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Biomedical subjects

P Giordano

Publications and source records attributed to P Giordano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

[Uncomplicated orbital varix: a difficult therapeutic problem].

The authors describe a case of right orbital varix discovered in a 34-year-old female. She was referred by her ophthalmologist because she was experiencing a functional disorder with esthetic consequences. With physical effort, she had intermittent exophthalmia and moderate diplopia. The symptoms disappeared with rest. The diagnosis was made by NMR examination before and after the Vasalva maneuver. Because of the patient's excellent visual acuity, we did not propose a therapeutic solution.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Renal vein thrombosis in a newborn with prothrombotic genetic risk factors.

Environmental and genetic risk factors interact to cause venous thromboembolism. Renal vein thrombosis in the newborn has been frequently associated with "risk factors" as catheters, surgery or trauma, but it has also been demonstrated a pathogenetic role of genetic prothrombotic risk factors, i.e. activated protein C resistance and FV Leiden. The treatment of neonatal venous thrombosis varies worldwide and different approaches have been proposed. We present a case of renal vein thrombosis in a female newborn with normal plasma levels of protein C, protein S and antithrombin III, but with her genotype characterized by the presence of three prothrombotic risk factors: factor V Leiden, methylentetrahydrofolate reductase and platelet glycoprotein IIIa polymorphisms. The treatment with recombinant tissue plasminogen determined complete thrombus dissolution.

Factor V↗
PubMed2001

Different geographic origins of Hb Constant Spring [alpha(2) codon 142 TAA-->CAA].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The occurrence of Hb CS is usually limited to the geographic area which includes Southern China and South East Asia. In 1968 Hb CS was also found to occur in the Mediterranean area where it was originally described as Hb Athens. We investigated the independent origin of these termination codon mutations of the alpha 2-globin gene by determining the alpha-cluster haplotype and comparing the hematologic data from Hb CS-Hb H patients and their family members. DESIGN AND METHODS: We studied one Hb CS-Hb H patient of Greek origin and a Sicilian family in which one individual was affected by Hb CS-Hb H. The haplotype of the Hb CS allele was determined and compared to the haplotype of an Hb CS-Hb H individual of Chinese origin. RESULTS: The haplotype found for the Greek and Sicilian Hb CS was the same but differed significantly from the Asiatic Hb CS mutation. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: The Hb CS mutation found in both Mediterranean patients arose independently in the Mediterranean area. The difference in clinical manifestation of the Hb CS-Hb H disease in both patients is less common but consistent with similar variation in the clinical expression of analogous Hb Icaria-Hb H disease patients.

China↗
PubMed2000

Dimer formation through domain swapping in the crystal structure of the Grb2-SH2-Ac-pYVNV complex.

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains are key modules in intracellular signal transduction. They link activated cell surface receptors to downstream targets by binding to phosphotyrosine-containing sequence motifs. The crystal structure of a Grb2-SH2 domain-phosphopeptide complex was determined at 2.4 A resolution. The asymmetric unit contains four polypeptide chains. There is an unexpected domain swap so that individual chains do not adopt a closed SH2 fold. Instead, reorganization of the EF loop leads to an open, nonglobular fold, which associates with an equivalent partner to generate an intertwined dimer. As in previously reported crystal structures of canonical Grb2-SH2 domain-peptide complexes, each of the four hybrid SH2 domains in the two domain-swapped dimers binds the phosphopeptide in a type I beta-turn conformation. This report is the first to describe domain swapping for an SH2 domain. While in vivo evidence of dimerization of Grb2 exists, our SH2 dimer is metastable and a physiological role of this new form of dimer formation remains to be demonstrated.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2000

Thrombin generation in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: effect of leukemia immunophenotypic subgroups.

Elevated plasma concentrations of endogenous thrombin generation markers and thrombotic events have been reported in children with leukemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cancer and its treatment on thrombin generation (TAT levels) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The authors evaluated 32 children (23 M, 9 F) aged between 1 and 15 years (mean 6) affected by ALL (immunophenotypic subgroups: 16 common, 7 T, and 9 pre-B type). In all patients TAT levels at onset and after 5-6 doses of L-asparaginase were evaluated. TAT levels were higher in patients both at onset (13.04 +/- 10.90 ng/L) and after the 5-6 doses of L-asp (19.41 +/- 11.05 ng/L) with respect to controls (4 +/- 1 ng/L) (p < .001 and p < .001). TAT levels after 5-6 doses of L-asp were higher than those at onset (p < .001). Factorial ANOVA showed that at onset there was a significant effect of leukemia immunophenotypic subgroups upon TAT levels (p < .05) and no effect of inherited thrombotic risk factors. These results indicate that in children with ALL an important role is played by acquired thrombotic risk factors, among which the indirect cancer procoagulant activity has its importance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Acute childhood idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura: AIEOP consensus guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. Associazione Italiana di Ematologia e Oncologia Pediatrica.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A recent evaluation carried out by the Associazione Italiana di Ematologia e Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) about practice management of acute childhood idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) revealed a remarkable difference of behaviors among the different AIEOP centers. A need for common practice guidelines for this frequent illness arose from this observation. Our aim was to make the diagnosis and treatment of childhood ITP uniform. In the future we will evaluate the influence of these guidelines on practice behaviors. DATA SOURCES AND METHODS: Our main reference was the 1996 document produced by the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Their recommendations were updated with information from literature searched for in the MEDLINE database (June 1996-October 1998); search terms included: thrombocytopenia, ITP, diagnosis, therapy, children. The computerized search retrieved 83 articles. DATA EXTRACTION: the scientific validity of the literature was evaluated by a panel of members using published guidelines. The strength of the evidence was assessed using level of evidence criteria. Only data from level I and level II studies were taken in account. Only one study out of the 83 retrieved articles met these selection criteria and it was considered in addition to the 11 out of 581 articles selected in the ASH ITP guidelines. This preliminary work pointed out each issue about ITP not addressed by clinical studies and all participants in a Consensus Conference expressed their opinion about these issues. RESULTS: Diagnosis is essentially based on history, physical examination, a complete blood count and an examination of the peripheral blood smear. Treatment is recommended taking into account the clinical picture and number of platelets. The main difference between these guidelines and those from ASH are: AIEOP guidelines rely on the opinion of the members of the consensus conference, ASH ones on a panel of experts; therapeutic options include only products available in Italy; the indications to treatment rely more on clinical picture than on platelet number. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: These are explicitly developed, evidence-based practice guidelines to assist Italian pediatricians in making decisions about diagnosis and appropriate health care for patients with acute childhood ITP.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Preparing parents for their child's transfer from the PICU to the pediatric floor.

