Biomedical subjects

M Nicoletti

Publications and source records attributed to M Nicoletti.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

MRI study of posterior fossa structures and brain ventricles in bipolar patients.

Previous brain imaging studies have suggested anatomical abnormalities in posterior fossa structures and brain ventricles in bipolar patients. Such abnormalities could possibly be implicated in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. Twenty-two DSM-IV bipolar outpatients (mean age+/-S.D.=36+/-10 years) and 22 healthy controls (mean age+/-S.D.=38+/-10 years) underwent an 1.5T MRI (3D-gradient echo-imaging SPGR), performed in the coronal plane (TR=25 ms, TE=5 ms, slice thickness=1.5 mm). The brain structures of interest were traced blindly with a semi-automated software. No significant differences were found between bipolar patients and healthy controls for any posterior fossa measures, or for measures of third or lateral ventricles (MANOVA, age covariate, P>0.05). Age was directly correlated with 3rd ventricle volumes in bipolar patients (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.458, P=0.032), but not in healthy controls (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.313, P=0.155). There was a significant direct correlation between the number of prior illness episodes and right lateral ventricle volumes (Partial correlation coefficient=0.658, P=0.011). Familial patients had smaller left and right cerebellar hemispheres and total vermis volumes, and larger left lateral ventricle volumes compared with non-familial ones (MANOVA, age covariate, P<0.05). In this preliminary study, we were not able to replicate previous findings of abnormalities in cerebellum or brain ventricles in bipolar individuals. However, there were suggestions that abnormalities in cerebellum, vermis, and lateral ventricle sizes may be present in familial cases of the disorder, which should be further examined in future studies with larger patient samples.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Flavonoids and alkaloids from Strychnos pseudoquina.

From the leaves of Strychnos pseudoquina (Loganiaceae), isorhamnetin (1) and a new biflavone (2) named strychnobiflavone were isolated together with the alkaloids diaboline and 11-methoxydiaboline.

Alkaloids↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of Borrelia Burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies and of the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in the area of Monti Lepini, Italy.

Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods that are parasites in every class of vertebrates in most regions of the world. They are also considered to be important vectors for the transmission of human infectious diseases. In the present study we used polymer chain reaction (PCR) amplification analysis to determine the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi and Ehrlichia phagocytophila, the agents of, respectively, Lyme borreliosis and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, among ticks inhabiting the area of Monti Lepini, a wild area located in the Latium Region of Italy. A total of 141 I. ricinus ticks (125 nymphs and 16 adults) were collected in the studied area. Total DNAs were extracted from I. ricinus nymphs (pooled in groups of five) and from individual adults. The DNA samples were examined for the presence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato and E. phagocytophila by PCR using two specific pairs of oligonucleotides that specifically amplify distinct DNA regions of the 16S rRNA genes of the two species. The prevalence of vectors infected with B. burgdorferi s. l. was 16% in pooled nymphs samples, and 12.5% in adult ticks, while E. phagocytophila was found only in pooled nymphs samples (8%). Three genomospecies were identified, namely Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, and Borrelia valaisiana, in samples found positive for B. burgdorferi s. l. No sample was found positive for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a clinical and serological 1-year follow-up.

The role of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in pathogenesis and prognostic stratification of patients with acute coronary syndromes is still unclear. However, a limitation of many studies is the evaluation of the long-term prognostic role of a sample obtained during the acute phase, whereas the assessment of the temporal trend of antibody titers could be more useful. One-hundred and fourteen consecutive patients with acute coronary syndromes (71 with acute myocardial infarction and 43 with unstable angina) were studied. Blood samples were obtained immediately after hospital admission and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the acute event. The microimmunofluorescence test was used to detect C. pneumoniae specific antibodies. The incidence of new coronary events (death, myocardial infarction, recurrent angina) was recorded during the 1-year follow-up period. No significant difference was found between patients with (n = 35) or without (n = 79) new coronary events (N.C.E.) regarding baseline and serial values of C. pneumoniae antibodies. The rate of high titers at any time of follow-up was also similar in the two groups: IgG > or =1:512 were present in 52%, 64%, 55% and 32% of N.C.E.+ patients, and in 48%, 54%, 52% and 36% of N.C.E.- patients at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months respectively; IgA > or =1:256 were present in 26%, 23%, 30% and 23% of N.C.E.+ patients and in 20%, 30%, 25% and 19% of N.C.E.- patients at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months respectively. Our data indicate that elevated titers of C. pneumoniae antibodies, even with a serial 1-year evaluation, are not a predictor of future coronary events in patients with acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina.

