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N Coppola

Publications and source records attributed to N Coppola.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Can HCV affect the efficacy of anti-HIV treatment?

To evaluate the impact of new antiretroviral combinations (HAART: Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy) on HCV replication and liver enzyme levels, we analysed the changes in HCV viremia and aminotransferase levels in HIV and HCV co-infected patients. Moreover, to evaluate the influence of HCV infection on the efficacy of HAART, we compared the virological, immunological and biochemical response to antiretroviral combinations in anti-HIV positive subjects with or without HCV infection. We enrolled eight consecutive outpatients with HIV-HCV coinfection and with indications for HAART (Group A). For each patient in group A, we selected an anti-HIV negative patient with indications for HAART, pair-matched for age, sex, risk factor for HIV infection, presumed duration of infection, number of CD4 cells, HIV viremia and treatment schedule (Group B). A statistically significant increase in CD4 in both groups was found at 1st, 3rd and 6th month of antiretroviral therapy. A decrease in HIV-RNA in both groups was observed at 1st and 6th month of treatment. The percentage of patients with undetectable HIV-RNA at the 1st month was higher in Group B than in Group A (8/8 vs. 3/8, p = 0.025). Basal HCV-RNA viremia was very high in each case and no variations during treatment were observed. During therapy the aminotransferase levels slightly decreased in Group A and consistently increased in Group B. In Group A the differences were not significant to the statistical analysis; in Group B the aminotransferase levels at 3rd and 6th month were significantly higher than those observed at the baseline.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Virologic and clinical expressions of reciprocal inhibitory effect of hepatitis B, C, and delta viruses in patients with chronic hepatitis.

We studied 648 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)- and/or anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive patients to evaluate the virologic and clinical characteristics of multiple hepatitis viral infection. We defined as Case B-C an HBsAg/anti-HCV positive patient and as Case b-C an anti-HCV/anti-HBc-positive, HBsAg/anti-HBs-negative patient. For each Case B-C we scheduled as Control-B an HBsAg positive and anti-HCV negative patient and as Control-C an HBsAg/anti-HBs/anti-hepatitis B core antigen (HBc)-negative and anti-HCV-positive patient. Control group C was used as the control also for Case group b-C. Serum HBV DNA by molecular hybridization was found more frequently in Control group B (54% of 161 patients) than in Case group B-C (35.7% of 84, P <.01). The prevalence of HBV wild type was similar in Case group B-C (14. 3%) and in Control group B (17.4%), whereas the e-minus strain was less frequent in Case group B-C (10.7% vs. 33%; P <.01). HBV DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was detected in 40.8% of 71 patients in Case group b-C. HCV RNA was detected more frequently in Control group C (90.7% of 130 patients) than in Case group B-C (65.2% of 69, P <.0001). Moderate or severe chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis were more frequent in Case group B-C (62.9% of 65 patients) than in Control group B (46.7% of 90, P <.05) or C (40.8% of 98, P <.005), and in Case group b-C (71.1% of 76) than in Control group C. Thus, in multiple hepatitis we observed a reciprocal inhibition of the viral genomes and a more severe liver disease. In Case group b-C, serum HBV DNA was frequent and the clinical presentation was severe.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Case definitions.

The definition of a case of pertussis is an essential point in evaluating and comparing the results from the seven studies on pertussis vaccines presented at the Symposium. An assessment of the impact of case definition on the evaluation of vaccine efficacy has been performed on the Italian data-set, by comparing the clinical presentation of cough illnesses which were laboratory-confirmed as B. pertussis infection with those not-confirmed, by study vaccine. The results show that the estimate of vaccine efficacy is greatly variable by the choice of case definition and dependent on the study design. The assessment of the effect of each vaccine should be performed by using various clinical endpoints and the method used in detection of suspected cases in each study should be carefully evaluated to verify comparability of results.

Cough↗
PubMed1992

Left ventricular diastolic function in systemic sclerosis: assessment by radionuclide angiography.

