Biomedical subjects

S Carlevati

Publications and source records attributed to S Carlevati.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

[Use of ultrasonography methods in the diagnosis of neurogenic paraosteoarthropathy in spinal cord injury].

To assess the role of the ultrasonic imaging evaluation of articular lesions suspected to be the initial presentation of heterotopic ossifications (HO), 59 consecutive injured patients were studied. 32 out of 59 patients showed clinical signs of local inflammation in one of the articular sites of the upper or lower limbs, sonographic scans proved to be diagnostic of HO in 7 out of those 32 patients before their radiographic findings. Serial sonographic examinations were performed utilizing a 7.5 MegaHertz transducer probe for 2 months. The imaging abnormalities were correlated with biochemical levels of serum alkaline phosphatase, modifications of radiographic features and bone 99nTC scintigraphy. Scintigraphy revealed to have a high sensitivity but a low specificity for the diagnosis of HO. Also the serum levels of alkaline phosphatase were not a sensitive indicator of early HO in our group of patients. Moreover serial sonographic scans confidently excluded the HO in the 25 patients with no initial signs of the disease without any false negative results. Thus, early sonographic assessment of patients, with spinal cord injury in which local signs of inflammation suggest initial HO formation, revealed to be superior to the other utilized technique for the diagnosis of HO and may be considered a valuable alternative in particular to evaluate the evolutive pattern of this disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Transferrin receptor expression in the human placenta.

Iron transport from the mother to the fetus is mediated by transferrin receptors located at the maternofetal interface of the placenta. Transferrin receptors bind iron-loaded transferrin molecules from the maternal plasma, thus allowing iron uptake by trophoblastic cells which then deliver the metal to the fetal plasma. We have measured the transferrin receptor content in the placentas from 16 normal-term pregnancies and investigated the relationships between transferrin receptor expression and non-haem iron content, as well as maternal and fetal iron status. Transferrin receptor content was evaluated indirectly by determining the transferrin binding capacity of a placenta extract. Transferrin receptor content of the placenta ranged from 20 to 154 micrograms/g of tissue, with a mean value of 96 +/- 37 micrograms/g. The mean non-haem iron content was 78 +/- 11 micrograms/g of tissue, corresponding to 47 +/- 10 mg for the whole placentas. The amount of transferrin receptors in the placenta was found to be inversely related to the amount of non-haem iron (r = 0.64; p less than 0.025). No significant relationship was observed between each of these two parameters and the iron status of either the mother or the fetus. We conclude that placental non-haem iron, which represents a storage form of this element, is likely to play a regulatory role in the expression of transferrin receptors, and consequently in the process of iron uptake by the placenta.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The echographic diagnosis of neurogenic paraosteoarthropathies in myelosis patients].

To assess the role of the ultrasonic imaging evaluation of articular lesions suspected to be the initial presentation of heterotopic ossifications (HO) 59 consecutive spinal cord injured patients were studied. 32 out of 59 patients showed clinical signs of local inflammation in one of the articular sites of the upper or lower limbs, sonographic scans proved to be diagnostic of HO in 7 out of those 32 patients before a their radiographic findings. Serial sonographic examinations were performed utilising a 7.5 MegaHertz transducer probe for 2 months. The imaging abnormalities were correlated with biochemical levels of serum alkaline phosphatase, modifications of radiographic features and bone 99mTC scintigraphy. Scintigraphy revealed to have a high sensitivity but a low specificity for the diagnosis of HO. Also the serum levels of alkaline phosphatase was not a sensitive indicator of early HO in our group of patients. Moreover serial sonographic scans confidently excluded the HO in the 25 patients with no initial signs of the disease without any false negative results. Thus, early sonographic assessment of patients with spinal cord injury in which local signs of inflammation suggest initial HO formation revealed to be superior to the other utilized technique for the diagnosis of HO and may be considered a valuable alternative in particular to evaluate the evolutive pattern of this disease.

Adolescent↗