Angina, Unstable↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerotic coronary arteries.

Chlamydia pneumoniae has recently been associated with the development of coronary heart diseases by sero-epidemiological studies and by direct detection of the organism in atherosclerotic tissues. The aim of our study was to employ a semi-nested PCR approach to investigate the presence of C. pneumoniae in both normal and atherosclerotic coronary arteries of humans obtained at autopsy. Moreover, we have evaluated the role of infection with C. pneumoniae in relation to the extent of coronary atherosclerosis. One hundred and eighty coronary artery specimens were collected at autopsy from 60 consecutive subjects (three arterial segments from each subject). Atherosclerosis in each arterial segment was graded histologically by the Stary classification. Thirty normal coronary arteries were also taken at autopsy as control. PCR results evidenced the presence of C. pneumoniae DNA in atherosclerotic coronary arteries in 19 (31.7%) of 60 subjects examined, while none of the 30 subjects with non-atherosclerotic tissues was positive (p=0.001). Moreover, of the 180 atherosclerotic specimens examined, C. pneumoniae DNA was detected in 3.4% (2/59) of mild atherosclerotic lesions, and in 14.0% (17/121) of advanced atherosclerotic lesions (p=0.05). Our results demonstrate that the presence of C. pneumoniae DNA may be associated with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Involvement of bovine lactoferrin moieties in the inhibition of herpes simplex virus type 1 infection.

Bovine lactoferrin (BLf) is an iron binding protein folded in two lobes, N- and C-lobes. In this study we have reported the inhibitory activity towards herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro infection of BLf tryptic digested N- and C-lobes in comparison with the whole protein. The N-lobe and C-lobe exerted an anti-herpesvirus activity 50- and 10-fold lower than native BLf, respectively. In order to assess the phase of viral replication affected, lactoferrin-derived lobes were added to the cells at different non cytotoxic concentrations, during the whole cycle of viral infection or during viral attachment step, demonstrating that both lobes interfered with the early phases of infection. Among the BLf tryptic digested fragments, two negatively-charged small peptides deriving from N-lobe, previously shown effective towards HSV-1, have been further studied. We assessed that the net negative charge of these peptides was not responsible for the antiviral activity since their activity was not modified when the aspartic and glutamic acidic residues of these peptides were replaced with asparagine and glutamine, respectively. The experiments here reported confirm a pivotal role of N-lobe in inhibiting viral infection. However, the residual inhibiting activity of C-lobe and the similar efficacy shown by negatively or positively charged peptides strongly support the idea that the antiviral activity of bovine lactoferrin cannot be fully explained simply on the basis of competition between the protein and viral recognition sites for binding to glycosaminoglycans.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Urinary tract infection in an ambulatory population: epidemiological analysis of the etiology and antibiotic resistance of isolated gram-negative strains].

15,892 urinocultures belonging to out-patients admitted to Chieti ULSS 04, from January '85 to December '89 were studied. Among the examined samples, the positive urinocultures were 4255 (26.8%) with a prevalence in the female sex (78.6%). During the year E. coli was the most frequently identified organism (55.8%) without significant changes. 25.7% was the isolation percentage of Morganella-Proteus-Providencia (MPP). In order to plan a right antibiotic-therapy the resistance of isolates to 19 chemo-antibiotics, during five years, was evaluated and compared.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied