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S Annunziata

Publications and source records attributed to S Annunziata.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Effects of beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin on platelet activity.

In the present study, beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin were tested for their antiplatelet activity in human platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Blood samples were obtained from 15 healthy subjects. The results of the study show that these two endogenous opioids (200 pg/ml final concentration) reduce platelet aggregation when it is induced by ADP at low dose (0.5 microM). It is likely due to conformational changes on the platelet membrane that cause a non-specific decreased susceptibility to platelet-aggregating agonists.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed2001

Effect of treatment with acarbose and insulin in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus associated with non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

AIM: Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) not responding to dietary treatment alone in patients with non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis is characterized by high postprandial hyperglycaemia. The control of postprandial hyperglycaemia in such patients, is generally achieved by the means of progressively higher doses of insulin, with an increasing risk of hypoglycaemia in the late postprandial period. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of acarbose for the control of postprandial hyperglycaemia in 100 patients with well-compensated liver cirrhosis and type 2 diabetes treated with insulin. METHODS: The study was double blind with randomization of treatments into acarbose (52 patients) vs. placebo (48 patients) with parallel branches over a period of 28 weeks. RESULTS: All patients tolerated the treatments well and no significant variations in liver function tests were observed (< 5% vs. pretreatment). A significant reduction of several parameters was observed only after acarbose treatment: fasting glycaemia (173 +/- 28 vs. 146 +/- 19 mg/dl; p < 0.01), postprandial glycaemia (230 +/- 24 vs. 148 +/- 20 mg/dl; p < 0.01), mean glycaemia (206 +/- 20 vs. 136 +/- 13 mg/dl; p < 0.01), mean variation (180 +/- 14 vs. 51 +/- 10 mg/dl; p < 0.01), HbA1c (8.9 +/- 0.8 vs. 7.2 +/- 0.5; p < 0.05), C-peptide 2 h after a standard meal (4.5 +/- 1.9 vs. 2.8 +/- 1.7 ng/ml; p < 0.05), whereas the parameters did not change significantly after the placebo. After acarbose treatment a significant increase of intestinal voiding/week (+116% vs. +10%; p < 0.01) and a parallel reduction of blood ammonia levels (-52 +/- 9% vs. -9 +/- 5%; P < 0.01) were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The results clearly document the good tolerability and the absence of toxic effects of acarbose on liver, due to the lack of both intestinal absorption and hepatic metabolism of the drug at doses in the therapeutic range. In fact, acarbose increases the peristalsis movements of the gut, stimulates the proliferation of the saccarolytic bacteria and simultaneously reduces the proliferation of proteolytic bacteria, thus resulting active in the reduction of blood ammonia levels. These effects of acarbose may be advantageously exploited in the treatment of type 2 diabetic patients with well-compensated non-alcholic liver cirrhosis.

Acarbose↗
PubMed2000

Single-pinhole confocal imaging of sub-resolution sparse objects using experimental point spread function and image restoration.

Sparse fluorescent pointlike subresolution objects have been imaged using a diffraction limited single-pinhole confocal fluorescence microscope. A Maximum likelihood image restoration algorithm has been used in conjunction with a measure of the experimental point spread function for improving the three-dimensional imaging of subresolution sparse objects. The experimental point-spread-function profiles have been improved by a factor of 1.95 in lateral direction and 3.75 in axial direction resulting in full-width half maximum (FWHM) values of 91 +/- 11 nm and 160 +/- 26 nm. This amounts to 1. 43 and 2.15 in optical units, respectively. The lateral and axial FWHM of the sparse pointlike subresolution objects is about 5 and 3 times smaller than the wavelength. This result points to the attractive possibility of utilising a compact confocal architecture for localising punctuate fluorescent objects having subresolution dimensions. The key resides in the utilisation of the measured point spread function coupled to an appropriate image restoration approach, and, of course, in the stability of the confocal system being used.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1998

Effects of wortmannin on human neutrophil respiratory burst and phagocytosis.

Modulation of neutrophil response to naturally occurring stimuli is important to avoid host tissue injure. Both soluble and particulate stimuli may induce superoxide anion generation in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Recently wortannin has been shown to inhibit the N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) induced activation of respiratory burst via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. However no data are available about the effect of the inhibitor on the respiratory burst induced by a particulate stimulus. In this paper we studied the effect of wortmannin on E. coli induced respiratory burst and phagocytosis by flow cytometry, which allows the quantitation of both H2O2 production and ingested bacteria in whole blood samples without the need of purification and concomitant manipulation of the cells. The effects of worthmannin on fMLP-induced chemotaxis was also examined by the under agarose method. Neither the E. coli nor the fMLP-induced responses were blocked by wortmannin, suggesting that PI 3-kinase activity is not required to activate these neutrophil functions. Since it is known that the respiratory burst elicited by fMLP is blocked by wortmannin, our results suggest that the generation of oxygen radicals is controlled via different signal transduction pathways, depending on the agonist used.

Androstadienes↗
PubMed1998

[The Studer ileal bladder and the Paduan ileal bladder: comparison of 2 techniques].

