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Biomedical subjects

R Pastore

Publications and source records attributed to R Pastore.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

The epidemiology of partialandrogen deficiency in aging men (PADAM).

The quest for eternal youth has been prevalent in civilised societies in many cultures for many centuries. Preventing or deferring the disabilities and morbidities associated with aging through judicious pharmacotherapy has become a particularly relevant healthcare target with the rapid and relentless global demographic shift towards an increasingly elderly population in the 21th century. Aging men commonly loose muscle, become frail, have impaired sexual and cognitive functions, low mood, develop osteopenia and/or osteoporosis with increased risk for fractures and gain visceral fat which predisposes to diabetes, dyslipidaemia, and ischemic heart disease. These alterations in body function are reminiscent of states of androgen deficiency in younger patients. Indeed, aging is associated with a progressive age-related but variable decline in sex hormones. This condition has been named partial androgen deficiency in aging men (PADAM) and consists in a gradual decline in sex hormone levels over years resulting in physical and psychological changes as depression, impotence, decreased sex drive, loss of muscle tone or strength and lethargy. In this review we have tried to give a real identity to PADAM and quantify its entitiy, using the power of the epidemiology.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Assessment of pulmonary function in patients before and after laparoscopic and open esophagogastric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopy is a technique used in various surgical procedures. Few studies in the literature compare stress between laparoscopic and open surgery used for esophagogastric surgical procedures. Pulmonary function is known to be significantly affected in open surgeries, increasing postoperative morbidity and mortality. The current study aimed to assess pulmonary function in patients before and after open and laparoscopic esophagogastric surgery. METHODS: For this study, 75 patients were divided into two groups: 50 patients undergoing laparoscopy and 25 patients undergoing open surgery. The following parameters were determined by spirometry before and after surgery: forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV(1)), forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory flow in the midexpiratory phase (FEF(25-75%)). RESULTS: A decrease in FEV(1,) FVC, and FEF((25-75%)) was observed in the two groups on postoperative days 2, 3, and 4, as compared with the preoperative period. Likewise, FEV(1) and FVC showed a significant reduction on postoperative days 2, 3, and 4 in the patients who underwent to open surgery, but only on the day 2 in those who underwent to laparoscopic surgery. A significant decrease in FEF((25-75%)) was observed only on postoperative day 2 in the group that underwent open surgery. Significant differences in FEV(1) between the groups were observed on postoperative days 2, 3, and 4. No significant difference in FVC was noted between the groups, and a difference in FEF((25-75%)) was observed only on postoperative day 4. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative pulmonary dysfunction was more important for the patients undergoing open surgery than for those undergoing laparoscopic surgery.

Digestive System Surgical Procedures↗
PubMed2003

Dynamic testing in the evaluation of male gonadal function.

The maturation and physiologic functions of male sexual apparatus are under the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. The determination of gonadotropins and testosterone as secretory products of pituitary and gonads, respectively, represents the first step in the evaluation of male sexual function and the diagnosis of disorders in male reproductive axis. However, there are several clinical situations that require a dynamic evaluation of this system and the measurement of basal gonadotropins and testosterone must be combined with specific dynamic tests. These mainly consist in GnRH stimulation, which evaluates the endocrine reserve capacity of the pituitary, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation, which is used in the assessment of Leydig cells activity. The paper illustrates the technical aspects, the normal/pathological responses and the role of these two tests in assessing the male HPG axis in respect to different clinical diagnostic queries.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Effect of r-interferon alpha administration on hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis in chronic hepatitis.

