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Biomedical subjects

M Magri

Publications and source records attributed to M Magri.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients: a European survey.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients across a number of European countries. METHODS: A descriptive survey design was developed. Fourteen countries participated in the study and data was collected through a descriptive questionnaire from 956 patients. RESULTS: Data suggest that CAM is popular among cancer patients with 35.9% using some form of CAM (range among countries 14.8% to 73.1%). A heterogeneous group of 58 therapies were identified as being used. Herbal medicines and remedies were the most commonly used CAM therapies, together with homeopathy, vitamins/minerals, medicinal teas, spiritual therapies and relaxation techniques. Herbal medicine use tripled from use before diagnosis to use since diagnosis with cancer. Multivariate analysis suggested that the profile of the CAM user was that of younger people, female and with higher educational level. The source of information was mainly from friends/family and the media, while physicians and nurses played a small part in providing CAM-related information. The majority used CAM to increase the body's ability to fight cancer or improve physical and emotional well-being, and many seemed to have benefited from using CAM (even though the benefits were not necessarily related to the initial reason for using CAM). Some 4.4% of patients, however, reported side-effects, mostly transient. CONCLUSIONS: It is imperative that health professionals explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provision.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Outcomes of a program to evaluate mother and baby 6 months after umbilical cord blood donation.

BACKGROUND: A routine program of evaluating mothers and infants 6 months after umbilical cord blood donation was started at the Milano Cord Blood Bank (MCBB) in 1996. This study evaluated the main outcomes of this program. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: All mothers donating cord blood at this bank from February 1996 through May 1999 were invited to visit the bank or the collection suite 6 months after delivery to report on the health condition of their babies and to provide a fresh blood sample for repeat basal serologic tests (HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV-1/2, and syphilis). A bank volunteer contacted the mothers by telephone to schedule their visits just before the expiration of the 6-month period. Before collection of the new sample, a trained operator interviewed the mothers to review the mother's medical history information collected at donation and to obtain the baby's postnatal medical history. RESULTS: Of the 2450 mothers enrolled in the study, 2315 (94.5%) attended the bank in agreement with the program, 4 promised to attend, 95 could not be traced, 26 declined the invitation, and 10 were unable to attend. Of the 135 mothers who could not be traced, 29 (21.4%) belonged to non-European ethnic groups. The average time spent with each mother was approximately 20 minutes. In serologic testing, one indeterminate anti-HCV seroconversion (c22) was detected. Collection of the baby's postnatal history reported one case of congenital urinary malformation not known at delivery, one of protein C deficiency, one of phenylketonuria, one of mucoviscidosis, and one of 10q- chromosomal abnormality. The cord blood components from all these births were discarded. CONCLUSION: These data support the feasibility of a routine 6-month program of evaluating mothers and babies giving cord blood at a cord blood bank. Such programs may increase the quality of components stored for transplantation.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Alternative insertion sites for permanent central venous access devices.

Permanent central venous access devices (PCVAD) are used widely in the management of chronically ill patients, particularly in neoplastic diseases. The standard approach consists of positioning the catheter in the superior vena cava (SVC) either using subclavian or internal jugular vein puncture, or cephalic or external jugular vein cut-down, with the port implanted in a subcutaneous pouch of the thoracic region. Alternative insertion sites could be used in selected cases. In our experience, consisting of 158 PCVAD, 12 cases required a different insertion site: six cases of an SVC catheter and port on the forearm using a basilic vein cut-down, and six cases of an inferior vena cava (IVC) catheter and port in the abdominal region using a great saphenous vein cut-down. Comparing standard to alternative approaches, we observed a total morbidity rate of 8.9% and 8.3%, respectively (P=NS), while the explant rate was 5.4% vs 8.3% (P=0.1). Our data show non-significant differences in morbidity and explant rates between the two groups of patients. Alternative insertion sites for the PCVAD implant seem to be a valid possibility in the management of chronically ill patients.

Catheterization, Central Venous↗
PubMed1993

Primary cutaneous endometriosis of thoracic skin with ovarian granulosa cell tumor.

A case of non-cicatricial endometriosis of the thoracic skin is described in a patient affected by an ovarian granulosa cell tumor, adult type. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of this type of association reported in the literature although some cases in which endometriosis was related to high estrogen levels are well documented. We suggest that in presence of an estrogen secreting neoplasm, foci of endometriosis might not be such a rare condition if clinicians and pathologists carefully looked for it.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Disordered pupil reactivity in Parkinson's disease.

