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Biomedical subjects

G Mazzella

Publications and source records attributed to G Mazzella.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Ursodeoxycholic acid vs. chenodeoxycholic acid as cholesterol gallstone-dissolving agents: a comparative randomized study.

Cholesterol gallstones are dissolved in man by chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). To test the comparative efficacy of these two cholelitholytic bile acids, 223 gallstones patients were randomly treated with either UDCA or CDCA at two different doses: 7 to 8 mg per kg per day and 14 to 15 mg per kg per day. Efficacy and factors influencing dissolution (dose, size of the stones, and time) were evaluated after 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment. UDCA was significantly more efficacious than was CDCA after 3 and 6 months of treatment, whereas after 12 months, no significant differences were observed. UDCA was equally effective at high and low doses, both on small and large stones. CDCA was significantly more effective at high doses and on small stones. Seventy-four per cent of the total dissolutions with UDCA and 42% with CDCA occurred within the first 6 months of treatment. Diarrhea and hypertransaminasemia occurred only in the CDCA-treated patients. We conclude that UDCA seems to be the bile acid of choice in dissolving cholesterol gallstones.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A radioimmunoassay for lithocholic acid conjugates in human serum and liver tissue.

A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for glycine and taurine conjugates of lithocholic acid (CLCA) has been developed. 3H-glycolithocholic acid (S.A. = 17Ci/mmol) was used as tracer. Separation of free from antibody-bound bile acid was carried out using ammonium sulphate (saturated solution). The antiserum showed high specificity for both glyco and tauro conjugated lithocholate (100% cross reaction) and lithocholic acid (25% cross reaction). The sensitivity of the assay (1 pmole/tube), was adequate for measuring CLCA in peripheral blood and hepatic tissue in man.

Antibody Specificity↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Morphological and biochemical effects of intrahepatic alcohol injection in the rabbit.

The local and systemic effects, as well as the repair mechanisms, of sterile absolute ethyl alcohol injection were evaluated at a range of doses (0.1-2.0 mL/kg body weight) in rabbit liver in order to confirm the feasibility and safety of local treatment of tumours in man. Saline injection was used in the control animals. The animals were killed at varying intervals (range: 1-30 days after injection), and the liver was studied by gross and microscopic examination. The ethyl alcohol injection was well tolerated and did not induce significant systemic side-effects. All doses could induce necrosis and none proved to be lethal. The alcohol injection produced an area of coagulation necrosis, the size of which appeared to be dose-related, and which was surrounded by granulation tissue, gradually repairing the necrotic lesion; the adjacent tissue was intact, or had signs of mild steatosis. However, at higher doses (1.0 and 2.0 mL/kg bodyweight), necrotic lesions were observed in the liver both near and remote from the site of injection. Fine needle percutaneous alcohol injection is effective in producing necrotic lesions which appear to be dose-related; at higher doses, however, an unpredictable intrahepatic diffusion may occur.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Pourfour du Petit syndrome and intracranial aneurysms (author's transl)].

A 52 year old female suffered for more than 20 years from a recurrent pulsating headache on the left side. Clinical examination showed the retraction of the superior eyelid and mydriasis on the left. Exophthalmometry revealed 17 mm of protrusion for each eyeball. Angiographic investigations showed two little aneurysms: one of the anterior comunicating artery, the second of the left middle cerebral artery. In view of the clinical and angiographic findings the authors discuss the pathogenetic mechanisms of such oculo-sympthetic syndrome.

Electrocardiography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Alpha-interferon therapy: an echographic study of left ventricular function and a clinical assessment of cardiovascular complications].

Many side-effects of alpha interferon (alpha-I) therapy have occurred as a result of its widespread clinical applications. The hypothesis of alpha-I related cardiomyopathy is particularly interesting. Our study involved echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular function and cardiovascular complications in 35 patients with chronic hepatitis treated with alpha-I at 20 MU/week for an average of 10.8 months. The results were compared with those of a control group. Of the values studied, only Max E V and the E/A ratio were statistically significant. No cardiovascular side-effects were found.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Treatment of hepatic encephalopathy with non-absorbable antibiotics.

Hepatic encephalopathy represents a well known neuropsychiatric syndrome in patients with either acute or chronic impaired liver function and is characterized by disturbance of consciousness, personality and intellectual capacity, altered neuromuscular activity and electroencephalographic abnormalities. The pathogenesis of the syndrome is still unknown, although important roles are ascribed to circulating gut-derived toxins of nitrogenous origin and to changing in central neurotransmission. Therefore, treatment is aimed to reduce the production and absorption of gut-derived toxins and to modify central neurotransmission balance. Among the different therapeutic approaches proposed for the management of hepatic encephalopathy, antimicrobial agents, alone or in combination with non-absorbable disaccharides, represent an important step, being able to reduce the production and absorption of ammonia, a compound of key importance in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy.

Ampicillin↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Breath tests with stable isotopes: have they a role in liver transplantation?

Evaluation of liver function is crucial in the overall management of patients with liver disease. In particular, patients with end-stage liver disease need accurate prognostic indicators to plan liver transplantation, and in this case, to manage their presence in the waiting list. Availability of predictors of clinical outcome is further essential after liver transplant, mainly to correctly diagnose and adequately treat complications, such as acute rejection, drug toxicity, liver dysfunction. Breath tests using labelled substrates selectively metabolized within the liver may represent an accurate diagnostic and prognostic tool in these clinical conditions, possibly with an adjuntive role to the most commonly used prognostic models (Child-Pugh and MELD scores). Promising results have been in fact recently obtained by the use of different substrates (aminopyrine, methacetin, erythromycin, methionine) which explore different metabolic function of the hepatocyte. The usefulness of breath tests has been documented in liver disease patients both before and after liver transplantation, in the early as well as in the late phase.

Breath Tests↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A radioimmunoassay of primary bile acid conjugates in human serum.

The fasting levels of chenodeoxycholic and cholic acid conjugates in various groups of patients [25 healthy subjects, 20 patients with chronic active liver disease (CALD), 21 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and 5 patients with cholesterol gallstones before and after chenodeoxycholic acid therapy] were determined by using a sensitive, accurate and precise radioimmunoassay. The results obtained with this method were compared with those of a gas-chromatographic method with methylation and acetylation of the bile acids using a 2 m x 0.4 cm glass column packed with 3% of AN 600 on Anakrom Q 110-120 mesh. The results obtained with both methods are in agreement; therefore the method used can be applied for quantitative analysis. In diagnosis, the measurement of serum bile acid levels, fasting or after meals, proved to be a very sensitive method, although further correlations are necessary with standard liver function tests.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epileptic seizures and alcoholism. Clinical and pathogenetic aspects.

The term "alcoholic epilepsy" has had controversial interpretations and has been applied to different alcohol syndromes. In the present study, a homogeneous population of alcohol abusers was retrospectively studied with the aim of clarifying the relationship between alcohol and epilepsy. If subjects who present with potentially epileptogenic lesions are excluded, strictly alcohol-related seizures seem to be withdrawal symptoms from a pathogenetic point of view. They, even if repeated, do not deserve the term "epilepsy" and probably should not be chronically treated with antiepileptic drugs. Finally, no characteristic interictal EEG pattern was found in alcoholics with seizures.

Adult↗