Recent studies pointed out the development of autoimmune thyroid diseases during interferon (IFN) therapy, mainly in patients with positive thyroid autoantibodies (MsAb and TgAb) before treatment. The effects of recombinant human IFN alpha (rhIFNalpha) on thyroid function and thyroid autoantibodies were studied in 12 patients with chronic active hepatitis associated with virus B or C, selected on the basis of negative results for MsAb and TgAb. No significant variation in T3, T4 and TSH levels was observed either after the first administration of rhIFN alpha (3 million IU i.m.) or after three months of therapy (3 million IU i.m. 3 times a week). TSH response to TRH was in the normal range either before or after the therapy. The absence of MsAb and TgAb was confirmed in all the patients at the end of the treatment. These results indicate that no patient developed thyroid disorder during IFN therapy. Nevertheless, since positive MsAb and TgAb have been considered as a risk factor for thyroid diseases, in patients selected for IFN therapy they should be carefully assessed for autoantibodies before undergoing IFN treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Revised transthyretin Ile 122 allele frequency in African-Americans.

The transthyretin (TTR) Ile 122 variant is associated with cardiac amyloidosis in individuals of African descent. To determine the prevalence of the allele encoding TTR Ile 122 in African-Americans, we have used PCR and restriction analysis to test DNA from African-Americans from various geographic areas, and found an allele frequency of 66/3376 (0.020), which is higher than the value we previously reported in a much smaller pilot study. Our data indicate that this TTR variant is present at equal frequency in African-Americans throughout the U.S., and suggest that this mutation may be a common, often unrecognized cause of cardiac disease in African-Americans.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

[Alteration of luteinizing hormone pulsatility in patients with arterial hypertension].

The pattern of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in men with mild and moderate hypertension was studied. LH pulsatility was evaluated for eight hours in 14 male patients, who were subdivided into two groups: group A, consisting of 8 patients, whose systolic blood pressure ranged between 180-160 mmHg and the diastolic between 104-95 mmHg; group B, 6 patients whose systolic blood pressure ranged between 220 and 180 mmHg and the diastolic between 115-105 mmHg. Seven healthy adult males were evaluated as a control. The major changes of LH pulsatility in group A included an increased peak width (p < 0.05), increased peak amplitude (p < 0.001) and increased peak area (p < 0.001). In group B the changes followed the same pattern as in group A, but were more pronounced. The number of LH peaks was reduced (p < 0.01), the peak width was increased (p < 0.05), and both peak amplitude and peak area were increased as compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Our study demonstrates that the pattern of LH pulsatility is altered in essential hypertension and the main feature is represented by the prolonged duration of LH peaks and their greater amplitude. The altered pattern of LH secretion is likely to reflect a primary hypothalamic derangement with the gonadotropin releasing hormone (Gn-RH) secreting neurons remaining synchronized for longer times and secreting larger Gn-RH masses than in normal subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[The diagnosis and therapy of hyperprolactinemia].

Hyperprolactinaemia is the most common result of pituitary dysfunction and is characterized by alteration on the reproductive function. After a review of the hypothalamic control mechanisms and of the local paracrine and autocrine factors regulating prolactin secretion, the most common physiological, pharmacological and pathological causes of hyperprolactinaemia are described. The clinical pictures of hyperprolactinaemia in man and woman are then summarized. The diagnostic protocol used in this Institute is then described: confirmation of the existence and entity of hyperprolactinaemia by means of a prolactin profile; exclusion of pharmacological or extra pituitary causes (cirrhosis, primitive hypothyroidism, chronic renal failure, etc.); neuro-radiological evaluation of the sella region, by means of standard X-ray, computer tomography scan, nuclear magnetic resonance. The drugs commonly used in medical treatment of hyperprolactinaemia such as a bromocriptine, other-derived compounds and then recent CV 205-502, and the surgical approaches (trans-sphenoidal and transcranial routes) are reported. The indication of medical or surgical treatment and the relevance of radiotherapy are finally considered.

Combined Modality Therapy↗
PubMed1986

Immune complexes in patients with contact dermatitis.