Different varieties of pupillary abnormalities have been described in Parkinson's disease but it is not clear if this is due to the disease itself or to the pharmacological treatment. In this study, pupil reactivity to various stimuli (dark/light adaptation, light reflex, near vision reaction and electrical sural stimulation) was investigated in 23 de novo parkinsonian patients (not on drugs) to assess pupillary abnormalities and investigate their pathophysiological mechanisms. Parkinsonian patients exhibited larger pupil diameter after light adaptation, as well as a reduced amplitude of contraction and a prolonged contraction time at light reflex. The data obtained confirmed the existence in Parkinson's disease of a pupillary imbalance mainly involving the parasympathetic system.

Adaptation, Ocular↗
PubMed1991

Exercise cardiovascular responses to gallopamil in ischemic heart disease.

UNLABELLED: In a single-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial versus diltiazem, we evaluated the influence of gallopamil on cardiovascular responses evoked by bicycle exercise. Twelve patients with chronic stable angina were enrolled. After a 5 days placebo run-in period, patients were randomly assigned either to gallopamil (50 mg thrice daily) or diltiazem (60 mg thrice daily) for 10 days. Then, patients were changed to the alternative drug. After placebo, and at the end of each subsequent period, all subjects underwent right heart catheterization by means of a Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheter. Hemodynamics were determined in 3 ways: supine, standing and during a multistage exercise test. RESULTS: anginal attacks were reduced to a similar degree by gallopamil (2.1 +/- 1/week versus 5.8 +/- 2.8/week during placebo, p less than 0.01) and diltiazem (2.0 +/- 0.8/week versus 5.8 +/- 2.8/week during placebo, P less than 0.01). At rest, gallopamil caused a significant decrease in heart rate and a slight fall in systemic vascular resistance. Cardiac index rose during exercise and was higher with respect to placebo at peak exercise (6.7 vs 5.6 l/min/m2, P less than 0.05). As a consequence, stroke volume index and stroke work index both increased at maximum workload (P less than 0.05). Compared to placebo, exercise time was significantly improved by gallopamil (+50%, P less than 0.02) and diltiazem (+38%, P less than 0.05). Likewise, time to onset of ST-segment depression was prolonged by 70% with gallopamil (P less than 0.01) and by 64% with diltiazem (P less than 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Double blind comparison of lithium and verapamil in cluster headache prophylaxis.

Chronic Cluster Headache (CCH) treatment is troublesome; since there are no pain-free periods, it must be continuous. The most effective CCH prophylactic drug today is lithium carbonate but long-term use of this drug is limited by the possibility of side effects. Recently, calcium antagonists have been successfully employed to prevent migraine, and preliminary studies also indicate that verapamil in particular is an efficacious treatment for CCH. We have conducted a multicenter trial employing a double-dummy, double blind, cross-over protocol, comparing verapamil with the established efficacy of lithium carbonate, in preventing CCH attacks. Both lithium carbonate and verapamil were effective in preventing CCH but verapamil caused fewer side effects and had a shorter latency period. We did not observe any correlation between plasma levels of the two drugs and their clinical efficacy. Both the drugs tested here may exert their effect by restoring a normal inhibitory tone to the pain modulating pathways from the trigemino-vascular system, a circuit putatively implicated in CCH.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[A case of a blue nevus of the palate].

A rare case of palatal blue nevus is reported. Nearly 200 cases of oral melanocytic nevi are reported in the literature, but histological data are often not given. In view of the difficulties encountered in clinical differential diagnosis, above all with reference to malignant melanoma, nevus lesions should be removed from the oral mucosa.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Pupillometry and radioreceptor binding. Semeiologic suggestions in the evaluation of the treatment with anticholinergic drugs.

In this study, a dynamic TV pupillometric system has been used to record the effects of the anticholinergic drug biperidene (Akineton) on pupil responsiveness to various types of stimuli. Plasma levels of the drug were evaluated by means of the radioreceptor binding technique at the same times of pupillometric monitoring. An excellent correlation was found between the effects of biperidene on pupil diameter after light and dark adaptation, light reflex and near vision reaction and the plasma levels of the drug. Radioreceptor binding and dynamic TV pupillometry represent useful tools to evaluate the possible alterations induced by drug therapy on the cholinergic system in man.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Pupil responsiveness in cluster headache: a dynamic TV pupillometric evaluation.

