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Biomedical subjects

R Coppola

Publications and source records attributed to R Coppola.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Characterization of a Ca (II)-independent monoclonal antibody that lacks reactivity with Gla-domainless human factor VII.

Eight murine monoclonal antibodies to human factor VII have been produced and characterized. As tested by direct ELISA, all antibodies bound to immobilized factor VII and this interaction did not require Ca(II). On immunoblotting three antibodies reacted only with native factor VII and activated factor VII (rFVIIa), two with native factor VII, activated factor VII and with the light chain of reduced activated factor VII and three with reduced activated factor VIIa (light chain) only. When coupled to Sepharose five antibodies were capable of immunodepleting factor VII from normal plasma and inhibited coagulant activity with varied potencies. Among these antibodies, one (10C12.2) had peculiar characteristics, lacking reactivity with Gladomainless FVII and with the Ca(II)-dependent conformation. This antibody has been used to develop a two-site ELISA which appears to measure native factor VII but not poorly carboxylated, inactive forms of the molecule.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1992

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of human factor VII based upon a monoclonal antibody that recognizes the native conformation of the protein.

An enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was developed for measuring human factor VII antigen using two monoclonal antibodies, one of them reacting only with fully carboxylated factor VII. This assay permits to measure factor VII antigen in concentrations ranging from 0.78 to 100 ng/ml, with within- and between-assay coefficients of variation of less than 7%. In 53 normal subjects, 32 patients with liver cirrhosis, 21 pregnant women and 53 patients on oral anticoagulant therapy the plasma levels of FVII antigen were very similar to those of factor VII coagulant activity measured with a bioassay. The ELISA also gave very similar values of factor VII antigen in plasma and in serum, and in plasma before and after exposure to cold, indicating that the assay is not affected by factor VII activation. In five of 8 patients with severe congenital deficiency of factor VII values of factor VII antigen were higher than those of factor VII activity. The close concordance of factor VII values obtained by ELISA and bioassay in the majority of plasmas, including those from patients on oral anticoagulant therapy, indicates that the assay measures native factor VII and can perhaps replace the bioassay systems in clinical conditions associated with normal or high levels of factor VII.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Visual orienting in schizophrenia.

Patients with schizophrenia demonstrate a variety of attentional impairments which have proven difficult to relate to specific neural systems. Posner et al. (1988) reported an asymmetric slowing of right visual field orienting in schizophrenia similar to that observed in patients with parietal lesions. We examined the visual orienting performance of 19 patients and controls using two different versions of the Posner paradigm. In overall ANOVAs we found main effects of group, cue condition, and delay interval. However, we did not observe any main effect of visual field or interactions involving visual field. There was some evidence of an asymmetric cost of invalid cues similar to those reported by Posner et al. The bulk of data suggests bilateral attentional deficits.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Quantitative electroencephalographic effects of caffeine in panic disorder.

It has been demonstrated that patients with panic disorder are more sensitive than normal control subjects to the anxiogenic effects of caffeine. The underlying physiologic basis for this difference is unclear. We examined the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of seven patients with panic disorder and seven normal control subjects during the randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled administration of oral caffeine (7 mg/kg). EEG data were collected on-line from 28 electrodes; artifact-free epochs were selected manually for off-line Fourier transformation. Caffeine was associated with a significant increase in peak occipital alpha frequency and significant decreases in occipital alpha amplitude, central beta amplitude, and central theta amplitude. Despite the observation that caffeine increased anxiety more in the patients with panic disorder than in the normal control subjects, the two groups did not differ in their EEG responses to caffeine.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Esophageal diverticula. Physiopathological basis for surgical management.

From 1980 to 1990, 31 patients were treated surgically in our department for esophageal diverticula: 12 Zenker's diverticula (ZD); 11 mid-thoracic diverticula (MTD); 8 epiphrenic diverticula (ED). Cricopharyngeal dysfunction was detectable in 8 of 12 ZD patients (66.6%). Cricopharyngeal myotomy with diverticulectomy was performed in all cases. There were no deaths. Relief of dysphagia was obtained in all cases. No recurrences of dysphagia or diverticulum were observed at a mean follow-up of 3 years. A motility disorder was observed in 10 of 11 MTD (90.9%). An extended esophageal myotomy with diverticulectomy was performed in 3 cases, an extended myotomy alone in 3 cases, a diverticulectomy alone in 5 cases; an anti-reflux procedure was added in 6 cases. One patient died on the 7th postoperative day. All remaining patients were free of symptoms at a mean follow-up of 3.2 years. A motor dysfunction was detected in all 8 ED patients (100%). No diverticulectomy was performed. Six patients underwent Heller-Dor myotomy and 2 underwent Nissen fundoplication. There were no deaths. Relief of symptoms was obtained in all patients, at a mean follow-up of 3.1 years. Myotomy with diverticulectomy represents the treatment of choice in ZD. As regards MTD and ED, the treatment of the underlying motor disorder is the main therapeutic goal, whereas diverticulectomy is reserved to selected patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

A comparison of FDG PET and IQNB SPECT in normal subjects and in patients with dementia.