The experimental study described here was conducted to examine a nursing intervention intended to diminish the anxiety level of parents of children being transferred from a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to a general pediatric floor. The convenience sample included 50 parents of patients in a PICU at a southeastern U.S. tertiary medical center. The sample was randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. All subjects' anxiety levels were measured using Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) 24 to 48 hours prior to the child's impending transfer. The experimental group subsequently was given a transfer-preparation letter along with a verbal explanation. Finally, both groups were retested using the STAI immediately prior to the child's transfer. After controlling for trait anxiety, the analysis of covariant results showed significantly lower anxiety levels among the subjects who received the transfer-preparation letter than among those who did not, F(1,47) = 18.65, p < .0005. The study concludes that effective transfer preparation can significantly reduce the anxiety experienced by parents who are facing the imminent transfer of their child out of the PICU.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Homozygous prothrombin gene mutation and ischemic cerebrovascular disease: a case report.

We report the case of a 31-year-old woman who, at the age of 26 suffered from an episode of superficial thrombophlebitis in the left leg, experienced two episodes of transient ischemic attacks at the age of 30 and had an ischemic stroke with left-sided hemiparesis at the age of 31 years. A cerebral CT scan showed an ischemic lesion in the right sylvian area involving the opercular and nucleocapsular regions. Her father had had an ischemic stroke at the age of 54 years and died at the age of 58; her mother had had a myocardial infarction at the age of 48 years and died at 51 years from breast cancer. Laboratory investigation of the patient demonstrated high levels of fibrinogen, F II, F VII, F 1 + 2, FPA and ACA-IgG with low levels of HDL cholesterol associated with homozygosity for the 20210 A genotype. There were no other genetic or acquired prothrombotic defects. In conclusion, this case strongly suggests a clinically significant role ot the prothrombin gene mutation in both arterial and venous thrombosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin antibodies and hepatitis C virus infection in thalassaemia.

Anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) and lupus anticoagulant (LA) have been detected in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and have been associated in autoimmune diseases (i.e. systemic lupus erythematosus) with an increased risk of thromboembolic events. Because of the high prevalence of HCV infection and the thrombotic risk described in thalassaemia we decided to investigate the prevalence of ACA and LA in a cohort of 68 thalassaemia patients. We found a high prevalence (34%) of beta2-glycoprotein I independent ACA in our thalassaemia patients which was related to HCV infection. None of patients developed any complications related to antiphospholipid antibodies (APL); therefore the clinical significance of positivity for APL in patients with HCV infection is at present unclear. In conclusion, the results of our study indicate that ACA in the serum of HCV-infected thalassaemic patients exhibit the characteristics of natural autoantibodies rather than those of the pathogenic autoantibodies that are found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Mutational screening of thrombopoietin receptor gene (c-mpl) in patients with congenital thrombocytopenia and absent radii (TAR).

Thrombocytopenia with absent radii (TAR) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by hypomegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia and bilateral radial aplasia. We performed mutational screening of coding and promoter regions of the c-mpl gene, encoding thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor, by sequence analysis in four unrelated patients affected by TAR syndrome. Our results indicate that c-mpl gene mutations are not a common cause of thrombocytopenia in TAR syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Resistance to activated protein C in thalassaemic patients: an underlying cause of thrombosis.

We evaluated 81 thalassaemia major and 4 thalassaemia intermedia patients (48 M, 37 F), median age 17 years; 62/85 patients were HCV-positive, 3/85 HIV-positive, 19/85 were splenectomized. Forty normal healthy children were recruited as the control group. The number of thrombotic events was studied retrospectively. Platelet poor plasma was filtered and quick-frozen at -70 degrees C until time of assay. APC resistance was measured in an activated thromboplastin time and results were expressed as normalized ratio. All tests were done with diluted 1 in 5 (v/v) factor V deficient plasma and with undiluted plasma. Molecular genetic investigation of factor V gene was performed with polymerase chain reaction, followed by digestion of amplified products with restriction enzyme Mnl I. Data obtained with molecular investigation revealed the presence of 4 heterozygous subjects for factor V Leiden (4.7%). Functional tests were able to detect all heterozygotes for factor V Leiden both with undiluted and with diluted plasma, and there were no false negative subjects. However, undiluted plasma revealed a greater number of false positive subjects (n=15) than did diluted plasma. Therefore, tests done with undiluted and diluted plasma revealed a 100% sensitivity, while specificity was 81% for undiluted plasma and 97% for diluted plasma. Only one thrombotic event was observed in one of the 85 studied patients, as a case of stroke in a thalassaemia intermedia patient with APC resistance. In the same patient an additional thrombogenic risk factor was represented by a pronounced haematocrit increase at the beginning of her transfusion regimen.

Adolescent↗