. A comparison of two protocols.

In a long-term study (27 months) of patients affected by C-virus active hepatitis we have evaluated the effect of decreasing the dose of interferon by 50% and by 75% with respect to the initial efficacious dose (6 MU tiw). Sixty patients received recombinant interferon alpha-2b(r-IFN- alpha-2b) 6 MU tiw for two months followed by 3 MU for seven months (Group A), and 60 patients received r-IFN alpha-2b 6 MU tiw for two months followed by 1.5 MU for seven months (Group B). Three patients in group B failed to return to follow-up and were not considered in subsequent evaluations. Side effects such as to cause suspension of treatment occurred only during the first two months of the study at 6 MU of interferon (3 patients in group A and 6 in group B). During the two months at 6 MU, transaminase values returned to normal in 94 patients (80%). At the end of follow-up, 49 of these patients (42% of the 117 patients examined; or 48.3% in group A and 35.1% in group B) had normal transaminase levels. In no case did the anti-HCV test become negative. On a reduced dose of interferon, relapses occurred more frequently in group B (21.4%) than in group A (9.6%), but the difference was not significant. No difference between responders and non-responders, including relapsing patients, was observed in relation to gender, age, presence of cirrhosis, presence of B-virus antibodies and initial levels of serum transaminase.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gastrointestinal peptide hormones in acute viral hepatitis.

Liver affects the release and clearance of many hormones, but the interactions between gastrointestinal peptides and liver function are obscure. Aim of this study was to evaluate plasma concentrations of gastrointestinal peptides during acute hepatic cytonecrosis and during liver regeneration in man. The study was performed in ten patients with viral hepatitis (8 virus A, 2 virus B) in the acute phase (alanine transaminase = 3073 +/- 739 U/L; mean +/- SEM), and at days 7, 45 and 52 after the initial evaluation, during clinical and biochemical recovery (52nd day, alanine transaminase = 77 +/- 26). Plasma concentrations of the following hormones were evaluated by radioimmunoassay: glucagon, insulin, gastrin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, bombesin, neurotensin, cholecystokinin, secretin and motilin. Only serum bombesin and cholecystokinin were significantly (p < 0.01) increased in the acute phase of hepatitis (bombesin: 138 +/- 21 pg/ml; cholecystokinin: 57 +/- 7 pg/ml); they returned to normal values during convalescence (bombesin: 60 +/- 8; cholecystokinin: 31 +/- 4). During hepatocellular necrosis, plasma concentrations of cholecystokinin and bombesin, which are both cellular growth factors and regulatory signals of food introduction and satiety state, were increased by 83% and 130%, respectively. Increase of these hormones may cause the dyspepsia and lack of appetite that characterizes the initial phase of acute viral hepatitis.

Acute Disease↗