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Biomedical subjects

L Mirone

Publications and source records attributed to L Mirone.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Serum levels of interleukin-1b, tumour necrosis factor-a and interleukin-2 in rheumatoid arthritis. Correlation with disease activity.

Cytokines are potent immunoregulatory factors and may be directly involved in the disordered immunoregulation found in chronic rheumatic diseases. Interleukin-1b (IL-1b), Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and Tumour Necrosis Factor-a (TNF-a) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as mediators of chronic inflammation. Serum levels of IL-1b and TNF-a measured by radioimmunoassay were significantly higher in patients with RA than in healthy controls of similar sex and age while serum levels of IL-2 were significantly lower in the same patients. Further IL-1b and TNF-a were significantly elevated in RA patients with active disease and IL-2 was significantly reduced when compared with patients with low active disease. Serum IL-1b and TNF-a appear to correlate with systemic inflammation, and systemic features of RA may result from dissemination of cytokines produced in the synovium. The role of IL-2 in RA remains controversial. Reduced levels of IL-2 may be an expression of a deficiency of T-cells to produce IL-2 in the active phases of RA or may be due to a possible absorption of IL-2 by lymphocyte receptors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Lack of correlation between anticardiolipin antibodies and peripheral autonomic nerve involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The presence of anticardiolipin antibodies has recently been related to a clinical complex in which both central and peripheral neurologic damage is included. A series of 27 female patients affected by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was tested for the presence of peripheral autonomic neuropathy and serum anticardiolipin antibody (ACA) levels were determined in each patient by ELISA. Peripheral autonomic impairment was detected in 40.7% of SLE patients and a large number (77.7%) of patients had elevated levels of ACA. No relationship was found between presence of ACA (both for IgG and IgM classes) and the autonomic neuropathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Effect of fish oil on neutrophil chemiluminescence induced by different stimuli in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Lipid composition plays an important part in the structural and metabolic functions of cell membranes. In particular the production of inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes is dependent on polyunsaturated fatty acid precursors. Neutrophil leucocytes participate in inflammatory processes by their phagocytic and killing activities which can be monitored by measuring the photon emission (chemiluminescence). Chemiluminescence was measured in a luminol dependent system after stimulation by either particulate (zymosan) or soluble (phorbol myristate acetate) stimulus in a group of 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis before and 21 and 45 days after treatment with a diet supplemented with eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. Ten patients with rheumatoid arthritis continuing their usual diet were used as control subjects. A progressive reduction of chemiluminescence stimulated by zymosan and phorbol myristate acetate was found in the patients treated with fish oil supplementation. This result correlated well with the reduction in erythrocyte sedimentation rate and an improvement of clinical parameters. The effects of fish oil derived lipids on neutrophil chemiluminescence are probably due to a change of the lipid composition of the cell membrane which is dependent on the esterification of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in cellular membrane phospholipids. The modification of membrane lipid composition seems to interact in a non-specific way with the metabolic activation of neutrophils during phagocytosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Generalized osteoporosis in non-steroid treated rheumatoid arthritis.

To investigate the presence of reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and to assess determinants of bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis, 45 female patients suffering from non-steroid treated rheumatoid arthritis were submitted to dual photon absorptiometry of the lumbar spine and to laboratory tests for calcium metabolism. The rheumatoid arthritis patients were divided into two groups according to anatomic grade and functional class; no abnormalities in calcium metabolism were detected whereas BMD was significantly lower in the third and fourth grade and in the third and fourth class patients (P less than 0.005 versus controls, versus grades I and II and versus classes 1 and 2). BMD was significantly correlated with age (P less than 0.001) and years postmenopausal (P less than 0.01), but not with duration of disease. By multiple linear regression we derived an equation predictive of BMD. Osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis is observed even in non-corticosteroid treated patients; articular lesions with subsequent reduction in physical activity appear to play an important role in axial bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1990

Effect of oral gold salt therapy on bile acid absorption in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Several studies pointed out an altered stool pattern as the most common side effect of auranofin therapy. The major mechanism in the aetiology of auranofin-induced impairment in bowel habit seems to be the inhibition of Na+/K+ ATPase in the gut. In vitro experiments proved that auranofin can affect active bile acid (BA) reabsorption in rat terminal ileum; this action, due to the ability of the drug to reduce Na+ pump activity by inhibiting Na+/K+ ATPase, may make a significant contribution to the auranofin-induced diarrhoea. The ability of auranofin to reduce the Na+ gradient necessary for active BA reabsorption, however, could cause a decrease of serum BA levels in patients taking auranofin before or without the development of an overt diarrhoea. We measured fasting and postprandial serum conjugated BA levels in 10 female rheumatoid arthritis patients before and after one month and two months' auranofin treatment. No patient developed diarrhoea during the chrysotherapy. When oral gold salt therapy was started, we observed a slight decrease in serum BA levels, but difference was not statistically significant. We can conclude that auranofin therapy does not cause BA malabsorption in patients who do not develop diarrhoea during the treatment.

Absorption↗
PubMed1990

Eosinophilic fasciitis associated with inflammatory neutrophilic vasculitis.

The authors report a case of eosinophilic fasciitis with an histopathological pattern of inflammatory neutrophilic vasculitis associated with the typical inflammatory infiltrate. The presence of this type of vasculitis which may be observed in the initial forms of scleroderma supports the hypothesis of a considerable overlap between these two entities.

