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Biomedical subjects

S La Rocca

Publications and source records attributed to S La Rocca.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Evaluation of the Abbott AxSYM cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin M (IgM) assay in conjunction with other CMV IgM tests and a CMV IgG avidity assay.

The measurement of the avidity of cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies has been shown by several investigators to be useful in identifying and excluding primary CMV infections in pregnant women. In this work, we examined the diagnostic utility of reflex testing of CMV IgM-positive specimens from pregnant women by using a CMV IgG avidity assay. The utility of this approach was directly dependent on the sensitivity of the CMV IgM assay employed during the initial screen. The higher initial reactivity rate of the AxSYM CMV IgM assay was necessary in order to detect CMV IgM in specimens containing low-avidity CMV IgG antibodies, indicative of a primary CMV infection, which other CMV IgM assays (Behring, Vidas, Captia, and Eurogenetics) fail to detect in some cases. The use of the AxSYM CMV IgM assay, followed by an avidity test, should result in more accurate diagnosis of CMV infection in pregnant women.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1990

[HBsAG-positive mothers and neonatal immunization: experience at the USL No. 1 in Trapani].

A vaccination campaign against HBV was undertaken by the Division of Neonatal Pathology at the Hospital of Trapani from 1984 to 1989 with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality rates due to HBV. 6,849 women were studied in order of HBV diagnosis. Seventy-four of these (1.08%) were HBsAg positive, and 4/74 were HBeAg positive. Seventy-two high-risk newborns underwent passive immunoprophylaxis and a vaccination cycle. Antibody titres demonstrated the effectiveness of therapy in 95.1% of subjects.

Female↗
PubMed1989

Insulin and glucagon degradation in liver are not affected by hepatic cirrhosis.

Hyperinsulinemia and impaired glucose tolerance are associated with liver cirrhosis. To investigate whether insulin-degrading activity in liver tissue plays a role in hyperinsulinemia, we assayed this activity in biopsy tissue from healthy and cirrhotic subjects. There was no difference in insulin degradation between these two groups. Also glucagon-degrading activity in liver tissue, which is catalyzed by the same enzyme as insulin-degrading activity, did not differ between the two groups studied. Therefore, insulin-degrading activity does not appear to be involved in the hyperinsulinemia that occurs in liver cirrhosis. The study provides indirect evidence that hyperinsulinemia and impaired glucose metabolism in liver cirrhosis are due to different mechanisms (receptorial and post-receptorial defects, and altered feedback inhibition of insulin secretion).

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Soybean protein diets in the management of type II hyperlipoproteinaemia.

The efficacy of soybean protein treatment of stable type II hyperlipoproteinaemia was evaluated in 57 patients assigned to the following protocols: (i) substitution of animal protein with soybean protein (19 subjects) and (ii) addition of soybean protein to a standard low-lipid diet (38 subjects). After 16 weeks of treatment, plasma cholesterol was reduced by 29.5% in the first group, and by 29.9% in the second; the difference was not significant. Similarly the reduction in LDL cholesterol was not significantly different between the 2 groups (39% in the first group and 36% in the second). Plasma triglycerides fell by 11.8% and 18.2%, respectively. HDL cholesterol was not modified to any significant extent by soybean protein regimens. These results provide that the addition of soybean protein to a standard low-lipid diet is effective in inducing a significant cholesterol decrease in patients with type II hyperlipoproteinaemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in a rural area of Italy.

The prevalence of diabetes in subjects aged 18 yr and over was evaluated in a rural community of Southern Italy (Sanza). Among the 1,154 participants examined by using a 75 g oral glucose load according to the recent WHO diagnostic criteria, the diabetes prevalence was 6.6% in men and 6.8% in women; impaired glucose tolerance occurred in 5.1% of men and 7.9% of women. The frequency of positive family history of diabetes was no higher in subjects with diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, than in controls. Obesity was clearly related to diabetes (p less than 0.05 in men and p less than 0.01 in women 40 yr old and over). The level of physical activity was significantly lower in subjects with diabetes than in normal subjects. The results suggest that a remarkable reduction in physical activity, along with an increased caloric intake, may have importance in determining the prevalence and time of appearance of non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Application of a statistical approach to determining reference intervals in clinical chemistry.

In clinical chemistry a linear-regression model may be used to determine reference intervals. A crucial point in this approach is the choice of variables to introduce into the model. In the present paper, we have applied a nonautomatic selection procedure, known as "element analysis," to a sample of 126 individuals from a small, ethnically homogeneous community in southern Italy. We investigated the effects of four independent variables--sex, age, weight, and alcohol consumption--on values for serum urea. Only sex and age proved to affect the urea values and were therefore introduced into the final model. This approach may be useful in determining reference intervals from observational studies when it is difficult to control a priori relevant factors. Moreover, variables may be selected not only on the basis of statistical criteria, but also according to biochemical and medical criteria.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease in an Italian rural community. The Sanza Survey.

Coronary heart disease rates were estimated in three groups of people participating in the Sanza Survey - newly diagnosed non insulin dependent diabetics, subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and control subjects with normal glucose tolerance. The prevalence of Minnesota-coded ECG abnormalities showed a significant gradient with an approximately twofold excess in both the newly detected diabetic and impaired glucose tolerance cases over the subjects with normal glucose tolerance. The doubling of ECG ischemic changes found in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus appeared to operate almost equally in the absence or presence of several other recognized risk factors for coronary ischemic damage. It is concluded that a relatively low degree of glucose intolerance alone may be important in determining coronary heart disease.

Adolescent↗