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Biomedical subjects

R Drigo

Publications and source records attributed to R Drigo.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Determination of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in sarcoidosis.

Borrelia burgdorferi, i.e. the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, has been causatively linked to sarcoidosis. To evaluate the possible role of this spirochete in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis we tested for the presence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi on serum samples obtained from 21 sarcoid patients living in an Italian mountain area where Lyme borreliosis is endemic. No patient showed antibodies to B. burgdorferi. Our data does not substantiate the hypothesis that sarcoidosis may be a borreliosis.

Adult↗

Activated T-lymphocytes and macrophages in bronchial mucosa of subjects with chronic bronchitis.

To examine the nature and the degree of leukocyte infiltration and to determine the state of activation of cells in bronchial mucosa of subjects with chronic bronchitis, bronchoscopy was performed in 10 subjects with a history of cigarette smoking and chronic sputum production and in six normal nonsmoking control subjects. Lobar bronchial biopsies were examined using histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. Subjects with chronic bronchitis had an increased number of total leukocytes (CD45 positive cells), both in the epithelium and in the lamina propria, than did the control subjects (p < 0.05), whereas the numbers of neutrophils, eosinophils, and mast cells were similar in the two groups. There was a significant increase in the numbers of macrophages (p < 0.01) and of T-lymphocytes (CD3 positive cells) (p < 0.05) in the lamina propria of chronic bronchitics, whereas the relative proportions of CD4 and CD8 positive cells were similar in the bronchitics and the control subjects. Subjects with chronic bronchitis also had an increased expression of markers of lymphocyte activation, i.e., an increased number of interleukin-2 receptor positive cells (CD25 positive cells) (p < 0.05) and an increased number of very late activation antigen (VLA-1) positive cells (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for mononuclear cell infiltration and for T-cell activation in bronchial mucosa of subjects with chronic bronchitis, supporting the involvement of these cells in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Adult↗

A vagabond pleural pebble.

This article concerns a case of an extremely mobile pulmonary opacity. This opacity was attributed to a free calcified mass in the pleural space. It is probably a small benign neoplasm whose peduncle underwent necrosis.

Aged↗