PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Parmigiani

Publications and source records attributed to S Parmigiani.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Current concepts on the pulmonary surfactant in infants.

Surfactant has been a main topic of neonatology in the last 20 years. Many studies have been conducted since the discovery of its role in the pathogenesis of respiratory distress syndrome and the knowledge on its composition and metabolism has become complex. In this article we review the current concepts of its metabolism, ways of acting, properties of its proteins and activities other than the ability of reducing surface tension within the lung as a basis to understand the development of disease in case of its deficiency.

Fetal Organ Maturity↗
PubMed2004

The 5 W's of surfactant for respiratory distress syndrome of the premature infant.

The main points of the recommendations on use of surfactant for respiratory distress syndrome are reported in the article. In particular the aspects of why to administer it, when to give it and what kind of surfactant to use as well as who should inject it and where are analysed in agreement with the data of literature and the experience of the author.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

The web survey network of sudden infant death syndrome and apparent life-threatening events in the Emilia-Romagna region.

To survey epidemiology and to study the etiology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and apparent life threatening events (ALTE) in Emilia-Romagna, a web network was constituted. A regional supervisor and a steering committee plan the action of district and local co-ordinators. They keep contact with the Regional Office of Health Services. District and local co-ordinators collect clinical and laboratory and, in case of SIDS, also autopsy data. Records are communicated to the Regional Supervising Center by on-line software. From these data, future planning of care and of mass information as well as auditing of their efficacy can be carried out. The characteristics of the network that has just started to collect data, as well its future developmental aspects, are discussed.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed2004

Neonatal seizures in preterm infants: clinical outcome and relationship with subsequent epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: Neonatal seizures are considered an acute manifestation of disturbance of the neonatal brain. Some of them can be considered as neonatal epilepsy. Our goal was to evaluate perinatal risk factors, electroencephalogram (EEG) findings and ictal semeiological characteristics of our newborns with neonatal seizures in order to identify which clinical variables were the most early predictive factors of poor neurodevelopmental outcome and of epilepsy. METHODS: Among all preterm infants consecutively admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the University Hospital of Parma in the period between January 1999 and June 2003, 28 preterm infants with gestational age<or=36 weeks were selected according to the presence of repetitive neonatal seizures, need of chronic anticonvulsant therapy, more than one EEG performed during the neonatal period, and at least one imaging examination (cerebral ultrasound and/or cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These patients were prospectively followed up for at least 6 months to evaluate the clinical outcome. Independent variables considered for analysis included perinatal risk factors, etiology of convulsions, EEG activity and type of seizures. RESULTS: The background EEG activity was the strongest predictive factor of the neurodevelopmental outcome, but status epilepticus (SE) also represented a significant variable associated with poor prognosis and subsequent epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: EEG activity was predictive of the developmental outcome and allowed identification of the infants with SE, a condition often related to neonatal epilepsy (71.4%, p<0.05).

Electroencephalography↗
PubMed2004

A rare case of multiple congenital epulis.

We report a case in a female newborn infant of multiple congenital epulis, i.e. granular cell tumor, that was undetected during regular pregnancy ultrasound monitoring. At birth the neoplasms appeared as two voluminous lesions protruding from the newborn's mouth. The greater of them (5.5 cm x4 cm x3 cm) was pedunculated and attached to the external superior gingiva, shifting the alae nasi and making it difficult to enter the coanae. The second mass was somewhat smaller (3 cm x4 cm x2.5 cm), pedunculated and attached to the external inferior gum. A third smaller mass was less evident, unpedunculated and attached to the rim of the lower gingiva. Histologically the lesions were characterized by large cells, which had abundant pale acidophilic granular cytoplasm. A round-oval nucleus was located centrally. The cell membranes were distinct. Neither mitosis nor necrosis was found. Staining for cytoplasmic granules was intensely periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) positive and diastase resistant. Immunohistochemical negativity for S100 protein, positivity for lysozyme and numerous phagolysosomes in the cytoplasm of neoplastic elements, observed on ultrastructural examination, supported the hypothesis that the congenital type of granular cell tumor cannot have a Schwannian origin like that of the adult type, but is probably a mesenchymal lesion which, for unknown cause, regresses by a degenerative process.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed2004

Cross fostering in mice: behavioral and physiological carry-over effects in adulthood.

