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Biomedical subjects

G Nardi

Publications and source records attributed to G Nardi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Alteration of erythrocyte glutathione, cysteine and glutathione synthetase in alcoholic and non-alcoholic cirrhosis.

Glutathione (GSH) and cysteine were determined in the plasma and the erythrocytes of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cirrhotics as fluorescent monobromobimane derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Cirrhotic patients displayed a significant decrease of plasma GSH, as well as of plasma cysteine, that was related to the degree of liver disease but not to the nutritional conditions. On the contrary, erythrocyte cysteine was found to increase significantly in all cirrhotics, particularly in alcoholics, regardless of the severity of disease. In an attempt to find a possible explanation of these alterations, the GSH synthesizing enzymes, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GC-s) and GSH synthetase (GSH-s) activities were determined in the erythrocytes. GSH-s activity was significantly lower in cirrhotic patients, whereas GC-s activity did not differ in the three groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Factors associated with alcohol consumption in the youth of the province of Brescia].

We investigated factors related to adolescent alcohol consumption by administering an anonymous questionnaire to 2737 9th and 13th grade high-school students in the province of Brescia. A total of 1364 students coming from an urban area (the town of Brescia with about 200,000 inhabitants) and 1373 students from a mountainous area (Breno, Local Health Unit N. 37 in the Lombardy Region with 83,000 inhabitants) were interviewed. The associations between alcohol drinking and some demographic, socio-economic, behavioural and environmental variables were assessed by computing the correspective odds ratios (OR) by fitting logistic regression models for ordinal response variables ("cumulative odds" models). The results showed that the following variables were positively associated with alcohol consumption: 1) residence in a mountainous area, especially as regards spirits consumption; 2) experimental and regular smoking; 3) peer alcohol drinking (best friend and partner). Parents' daily alcohol consumption was associated with wine drinking, but not with either spirits consumption or frequency of drunkenness among students. A slight inverse relationship was also found between students' alcohol intake and their knowledge of the health hazards of alcohol, but it was not significant for all groups of students.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Salmonellosis diagnosed by the laboratory of the 'L. Sacco' Hospital of Milan (Italy) in patients with HIV disease.

We reviewed the cases of typhoid fever (3 cases) and non-typhoid salmonellosis (62 cases) diagnosed from 1987 to 1989 in the Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Microbiology of the 'L.Sacco' Hospital, Milan. Two cases of typhoid fever and 24 cases of non-typhoid salmonellosis occurred in patients without clinical symptoms of HIV infection. One case of typhoid fever and 38 cases of non-typhoid salmonellosis occurred in patients with clinical symptoms of HIV infection. In AIDS patients living in the Milan province the annual incidence of non-typhoid salmonellosis was estimated to be 100-fold greater than that observed in the general population. In patients with non-typhoid salmonellosis, bacteremias was found only in subjects with HIV disease (P = 0.0009). The frequency of bacteremia was higher in patients with AIDS than in patients with other manifestations of HIV disease (P = 0.0356). Finally, a significant difference between patients with and without HIV disease was found with regard to Salmonella serotypes distribution (P = 0.0196).

