PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Romeo

Publications and source records attributed to M Romeo.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Ketanserin (S2-receptor blocking agents), hypertension and chronic alcoholism.

Ketanserin is a pure antagonist of serotonin S2-receptors, in blood vessels, platelets and bronchial tissue. Ketanserin has been suggested as hypotensive drug in man, but it shows as well a specific activity on platelet aggregation. An increased incidence of hypertension, of unknown origin, has been found in patients with chronic alcoholism: hypotheses have been made upon an increased incretion of catecholamines and a greater sensitivity of blood vessels' receptors to their action. The data from the present study of eleven patients show that these subjects had an increased platelet activity and ketanserin administration was effective in allowing both the blood pressure levels and platelet activity to resume their normal range. This drug is thus suggested, for its pharmacological properties, as an elective medication for hypertensive patients with chronic alcoholism.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Inability of caliper measurement to enhance observer agreement in the interpretation of coronary cineangiograms.

Important clinical decisions are made on the basis of the interpretation of the degree of stenosis in the coronary cineangiogram. Thus, minimization of observer variation (both intra and inter) is crucial. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if measurement of stenotic lesions by caliper (CM) as compared with the usual eyeball method (EM) would reduce observer variation. Five observers, using the AHA scoring system, estimated maximal luminal narrowing in 14 segments on 10 films providing 2 reports on each film by EM and 2 by CM, thus making observations on 2800 segments. This allowed analysis of intraobserver variation for each reporter for method EM and CM, and for interobserver variation by each method. Since chance agreement is an important component in an observational study, a correction for this was made using the Kappa statistic. The results revealed that the mean Kappa by EM was 0.71 compared to 0.63 by CM (1 being perfect agreement and 0 no agreement). Agreement was much greater in proximal rather than distal segments. Interobserver agreement was consistently higher by EM K = 0.62 than CM K = 0.53 (p = 0.0007). A delineation of the types of disagreement and their clinical significance are important considerations in the evaluation of observer variation. It is concluded that the use of a caliper does not enhance either intra or interobserver agreement.

Cineangiography↗
PubMed1984

[Systolic ejection murmur in the differential diagnosis of isolated aortic insufficiency and its association with stenosis].

As assessment of the value of systolic ejection murmur in the differentiation of valvular insufficiency with and without stenosis was carried out by means of ECG, polycardiography and M-mode echocardiography in 60 patients with aortic valve disease divided into 35 subjects with and 25 without stenosis. Attention was directed to the configuration of the murmur, with particular reference to the proto-, meso- or telesystolic location of its acme and the Q-acme distance. It was found that the acme was meso or telesystolic in all cases where stenosis was present, whereas it was proto- or very initially mesosystolic in its absence.

Aortic Valve Insufficiency↗
PubMed1980

[Esterification of cholesterol in patients with renal transplants. Determination of lecithin:cholesterol-acyl-transferase (LCAT) activity].

In man, cholesterol esterification is controlled by lecithin:cholesterol-acyl-transferase (LCAT), which is a key-role enzyme of lipid metabolism. Though LCAT is synthesized by the hepatocytes, its activity seems to be linked to the kidney: in fact, LCAT activity is lowered in uremic and anephric subjects, and probably also in long-term haemodialysis patients. On the contrary, in successfull renal allografts we found fully restored LCAT activity. But physiopathological mechanisms underlying relationships between LCAT and kidney are still unclarified.

Cholesterol↗
PubMed1978

[Chromatographic fractionation of cholesterol esters in Morgagni's hepatic cirrhosis. Preliminary note].

The behaviour of plasma cholesteryl esters has been investigated in patients with liver cirrhosis (so-called Laennec's cirrhosis). Both absolute and percentage values of esters containing di-, tri- and tetra-unsaturated fatty acids were decreased below the normal range; however, the various esters groups showed unequal decrement rates. These findings may be the result of a low lecithin: cholesterol-acyltransferase (LCAT) activity, due either to depression of the enzyme syntesis in the liver, or to inadequate substrate supply (possibly related with an impaired fatty acid production and lecithin synthesis). A decrease of all ester fractions, or a selective one, could also be induced by the releasing of abnormal hydrolases from damaged liver tissues.

Chemical Fractionation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical and microscopical features of small-intestinal microsporidiosis in patients with AIDS.

Intestinal microsporidiosis by Enterocytozoon bieneusi is an increasingly recognized infection in AIDS patients. We report eight cases of microsporidiosis. All patients were severely immunodepressed. Clinical features were highly variable. Patients were followed up for a mean period of 7.8 months. All patients had persistent infection during the follow-up and spore excretion remained constant. Two patients became asymptomatic during the follow-up. None of the patients presented clinical and echographic signs of biliary involvement. Treatment with albendazole, metronidazole or paromomycin failed to produce a durable clinical response or to eradicate the organism. Cases were identified by stool examination and additionally investigated with light and electron microscopy. It was found that light microscopy was a sensitive method, while electron microscopy was less sensitive but allowed the definition of the infecting species. The modified trichrome stain was a satisfactory method for diagnosis on fecal smears. The calcofluor stain and the combination of DAPI with calcofluor was a rapid and simple staining method for screening.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of the Pathfinder in a cytology laboratory.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of Pathfinder (CompuCyte, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) in improving adequacy and accuracy of screening and supporting quality control programs. STUDY DESIGN: The investigations were carried out on cervical cytologic smears only. Screening adequacy was assessed through the evaluation of percentage of slide coverage, percentage of overlapping and amount of elapsed time on smears screened with or without the Pathfinder by junior (426 cases) and senior (1,552 cases) screeners. Screening accuracy was investigated by comparing the performances of the same observer when reexamining, with the Pathfinder, a series of 1,051 cases already evaluated without the Pathfinder at least three months earlier. The review process was analyzed by both monitoring the elapsed time for relocation of manually or electronically marked cells (824 fields in 80 smears) and by comparing diagnostic discrepancies after the review of two series (74 + 74 cases) of randomly selected negative cases screened with or without Pathfinder. RESULTS: Pathfinder-assisted screening increased the number of cases with optimal slide coverage (> or = 90% of screenable area) and optimal overlapping (between 15% and 20%) by both junior (P < .00001 and P < .00001) and senior (P < .00001 and P < .0003) screeners. It also improved screening accuracy by decreasing the number of cases "unsatisfactory for evaluation" (P < .00001) (as a consequence of better coverage and overlapping) and the number of diagnostic discrepancies detected after review (P = .05). During the latter process, the time elapsed for relocation of electronically marked fields, as compared to manually marked ones, was greatly reduced (1 hour, 25 minutes saved for revision of 40 smears). CONCLUSION: In these preliminary studies, the Pathfinder was a useful tool for both education and diagnosis (screening and review) in a cytology laboratory.

Automation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Chronic obstructive bronchopneumopathy and ectodermal dysplasia].

A boy, 5 year aged, admitted in intensive therapy room because affected by respiratory insufficiency, is reported. Recurrent lower respiratory tract infections and three surgical operation in the lacrimal ducts were present in the anamnesis. Clinical and radiologic features of chronic obstructive pneumonia were present. Hypotrichosis, onychodystrophy, microdontia, associated with absence of muciparous glands and greatly reduced muciparous cells of respiratory tract, were other findings.

Bronchi↗