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M A Montesu

Publications and source records attributed to M A Montesu.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Direct correlation between human herpesvirus-8 seroprevalence and classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence in Northern Sardinia.

The human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) has been associated with the development of Kaposi's sarcoma. A high incidence of classic Kaposi's sarcoma has been described in Sardinia, an island West of Italy's mainland. Different seroepidemiological analyses have reported that prevalence of HHV-8 infection varies worldwide: a high HHV-8 seroprevalence has been shown in Italy. The present survey was carried out to evaluate the correlation between HHV-8 infection and classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence in northern Sardinia. Blood samples were collected from 226 healthy donors born and resident in five different areas of North Sardinia. Seroprevalence to HHV-8 was determined searching antibodies to viral lytic proteins by immunofluorescence in sera diluted at 1:10. Classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence data spanning a period of 23 years were examined in the areas studied. The present screening revealed that seroprevalence was 35%, within a range of 15.3-46.3% in the five areas, although it should be considered that the seroprevalence to HHV-8 can be established more accurately by the combined use of different assays. Age emerged as an important risk factor. Indeed, subjects aged > 50 years showed a higher seroprevalence to HHV-8 as compared with younger individuals. A strong direct correlation between HHV-8 prevalence and classic Kaposi's sarcoma incidence has been also observed. The wide diffusion of HHV-8 in Sardinia appears to represent an important factor in the high incidence of classic Kaposi's sarcoma reported in the island. However, additional co-factors, such as age, sex, genetic traits, or viral strain pathogenicity, are likely to play a role in the development of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The role of occupation and a past history of malaria in the etiology of classic Kaposi's sarcoma: a case-control study in north-east Sardinia.

A case-control study was performed to determine the role of rural factors including occupation and previous malaria exposure in the development of classic Kaposi's sarcoma (CKS) in a high incidence area of Europe. The occurrence of CKS association with other malignancies was also examined. The results showed that the risk of having CKS was significantly increased in subjects farming cereals, while a previous history of malaria did not influence the risk of developing CKS. A near-significant increase in associated tumours was found.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Classical Kaposi's sarcoma in north-east Sardinia: an overview from 1977 to 1991.

The incidence of classical Kaposi's sarcoma in 1977-91 was studied in north-east Sardinia. In this period, 160 new cases were observed in a defined area, of which 124 were in males. This represented a standardised incidence of the disease of 1.58/100,000 inhabitants per year (2.43 for males and 0.77 for females). This is the highest incidence of classical Kaposi's sarcoma so far recorded. The incidence increased with age, particularly after the age of 70 in males.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

HLA antigen distribution in different clinical subgroups demonstrates genetic heterogeneity in lichen planus.

HLA-A, B, Cw, DR and DQ antigens were serologically determined in 105 patients suffering from lichen planus (LP). Of these patients, 87 had idiopathic LP and 18 had secondary LP. In the first group, 43 had cutaneous LP without mucosal lesions, 17 had cutaneous LP with mucosal lesions and 27 had purely mucosal LP. No HLA antigen was found to be significantly associated with secondary LP or with mucosal idiopathic LP. In cutaneous idiopathic LP with or without mucosal lesions, the HLA-DR1 and DQ1 antigen frequency was significantly increased, and that of HLA-DQ3 significantly decreased. Among the HLA-DR1 cutaneous idiopathic LP patients, 78.5% carried the DRB1*0101 allele, and 21.4% the DRB1*0102 allele, compared with 35.7 and 67.8%, respectively, of the HLA-DR1 controls. Our data demonstrate that idiopathic LP is influenced by HLA-associated genetic susceptibility and resistance factors not involved in secondary LP, and that cutaneous idiopathic LP is a genetically and therefore pathogenetically different condition from purely mucosal idiopathic LP.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The HLA-DRB1*0101 allele is responsible for HLA susceptibility to lichen ruber planus.

Serological studies have demonstrated that lichen ruber planus is associated with the HLA-DR1 antigen. This association was also confirmed by us in the Sardinian population. To establish which DRB1 molecular alleles are involved, we studied a selected group of 14 DR1 positive patients affected by cutaneous idiopathic lichen planus and a group of DR1 positive healthy controls using PCR with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP). Comparisons between the allele frequencies in patients and controls showed a positive association with cutaneous idiopathic lichen planus for the DRB1*0101 allele (RR = 5.8, P = 0.0097), DRB1*0101 and DRB1*0102 are associated with the same DQA1 and DQB1 alleles and are different only for two amino acids in positions 85 and 86 of the DRB1 gene. In our case report predisposition to cutaneous idiopathic lichen planus is correlated with a valine in position 85 and a glycine in position 86 at the second exon of the DRB1 gene.

Alleles↗
PubMed1993

Lichen planus in children: a case report.

Lichen planus (LP) is rare in children. A review of the literature reveals that it has some peculiarities with respect to sex, localization, clinical aspect, race, and family history. We present an Indian child with the documented peculiarities of infantile LP. A comparison of LP and graft-versus-host disease points to the importance of thymic involution in the pathogenesis of the former, which could explain the rarity of this disorder in infants.

Biopsy↗