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Factors associated with non-participation of women in a breast cancer screening programme in a town in northern Italy.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the reasons for the high percentage of women refusing to attend a breast cancer screening programme in the Health District of Brescia, Italy. DESIGN: This was a survey of a sample of non-attenders to the programme, who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. SETTING: Non-attenders all lived in a central area of the town near the screening centre. PARTICIPANTS: Of the 612 non-attenders eligible for interview, 183 could not be interviewed: one had died, 86 were away from home at two different visits, 32 were no longer resident at the known address, eight had serious health problems, 17 had undergone mastectomy, and 39 refused the interview. Overall, a total of 429 of the 612 eligible women were interviewed (70.1%). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Attenders and non-attenders were compared with respect to demographic and socioeconomic factors, use of preventive medicine, and prevalence of risk factors for breast cancer. The response was higher among less educated women, married and widowed women, and those born in the province than among more educated, single or divorced, and immigrant women. Most of the women interviewed gave practical reasons for non-participation, but lack of interest/distrust and fear/worry/anxiety also seemed important. The number of non-attenders who had had a Papanicolaou test within the previous three years was three times higher than those who had had mammography, suggesting that non-attenders were more interested in types of preventive medicine other than screening for breast cancer by mammography. Attenders and non-attenders appeared similar as regards distribution of conventional breast cancer risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Greater effort in the information campaign might increase the participation rate in screening for breast cancer, although to a lesser extent than expected: if non-attenders potentially recruitable in our screening were added to attenders, overall compliance of the programme was about 75%, lower than that observed in some programmes in northern Europe.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

Regional variations in total and nonprotein sulfhydryl compounds in the human gastric mucosa and effects of ethanol.

This study evaluated the regional distribution of sulfhydryl compounds in the human gastric mucosa and the effect of ethanol on gastric sulfhydryl tissue levels. Total sulfhydryl, glutathione, and cysteine and their oxidized forms were measured in biopsy specimens taken from the gastric body and antrum of 22 healthy volunteers. Total sulfhydryl and glutathione contents of the body of the stomach were significantly higher than those of the antrum. In contrast, cysteine concentration was higher in the gastric antrum than in the body. No difference was found in the levels of oxidized sulfhydryls between the gastric body and antrum. The effect of acute administration of ethanol on gastric sulfhydryl content was studied in nine subjects. Ethanol caused gross mucosal damage and lowered the concentration of sulfhydryl compounds in both the body and the antrum. In 10 chronic alcoholics total sulfhydryl and glutathione, but not cysteine, were markedly decreased in the gastric body but not in the antrum as compared with nonalcoholic controls. In conclusion, 1) the human gastric body contains significantly higher tissue levels of total sulfhydryls and glutathione and lower concentrations of cysteine than the antrum; 2) ethanol in a damaging concentration significantly decreases gastric tissue levels of sulfhydryl compounds; and 3) chronic ethanol intake lowers total sulfhydryl and glutathione tissue levels in the gastric body.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Drinking habits among high school students in Perugia, Italy, in 1981 and 1988: time trends and correlates.

The prevalence of alcohol consumption among 9th (14-15 years old) and 13th grade (18-19 years old) high school students in Perugia, Italy, was investigated in 1981 and 1988. Wine was the most popular beverage, although its use declined in the 7-year period. Beer consumption remained stable, but it was at a lower level than wine. Overall, alcohol consumption showed a slight decline among both 9th and 13th graders. However, the proportion of excessive drinkers increased, and a growing phenomenon of drunkenness among students was observed. Alcohol consumption was positively associated with sex and smoking and negatively associated with father's education and knowledge of the health hazards of alcohol abuse by multivariate analysis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Smoking habits and sporting activity among adolescents in north Italy.

A cross-sectional survey of the smoking habits of 330 17-19 year-old males practising physical activity as members of sports teams, and of 366 male students in the same age range was carried out in Brescia, North Italy. A total of 23.3% of the athletes and 30.9% of the students smoked at least one cigarette a week (chi 2 = 4.60, p less than 0.05), and 17.3% and 19.7% smoked at least one cigarette a day, respectively (chi 2 = 0.51; p greater than 0.05). The smoking athletes had on average 50.3 cigarettes/week and students 47.0 (t-test: 0.46; p greater than 0.05). No difference was found with respect to age at their first experience with smoking, while athletes began to smoke regularly before than students, proportionally (chi 2 for linear trend: 5.29, p less than 0.05). Sporting activity was negatively associated with current smoking by multiple logistic regression: the odds ratio of current smoking for athletes with respect to students was 0.5 (95% CI: 0.4-0.8). Among a set of social, environmental and behavioural variables, best friend's and girlfriend's smoking was the one most strongly associated with current smoking in both groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Aneuploidy in pancreatic insulinomas does not predict malignancy.

Nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) ploidy studies with paraffin embedded archival material from 14 pancreatic insulinomas were performed by flow cytometry. Clinical follow-up (2 to 17 years; mean, 8 years) was obtained for all patients. Half of the tumors had a normal DNA histogram and half exhibited an abnormal DNA profile consistent with DNA aneuploidy. Six of the seven patients with aneuploid tumors are alive and disease free (2 to 5 years postresection), and one is alive with metastatic disease. Of the seven patients with tumors showing normal DNA profiles, five are alive and disease free, one is dead of disease, and one is alive with metastatic disease. These data suggest that DNA ploidy analysis is unlikely to provide useful prognostic information for patients with insulinomas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Breast cancer screening in an urban population in northern Italy.

A mammographic and clinical screening for breast cancer started in June 1987 in the Health District of Brescia, Northern Italy, including the town and 23 surrounding municipalities. This paper describes the organization and the results of the first 12 months of screening. Of 7791 invited women aged 50-60 years, 5217 (67%) agreed to participate. There was a trend for response rates to decline with increasing age and education. Of the 5217 women examined, 66 (1.3%) were referred for biopsy and 64 (1.2%) underwent this procedure. A histologically confirmed malignancy was found in 42 women, corresponding to a prevalence of 8.1/1000. Positive predictive value of the screening was 65.6%. Among the 42 breast cancers, 4.8% were carcinoma in situ and 42.9% invasive tumors up to 10 mm in size. According to the p-TNM classification, 92.9% of all cancers were either TIS or in stage T1, 4.8% were in T2 and one tumor was classified in T4. Lymph node involvement was assessed in 41 cases, and 71.4% of all cancers detected by screening were negative for lymph node metastasis. In comparison, the classification of tumors found in women of the same age group and living in Brescia, histologically diagnosed in the urban hospitals during 1986, one year before the beginning of the screening, was as follows: 7.1% carcinoma in situ, and 16.7% invasive tumors up to 10 mm in size. 38.1%, 2.4% and 2.4% of all tumors were in stages T2, T3 and T4 respectively.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1990

The frog spinal cord: a model to study methanethiol-central nervous system interaction.

1. The effects of methanethiol (MT), DL-dithiothreitol (DTT) and N-ethyl-maleimide (NEM) were studied on the electrical activities of the frog cord. 2. Methanethiol depressed spontaneous dorsal and ventral root potentials, whereas no effects were observed on evoked responses. 3. N-ethyl-maleimide, a SH modifying agent, irreversibly depressed electrical cord activities. 4. DL-Dithiothreitol, a SH reducing agent, dramatically increased spontaneous electrical cord pattern. 5. It is suggested that interneuronal membrane sulphydryl groups of dorsal horn cell population are involved in the origin of spontaneous electrical cord activities and that MT interacts with these interneurones, probably oxidizing membrane SH groups.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Immunocytochemical staining for human chorionic gonadotropin subunits does not predict malignancy in insulinomas.

Insulinomas, the most common pancreatic endocrine tumors, produce a clinical syndrome of hyperinsulinism and hypoglycemia. Although the majority of insulinomas are benign, a significant proportion (4-16%) behave aggressively. Because malignant potential cannot be assessed adequately by histopathologic criteria, reliable serum and immunocytochemical markers for malignancy have been sought. Recent reports suggest that subunits of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are of prognostic value in pancreatic endocrine tumors. Elevated serum levels of either the alpha-subunit or beta-subunit of hCG have been reported to be associated with malignancy in pancreatic endocrine tumors. Both hCG and its alpha-subunit have been demonstrated in malignant pancreatic endocrine tumors by immunohistochemistry. In this study, 17 insulinomas have been analyzed by immunohistochemistry using monospecific antibodies to both the alpha-subunit and beta-subunit of hCG. Clinical follow-up was obtained in all cases, and four of the tumors proved to be malignant. Alpha-subunit immunoreactivity was found in only two tumors, both of which were benign. Immunoreactivity for the beta-subunit was not found in any tumor. The authors' results indicate that for this subset of pancreatic endocrine tumors, staining for hCG subunits is of no value in predicting malignant behavior.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗
PubMed1990

Decrease of total, glutathione and cysteine SH in non-alcoholic cirrhosis.

