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L Marchetti

Publications and source records attributed to L Marchetti.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

[Quantitative study of mucociliary clearance using static scintigraphy].

Mucociliary clearance can be evaluated by radionuclide techniques, but such approaches have been usually implemented only in research-oriented laboratories because of technical difficulties. A very practical radionuclide method is here presented which requires only three static acquisitions after the inhalation of a polydisperse radioaerosol produced by a commercial generator. Data processing is also very simple. The diagnostic performance of the method was tested on a study population of 10 healthy subjects and 10 patients with atrophic bronchitis; a highly significant difference between normal and pathological patients was found. Its simple implementation and diagnostic yield recommend this radionuclide method for the routine assessment of mucociliary clearance also in busy clinical-oriented laboratories.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

A statistical study on left ventricular peak filling rate in diabetes.

The importance of non-invasive evaluation of cardiac function in diabetes is well known and radionuclide angiocardiography has become an accepted diagnostic procedure. While the pathophysiological interpretation of systolic parameters is clear, the meaning and determinants of peak filling rate (PFR) remain rather speculative. In the present study, a "pattern recognition" approach, including principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis, has been adopted in order to evaluate the determinants of PFR in a series of 48 non-selected diabetic patients. The results of the study show that: PFR is inversely dependent on age which is its main determinant when systolic function is preserved; PFR is inversely dependent on combined effects of left ventricular dimensions, angina and wall motion; and the duration of diabetes in itself does not influence PFR. These results lead to the following clinically relevant conclusions: (a) It is unlikely that a young diabetic patient without anginal symptoms will have a significant PFR impairment even if the diabetes has been present for a long time. If such impairment is however present, ventricular latent dysfunction is likely to be the cause even if systolic parameters are still normal; (b) A decrease of PFR in a middle-aged diabetic patient without symptoms and with normal systolic function cannot be equated with latent ventricular dysfunction as it may represent only an age-related physiological change without special diagnostic meaning.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

[Dynamic pulmonary scintigraphy with Tc99m radioaerosol for the evaluation of the permeability of the alveolo-capillary barrier].

Pulmonary clearance of small droplet 99mTc-DTPA radioaerosol was studied in 100 patients (12 normal subjects, N; 10 asymptomatic healthy smokers, FA; 31 patients with interstitial lung diseases, IP; 47 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease, BPCO). The first seven minutes of clearance were described with the function At = Ao*exp (-K*t) and the time constant K was considered representative of the 99mTc-DTPA clearance rate and hence of the alveolar-capillary barrier permeability. Groups FA, IP and BPCO showed a significant (p less than 0.05) or a highly significant (p less than 0.01) increase in permeability when compared to group N. No correlation was found between permeability and bronchial obstruction tests. The following conclusions were drawn: --99mTc-DTPA dynamic lung scanning is an easy, non-invasive method to assess derangements of alveolar-capillary barrier permeability secondary to epithelial damage; --permeability increase is a very early effect of cigarette smoke damage to the epithelium; --other mechanisms of epithelial injury are present in diffuse lung disease; --while the clinical role of this new pathophysiological test is not yet clear, it is likely that it may become a very early marker of pulmonary epithelial damage in diffuse lung disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Filler injection enhances the projection of the reconstructed nipple: an original easy technique.

BACKGROUND: Reduced nipple projection is the main reason for unsatisfactory nipple-areola complex reconstruction, and many techniques have been proposed to maintain projection of the reconstructed nipple. METHODS: For 70 patients, 90 nipples were reconstructed using either a small wedge from the labia minora (LMW) (n=70) or nipple sharing (NS) (n=20). Two months after reconstruction, each reconstructed nipple was injected with DermaLive. Second and third injections were performed 2 and 5 months later. The injected volume was tailored to the desired projection. Nipple projection was measured at the moment of implant, before and after each injection, and 6 and 12 months after the last injection. RESULTS: Nipple projection was satisfactory in all cases and comparable with that of the contralateral nipple. The average nipple projection at 6 months was 5.8 mm in the LMW group and 3.8 mm in the NS group (p<0.01) and, respectively, 5.6 mm and 3.5 mm at 12 months (p<0.01). No complications occurred, except for one positron emission tomography (PET) false-positive result. CONCLUSIONS: The described method is simple and safe. It provides precise projection with no need for intraoperative forecasting of tissue reabsorption. The result was better for the LMW patients, perhaps because of their higher distensibility.

Acrylates↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The tuberous breast syndrome.