Prior studies of patients with dementia have found similar qualitative patterns of cerebral glucose utilization with [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) PET and of putative muscarinic receptor activity with [123I]3-quinuclidinyl-4-iodobenzilate (IQNB). This raised doubts about whether receptor binding determines IQNB distribution and whether clinical information in IQNB scans is unique. To compare the methods directly, 4 normal volunteers and 7 patients with dementia underwent FDG PET and high-resolution IQNB SPECT scans. In normal subjects, relative regional activity from the paired scans was only weakly correlated (r = 0.29). Some regions (e.g., thalamus, frontal cortex) showed a clear disassociation of activity. In demented patients, IQNB scans tended to show larger defects than FDG scans, although one focal defect appeared only with PET. Results suggest that IQNB SPECT data are not primarily related to general physiological activity or regional cerebral blood flow and are not explained by attenuation or volume-averaging artifacts. Further studies should investigate whether IQNB scanning is a more sensitive in vivo measure of the extent of Alzheimer's disease than is FDG PET.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Poland syndrome].

A case of Poland's syndrome in a newborn is described. The syndrome is relatively unknown, especially in its epidemiological and aetiopathogenetic aspects. It's characterized by aplasia of the sternal head of the pectoral major muscle, hypoplasia of the upper extremities and homolateral aplasia of II, III, IV, V finger. Attention is drawn to the importance of reporting diagnosed cases in order to further our knowledge of the syndrome. The Authors are looking with a big interest the correlation between hair treatment and Poland's anomaly.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

A comparison of xenon-133 and xenon-127 for the determination of regional cerebral blood flow measured by dynamic SPECT.

Phantom studies and cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements in 11 normal subjects at rest were performed by single photon emission tomography (SPECT) with Xe-133 (16 mm full-width at half-maximum [FWHM] collimation) and Xe-127 (16 mm, 12 mm, and 9 mm FWHM collimation). The phantom results clearly illustrated the feasibility of Xe-127 studies and the advantage of Xe-127 over Xe-133 for equivalent patient dose exposures. CBF values obtained with Xe-127 were comparable to those of Xe-133 for the 16 mm collimator, although higher flow values were found with the better resolution, probably because of reduced partial volume effects. The correlations between the various groups of examinations were high, except for the Xe-133 and Xe-127 16 mm collimator groups. Xe-127 allows a considerable increase in the resolution of the images, while exposing the patient to a lower radiation dose. Potential limitations because of higher energy penetrating photons from Xe-127 were not observed in this specially shielded equipment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The distribution of cerebral muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in vivo in patients with dementia. A controlled study with 123IQNB and single photon emission computed tomography.

A high-affinity muscarinic receptor antagonist, 123IQNB (3-quinuclidinyl-4-iodobenzilate labeled with iodine 123), was used with single photon emission computed tomography to image muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in 14 patients with dementia and in 11 healthy controls. High-resolution single photon emission computed tomographic scanning was performed 21 hours after the intravenous administration of approximately 5 mCi of IQNB. In normal subjects, the images of retained ligand showed a consistent regional pattern that correlated with postmortem studies of the relative distribution of muscarinic receptors in the normal human brain, having high radioactivity counts in the basal ganglia, occipital cortex, and insular cortex, low counts in the thalamus, and virtually no counts in the cerebellum. Eight of 12 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease had obvious focal cortical defects in either frontal or posterior temporal cortex. Both patients with a clinical diagnosis of Pick's disease had obvious frontal and anterior temporal defects. A region of interest statistical analysis of relative regional activity revealed a significant reduction bilaterally in the posterior temporal cortex of the patients with Alzheimer's disease compared with controls. This study demonstrates the practicability of acetylcholine receptor imaging with 123IQNB and single photon emission computed tomography. The data suggest that focal abnormalities in muscarinic binding in vivo may characterize some patients with Alzheimer's disease and Pick's disease, but further studies are needed to address questions about partial volume artifacts and receptor quantification.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Surgical treatment of hydatid disease of the liver. A 20-year experience.