The content of plasma thiols was determined in 42 patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis. Total thiols were evaluated by Ellman's method, glutathione and cysteine by HPLC in fluorescence. Cirrhotic patients showed a significant decrease in plasma thiol content with respect to a control group of 32 healthy subjects, as total sulphydryls as well as glutathione and cysteine. The thiol decrease does not seem to be related to nutritional status or dietetic factors. Our data indicate that liver cirrhosis, independently from alcohol abuse, produces a decrease in all plasma thiols, probably secondary to a complex alteration of the transsulfuration pathway.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Peridural anesthesia and narcosis with propofol in thoracic surgery].

Twelve patients undergoing elective thoracic surgery because of lung cancer, have been studied. The anesthetic management included: continuous epidural anesthesia with bupivacaine (T6-T7), continuous infusion of propofol and vecuronium, mechanical ventilation with an oxygen/air mixture. We evaluated the perioperative analgesia and the cardiovascular side effects of two groups of patients differing for the position (supine or lateral) selected to administer the local anesthetic. We also analysed the most important characteristics of the recovery from anesthesia (degree of analgesia and consciousness, respiratory function and cooperation with physiotherapeutic manoeuvres). The authors conclude that, although the number of patients studied is limited, there are no significant differences between the two groups for intraoperative analgesia and hemodynamic imbalance; the anesthetic technique employed is a reliable alternative to classic balanced anesthesia, because seems to reply very well to the mayor purposes of thoracic surgery. Moreover it makes the operative room free from pollution caused by volatile anesthetics.

Analgesia, Epidural↗
PubMed1989

[Antibodies against the 15 amino acid sequence 599-613 of HIV-1 glycoprotein 41 in subjects at risk of HIV infection].

A peptide (called A-15) composed of 15 amino acids of the gp41 (from position 599 to position 613 of the sequence encoded by the env gene) of HIV-1 has been used as an antigen to search for antibodies in 347 sera of at-risk for HIV-1 infection subjects. The purpose was of comparing the prevalence of these antibodies with that of HIV-1 total EIA antibodies and HIV-1 immunoblotting antibodies. Assuming immunoblotting test as reference test for detecting a HIV-1 infection, the antibodies against peptide A-15 show the same sensitivity and specificity when compared with other HIV-1 total EIA antibodies tests.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

[Prevalence of viral hepatitis B markers in a sample of students at the School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Brescia].

Seroepidemiologic study on hepatitis B virus markers in a group of students in Medicine at the University of Brescia. The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers was studied in a group of 633 students in Medicine at the University of Brescia. HBsAg was detected in 16 (2.5%) students; anti-HBs and anti-HBc in 73 (11.5%); anti-HBs alone in 4 (0.6%); anti-HBc alone in 9 (1.4%). On the whole 102 (16.1%) students were reactive for one HBV marker at least. Significant differences in frequency of HBV markers were found according to age and to personal and familiar history of viral hepatitis; the prevalence of the markers was not associated with sex, year in school, hospital clinical training, blood transfusions and presence of health-care workers in the family. In this seroepidemiologic study the risk of contracting hepatitis B appears not higher in medical students than in other university students and in general population of the same age, sex and residence area. The results of the investigation suggest that medical students are appropriate candidates for hepatitis B vaccine at the beginning of their post-graduate medical profession.

Adolescent↗