Cross fostering is a widely used laboratory practice. However, relatively few studies have directly investigated the carry-over effects of this procedure in adult animals. The aim of the present study is to investigate the late effects of cross fostering (CF) at birth (in litters composed of no siblings) on adult mice. When adults, cross-fostered male and female mice were examined for intrasex aggression, and levels of emotionality, exploration and anxiety. In addition, body weight was monitored, several internal organs were weighed and plasma corticosterone levels were measured. When compared to controls, body weight of CF male and female mice was increased, at least after early puberty. CF males showed smaller preputial glands, while basal corticosterone level was not affected by cross fostering. In the free-exploratory test, CF males, but not females, showed a behavioral profile suggestive of lower anxiety. These effects in adulthood cannot be ascribed to differences in the maternal care received, which was not affected by cross fostering. In conclusion, cross fostering at birth induced a number of behavioral and physiological alterations in mice, particularly in males. These findings should be carefully evaluated when applying cross fostering procedure to laboratory animals.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2003

Individual housing induces altered immuno-endocrine responses to psychological stress in male mice.

Social isolation and lack of social support have deleterious effects on health, thus being regarded as one of the most relevant causes of diseases in human and other mammalian species. However, only few are the studies aimed at evaluating the psychoneuroimmunological functions of individually housed subjects. The present study was designed to understand how the behavior and the physiology of male house mice might be affected by individual housing. We first analyzed whether individual housing of different duration (1-42 days) would result in immuno-endocrine dysfunction (experiment 1). Then we investigated whether housing conditions would affect the reaction to an acute mild psychological stress (experiments 2 and 3). There were three main findings: first, individually housing mice for increasing time periods did not induce any major immuno-endocrine effects compared to a stable sibling group housing. Therefore, prolonged isolation does not seem to dramatically impair mice immuno-endocrine functions. Second, when exposed to a mild acute stress, i.e. forced exposure to a novel environment, isolated mice showed higher basal corticosterone and lower type 1 (IL-2) and type 2 (IL-4) cytokines as well as splenocytes proliferation compared to group housed male mice. Finally, when faced with a free choice between a novel environment and their home cage, individually housed mice showed reduced neophobic responses resulting in increased exploration of the novel environment, thus suggesting a low anxiety profile. Altogether, our findings suggest that individual housing in itself does not change immunocompetence and corticosterone level, but does affect reactivity to a stressor. In fact, individually housed mice showed high behavioral arousal, as well as altered immuno-endocrine parameters, when challenged with mild psychological novelty-stress.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2003

An observational study of surfactant treatment in infants of 23-30 weeks' gestation: comparison of prophylaxis and early rescue.

OBJECTIVE: To test the clinical efficacy of exogenous surfactant for treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). METHODS: In a retrospective multicenter observational study, data were collected on 987 infants of 23-30 weeks' gestation given surfactant for respiratory problems within 3 h of birth. Obstetric, neonatal and short-term outcome data were retrieved from recording charts and analyzed after subdivision of the sample into two treatment groups: prophylaxis (surfactant within 15 min) and early rescue (surfactant at 16-180 min). RESULTS: A total of 965 infants were eligible for the study: 244 receiving prophylaxis and 721 receiving early rescue. The prophylaxis group had lower gestational ages and birth weights than the early rescue group (p = 0.0001), but were otherwise comparable. Natural surfactants were used in > 90% of infants in both groups. The rates of retreatments and the mean total doses of surfactant were similar in both groups. Babies receiving prophylaxis presented less grade 3-4 RDS than those receiving early rescue (32.4% vs. 53.8%, p = 0.0001). Those requiring prophylaxis also needed lower peak inspiratory pressure and had a shorter duration of oxygen therapy. Mortality and complications were similar between the groups, but babies receiving prophylaxis had less pulmonary interstitial emphysema (p = 0.0006) and periventricular leukomalacia (p = 0.0113) than infants receiving early rescue. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice, prophylaxis was preferred in babies with lower birth weights and gestational ages compared to early rescue treatment. Not surprisingly, infants treated with prophylactic surfactant had a lower rate of RDS than the infants treated by early rescue, even though they did not need less surfactant overall.

