Biomedical subjects

M Vincenti

Publications and source records attributed to M Vincenti.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1987

Malaria on the Thai-Burmese border: treatment of 5192 patients with mefloquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine.

Multidrug-resistant falciparum malaria is a major health problem along the Thai-Burmese border. From July 1985 until December 1986 a total of 5192 patients with falciparum malaria (1734 males, 3458 females) from this area were given supervised treatment with the combination mefloquine-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (MSP). The radical cure rate, assessed 21 days after drug administration, was 98.4% for the first 1975 patients, and 98.8% when assessed at 28 days for the remaining 3217 patients. In 3.8% of cases, parasites were still detected in peripheral blood smears on day 7 after treatment but this had fallen to 0.27% by day 9. Adverse reactions among the first 1975 patients were: vertigo (7.5% of patients), vomiting (5.8%), epigastric pain (0.6%), and transient confusional state (one case). MSP is an effective and well-tolerated drug for the treatment of drug-resistant falciparum malaria; however, delayed parasite clearance may give a false impression of RII resistance.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Identification of polydimethylsiloxane lubricant traces from latex condoms in cases of sexual assault.

A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) liquid is used as a lubricant by many condom manufacturers. Because the use of condoms in sex crimes is likely to increase, a protocol was developed that could extract PDMS and the spermicide nonoxynol-9 from evidence items and separately identify them by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Additionally, at least some discrimination was provided by microscopically identifying insoluble lubricants such as corn starch, lycopodium, silica, and talc which are added to some brands. Desorption chemical ionization mass spectrometry was used to compare the PDMS used by different manufacturers and to detect as little as 20 ng. The protocol was successfully used in two actual cases, one in which the assailant wore a lubricated condom, and a second in which he did not, but claimed to have done so.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Endoductal tissue sampling of biliary strictures through endoscopic retrograde cholangiopan creatography (ERCP).

AIM AND BACKGROUND: Pathological proof of malignant in biliary strictures is useful in the preoperative setting as it helps define therapeutic planning and prognosis, and reduces the length of the subsequent surgical intervention. However, it is difficult to obtain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield of histological and cytological examination of endobiliary samples obtained during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). METHODS: Endobiliary forceps biopsy and brush cytology were performed during ERCP examination in 52 consecutive patients, 36 with malignant and 16 with benign strictures. RESULTS: Histology and cytology turned out to have the same sensitivity (53%). The gain in sensitivity achieved by combining the two techniques was limited, reaching a value of 61%. The specificity, however, was 100% for both methods. Most of the few complications observed were due to sphincterotomy and subsided spontaneously or with medical treatment. However, one patient experienced a serous complication and chose to be treated by surgical intervention. The complication was caused by forceps biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that 1) sampling of biliary strictures during ERCP is the primary approach to tissue diagnosis; 2) brush cytology alone is sufficient in clinical practice; 3) forceps biopsy must always be used to sample intra-ampullary strictures but should be considered as a secondary step to sample strictures located more proximally, in the bile ducta, if previous cytology was negative.

Biliary Tract↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Development and in vivo assessment of a transdermal system for physostigmine.

A copolymer was developed as a transdermal (TD) system for physostigmine. The loading was carried out with a solution of physostigmine (PHY) base (20 mg/ml) in water/ethanol: 80/20 (v/v) at 40 degrees C for 3 h. The PHY load was 5.3 mg/cm2 (n = 3). Desorption carried out in vitro showed that 70% was desorbed during the first 6 h. More than 50% of the PHY was degraded within 45 min in skin homogenate. The TD was tested in vivo in rabbits during a 24 h experiment. PHY was quantified using a validated HPLC method. AUC0-24 h was 245.2 +/- 337.2 h.ng/ml. The mean pad flux reached 4.6 +/- 6.3 micrograms/cm2 from 0 to 24 h and, 24 h after the application of the pad, 110 micrograms/cm2 of PHY had been passed through the skin. After removed of the patch, plasma concentrations first increased from 15.8 +/- 28.6 ng/ml (at 24 h) to 21.4 +/- 36.7 ng/ml, then decreased with an elimination half-life of 0.7 +/- 0.2 h. AChE inhibition percentages increased from 6.5 +/- 2.3% to 16.0 +/- 27.7%. In vitro and in vivo studies in rabbit have shown that this system is suitable for further investigations in order to obtain a possible carrier for PHY therapy.

Administration, Topical↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Sucralfate in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced stomatitis: a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised pilot study to assess the efficacy of sucralfate gel in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced mucositis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: At the onset of stomatitis, forty patients received sucralfate gel (1 gr.) or placebo and were instructed to apply the gel over oral mucosas, 3 times daily. RESULTS: Objective response was observed in 14 patients (11 complete response+3 partial response) and in 15 patients (10 CR+5 PR), in the sucralfate and placebo arms, respectively; (p = NS). Analysis of VAS (visual analogue scale) scoring of pain did not detect any statistical difference between the two groups. No important side-effects were observed. Twelve out 21 patients who obtained a complete resolution of stomatitis (5 out of 11 and 7 out of 10 in the sucralfate and in placebo arms, respectively) received further treatment at the subsequent course of chemotherapy; prevention of mucositis was observed in 4 patients in the sucralfate arm and in 6 patients in the placebo arm, respectively. CONCLUSION: In the present pilot study, sucralfate did not demonstrate a significant advantage in comparison to the placebo in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced stomatitis.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Activity of high dose 24 hour 5-fluorouracil infusion plus L-leucovorin in advanced colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Modulation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by leucovorin (L-LV) in patients (pts) with advanced colorectal cancer has been demonstrated to produce a highly significant benefit over single-agent 5-FU in terms of tumor response rate, but this advantage does not translate into an evident improvement of overall survival. To improve the clinical efficacy of the 5-FU plus L-LV regimen a phase II study of weekly 24-hour high-dose 5-FU infusion with L-LV was undertaken. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy advanced colorectal patients were enrolled and treated by a weekly outpatient combination regimen according to the following schedule: L-LV 100 mg/sqm by 4 hours i.v. infusion followed by 5-FU 2600 mg/sqm over a 24 hours infusion combined with a fixed dose of oral L-LV (50 mg) every 4 hours for 5 times. Forty-four pts did not receive any previous CT and 26 pts were pretreated with fluoropyrimidines. RESULTS: The overall objective response rate (OR) was 35.3%; 7 CR and 11 PR (42.8% OR) were observed in the group of untreated pts, and 6 PR (23% OR) were reported among previously treated pts. Major side effects were represented by diarrhoea (grade III: 26%, grade IV: 1%), hand-foot syndrome (grade III: 4%, grade IV: 1%) and mucositis (grade III: 4%); however, this did not significantly influence the therapeutic programme. Median 5-FU dose intensity was 100% and 80% at 4 weeks, 87% and 75% at 8 weeks in untreated and pretreated pts, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: L-Leucovorin modulation of weekly short-term continuous infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil appeared a well-tolerated outpatient regimen; it demonstrated a high activity in advanced colorectal cancer, both in untreated pts and in pts resistant to 5-FU-based chemotherapy.

Adult↗