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Biomedical subjects

M Gabriele

Publications and source records attributed to M Gabriele.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Epidemiological survey of Streptococcus mutans in a group of adult patients living in Pisa (Italy).

An epidemiological investigation was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of Streptococcus mutans in a group of 134 adult patients. Markedly higher frequency of isolation was observed in caries-active subjects than in caries-inactive or caries-free subjects, indicating a significant association between the prevalence of the microorganism and the caries status. Moreover, the presence of the microorganism appeared to have a significant association with the extent of caries experience evaluated by the DMF score. These findings are in agreement with those reported previously for school children in other areas of Italy. Isolation of S. mutans was compared among patients groups with different caries activity in relation to culture times of dental plaque samples in a transport medium (Colorimetric Broth Medium). S. mutans was most frequently isolated from caries-active subjects when the medium was incubated for 48 h after inoculation with dental plaque samples.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of hematochemical parameters and renal echography after ESWL.

Evaluation of hematochemical parameters and renal echography after ESWL treatment with Tripter X1 was done on the first 95 patients treated and for whom we had a longer than 3-month follow-up. Creatinine phosphokinase values showed an increase in 24 patients. 12 patients demonstrated an increase in amylasemia. Echographic checks performed the day after treatment revealed the presence of perirenal lesions in 3 cases. As far as amylasemia is concerned, only 1 patient was treated with aprotinin. One of the patients who developed perirenal hematoma had hypertension; another was following an antiaggregant therapy that was temporarily suspended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Effects of nortriptyline on memory self-assessment and performance in recovered elderly depressives.

The effects of nortriptyline (NTL) on memory were compared with those of placebo (PBO), in elderly subjects after recovery from a major depression. Subjective and objective memory was assessed using a repeated-measures discontinuation design. Average immediate, but not delayed, free recall, on a 20-item selective reminding test was adversely affected by medication. Free recall on placebo was stable over four learning trials and at delay. A different pattern of responses occurred on nortriptyline: Performance dropped off significantly on learning Trial 2, remained worse than placebo through Trial 4, but improved after a 15-min delay. Performance on measures of immediate and delayed recognition memory were comparable on nortriptyline and placebo. Discontinuation of nortriptyline resulted in significant improvement on a subset of nine memory self-assessment items. On questions addressing ability to retrieve recently learned information, subjects reported the greatest improvement while on placebo compared with nortriptyline.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Stomatological problems related to pregnancy. A statistical study].

Pregnancy is related to particular dental issues, such as the increased incidence of diseases( gingivitis, caries, epulis), the fluoride supplementation, and the limits of diagnostics and therapy. Moreover, the mysterious halo surrounding pregnancy often makes the dentist uneasy. In order to objectively evaluate the implications of pregnancy in dentistry, we distributed a form to 100 pregnant women. The results of the form showed that 53 of them had gingival bleeding, 22 had toothache, 19 had caries but that just 12 of them had gone to the dentist because of dental troubles while 54 had not gone at all. Among the pluri-gravidae, all the women with dental diseases in their previous pregnancies had them again in their current pregnancy but nonetheless only some had undergone a dental check-up. The dentists did not show any uneasiness, as they performed tooth extractions in 5 women, endodontics in 2 women and fillings in 11 women. Just 4 out of 100 women had taken a fluoride supplementation. We deem advisable a stronger collaboration between physician, gynecologist and dentist in order to resolve specialist problems and to make pregnant women more aware of the need for dental follow-ups and fluoride supplementations.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[The clinical efficacy of roxithromycin in patients with acute odontogenic infections].