Biological Products↗
PubMed2001

Effects of prenatal exposure to low doses of diethylstilbestrol, o,p'DDT, and methoxychlor on postnatal growth and neurobehavioral development in male and female mice.

We examined effects of a wide range of doses of three man-made estrogenic chemicals during fetal life on neurobehavioral changes during early postnatal life in mice. Pregnant mice were fed a 4-log range of o,p'DDT, methoxychlor (MXC), and the drug diethystilbestrol (DES) from gestation days 11 to 17. Offspring were examined for changes in postnatal growth and the development of neuromuscular reflexes. Fetal exposure to the estrogenic chemicals altered the number of live pups per litter, the sex ratio of the litters, the anogenital distance of male and female offspring at birth (a bioassay for fetal androgen action), and the body weight of offspring at birth and during the first 5 days of postnatal life. In most cases, however, the dose-response relationships were complex (non-monotonic), with effects at the highest dose examined being opposite to effects seen at lower doses. The two markers of neurobehavioral development, righting and cliff avoidance reflexes, were not sensitive indicators of prenatal estrogen exposure. Only maternal exposure to the lowest MXC dose produced an increase in reactivity in righting and cliff avoidance tests in offspring.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Social status in mice: behavioral, endocrine and immune changes are context dependent.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of social status on the endocrine, immune and behavior response of male mice. We found that in mice reared in a group of siblings since weaning, no difference exists between dominants and subordinates in basal corticosterone level, in behavior in the open-field test (OFT) and in a series of immune parameters. These results suggest that living with siblings is not a stressful condition for either dominant or subordinate mice. Therefore, group-housed siblings can be regarded as a valid control group in social stress studies. When mice were subjected to chronic psychosocial stress for 21 days, four types of social outcome occurred: residents becoming dominants, intruders becoming subordinates, residents becoming subordinates and intruders becoming dominants. Interestingly, the behavioral profile in the OFT revealed a status-dependent effect, with resident dominants (RD) and intruder dominants (InD) showing the highest locomotor and exploratory activity, whereas the corticosterone level was higher than control for all four categories. In addition, a context-dependent effect emerged at the immune level: resident subordinates (RS) had a reduced splenocyte proliferation and IL-4 and IL-10 production. Mice in all the other three social ranks showed no immune alterations. Therefore, the loss of an individual's social rank position seems a promising field of study to investigate the psychological impact of stressful events.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2001

Social stress in mice: gender differences and effects of estrous cycle and social dominance.

A large discrepancy in the possibility of inducing social stress in the two genders exists. Since generalizations of findings from one sex to the other appear not to be valid, reliable models of social stress in females are needed. We examined the effects of social context in the housing environment, as a possible source of stress, on exploration and anxiety in male and female mice, taking into account the estrous phase for females and the social status for males as additional variables. Mice housed individually or with siblings were tested in a free-exploratory paradigm of anxiety (where test animals have a choice to stay in their home cage or to explore an open field, OF). Individually housed females did not leave their home cage for long periods, explored less the unfamiliar area and displayed higher risk assessment, a behavioral profile suggestive of lower propensity for exploration and higher level of anxiety compared with group-housed females. Individually housed males tended to show an opposite profile. Proestrus mice were less sensitive to the decrease of exploratory propensity induced by individually housing compared to estrus and diestrus mice. Social dominants and social subordinates in sibling groups did not differ in their exploratory responses to the OF. Different housing procedures, as means to provide different social environment, may differentially induce mild social stress in male and female mice.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Palivizumab in infants with gestational age < or = 28 weeks and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

We report data from 11 patients < or = 28 weeks' gestation with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) prophylactically treated with palivizumab for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. All babies were receiving pharmacologic respiratory therapy at the moment of discharge from neonatal intensive care unit. Babies received 15 mg/kg i.m. palivizumab every 4 weeks to a max of 5 doses during the period November-March. We compared them with 8 similar infants that did not require therapy at discharge, nor were given any placebo. The treated infants did not present significant side effects. No baby in both groups was infected with RSV during the period of observation. We conclude from these preliminary data that palivizumab did not present contraindications in infants < or = 28 weeks' gestation with severe BPD requiring pharmacologic therapy at discharge. More data are required to evaluate efficacy to prevent RSV infection in these infants.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2000

Behavioral profile of wild mice in the elevated plus-maze test for anxiety.