Between January 1988 and December 1995 48 orthotopic detubularized and reconfigured ileal neobladder were carried out with two distinct surgical procedures in the same Hospital. 33 underwent lower urinary tract reconstruction using Studer's technique with an afferent ileal tubular isoperistaltic segment; in 15 patients the ileal substitution of the bladder was performed with Paduan ileal bladder (VIP). In any case an ileal low pressure reservoir was obtained with similar functional capacity (400 ml. at the urodynamic control), as using the same length of ileum (40 cm) for the reconstruction of the reservoir itself. In order to other functional aspects (e.g. diurnal and nocturnal continence) results were analogous if a correct rehabilitation program was observed. Significant post-voiding residual and late neobladder decompensation was prevented with adequate mictional training. Early and late complications (globally 19-24%) were evaluated: strictures of ureteroileal and ileo-urethral anastomoses were rare; an ileoureteral reflux was observed at a cystographic control in 50% of Studer group, but never clinically significant and only in 20% of VIPs. No clinically significant metabolic changes were found. Survival was satisfactory at a mean follow-up of 48 months.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Comparison of free/total PSA (F/T PSA) ratio and PSA density (PSAD) in the early diagnosis of cancer of the prostate].

The identification of the immuno reactive molecular forms of PSA has permitted the identification of a correlation between Free PSA and Total PSA as the most important factor in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer. Cut-off of 0.15 ng/ml seems to be the most appropriate. The Authors consider that the use of this limit is important in the decision to carry out a prostate biopsy on the patients with PSA in the range of 4-10 ng/ml who have neither any clinical symptoms nor an abnormal transrectal ultrasound. In particular the sensitivity and the specificity of F/T PSA and the density of PSA (PSAD) have been compared at his limit of 0.15. In our study of 60 patients (of whom 22 were affected by cancer and 38 by BPH) we have noticed that 27/60 patients had a value of PSA between 4 and 10 ng/ml and negative DRE and TRUS. On the whole the F/T PSA report showed a slightly higher specificity than PSAD; in contrast PSAD showed a slightly higher sensitivity. In conclusion, to identify the early detection of this cancer both tests are required as well as a biopsy.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

[Urinary PSA (uPSA) in the monitoring of local recurrence following radical prostatectomy].

The level of urinary PSA (PSAu) was measured for use as a marker in some clinical situations involving prostate cancer patients. Limits of physiological and pathological values, a quantity of which comes from the urethral glands and the umbilical median ligament (urachus), are still unknown. To establish the quantity of PSA secretion in the urethra, female PSAu was measured and found to be significantly low (< 0.1 ng/ml). The Authors report on 25 PR patients with negative margins and who had not received hormonal therapy for 30 months. The PSAu and the PSAs were measured on the 30th and the 60th day, and every 3 months thereafter in the first year and every 6 months in the second year. In 5 cases we observed an increase of PSAu between the 5th and 18th months. In 3 cases the PSAs increased 2 to 6 months later compared to the PSAu. In these 3 cases the biopsy indicated the presence of a localized relapse. Therefore the Authors recommend measuring the PSAu (cut-off 0.1 ng/ml) in the follow-up of the PR patients because the measurement may both identify a localized relapse earlier than the PSAs and indicate the localized response to hormonal or radiotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transglutaminase-dependent formation of protein aggregates as possible biochemical mechanism for polyglutamine diseases.

Transglutaminases (Enzyme Commission 2.3.2.13) are a large family of enzymes that show the common capacity to catalyze cross-linking of protein substrates. Some members of this family of enzymes are also capable of catalyzing other reactions important for the cell life. The distribution and the role of these enzymes have been widely studied in numerous cell types and tissues, but only recently their expression and functions started to be investigated in the central nervous system. One of the main biochemical properties of the transglutaminase enzymes is to form large protein aggregates that are insoluble in all known protein detergents, such as urea, guanidinium, and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Recently, the transglutaminase activity has been hypothesized to be involved in the pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for the formation of cellular inclusions present in Huntington disease and in all the other polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases hitherto identified, such as spinobulbar muscular atrophy or Kennedy disease, spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA-1, SCA-2, SCA-3 or Machado-Joseph disease, SCA-6 and SCA-7) and dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy. In this review we describe the biochemical properties of the transglutaminase enzymes and some recent findings about the physiopathological roles played by these enzymes in the central nervous system.

Brain↗
PubMedDate not supplied

IgA glomerulonephritis in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.

Renal morphology was evaluated in 2 siblings with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) aged 12 and 4 years. They gave a typical history of recurrent episodes of respiratory infection and presented with microhematuria of glomerular origin and proteinuria. The study disclosed a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis with IgA mesangial deposition in the elder child, while immunofluorescence was negative in the younger. The data indicate that (1) a specific nephropathy does not exist in WAS and (2) the IgA nephropathy is the result of recurrent infections and of related formation of IgA immune complexes scarcely removed by a deficient reticuloendothelial system. This view is consistent with presenting features in WAS (microhematuria, episodes of macrohematuria, proteinuria, Henoch-Schönlein syndrome) and with the fact that it takes years to develop as indicated by the negativity of immunofluorescence in the younger patient.

Child↗