The clinical efficacy of a macrolide antibiotic, roxithromycin, was evaluated in 24 patients affected by acute odontogenic infections. Patients were treated with a first dose of 300 mg p.o. which was followed by 150 mg p.o. 12-hourly for the following two days. Total responses were evaluated by an arbitrary scale. The results showed that an excellent and good response was obtained in 99.96% of treated patients. On the basis of clinically compared data and the drug safety it may be concluded that roxithromycin can be successfully used in the treatment of odontogenic infections.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

Induction of micronuclei by mitomycin C and colchicine in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

The frequencies of micronuclei (MNi) in the gill cells of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis were determined over a long period (up to 28 days) following a 48-h treatment with colchicine. The frequency of MNi at the end of treatment was significantly higher than in controls and 24 h later it had increased even more. After this period, the frequency of MNi rapidly declined until a plateau level was reached on day 2-3, which was significantly higher than the control baseline level, and persisted until the end of the experiment (28th day). In the same cell system we previously reported a persistence of an increased frequency of MNi after treatment with mitomycin C (MMC) (Majone et al., 1987). In order to establish the origin of MNi, the difference between their size distribution in MMC- and colchicine-treated animals was determined at the end of treatment as well as during the plateau phase. The difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.001) at the end of treatment, the MNi induced by MMC being smaller than those induced by colchicine. However, the difference during the plateau phase was not statistically significant. Human CREST antikinetochore fluorescent antibodies reacted with chromosome centromeres of Mytilus and were applied to gill cells at the end of a 48-h treatment with MMC or colchicine. About 60% of the MNi induced by colchicine but only 30% of those produced by MMC reacted positively with the fluorescent antibodies. This result indicates that the majority of MNi observed at the end of a 48-h treatment with MMC or colchicine originate, respectively, from acentric chromosome fragments and from whole lagging chromosomes.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Roxithromycin penetration into gingiva and alveolar bone of odontoiatric patients.

The concentrations of the new macrolide antibiotic roxithromycin in plasma, saliva, gingiva, and alveolar bone were studied in 24 odontoiatric patients treated with a first dose of 300 mg p.o. followed by three maintenance doses of 150 mg p.o., 12-hourly. Samples of blood, saliva, gingiva, and bone were collected at various time points up to 24 h after the last dosing, and the roxithromycin concentration was measured microbiologically, using Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 as the reference organism. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed according to a two-compartment open model with first-order absorption. The plasma, gingiva, and alveolar bone peak concentrations were 6.12 +/- 1.94 mg/l, 6.55 +/- 2.54 mg/kg, and 5.09 +/- 1.60 mg/kg, respectively. Low levels of roxithromycin were detected in saliva (0.67 +/- 0.12 mg/l at the 3rd h). The values of the area under the concentration-time curve for plasma, gingiva, and bone were 59.47 mg/l.h, 51.88 mg/kg.h and 46.80 mg/kg.h, respectively; the half-life values were 7.52 h for plasma and 6.36 and 5.20 h for gingiva and bone, respectively. These results indicate that roxithromycin reaches high levels in periodontal tissues.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Value of cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry in gynecology and obstetrics].

Flow cytometry is a new technique that makes it possible to study the cell cycle and the DNA content of thousands of cells per minute. Its value in oncology is prognostic, there being a correlation between the level of DNA and mitotic activity with the power to invade tissues. After a description of the cell cycle, a review of the literature demonstrates its value in gynaecology and obstetrics. Aneuploidy and marked mitotic activity correlate well with a poor prognosis for: CIN: aneuploid lesions are less likely to regress spontaneously and are found more frequently in higher grades. This is a reason for treating aneuploid CIN. Adenocarcinoma of the endometrium: aneuploidy is the best prognostic measure when analysing cells in a multifactorial way to include the stage, the grade, the degree of myometrial invasion and the receptors. Sarcoma of the uterus: in a small series aneuploidy occurred frequently and was of poor prognosis. Molar pregnancy: flow cytometry is a diagnostic aid because the hydatidiform mole is diploid with a marked degree of mitotic activity. The prognostic value has still to be determined. Ovary: borderline tumours are always diploid. In cancers of the ovary aneuploidy is a sign of aggression and predictive of survival.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed1988

Exposure to agricultural treatment residues: some simple statistical considerations based on monitoring data for ethoxyquin on apples.

