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Biomedical subjects

R Romeo

Publications and source records attributed to R Romeo.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Slow-release lithium in treatment of schizoaffective syndromes.

Schizoaffective disorders are a blurred category of psychiatric pathology in which lithium seems to exert therapeutic effects. The present study was made on patients suffering from affective syndromes with positive schizophrenic symptoms ranging from none to severe. They were hospitalized because of an acute episode, treated with a slow-release lithium preparation (Hypnorex) following the attack therapy and followed up for a mean period of two years. Diagnosis were done according to the American Psychiatric Association diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM III) criteria, while clinical evaluations were carried out on the basis of an original lithium therapy assessment protocol. Lithium was demonstrated to be prophylactic to relapses of affective symptoms, its effectiveness as a whole being proportional to the purity of the major affective disorder. Slow release lithium was found a reliable pharmaceutical tool in both providing therapeutic results and avoiding severe side-effects. The therapeutic range of lithium serum levels was within 0.5-0.6 mEq/l. It is hypothesized that the response to lithium therapy could be a guide in the differential diagnosis between schizoaffective and schizoaffective-like syndromes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

[Hemolysis in Kala Azar: isotopic study, possible role of a PNH like defect (author's transl)].

A case of Kala Azar with prevailing hemolytic anemia is reported. The hemolysis has been associated during a short time with positive PNH test (i.e.: Crosby and sucrose tests). According to the data found in the Litterature, the hemolysis occurs quite frequently. One of the possible mechanisms is an abnormal sensitivity of the erythrocyte membrane to complement, which had not yet been described.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cryptic hepatitis B virus replication during prednisone therapy in type B chronic active hepatitis.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) replicating in patients with serum hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (cryptic HBV replication) can be detected by a spot hybridization technique for serum HBV-DNA and by immunoperoxidase staining of hepatitis B core antigen in the liver. These methods allowed us to study the effects of chronic (13 to 82, mean 30 months) administration of low doses (10 or 15 mg/day) of prednisone to 17 patients with chronic active hepatitis and cryptic HBV replication. Liver biopsies performed before treatment demonstrated that 1 to 50% (mean 12%) of the liver cells were infected. After therapy, infected cells had disappeared in 5 (29%), were considerably reduced in 9 (53%) and remained unchanged in 3 (18%) patients. The mean percentage of infected cells in the liver biopsies performed at the end of the follow-up was 3.2 +/- 5.5% (p less than 0.005). Serum HBV-DNA was present in 12 of 13 and in 5 of 12 patients investigated before treatment and at the end of the study, respectively. Five patients harboring HBV in the liver developed cirrhosis during treatment. Our data indicate that, despite steroid therapy, HBV replication either ceased or was decreased in two thirds of the patients, while in no case it flared-up. The rise of cirrhosis was not prevented by this type of therapy.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

High level of hepatitis C endemicity in Gabon, equatorial Africa.

To assess the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a community-based study was performed in eastern Gabon on 1172 subjects over 5 years of age. The prevalence of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) detected using second-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmed by an immunoblot assay (RIBA 2), was 6.5%. Anti-HCV prevalence increased with age but was related to neither sex nor ethnic group. Among 30 subjects with positive ELISA results, 14 had HCV viraemia as shown by the polymerase chain reaction (11/12 RIBA positive, 2/15 RIBA negative, 1/3 RIBA indeterminate). We conclude that HCV is highly endemic in western equatorial Africa and that a high proportion of the population may be viraemic.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of 1'-C-branched N,O-nucleosides.

A synthetic approach towards 1'-C-branched N,O-nucleosides is reported, based on 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of ethoxycarbonylnitrone. The asymmetric version of the process exploits the presence of a chiral auxiliary at the carbon atom of nitrone and leads to beta-D and beta-L nucleosides in good yields.

Indicators and Reagents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Non-specific hyperreactivity before and after nasal specific immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Specific local immunotherapy (SLIT) improves symptom scores for allergic rhinitis during treatment and after its conclusion, as confirmed by non-specific tests. However, the duration of clinical and instrumental improvement after discontinuing SLIT is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changes in the non-specific reaction time of patients with allergy to Dermatophagoides pteronissinus before and during 3 years of SLIT, and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after discontinuing SLIT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixteen patients were diagnosed by clinical history, positive skin test for D. pteronissinus, RAST, nasal provocation test (NPT) specific for D. pteronissinus, NPT with cold water solution. SLIT was administered by nasal spray. Patients were evaluated before, at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of SLIT, and 6, 12, and 18 months after discontinuing SLIT. At the beginning of SLIT, the allergen concentration used was similar to that used in NPT. Maintenance doses were administered 3 times a week for 1 year and 2 times a week for 2 years. All patients kept a symptom diary. RESULTS: After the first year of SLIT, total nasal resistance (TNR) decreased sharply. TNR then remained constant at the end of the second year and decreased at the end of the third year of treatment. Discontinuation of SLIT did not produce evident variations in average TNR at 6 or 12 months, but 3/16 patients at 6 months and 9/16 patients at 12 months complained of symptomatic deterioration. The most evident deterioration was noted at the 18-month post-SLIT visit, in which TNR values were similar to those recorded at the onset of treatment. Positive response to stimulation and increased TNR were found after SLIT in 8/16 patients at 6 months, 13/16 at 12 months, 12/13 at 18 months, and 7/7 at 24 months. The symptom score indicated the return of symptoms. Twelve months after discontinuing SLIT, the patients complained about increased secretion and itching. The initial non-specific hyperreactivity, which had been present in all patients, was not evident in 68.7% after 3 years of SLIT, but persisted in a milder form in 31.3%. CONCLUSION: SLIT successfully reduced symptoms of D. pteronissinus sensitivity. Non-specific hyperreactivity was absent at the end of SLIT, but returned by 6 months after discontinuing SLIT. Therefore, SLIT did not maintain the clinical results achieved at the beginning of treatment for more than 12 months.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chromogranin A expression in human colonic adenocarcinoma.

