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Biomedical subjects

G Monaco

Publications and source records attributed to G Monaco.

86 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunoregulatory functional abnormalities in children affected by HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis: role of prostaglandins in T-mediated suppression.

Suppressor cell function was evaluated in children affected by HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis. Circulating concanavalin A- (ConA) precultured lymphocytes failed to suppress the proliferative response of autologous responder cells to a mitogen. In four of eight patients with a failure of ConA-induced suppressor activity, indomethacin added during the induction phase of T suppressor cells abolished the defect, indicating that prostaglandin-producing adherent cells may influence ConA-induced suppressor activity. An inverse relationship between suppressor cell activity and the number of suppressor/cytotoxic subsets defined by the OK T8 monoclonal antibody was found. Our findings strongly support the hypothesis that an abnormality in the immunoregulatory system plays a role in the pathogenesis of HBsAg-related chronic active hepatitis. It is also suggested that non-T regulatory cells are implicated in the immunological abnormality in chronic active hepatitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Non-invasive assessment of airway inflammation in ship-engine workers.

Smoking is harmful for respiratory function. In young to middle-aged men the damage is insidious and difficult to demonstrate. The respiratory impairment could increase under specific stressful conditions in the professional environment. On the hypothesis that exhaled markers are useful for assessing airway susceptibility to inhaled irritants, we measured exhaled markers and lung function in smoking and non-smoking engine-driver military coastguards before and after a patrol at sea. Eighteen men, mean age 39 yrs (range 23-58 yrs), 8 smokers, underwent spirometry, exhaled and nasal nitric oxide (eNO, nNO), exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) for measures of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), proteins (Prots), 8-isoprostanes (8-IsoPs), nitrite (NO2-) and nitrosothiols (RS-NOs) at baseline and after an 8-hour patrol navigation on board small, high-speed diesel-powered ships. At baseline, the smokers showed higher middle flows and CO levels, lower eNO and nNO than non-smokers, but similar levels of EBC markers; geometric means (95% confidence interval), CO: 23.6 (14.5 to 38.3) vs. 3.5 (2.5 to 5.3) ppm; eNO: 7.9 (4.8 to 12.9) vs. 26.7 (15.7 to 45.5) ppb, p=0.000. After navigation, Prots, 8-IsoPs and RS-NOs (but not lung function variables or other markers) significantly increased only in smokers; baseline vs post-navigation RS-NOs: 0.27 (0.11 to 0.65) vs. 1.30 (0.58 to 2.89) micromol, p=0.012. The respiratory consequences of a stressing environment in engine-driver military coastguards who actively smoke are better assessed by measuring EBC markers than by eNO, nNO or lung function. By increasing airway inflammation from oxidative-stress, tobacco smoking appears to interact with other chemical or physical factors elicited during sea navigation. Precisely what these factors are deserves further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Fine tuning of the many regulations of quality system: the role of the quality in the thermal medicine].

In the last decades, quality has imposed itself as a competitive need for firms, and also as a new normative parameter to guarantee the production process and the final product which the costumer buys. In the case of health services, the importance of quality is even greater because of the special value of this service, and the special relationship between the supplier and the costumer/patient. This relationship is often mediated by the State which has to provide the health services and the financial support for them. Thus, also in the case of Thermal Medicine, quality and its certification play a key role for the evaluation of the efficiency of the health service, and tend always more to be part of the health service accreditation process. In this article, we review the development of the idea of quality of service from the ancient Egyptian until the 20th century and we briefly recall the main European and Italian norms. We also examine the norms for the accreditation of the thermal health structures, and we review the main indicators of quality in Thermal Medicine, and the role of scientific research. Finally, we indicate that the cost of the lack of quality can be so prohibitive that the firms which do not follow the new standards, are put out of the market.

Balneology↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Electrical and mechanical actions of magnesium sulfate during ischemia and reperfusion on isolated perfused rat heart.

Experimental and clinical studies have shown the action of magnesium salts on myocardial tissue and its antiarrhythmic action on digitalis-induced ventricular arrhythmias. We have evaluated the effects of magnesium sulfate (2.5 mM) on heart rate (HR), coronary flow rate (CFR), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), dP/dt max and voltage epicardial electrogram (VEE) during ischemia and reperfusion in isolated perfused rat heart. Forty-five male rats were randomized into 3 groups. In the control group, after a 15 min period of stabilization, hearts were perfused by ischemic perfusion for 30 min and then reperfused. In group I, magnesium sulfate was given after stabilization and before the ischemic period. In group II, calcium concentration was increased by 0.5 mM and magnesium sulfate was given after stabilization and before the ischemic period. In the control group, we observed during ischemia a reduction in HR, CFR, LVSP, dP/dt max and an increase in VEE. In group I, after the administration of magnesium sulfate, we noted a decrease in HR, LVSP, dP/dt max, VEE and during the ischemic period there was no difference in these parameters with respect to the control group. In group II, the increase of extracellular calcium concentration caused an increase in LVSP, dP/dt max and the administration of magnesium sulfate abolished these effect, bringing the values back to basal values. Reperfusion provoked ventricular arrhythmias in 11/15 and 12/15 hearts in the control group and group II respectively, and only 3/15 in group I (p less than 0.005 group I vs control and group II). Thus, our results demonstrated that magnesium sulfate has varied effects on electrical and mechanical parameters and prevents reperfusion arrhythmias according to the hypothesis of a calcium-antagonist mechanism of magnesium.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Familial erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: adverse prognostic significance of delayed diagnosis.

Familial erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FEL) is a rare disorder of the monocyte-macrophage system, for which an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance has been postulated. It is characterized by a dismal prognosis and is peculiar of early infancy. Three new cases of infants affected by FEL are reported. All three patients were diagnosed about three months after the onset of symptoms, and all three died shortly after diagnosis. The need for early diagnosis and prompt, intensive cytotoxic chemotherapy is emphasized.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