The aim of this study was to assess left ventricular function in subjects with systemic sclerosis. Twenty-four women with systemic sclerosis (mean age 48 +/- 11 yr) and 14 age- and sex-matched normal subjects were studied by radionuclide angiography performed at rest with a temporal resolution of 20 msec/frame. Left ventricular volume curves were generated and indices of systolic and diastolic function were computed. Left ventricular diastolic asynchrony was evaluated by dividing the left ventricle into five regions and then computing the time-to-peak filling rate for each region. After excluding the valvular region, the coefficient of variation of this index was obtained. The isovolumic relaxation period was prolonged in systemic sclerosis patients in comparison to normal subjects (127 +/- 39 msec versus 87 +/- 44 msec, p less than 0.05). Moreover, 38% of the systemic sclerosis patients had a subnormal peak filling rate. Left ventricular diastolic asynchrony was increased in the systemic sclerosis group, as expressed by a higher coefficient of variation of the regional time to peak filling rate (27.9% +/- 11.5% versus 14.5% +/- 8.6%, p less than 0.05). Our results indicate an impaired relaxation and an increased diastolic asynchrony in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Female↗
PubMed1991

Influence of age, gender, height and education on vibration sense. A study by tuning fork in 192 normal subjects.

We measured perception time of the vibratory stimulus from a 128 cps tuning fork in 96 male and 96 female normal subjects equally subdivided into 8 age decades. The following sites were examined: clavicula, olecranon, styloid apophysis of ulna and radius, anterosuperior spina of ilium, rotula (patella), internal and external malleolus. Reproducibility between different examiners and between tests by the same examiner on different days was good. There was a marked regional variation with longer perception times at the distal regions of upper limbs. A non linear age-related decrease in vibration sense was found in all regions. Males had longer perception times at clavicula, females at distal limbs; the latter finding might be explained by shorter stature in females. Perception times at distal limbs were longer in subjects with higher education levels. The study provides normative data for vibration sense in different regions and defines the effects on it of age, gender, height and education.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prevention and therapy of delirium tremens with tiapride and chlordesmethyldiazepam].

Forty alcohol abusers (with a history of long-time alcohol addiction and mean daily use over 360 grams of alcohol) were treated with tiapride or chlordesmethyldiazepam when stopped their overdrinking. The aim of such pharmacological treatment was both a valuation of effectiveness towards ten target-symptoms and the attempt to avoid the development of a withdrawal syndrome-or, at least, to shorten its course. Chlordesmethyldiazepam resulted to be on the whole more effective than tiapride in dominating all most dramatic symptoms of Delirium Tremens and in avoiding--in a significantly higher number of patients--the onset of a DT syndrome in all its typical features. Moreover, CDDz appeared as a manageable drug and free from important side-effects, and could control symptoms without need of further therapies.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prevention and therapy of delirium tremens with tiapride].

One hundred chronic alcoholics, who were hospitalized in our ward for neurological disorders directly or indirectly due to a prolonged and continual consumption of alcohol, have been treated with tiapride in doses varying from 600 up to 1200 mg/die. The drug was administered either per os or by injection. 50 of these patients were given, at the same time, graded doses of alcohol per os. The purpose of this study was to analyse the preventive and therapeutical effects of the drug both on ten "target symptoms" examined separately, and on the onset and duration of the alcohol abstinence syndrome. We have noticed that decreasing doses of alcohol, in the first days of hospitalization, were unable to reduce significantly the onset of fits of delirium tremens. Tiapride showed a reasonably good therapeutical activity on some features of the "target symptoms": it shortened the average duration of the symptoms, while it did not prove better than benzodiazepines in inhibiting the onset of the same. The drug was unable to prevent the onset of the abstinence syndrome, and, even if it had a favourable control over the symptoms, it was unable to shorten their duration. The mortality rate was similar to that of other reviews where benzodiazepines, or major drugs acting on the nervous system, were employed. The sedative action of tiapride, even at higher doses, was insignificant, and its hypnotic effect almost absent. No extrapyramidal disorders have been observed, at least up to 1000 mg/die.

Adult↗