The presence of CgA positive cells occuring in scattered elements or in clusters within human colonic adenocarcinomas has been documented in recent data. The number of these cases has ranged from 10% to 40% depending on the method of demonstration. The aim of this study is to assess the presence of CgA positive cells on a set of 60 tumours that, by standard histological procedures, were classified as well differentiated (n.5), moderately differentiated (n.48) and poorly differentiated (n.7) adenocarcinoma. 4-5 microm thick sections were processed by means of immunoperoxidase method using the primary CgA monoclonal antibody. Our results showed CgA positive cells in two cases of poorly differentiated and three cases of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. These specimens (8% of cases) showed diffuse, irregular areas of CgA immunoreactive cells as components of the neoplasm. These cases could be considerer as "mixed exocrine and neuroendocrine carcinoma" that develops from the same stem cell which differentiates into two atypical cell lines. Therefore, we suggest that to carry out a proper adenocarcinoma histological examination, and to establish a consequent therapy, not only common staining techniques but also immunohistochemical methods should be used.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Morpho-functional considerations on the annulate lamellae of the human oocyte].

Ovarian biopsy specimens from four girls in complete remission state of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, previously treated with antiblastic chemotherapy for about three years, were examined by means of electron microscopy. The normal morphology of residual follicles and, in particular, the observation that annulate lamellae were always present in oocytes of primordial and primary follicles, gave the chance to consider a possible functional role and to suggest a prognosis for future fertility. The similarities in structure to the nuclear envelope and the relation between annulate lamellae and other cellular organelles (especially endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes) suggest that lamellae may be involved in the release, assembly or activation of stored development information. The annulate lamellae could prove to be an important organelle that participates in the regulation of gene expression. Therefore, the presence of annulate lamellae in oocytes of primordial and primary follicles may present the possibility of a normal development for these cells in which long-lived gene products are synthesized and transported to the cytoplasm for storage and use later in development. The above hypothesis, while leads to consider these patients at risk for low fertility and early menopause, does not consider them as definitely infertile.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Assessment of asbestos exposure via mineralogical analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid].

BACKGROUND: Mineralogical analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) by electron microscopy could be the most suitable method for assessing asbestos exposure. However, it has been claimed that there is not a standardized or systematic approach to the subject of mineralogical analysis. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate mineralogical analysis of BALF by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as biomarker of asbestos fibre load. METHODS: BALF was examined in 193 exposed workers (189 men and 4 women) and in 84 patients (65 men and 19 women) who underwent diagnostic fibreoptic bronchoscopy for various clinical purposes. Asbestos bodies (AB) in BALF were counted with a phase contrast microscope, while fibres were counted and analysed by TEM. RESULTS: Fibre counting by TEM showed a significant difference in the two populations (two tailed Mann-Whitney U test, p=0.0044), since it was positive in all exposed subjects. Only 75.1% of the exposed population was positive for asbestos bodies (AB). Subjects who had been exposed over a long time period had higher concentrations of fibres than subjects who had been exposed more recently probably because of higher exposure in the past. CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the results of a previous study on a limited number of subjects. Fibre concentrations in BALF can be considered as a reliable biomarker of past asbestos exposure even after many years after cessation of exposure.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Asthma and systemic toxic reaction due to cabreuva (Myrocarpus fastigiatus Fr. All.) wood dust.

A 48-year-old parquet floor layer suffered from an attack of asthma at work and systemic toxic reaction after exposure to cabreuva wood dust (Myrocarpus fastigiatus Fr. All.). Exposure to the same dust in hospital produced a late asthmatic reaction with fever, vomiting and myalgia. Leucocytosis with neutrophilia was present after a bronchial provocation test but no radiological changes were observed. A control bronchial provocation test with fir wood dust was negative. It was not possible to study the systemic toxic reaction further due to non-collaboration of the patient; nevertheless, these findings show that systemic reactions to wood dust should always be investigated even though their occurrence is fortunately rare.

Asthma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hypopituitarism in the aged. Report of a case revealed by hypoglycemic coma (author's transl)].

The diagnosis of anterior pituitary insufficiency is difficult in the elderly and frequently made when the patient become comatose. At this age hypoglycemia is rarely the exclusive factor of this coma. The authors report a case revealed by hypoglycemic coma and supported by the lack of stimulation by the releasing factors. None etiology was found. With hormone treatment the patient recovered a normal life.

Aged↗