Systematic observations of the defensive behavior of wild rodents have greatly informed the experimental study of anxiety and its neural substrates in laboratory animals. However, as the former work has been almost exclusively carried out in rats, few data are available concerning the reactivity of wild mice to standardized tests of anxiety-related behavior. In the present experiments, we employed ethological measures to examine the behavioral responses of a wild-derived population of house mice (Mus musculus) in the elevated plus-maze. In direct comparisons with laboratory Swiss mice, male wild mice exhibited substantially elevated levels of exploratory activities and an overall "preference" for the open arms of the plus-maze. On re-exposure to the plus-maze, male wild mice showed further increases in open arm exploration, while Swiss mice showed a marked shift to the enclosed parts of the plus-maze. Tested over a single session, female wild mice also exhibited a profile of high open arm exploration, but showed levels of exploratory behaviors and locomotor activity similar to female Swiss counterparts. While exploratory patterns in wild mice show similarities to profiles seen in certain laboratory strains (e.g., BALB/c), wild mice displayed a number of additional behaviors that are unprecedented in plus-maze studies with laboratory mice. These included actual and attempted jumps from the maze, spontaneous freezing, and exploration of the upper ledges of the closed arms. Thus, while in conventional terms the behavior of wild mice was consistent with one of low anxiety-like behavior, the presence of these unique elements instead indicates a profile more accurately characterized by high reactivity and escape motivation. We discuss how the use of an ethological approach to measuring plus-maze behavior can support accurate interpretation of other exceptional profiles in this test, such as those possibly arising from phenotyping of transgenic and gene knockout mice.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Normal values of reactive oxygen metabolites on the cord-blood of full-term infants with a colorimetric method.

The main end-point of the study was to evaluate the normal values of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) in healthy full-term babies. Secondary end-points were differences between groups related to modality of delivery, Apgar score, birth weight, gestational age and sex. All apparently healthy babies born at our institution between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday to Friday with gestational age 37-42 weeks, delivered both vaginally or by caesarean section and without foetal distress and perinatal asphyxia. ROMs were evaluated by a colorimetric method (d-ROM test) on cord-blood immediately after birth. The values are reported as arbitrary unit U. Carr. Statistical analysis was performed by t-test and by multiple and stepwise regression analysis. We have analyzed 80 babies with mean birth weight 3301 +/- 446 g. and mean gestational age 39.5 +/- 1.0 weeks. The male:female ratio was 1.56 and the median (range) Apgar score was 9 (7-10) at 1' and 10 (9-10) at 5'. The babies born by vaginal delivery were 37 out of 80 while the remaining 43 were delivered by cesarean section. Because the two groups did not differ for the clinical characteristics they were considered together for the determination of the mean value of ROMs and indicated as "total". The mean value +/- SD of ROMs of the "total" was 115.5 +/- 32.6 U. Carr. Significant differences in the mean value of ROMs were not found related to type of delivery, birth weight, gestational age, and Apgar score at 1' and 5'. Instead the female infants had a significantly lower mean value of ROMs than the male babies (respectively 104.4 +/- 32.2 vs 120.2 +/- 30.6 U. Carr.; p = 0.031). Multiple and stepwise regression analyses both demonstrated that the sex of the neonate is able to independently influence the value of ROMs (respectively p = 0.025 and p = 0.035). The main end-point of the study was to determine the standard reference values for this method in the healthy full-term infant at birth: the values of ROMs we found in the "total" population are lower than those of healthy adults (between 250-300 U. Carr.) and similar to those of adults treated with steroids or antioxidant drugs. The finding that the female sex is able to independently determine lower values of ROMs at birth compared to the male sex, lets speculate that the female infants are less prone to oxidative stress in the first moments of life.

Colorimetry↗
PubMed2000

[Evaluation and impact on incidence of admission to the neonatal care unit in cases of jaundice after early discharge form the nursery].