By C1q binding assay, circulating immune complexes (cic) were detected in 19 out of 30 patients with contact dermatitis to nickel or chromium. Their presence was correlated with the duration of the disease, while any patients positive for cic showed any signs of type III immunopathological lesions. Atomic absorption analysis of the polyethlylene glycol precipitates (PEG ppt) from the sera of 16 patients--8 positive and 8 negative for cic--revealed an amount of nickel or chromium significantly higher in the PEG ppt from the sera of patients positive for cic.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1983

Circulating immune complexes in sera of patients infected with Echinococcus granulosus.

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) were investigated by the C1q binding assay in sera of 23 patients infected with Echinococcus granulosus. For the 23 sera studied, nine were found to be positive in the test. When the samples were grouped according to the cyst localization, the highest rate of CIC positively was found in the group of sera from patients with pulmonary cyst; in this group, double diffusion (DD) and indirect haemagglutination (IHA) tests gave a low rate of positivity for antibodies directed against parasitic antigens. Rheumatoid factor, anti-nuclear and anti-mitochondrial autoantibodies were not detectable in patients' sera by indirect immunofluorescence technique (IIF). Anti-smooth muscle autoantibodies, detectable by IIF, were present in 56% of the sera and this positivity was higher in the hepatic (83%) than in the pulmonary form (40%).

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1981

Circulating immune complexes in Behçet's syndrome: purification, characterization and cross-reactivity studies.

The C1q-binding assay was performed on 30 sera from patients with Behçet's syndrome and circulating immune complexes were found in 46%. Circulating immune complexes were isolated and purified from the sera of two patients by immunoadsorption on a column of polymethylmetacrylate beads coated with C1q and then labelled with 125I. In double immunodiffusion these purified immune complexes were found to contain IgG, C1q, C1s and C3. Anti-IgG activity was not detectable in the purified immune complexes while specific cross-reactivity was found in a solid-phase radioimmunoassay with the majority of the sera of behçet's syndrome.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cell-mediated antisperm immunity in selected forms of male infertility.

Leukocyte migration inhibition test (LMT) with semipurified spermatozoal antigen was carried out in two groups: normal males (fertile subjects before vasectomy; normal volunteers) and selected forms of male infertility. The percent positivity to the LMT in all the pathological groups considered, compared with controls positivity in only one out of 40 cases and only at the highest concentrations of Ag, stresses the important role played by cell-mediated antisperm immunity in male infertility. No characteristic seminal pattern was observed in the patients with positive LMT, probably on account of the particular selection of the patients studied. Finally, no significant correlation between humoral and cell-mediated antisperm immunity was observed, at least not in these selected series of patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Luteinizing hormone pulsatility is altered in essential hypertension.

The aim of this investigation was to study the pattern of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in men with mild and moderate hypertension. LH pulsatility was evaluated for 8 h in 14 male patients, subdivided into 2 groups; group A, consisting of 8 patients, whose systolic blood pressure ranged between 180 and 160 mm Hg and whose diastolic blood pressure was between 115 and 105 mm Hg; and group B, 6 patients whose systolic blood pressure ranged between 220 and 180 mm Hg and whose diastolic blood pressure was between 104 and 95 mm Hg. Seven healthy males were evaluated as controls (group C). The major changes of LH pulsatility in group A included an increased peak width, increased peak amplitude, and increased peak area. In group B the changes followed the same pattern as in group A, but were more pronounced. The number of LH peaks was reduced, the peak width was increased, and both peak amplitude and peak area were increased as compared to the control group. The pattern of LH pulsatility is altered in essential hypertension and the main feature is represented by the prolonged duration of LH peaks and their greater amplitude. The altered pattern of LH secretion is likely to reflect a primary hypothalamic derangement with the gonadotropin releasing hormone (Gn-RH) secreting neurons remaining synchronized for longer times and secreting larger Gn-RH masses than in normal subjects. Since the nuclei of the brain stem (A1-A6) involved in the control of Gn-RH secretion respond to blood pressure changes, the altered activity of monoaminergic neurons may be the link between hypertension and changes of LH pulsatility.

Adult↗