The tuberous breast syndrome is the result of a complex series of defects with various degrees of expression. However, much confusion has been generated in the literature by the use of often inadequate terminology, which is partly the cause of multiplicity of managements being proposed that mainly aim to correct the major defect and not the entire syndrome. The surgical approach adopted by our group stems from the improvement of classic techniques, consisting essentially of a combination of periareolar mastopexis, additive mastoplasty, and gland base enlargement by cross incision. Our results were fully satisfying both aesthetically and functionally. We achieved a correct shape, resolved ptosys and reduced areolas with no double-fold effect, and attained good symmetry in more complex unilateral cases.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationships between hemodynamic parameters and myocardial energy and antioxidant status in heart transplantation.

The relationships between high-energy phosphate levels, oxidative insult and mechanical function represent a key point in heart transplantation and related post-ischemic functional recovery. We evaluated myocardial purine compounds and glutathione antioxidant defence mechanism during 19 heart transplant operations. Heart biopsies were taken before harvesting on beating heart (t1), at the end of cold static preservation (t2) and 30 min after implantation and reperfusion (t3); perchloric extracts of the tissue were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Correlation analyses were performed with hemodynamic parameters evaluated 90 min after aortic declamping (T90), 6 h following admission in intensive care unit (T6A) and 1 d post-operation (D1). We evidenced that AMP levels measured at T1 negatively correlate with both cardiac index (CI) and oxygen delivery index (DO2I) evaluated at T6A, respectively. The same behavior was evident plotting IMP levels measured at T3 with CI and DO2I evaluated at D1. After t2 the nucleotide/(nucleoside + base) ratio was in positive correlation with hemodynamic parameters at T6A. Energy charge and GSH/GSSG ratio measured before harvesting were in positive correlation with DO2I evaluated at T90. The present research shows that despite the complexity of the high-energy phosphate metabolism and that of the events associated to a clinical heart transplantation, there are some parameters that, besides reflecting the degree of myocardial preservation, also represents predictive parameters for the following organ functional recovery. It also suggests that heart preservation strategies should carefully take into account the sub-optimal nature of the donor heart at the time of procurement, through a broad spectrum of purine compound and glutathione antioxidant system measurements.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Biodegradation of hydroxylated and methoxylated benzoic, phenylacetic and phenylpropenoic acids present in olive mill wastewaters by two bacterial strains.

Two aerobic bacterial strains, a chlorophenol-degrading bacterium characterized in this work as a Ralstonia sp. LD35 on the basis of the sequence of the gene encoding for 16S ribosomal RNA, and Pseudomonas putida DSM 1868, capable of metabolizing 4-methoxybenzoic acid, were tested for their capacity to degrade monocyclic aromatic acids responsible for the toxicity of olive mill wastewaters (OMWs). Both strains possess interesting and complementary degradation capabilities in resting cell conditions: Ralstonia sp. LD35 was found to metabolize 4-hydroxybenzoic, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic, 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic and cinnamic acid, whereas DSM 1868 was capable of metabolizing 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic, 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic and 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid, as well as 4-hydroxybenzoic and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid. The kinetic parameters describing the growth of the two strains on the same compounds were determined in growing-cell batch conditions, and showed that both strains presented high affinity and high specific growth rates towards all assayed substrates. In addition, the two strains were capable of growing on and extensively biodegrading a mixture of monocyclic aromatic acids commonly found at high concentrations in OMWs, and of growing on a 20% dilution of a natural OMW. All these features make the two strains attractive candidates for the development of a biotechnological process for the biodegradation of aromatic compounds found in OMWs.

Betaproteobacteria↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The impact of genetics on Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Reports focusing on the familiarity and "pedigree" of patients with Crohn's Disease (CD) are increasing. The study of the role of genetics as a predisposing factor in providing the ideal milieu upon which environmental agents and immuno-inflammatory responses may act, could be paramount in finding the pith of the etiopathogenesis of this disease. METHODOLOGY: In order to determine the impact of familiarity on CD, a series of 187 patients, managed between January 1965 and January 1997, was subdivided into two groups. In group I (145 pts.), the family history relied only on direct information from the patient, while in group II (42 pts.) a prospective study was carried out involving both close and distant relatives who were interviewed and, in some cases, clinically investigated. RESULTS: In this study, relatives with suspected CD were 9 out of 122 in group I patients (7.4%), while in the more detailed assessment of group II, 18 out of 42 cases (43%) had an ascertained CD familiarity. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of familiarity in the pathogenesis of CD may be higher than expected if properly sought for. Reports on the possibility that the onset of CD may be strongly influenced by genetics, favor our hypothesis that the true etiology may find its base in a hemolymphatic disorder of the mesentery followed by superimposed inflammatory responses.

Adolescent↗