PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Pastore

Publications and source records attributed to M Pastore.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Immunodeficiency and plasma zinc levels in children with Down's syndrome: a long-term follow-up of oral zinc supplementation.

To evaluate the possible effect of zinc treatment on immune disorders in children with Down's syndrome (DS), 38 noninstitutionalized DS children were investigated. Twenty-four patients (63.2%) had plasmatic zinc levels lower than 0.70 microgram/dl ("hypozinkemic," LZn) and 14 patients (36.8%) had levels higher than 0.75 microgram/dl ("normozinkemic," NZn). No correlation was found between the zinc deficiency and recurrence and/or intensity of infections. The absolute numbers of peripheral lymphocytes, the percentages of B lymphocytes, total T cells, and serum IgG, IgA, and IgM levels did not differ between the DS children and the controls. Eight (21%) patients had CD4+ T cell counts below the lowest value for the controls. Seventeen (44%) DS patients had increased levels of CD8+ T cells. The mean percentage of Leu 7+ cells in DS subjects (22.8 +/- 12.9%) was significantly higher than that in controls (15.8 +/- 4.8%) (P less than 0.01). Notably, Ig levels and numbers of lymphocytes in each subset did not show any significant difference in NZn and LZn trisomic subjects. On the contrary the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from LZn DS children showed a significantly lower proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (S.I. = 23.4 +/- 22.4) than that of PBMCs from NZn DS children (S.I. = 46.1 +/- 21.5, P less than 0.01). A significant increase in DNA synthesis was obtained after oral administration of zinc sulfate (20 mg/kg/day, for 2 months). The lymphocyte response to PHA appeared to be normal in all patients up to 6 months after the end of the zinc treatment and it became low in half of the patients 22 months after therapy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1990

Intravenous immunoglobulin in Diamond-Blackfan anaemia.

Since immunological disorders have been demonstrated in patients with Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA), intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) were administered to a 14-year-old girl with DBA and congenital malformations, previously treated with corticosteroids and blood transfusions. No therapeutic effect was observed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

[Reactions caused by Hymenoptera: a first aid problem].

The incidence of reactions to insect bites both local (erythema, pemphigus, oedema, itching) and systemic (urticaria, angioedema, anaphylactic shock) in Borgomanero (NO) National Health Clinic 54 was assessed. The high incidence of medical treatments for this pathology encountered reflects the fact that in the summer and in a rural area a great many people are exposed to this type of emergency. The importance of careful diagnosis (anamnesis, skin allergy tests, RAST is emphasised as a means of identifying cases at allergic risk and providing the appropriate immunotherapy.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

[Study of hypophyseal and gonadal hormones and cases of postmenopausal occurrence of bronchial asthma].

A study was conducted into the hormone profile of women with no previous history of allergy who developed bronchial asthma after menopause in order to discover any differences between these and patients of a similar age with allergic bronchial asthma. The serum levels of the following hypophyseal and gonadal hormones were therefore analysed: luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), 17 oestradiol (17BE2) in both groups of patients and in a control group of healthy postmenopausal volunteers. The results showed lower FSH and LH and higher 17B7(2) levels in the patients with bronchial asthma but no clinical history of allergy than in either the patients with allergic asthma or the healthy volunteers. When the hormone picture in some of the group 1 patients normalised, the clinical symptoms disappeared. One possible explanation is the following: excess oestrogen in the "non-allergy" patients might have caused an imbalance in the PgF/PgE ratio which is thought to contribute to the regulation of bronchomotor tone. The same phenomena might also have accelerated the release of arachidonic acid and its metabolites.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alpha-fetoprotein and acute viral hepatitis type B.

Variations in AFP values in 5 subjects with acute viral hepatitis type B have been studied and also compared with other hepatic enzymes, bilirubin, hepatic markers by means of a seriated drawing of blood. The Authors have stressed the importance of AFP monitoring in hepatics, in order to evaluate a postnecrotic regeneration of the hepatic parenchyma.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Correlation between RIA-EIA-ELISA methods for alpha-fetoprotein research.

To-day, the possibility of researching alpha-fetoprotein is given not only by the RIA method but also some immunoenzymatic methods. The Authors have compared three types of methods: RIA, EIA and ELISA, and have also studied the correlation coefficient in 30 samples. Method in solid phase (coated-tubes) and mouse monoclonal antibodies are used for the radioimmunologic method. The ELISA method utilizes two monoclonal antibodies: the former is coated to the walls of the test tubes (mouse monoclonal antibodies) and the latter is labelled with bovine alkaline phosphatase. The EIA methods is a solid phase enzyme immunoassay based on the sandwich principle. It consists of beads coated of goat antibodies and goat anti-AFP antibodies conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. The correlation coefficient is: RIA-ELISA = r 0.95; RIA-EIA = r 0.93; EIA-ELISA = r 0.96. The correlation coefficient from both the RIA method (taken as a reference) and the immunoenzymatic methods is good, so that the passage from RIA to enzymatic methods is possible without problems of under or above dosage of alpha-fetoprotein values.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chemotherapy and tumoral markers in ovarian carcinoma.

Variations in tumoral markers (CA 125, CEA, AFP) in women with primary epithelial invasive ovarian cancer, after surgical operation for hysterectomy and chemotherapeutic treatment have been studied. The Authors stress the importance of alpha-fetoprotein monitoring in these women in order to evaluate a cytotoxic effect of the drugs used for the chemiotherapy on liver tissue.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Early diagnosis of sepsis in the preterm neonate].

The usefulness of the neutrophil blood cell count, the ratio of band forms to total neutrophils, the platelet count, the quantitative determination of serum IgM, C-reactive protein, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein and haptoglobin for the early identification of the serious neonatal infections was evaluated in 70 preterm newborns: 15 with sepsis, 2 with serious infections, 53 without infections. None of these tests has proved sensitive and predictive enough to be used as a single measure. The combination of 2 or more of them had improve the sensitivity (76.4%) and the predictive value of negative test (91.6%). The authors suggest that the greatest potential value of the tests is to exclude infections, with a more than 90% probability, if they are negative.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Neonatal sepsis and perinatal risk factors].

Numerous studies have identified perinatal risk factors of neonatal sepsis. Some authors have attempted to develop a score system and have shown that babies with septicemia usually had a significantly higher score than healthy newborns and infants with other diseases. The aim of our study is to verify the validity of a scoring method based on the following items: maternal disease; e.g. diabetes, severe toxemia, infection; rupture of the membranes more than 24 hours before the delivery; foul-smelling amniotic fluid; complicated delivery; Apgar score less than 7; umbilical catheterization; respiratory distress and other neonatal diagnoses leading to operative procedures. We have evaluated four groups of babies, full-term AGA and SGA and preterm AGA and SGA, 84 with septicemia, 105 with other diseases and 210 healthy newborn infants. None of the perinatal risk factors or neonatal diseases was sufficiently predictive of neonatal septicemia. Only the incidence of umbilical catheterization was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in preterm AGA (37.1%) and SGA (64.7%) babies with septicemia than in preterm healthy AGA (2.8%) and SGA (7.7%) babies; on the contrary, no statistical differences were found between preterm AGA (37.1%) and SGA (64.7%) infants with septicemia and preterm AGA (42.8%) and SGA (66.6%) infants with other neonatal diseases. A score of 1 was assigned for each of the considered items. In the full-term infants a score of 1 or less was found in 100% of the healthy infants. A score of 2-3 was found in 26% of the septicemic infants and in 42% of the infants with other diseases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Birth Weight↗