Eosinophilia↗
PubMed1989

Serum osteocalcin as an index of bone turnover in active rheumatoid arthritis and in active psoriatic arthritis.

Juxtaarticular osteoporosis is a recognized clinical feature in both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PA), while generalised osteopenia seems to be characteristic of RA only. To assess differences in bone turnover in the two forms of disease, we measured serum osteocalcin levels and other parameters of bone metabolism in two groups of female, ambulant, age-matched patients suffering from active RA or active PA and never treated with steroid therapy. Serum osteocalcin levels were significantly higher in RA patients than in PA patients (13.05 +/- 1.27 ng/ml vs 4.83 +/- 0.88 ng/ml; p less than 0.001), with a significant positive correlation between osteocalcin and serum alkaline phosphatase in both groups. These data suggest that bone turnover is higher in active RA than in active PA. Juxtaarticular osteoporosis could be mediated by local disease mechanisms both in RA and in PA, while factors specifically related to active RA seem to determine a more generalized impairment of bone turnover.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Bone GLA protein (BGP) levels and bone turnover in rheumatoid arthritis.

Bone GLA protein (BGP) and other biochemical indices of bone turnover were measured in 42 female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in a group of normal subjects matched for sex and age. Mean serum BGP concentrations were significantly higher in patients with active arthritis than in patients with mild activity (p less than 0.01) and controls (p less than 0.01). No significant difference was found in serum BGP levels and in other parameters of bone turnover when the patients were stratified according to functional class or duration of disease. There was a correlation between BGP and alkaline phosphatase levels only in RA patients with high activity of disease. Our data suggest an accelerated bone turnover in patients with active RA. We infer that in such patients the impairment of bone metabolism is a determinant of RA-associated osteopenia. Disease activity rather than functional impairment or duration of arthritis should be regarded as a factor in the bone loss of RA.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Nimesulide in the treatment of osteoarthrosis and extra-articular rheumatism].

Nimesulide is a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which seems to be characterized by a low inhibitory action on prostaglandin synthesis and a high inhibitory action on oxygen free radicals production. The aim of this trial was to determine the effect of Nimesulide on degenerative joint disease and on non-articular rheumatism. One hundred and forty, 64 females and 76 males aged 51.9 +/- 1.2 years, affected with osteoarthritis or non-articular rheumatism (fibromyalgia, periarthritis, tendinitis, tenosynovitis, bursitis and enthesitis) were studied. Nimesulide was administered at a daily dosage of 200 mg. A significative improvement in the clinical parameters studied was observed in all the patients, but a more remarkable progress was noted in the group with non-articular rheumatism. The incidence of adverse reactions was irrelevant: 2 patients complained of epigastralgia that subsided reducing the daily dosage to 100 mg.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Impaired growth hormone response to clonidine in obesity.

Clonidine, an imidazoline derivative, is an antihypertensive agent which reduces sympathetic tone by acting in the central nervous system to stimulate alpha-2 adrenoceptors. There is evidence that dopamine and norepinephrine modulate the secretion of GH. Stimulation of GH release is a well-known effect of clonidine in man. Obesity is characterized by an impairment of GH release in response to various stimuli. The aim of this work is to study GH release in response to alpha-2 adrenoceptors stimulation by clonidine in obesity. 12 volunteer obese subjects were studied. 10 normal weight subjects, sex and age matched, were controls. The GH responsiveness was tested with a single oral dose of clonidine (0.15 mg). Blood was sampled for GH radioimmunoassay at 0', 30', 60', 90', 120', 150', 180'. Serum GH basal levels were not significant different in obese subjects compared to controls. In obese subjects, no significant changes occurred in blood GH concentration after clonidine. In normal weight controls, instead, a significant increase of GH values was reached at 90' (P less than 0.05) and at 120' (P less than 0.05) after clonidine. The impairment of GH release after clonidine in obese subjects might be in a reduced serotonin release or in a failure of the hypothalamic-pituitary system to stimulate plasma GH caused by a diminished GH releasing factor stimulatory effect or by an excessive endorphin or somatostatin secretion in obesity.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1988

Influence of diet with different lipid composition on neutrophil chemiluminescence and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Neutrophil chemiluminescence was determined in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Twelve patients were randomly assigned either to a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids supplemented with eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids or to a diet high in saturated fatty acids. A correlation with clinical and laboratory parameters is also reported. No statistical difference was observed in neutrophil chemiluminescence and in clinical parameters in the group of patients treated with a diet high in saturated fatty acids. Fish oil ingestion resulted in subjective alleviation of active rheumatoid arthritis and reduction of neutrophil chemiluminescence. This study corroborates the hypothesis of an anti-inflammatory role for polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

[Comparative study of the in vitro activity of 5 new antibiotics on strains isolated from urinary infections].

In vitro activity of Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone, Ceftazidime, Piperacillin and Netilmicin against 189 urinary isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas and Enterococcus has been evaluated. To assess the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC), the broth dilution method and the Sensititre system were employed. No considerable differences were found between the two methods. Cefotaxime showed the highest activity against Enterobacteriaceae, the great majority of the isolates being susceptible to 1 microgram/ml or less. Piperacillin showed good activity against Enterococci. Ceftazidime resulted the most active against Pseudomonas.

Cefotaxime↗