The medical records of 135 consecutive patients (74 women and 61 men) who underwent surgery for hydatid liver disease were reviewed. The patients ranged in age from 4 to 81 years. Twenty-seven patients had undergone previous surgery for hydatid liver disease. Cysts were solitary in 100 patients and multiple in 35 patients. Seventeen patients had concomitant extrahepatic disease. Conservative procedures were used in 71 patients (capitonnage in 50 patients and partial pericystectomy in 21 patients). Radical procedures were used in 64 patients (total pericystectomy in 35 patients, subtotal pericystectomy in 16 patients, and wedge or major liver resection in 13 patients). Operative mortality was 2.2% and morbidity rate was 23.7%. Recurrent disease was found in 13 patients at a mean interval of 3 years from the first operation. Better short- and long-term results were obtained with the use of radical procedures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

EEG laterality in the era of structural brain imaging.

Bilateral EEG recording is a common practice when brain laterality needs to be assessed in cognitive neurophysiology and psychiatry research. Its precision and validity remain uncertain. With structural brain imaging methods, it is possible to examine EEG electrode placements according to the 10-20 system and the validity of inferences made on derived data. Frequent sources of placement errors are examined along with important factors that contribute to EEG imbalance. Examples are mentioned where asymmetries of EEG/ERP caused by cranial and parenchymal brain asymmetries may be mistaken for cognition-related laterality changes. Because external skull landmarks are not reliable predictors of cranial and parenchymal brain asymmetries, laterality assessment cannot be guaranteed by the 10-20 system. Consequently, a return, on a case-to-case basis, to nonstandard montages, assisted by structural brain imaging is seen as an acceptable alternative.

Brain↗
PubMed1991

Regional cerebral blood flow asymmetries in a group of 189 normal subjects at rest.

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) asymmetries were studied in 189 subjects (96 males and 93 females) at rest with the 133Xenon inhalation method using a fixed detector system. rCBF asymmetries in the resting condition were very small, nevertheless a significant (p less than 0.001) effect for their topographical distribution was present, reflecting higher rCBF in the right fronto-temporal and left parieto-occipital regions. rCBF asymmetries were not correlated with age, and there were no significant differences between males and females. Asymmetries are therefore useful from a statistical point of view in detecting rCBF abnormalities in the resting condition: they are more stable than absolute values in normal subjects and no matching according to age or sex is required when statistical comparisons are performed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Occipital lobe morphology in normal individuals assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The topography of visual evoked potentials (VEP) is dependent on occipital lobe morphology. Using magnetic resonance imaging we examine the sulcal pattern (the calcarine and parieto-occipital sulci), and assess the size of the cuneus and the asymmetry of the occipital lobes, computed separately for its ventral and dorsal segments. No differences were found for either the cuneus or the sulci pattern. In contrast, hemispheric asymmetry values appeared to be substantial. The predominance of the left occipital area was seen distinctly in the ventro-caudal portion of the occipital lobe. It was frequently reversed in the dorsal aspect of the lobe, notably in more rostral cuts. Such complexities may lead to ambiguities in interpreting VEP asymmetries.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

IMA-graft patency control by thermal coronary angiography during coronary bypass surgery.

Thermal coronary angiography (TCA) was evaluated for the intraoperative assessment of graft patency and flow in internal mammary artery (IMA) bypass grafts. TCA was performed in 210 patients undergoing 460 vein and 153 IMA bypass grafts after completion of the distal anastomoses. The IMA grafts and the recipient coronary arteries were delineated by the temperature differential between a cold epimyocardium and the perfusing warm blood after bulldog clamp release. TCA provided information about graft and anastomosis patency, initial flow patterns, and native coronary stenoses. TCA was performed in all studied IMA bypass grafts: 142 grafts were patent. Low flow but patency was observed in 24 IMA grafts and 11 IMA grafts showed no flow. Subsequently, 8 anastomotic failures and 3 proximal IMA graft occlusions were encountered. Based on these findings, 8 anastomoses were successfully revised and 7 additional vein grafts were added. One low flow IMA graft was not revised leading to postoperative ST elevation. Thirty-one distal native coronary stenoses were detected in the recipient LADs, 3 of which were not seen in the preoperative cineangiogram. In 20 instances, TCAs were obscured by an excess of fat or myocardium impeding image analysis. In 8 cases, TCA results were confirmed by conventional angiography postoperatively showing an excellent correlation in all cases. We conclude that intraoperative TCA demonstrates early IMA graft function and initial flow patterns. During our study, TCA documented a 7.2% IMA graft early failure rate. Intraoperative decision making was aided by TCA in 9.2% of all IMA grafts; this confirmed the clinical relevance of TCA.

Adult↗