The data examined here concern ethoxyquin levels, mainly measured in apple samples from the retail market. In this study about three hundred measurements, carried out on apples in Northern-Central Italy and recently published, are examined, with the purpose of defining the main characteristics of value statistical distribution and variability and to optimize sampling criteria. The analysis did not indicate the presence of significantly high levels or consequently significantly high risks; nevertheless, it pointed out some important aspects in data collection and evaluation. First, it appeared that the statistical distribution of data is typically nonsymmetrical, non-Gaussian, and characterized by a tail extending toward the high values. The logarithmic transformation of data appeared useful in order to obtain a Gaussian distribution. As a rule, the data variability appeared to be high. The frequency and distribution of values above the analytical threshold resulted in significant change, both in time and in space. The percentage of positive values (above the analytical threshold) appeared to vary up to a factor of 2-3, as analogously did their geometric mean.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed1988

Dose-response relationships in rodents of promoter carcinogens: a tentative interpretation of some downward trends.

This study analyzes a set of dose-response curves relative to promoter carcinogens administered to experimental animals with or without initiator pretreatment. In the case of initiator plus promoter treatment, as well as for low experimental doses, the experimental data and their mathematical fitting indicate a downward shape of the dose-response curves as a general feature. In this study, the following hypothesis, according to the two-stage carcinogenic action of initiator plus promoter treatment, is presented to interpret this downward shape: (i) an initiating action, involving a subset of available "targets" (the number of "initiated" targets is assumed to depend on initiating treatment level), and (ii) a subsequent dose-dependent promoting process, mainly involving the initiated targets. This process reaches a saturation level when all the initiated targets have been promoted. This kind of process may be quantitatively described by a saturated exponential model: P(d) = K(1 - exp(-K0 + K1d)] which fits the experimental data fairly well. No indication supporting the hypothesis of a threshold for the chemicals examined resulted from the analysis. In the specific case of sodium saccharin, experimental dose-response relationships were available with or without initiator pretreatment (BBN and MNU). While in the first case the shape of the dose-response curve is downward, in the second case, it is upward and significantly different.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parotid sialography and lip biopsy in the evaluation of oral component in Sjögren's syndrome.

In order to evaluate their sensitivity and specificity, parotid sialography (PS) and labial salivary gland biopsy were performed in 150 putative patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) (74 with SS alone and 76 with SS associated with other well-defined disorders). Although PS and LSGB strongly correlated to each other (Kendall's Tau 0.47, z = 7.78, p less than 0.0001), PS confirmed the diagnosis of SS in a significantly higher prevalence of patients with respect to LSGB (63% vs 37%, chi 2 = 18.25, p less than 0.001). When the sensitivity and specificity of PS and LSGB were calculated, PS showed a better sensitivity, and an only slightly lower specificity than LSGB (86% vs 70% and 78% vs 86% respectively). In conclusion, our study indicates that PS has been unduly overlooked in the past decades as a diagnostic tool for the salivary component of SS, and should be reconsidered as a potentially useful and relatively non-invasive procedure in the approach of patients with this disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Statistical evaluation of different clinical and serological parameters for the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome.

The potential value for the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) of 28 clinical and 18 serological parameters was evaluated in 38 patients with primary (1 degree) SS, 29 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 30 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 22 with mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC), by means of a stepwise discriminant analysis. Twelve patients with RA, 11 with SLE, and 8 with MC had evidence of sicca syndrome and were then classified as having a secondary (2 degree) SS. When comparing the various disease groups to each other, it was always possible to select different combinations of clinical and serological variables which defined highly significant discriminant functions. In addition, some parameters appeared to have a stronger discriminant power between different disease groups. For instance, 1 degree SS was well discriminated from RA by anti-Ro antibodies (Ab) and normal C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, from SLE by normal complement levels and the positivity of rheumatoid factor, from MC by the absence of liver involvement and normal complement levels. While anti-La Ab had the highest value in differentiating patients with 1 degree from those with 2 degrees SS, anti-Ro Ab and recurrent parotid swelling seem to be typical features of patients with SS with respect to those with other connective tissue disease but without sicca syndrome.

Adult↗