In this study the variations in pupil diameter induced by different stimuli (dark-light adaptation, light reflex, electric stimulation of the sural nerve) were investigated in episodic (in the active or remission phases) and in chronic cluster headache (CH) patients. Pupil size monitoring was performed with a monocular, infrared TV pupillometer, and sural nerve stimuli were applied after the pain threshold had been measured as the flexion reflex threshold of the biceps femoris muscle (RIII reflex). The results were compared with those obtained in patients with "peripheral" (third neuron) Horner's syndrome and in healthy sex- and age-matched controls. On the symptomatic side we found an impairment of pupil response to light flashes and nociceptive stimuli; similar findings were sometimes evident on the pain-free side, too. These results substantiate previous observations that in cluster headache a dysfunction of the integrative central nervous system pathways also exists intercritically and mostly bilaterally, involving both autonomic regulation and pain perception mechanisms.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Autonomic disorders in idiopathic parkinsonism.

Clinical evidences and experimental data on various signs and symptoms of autonomic dysfunction in idiopathic parkinsonism are reported and their characteristics related to the effects of the drugs usually administered for the therapy of the extrapyramidal symptoms. The use of instrumental diagnostic criteria may sometimes help to detect alterations of autonomic functions (micturition disturbances, disorders of pupil reactivity, orthostatic and postprandial hypotension, temperature dysregulation), otherwise not easily identifiable. The existence of a large involvement of autonomic structures both at central and peripheral levels underlines the concept of Parkinson's disease being part of a wide spectrum of degenerative disorders where multiple nervous structures are at risk.

Antiparkinson Agents↗
PubMed1984

Flunarizine: a wide spectrum prophylactic for migraine headache.

The effects of flunarizine in migraine headache were investigated in 40 patients treated with single 10 mg evening doses for 16 weeks. Standard criteria were adopted for patient admission and for the monitoring of clinical (headache index, consumption of analgesics, side-effects) and laboratory variables (platelet aggregation and red cells filterability). Significant positive effects were found in 31/40 cases irrespective of the clinical course of the disease (i.e., recurrent attacks or more or less chronic forms). Some baseline characteristics of the patients are discussed on the basis of the therapeutic response.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate, procarbazine (CAMP) in 64 consecutive patients with epidermoid bronchogenic carcinoma, limited disease: a prospective study.

Sixty-four consecutive patients with inoperable epidermoid bronchogenic carcinoma (limited disease) were treated with radiotherapy to the primary and nodal areas and combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate and procarbazine. The overall response rate (CR + PR) to combined treatment was 62%. The median survival time was 12.7 months. The toxicity was acceptable and no treatment-related death occurred.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Genetic heterogeneity among Lactobacillus acidophilus strains.

Physiological characteristics, DNA base composition (% GC) and DNA-DNA reassociation values were determined for 138 Lactobacillus acidophilus strains. Twenty seven strains were received from various culture collections and 111 strains were freshly isolated during a study on the composition of the intestinal lactic microflora of piglets and suckling calves. All strains had physiological characteristics which were substantially similar. The strains isolated from pigs were unable to ferment trehalose. The % GC ranged from 35.8 to 43.4. On the basis of the results of DNA-DNA hybridization the strains were divided into four genetic groups.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Experiences with cytodiagnosis of laryngeal pathology].

The advantages and limitations of exfoliative cytology in laryngeal pathology is evaluated and a comparison is made between cytological and histological diagnosis in 110 patients. By adding the absolute agreement to that of relative discordance one obtains a 90% confirmation of the validity of cytology although this in no way diminishes the 10% absolute discordance. Cytology is not, therefore, an absolute tool in diagnosis although it does offer a support, rounding out the patient's overall clinical picture. Finally, the authors attest to the usefulness of cytology, particularly in cases of chronic inflammatory processes (where cytological and histological findings are in good agreement). Laryngeal cytology is a non invasive clinical instrument which gives more data than obtained with case history or laryngoscopy. Furthermore, it can direct diagnosis and, above all, limit the use of more invasive tests (such as biopsy).

Adult↗