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Biomedical subjects

M Pazzaglia

Publications and source records attributed to M Pazzaglia.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Brittle nails.

Nail brittleness is a common complaint characterized by weak inelastic nails that split, flake and crumble. It may be a consequence of factors that alter nail plate production and/or factors that damage the already keratinised nail plate. It is often idiopathic. It can also be caused by many dermatological and systemic diseases, nutritional deficiencies, drugs and traumas. Environmental and occupational factors that produce progressive dehydration of the nail plate have an important role in nail brittleness. Treatment of brittle nails is often difficult. Preventative measures, together with oral supplementation of vitamins (especially biotin), oligo-elements and amino acids, can be useful in improving nail strength. Cosmetic treatment affords camouflage and a degree of protection.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Lycopenaemia.

Over the last few years, carotenoids have been studied extensively for their antioxidant activity and the supposed protective effects against cancer, in particular those of the digestive tract. Consumption of carotenoids as anti-ageing agents is also widely diffuse. Moreover, the diffusion of slimming and vegetarian diets, and thus the consumption of fruit and vegetables, which contain large amount of carotenoids, is increasing. On the other hand, the excessive dietary intake of carotenoid-containing foods may cause different afflictions characterized by a 'yellow-orange' discoloration of the skin. One of these carotenoids, the lycopene, present in high concentrations in tomatoes, may cause a rare cutaneous disease called lycopenaemia.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1999

Acquired progressive kinking of the hair: clinical features, pathological study, and follow-up of 7 patients.

BACKGROUND: Acquired progressive kinking of the hair (APKH) is a relatively rare condition, with fewer than 20 cases reported in the literature. Whether APKH is a separate entity or a variety of androgenetic alopecia is still controversial. This study reviews the clinical and pathological features and long-term follow-up of 7 patients with APKH. OBSERVATIONS: Since January 1989, we have diagnosed APKH in 7 males aged 15 to 22 years. All patients had strong family history for androgenetic alopecia. Hair kinking affected the frontotemporal region and/or the vertex where the hair appeared curly, frizzy, and lusterless. The pathological features of the affected scalp were consistent with the diagnosis of the early stages of androgenetic alopecia. In all patients, APKH evolved into androgenetic alopecia during the follow-up period. Mean follow-up was 4.5 years (range, 2-9 years). Treatment with topical minoxidil did not prevent development of hair thinning in the scalp areas affected by hair kinking. CONCLUSIONS: The term acquired progressive kinking of the hair encompasses a number of conditions characterized by acquired curling of the scalp hair. Acquired hair kinking on the androgen-dependent areas of the scalp represents a modality of onset of androgenetic alopecia associated with poor prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Systemically circulating oxidative species in human deep venous thrombosis.

To investigate the hypothesis that plasmatic changes of lipoperoxidative markers are associated with deep venous thrombosis (DVT), peripheral venous blood samples were obtained from 10 patients with venographically proven DVT before starting anticoagulant therapy, and 36+/-3 and 60+/-3 hours later. Values of myeloperoxidase (MPO), 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were compared with those of 10 age-matched control subjects. Despite individual variations, mean plasma MPO level was higher in the DVT group (p < 0.01), as were average plasma MDA (p < 0.001) and HNE (p < 0.01) levels. Separate analysis of the DVT cases showed that higher values of MDA, HNE and MPO were found in patients with either co-morbid diseases or clinically silent pulmonary embolism (PE). Good evidence exists for considering DVT a condition associated with an apparently excessive free radical production not buffered by efficient defence systems. A role of DVT itself cannot be excluded, but PE or other co-morbid diseases may participate in the oxidative stress. If confirmed in a larger series of patients, these findings could shed new light on the plasmatic changes associated with the propagation and complications of DVT, which in turn could have therapeutic implications.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Deep venous thrombosis. Evaluation of a non-invasive diagnostic procedure based on compression ultrasonography and measurement of D-dimer plasma levels].

BACKGROUND: Clinical diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the leg is unreliable. An accurate diagnosis is important for therapeutic decision since anticoagulant treatment, though potentially dangerous, is useless in case of a false positive diagnosis, whereas a false negative diagnosis may lead to withdrawal of an extremely necessary anticoagulation. Contrast venography is still recognized as the gold standard method for the diagnosis of DVT, but in recent years a variety of accurate non-invasive methods has been developed. The ultrasound compression sonography (CUS) is considered a simple non invasive test highly sensitive and specific for proximal DVT in symptomatic outpatients, though non adequately sensitive and specific for isolated calf DVT. Plasma D-dimer levels (DD, fibrin degradation products) have a high negative predictive value for DVT. The aim of this study, performed in outpatients with suspected leg DVT, was to validate, versus venography, a non-invasive, easy to perform and fast diagnostic procedure based on a combination of CUS and D-dimer test. End points of the procedure were: confirmation or exclusion of proximal DVT; suspicion of isolated calf DVT in which case the test would be repeated in a few days to detect any possible proximalization of thrombosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-eight consecutive outpatients, 37 male, with clinically suspected first episode of leg DVT were eligible and examined with CUS, DD test and venography. RESULTS: The results showed that the diagnostic procedure under examination has a high sensibility and specificity for DVT. CONCLUSIONS: It can thus be recommended as routine diagnostic procedure in symptomatic outpatients with suspected DVT reserving venography special cases only.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