Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Moscatelli.
Carcinoma of the collecting ducts, or Bellini carcinoma, is a rare renal tumour and, unlike most renal cell carcinomas, it derives from distal tubules. It displays highly aggressive behaviour and has a poor prognosis. In this study, the authors present three cases which they observed over the past three years.
Seventy mother-newborn pairs were studied for hepatitis C viremia to evaluate the risk of vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus from human immunodeficiency virus-negative mothers. Forty-five mothers were hepatitis C virus-RNA positive: 4 to 45 children were positive at birth and during follow-up. The level of viremia plays an important role in vertical transmission.
It is currently unknown if metabolic acidosis has any effect on muscle protein metabolism in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). To address this question, muscle protein turnover was studied in patients with CRF and controls in the postabsorptive state by using the forearm perfusion method together with the 3H-phenylalanine kinetics. Nine patients were acidotic ([HCO-3]a = 20 +/- 0.5 mEq/l) whereas 4 patients had a normal acid-base balance ([HCO-3]a = 25 +/- 0.3 mEq/l). In patients with metabolic acidosis the rates of phenylalanine appearance and disposal from the forearm were increased as compared to controls. Phenylalanine net balance, i.e. net proteolysis, was only slightly higher than in controls. In patients under a normal acid-base balance both rates of appearance and disposal of phenylalanine as well as phenylalanine net balance were similar to controls. These preliminary data suggest that metabolic acidosis can enhance the rate of muscle protein degradation in patients with CRF.
Muscle protein turnover and amino acid (AA) exchange across the forearm were studied in nine postabsorptive patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) under unrestricted calorie-protein diets and eight controls by using the arterio-venous difference technique associated with the 3H-phenylalanine kinetics. In patients with CRF: (1) the rate of appearance (Ra) of phenylalanine (Phe) from the forearm, reflecting proteolysis, was 27% increased in comparison with controls (P < 0.01). Also the rate of disposal (Rd) of Phe, reflecting protein synthesis, was increased in patients (P < 0.01). As a consequence of these counterbalanced alterations, net balance of Phe across the forearm, that is, net proteolysis, was not changed. (2) The release of total AA from the forearm was not different from controls. Valine and ketoisocaproate release was reduced (P < 0.05). Serine uptake was not detectable. (3) Net proteolysis and the Rd/Ra ratio were inversely and directly, respectively, related to arterial [HCO3-] (P < 0.02 and P < 0.03, respectively). (4) Moreover, net proteolysis and Phe Rd/Ra ratio were directly and inversely, respectively, correlated with plasma cortisol (P < 0.01 and < 0.005, respectively). Plasma cortisol was in the normal range and inversely related to arterial [HCO3-] (P < 0.02). (5) While in controls phenylalanine appearance from the forearm was inversely related to insulin levels, no correlation was found in patients. In conclusion, in patient with CRF, forearm Phe kinetics indicate the existence of an increased muscle protein turnover. Changes in protein synthesis and degradation are well balanced and net proteolysis is not augmented.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) concentrations in the pulmonary and systemic arterial blood were evaluated in 11 asthmatic patients in symptom-free period and during methacholin induced broncospasm. The basal venous and arterial mean values do not significantly differ. A significant difference was observed after bronchial challenge. This could be caused by an increased VIP pulmonary production as a defensive mechanism. No correlation was found between bronchial reactivity (as PD20-FEV1 Methacholin) and VIP concentrations.
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A study was carried out in 10 patients with chronic non-severe asthma to investigate the effects of prolonged treatment with the calcium blocker, nicardipine. Patients received 60 mg nicardipine daily for 3 months. Measurements were taken before and after treatment of FEV1, PaO2 and PD20 his. The results showed no statistically significant effect on FEV1. Although there was a statistically significant decrease in PaO2 this was not important clinically. There was a statistically significant increase in PD20 his, demonstrating the protective effect of nicardipine on histamine-induced bronchoconstriction. Breathlessness was reduced in 70% of the patients and the drug was well tolerated throughout the study.
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Bronchial release appears to be regulated by the nonadrenergic noncholinergic system whose transmitter is very probably VIP. In vivo and in vitro studies were conducted to discover whether peptide modifies basic function and/or bronchial spasm provoked by histamine. The data collected show that VIP failed to cause bronchodilation but protects against histamine induced bronchoconstriction both in vivo and in vitro.
The authors propose a rapid method for chromosome studies in human abortions as a supplementary or alternative method to embryonic tissue cultures. Cultures were set up from fetal lymphocytes and thymus and liver cells. 72 hours was the longest time necessary to obtain suitable chromosome preparations. A very high rate of success was obtained in the 28 cases studied.
A case of selective deficiency of IgG and IgA, in a 13-year old girl, is described. Immunologic investigations, showing an almost complete absence of IgG- and IgA-bearing lymphocytes and significant amounts of IgD and IgM positive cells, suggest the possibility of a block in the shift from IgM to IgG synthesis at the B lymphocyte level.
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A case of a 4-year-old child with disseminated lymphosarcoma with meningeal involvement is described. Immunological investigations of the blast cells in the cerebrospinal fluid were carried out and in most of them Ig determinants and no response to PHA stimulation were found. So the B-dependent nature of these cells was ascertained. This observation is a contribution to the diagnosis of lymphoid malignancies through the evaluation of the immunological nature of the blast cells. The data of the literature are still scarce and inconclusive.
The rate of Ig-bearing lymphocytes (B-cells) and of rosette-forming cells (T-cells) in peripheral blood as well as the lymphocyte response to phytohaemagglutinine (PHA) stimulation were evaluated in 19 small-for-date infants in order to assess both humoral and cellular immunity. A significant decrease of Ig-positive cells and of E-rosettes was found, compared with new-borns of appropriate birth weight, However, the response to PHA stimulation appeared to be impaired in only 3 of the observed cases.
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