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N Panagiotopoulos

Publications and source records attributed to N Panagiotopoulos.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

A safe method of gut resection in women with complicated post-radiation enteritis after cervix cancer.

BACKGROUND: Resection of the irradiated gut in women with cervical cancer is complicated by high morbidity and mortality mainly due to accidental injuries to the adjacent intrapelvic structures. To eliminate these injuries a new method is proposed. METHOD: Six patients between 41 and 56 years old who had received radiation therapy for cervical cancer were operated on for post-radiation injury of the terminal ileum. All patients underwent partial resection of the irradiated small bowel plus right colectomy. The surgical technique was undertaken so as to leave parts of the small bowel (20 to 45 cm) adherent to the adjacent organs when complete resection was judged precarious. RESULTS: All patients had an uneventful recovery with 6 to 14 days hospitalization. No complications related to the remaining intrabdominal parts of the gut were observed. All patients died of the primary disease over 1 to 5 years postoperatively. CONCLUSION: The method is safe, simple and eliminates injuries to the adjacent structures.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The role of the mode of delivery in the alteration of intrapartum pathological cervical cytologic findings during the postpartum period.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine whether abnormal antepartum cervical cytologic findings change in the postpartum period and the relation of this alteration to the mode of delivery. STUDY DESIGN: Between 1991 and 2000, 192 pregnant women with antepartum abnormal cervical cytology were identified; complete demographic, clinical and cytologic reports were available for 90 of them. Papanicolaou smear tests were collected and separated in three groups using the Bethesda classification system (ASCUS, L-SIL and H-SIL). RESULTS: Of the 90 women, 52 (61.1%) were delivered vaginally and 38 (38.9%) by cesarean section. No difference was found between women delivered vaginally and those delivered by cesarean section, regardin age, parity and smoking history. The overall postpartum regression rate for the 20 women with antepartum H-SIL cells was 45%. Of the 12 women with H-SIL cells who were delivered vaginally, eight (66.6%) showed regression in the postpartum period while this regression was achieved only in one (12.5%) woman, who was delivered by cesarean section (p < 0.002). CONCLUSION: Postpartum spontaneous regression of suspicious Papanicolaou smears consistent with H-SIL occurs with increased frequency among women who are delivered vaginally compared to those delivered by cesarean section.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Tailgut cysts: a rare cause of pelvic outlet obstruction.

Tailgut cysts are unusual cystic tumors of the retrorectal space. We describe the findings of three cases. Constipation, intrapelvic fullness and low abdominal pain were the most prominent clinical manifestations. One patient developed an abscess. Ultrasound, computed tomography and MR imaging demonstrated the presacral lesions. Transabdominal excision of the tumors in two patients resulted in good outcome whereas in the patient with the abscess there was recurrence with a fistula formation.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1976

Conformational isomerism, rotational allomerism, and divergent evolution in immunoglobulin light chains.

Immunoglobulin light chains are examples of single polypeptide chains synthesized under the control of two genes. The three-dimensional structure of a human (Mcg) lambda-type chain (Bence-Jones) dimer supports the hypothesis of a common primordial gene for the amino ("variable" or V) and carboxyl ("constant" or C) halves of each monomer. However, sequence homologies have been obscurred by divergent evolution of the V and C regions ("domains"). The types of evolutionary changes that have occurred in the domain can be surmised by a comparison of the sequences, using the three-dimensional structures as a basis for alignment. Despite substantial differences in sequences, the hydrophobic character of key internal sites has been maintained in each domain. Regions present in only one domain are situated in position appropriate for their functions, but not deleterious to the general structural integrity of a common fold. The divergence of the V and C domains can be interpreted in terms of rotational allomerism. The cylinders of beta-pleated sheets have rotated in such a way that homologous regions in the two domains perform different functions in their interactions with a second molecule of light or heavy chain. These regions include complementarity-determining sites for antigen binding in the V domains and crossover sites stabilizing dimer formation in the C domains. Differences in surface properties between the V1-V2 and C1-C2 dimeric modules may partially explain why the V regions have been implicated in the formation of amyloid fibrils and in the characteristic thermal behavior of Bence-Jones proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Monocyte disorders associated with T cell defects in patients with solid tumors.

T cells proliferate in response to autologous monocytes in the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR). AMLR was found to be impaired in patients with advanced cancer (stages III and IV), whereas normal values were found in the early stages of the disease (stages I and II). Peripheral T lymphocytes from patients with advanced stages also exhibited a decreased ability to produce Interleukin-2 (IL-2) during an AMLR response, whereas production of IL-2 by T cells in stages I and II was comparable to that of normal donors. The impaired IL-2 production by T lymphocytes in the AMLR was associated with high concentrations of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in culture supernatants and reduced expression of membrane-bound interleukin-2 receptors (IL-2R) on the same AMLR-activated T lymphocytes. These abnormalities in T cells from cancer patients were demonstrated to be associated with dysfunctions of autologous monocytes. Thus monocytes from patients with advanced cancer exhibited diminished expression of HLA-DR antigens and produced low levels of Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and Tumor Necrosis Factor a (TNFa). No changes were detected in the expression of HLA-A, -B, -C antigens. The results presented here demonstrate that decreased in vitro T cell responses may be attributed to monocyte dysfunctions in these patients and provide new information for a better understanding of the impaired T cell function in cancer patients.

Adult↗