UNLABELLED: We have evaluated the entity of admissions to the Neonatal Care Unit (NCU) for jaundice in the period 1996-2000 of babies early discharged from the Nursery (36-48 hours for spontaneous deliveries and 72-96 hours for cesarean section). We have found an increasing trend of admissions for jaundice (R2 = 0.76), proportional to the increasing practice of early discharge and the early discharge also for infants 34-37 weeks' gestation. The admissions for jaundice from home have increased about 8 times from 1996 to 2000, respectively from 8 to 65 cases. The mean value of maximum total bilirubinemia at admission was 20.5 +/- 2.7 mg/dl. None of the infants underwent exchange transfusion. The most part of the jaundices (69/123) were idiopathic in term infants, followed by those in preterm babies (24/123) and by those in ABO incompatibility without hemolytic disease (15/123). Mean age at admission of the total population was 6.5 +/- 3.0 days, and 9 newborns had signs of dehydration at admission, with weight loss between 11 and 13.8% from birth. Also the admissions for jaundice of extracomunitary babies have resulted increased and they had a longer hospitalization than the rest of the population (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Early discharge from the Nursery has determined an increase of admissions to NCU for jaundice. New criteria have to be considered to select more carefully the infants that can benefit of this practice.

Hospital Departments↗
PubMed1999

Prenatal exposure to low doses of the estrogenic chemicals diethylstilbestrol and o,p'-DDT alters aggressive behavior of male and female house mice.

Exposure to estrogenic chemicals during critical periods in fetal life can alter the development of reproductive organs, the neuroendocrine system, and subsequent behavior. We examined the effects of prenatal exposure to the estrogenic chemicals, o,p'-DDT (the estrogenic contaminant in commercial DDT) and the drug diethystilbestrol (DES), as a positive control, on different forms of aggressive behavior in both male and female house mice. We also examined effects of these chemicals on male reproductive organs. From gestation days 11-17 female mice were fed an average concentration (dissolved in oil) 0.018 and 0.18 ng/g body weight of DES. Doses of o,p'-DDT were 18 and 180 ng/g body weight, based on the prediction that the in vivo potency of o,p'-DDT would be approximately 1000-times lower than DES. We found that prenatal exposure to DES increased the frequency of both males and females that responded aggressively to a same-sex conspecific. Preputial glands in males exposed to the 0.018 ng/g dose of DES were significantly enlarged relative to controls. Males exposed to the 18 ng/g dose of DDT had smaller testes than controls. The possible implications of perturbing the development of social behaviors, such as aggression, on individuals reproductive success and social structure of the population are discussed.

Aggression↗
PubMed1999

Selection, evolution of behavior and animal models in behavioral neuroscience.

We investigated whether genetic differences in various forms of intraspecific aggression and anxiety in four different genetic lines of mice (i.e. wild, outbred Swiss-CD1, inbred DBA/2 and inbred C57/BL6N) may reflect modifications in behavioral strategy. Experiments 1 and 2 used ethologically based paradigms to analyze aggressive and anxiety responses both in social (i.e. aggression) and non-social (i.e. novel environment exploration) contexts. In Experiment 3, an anxiolytic drug (chlordiazepoxide (CDP)) was used to examine possible differences in proximal mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behaviors. The data show that intrasexual aggression, infanticide and maternal aggressions are related and covarying. Genetic lines with the highest levels of intermale attack (i.e. Wild and Swiss-CD1) also have highest levels of infanticide, interfemale attack and maternal aggression but, interestingly, the lowest levels of anxiety. In fact, exploratory behavior is lower and risk assessment behavior markedly higher in DBA/2 and C57/BL6N mice (i.e. the less aggressive strains) compared to Swiss and Wild genetic lines. Although reproductive status influences anxiety levels in female mice, our findings show that (contrary to previous studies) lactating mice are more anxious than virgin females in terms of risk assessment activities. These data demonstrate the importance of studying behavior in a more ecologically-relevant context which emphasizes the function of behavior in a specific situation. Moreover, differential strain sensitivity to the behavioral effects of CDP suggests that genetic lines of mice may differ in the underlying mechanisms mediating behavior. It is therefore possible that artificial selection of different genotypes has resulted in differences in proximate mechanisms modulating the levels of aggression and anxiety, thereby leading to modification of social behavior. Overall, the results presented here suggest that subtle genetic alterations in specific underlying neural mechanisms are likely to cause profound effects on behavioral responses and their adaptive significance. Implications for behavioral neuroscience research that seeks to understand both the proximal and ultimate mechanisms of behavior are discussed.

Animals↗