L'Ateneo parmense. Acta bio-medica : organo della Societa di medicina e scienze naturali di Parma最新文献

Lung function test performed on 26 chromium plating workers showed a high prevalence of obstructive disease and of change in DLCO. The connection between lung function impairment and occupational exposure to chromium is suggested by the relationship between respiratory changes and biological indices of chromium absorption. The prevalence and the severity of ventilatory impairment also show an increasing trend with the duration of the exposure, while the smoking habitus seems not to be important.

The need for safe and effective topical treatments is underlined by several clinical trials over the years treating miscellaneous dermatosis with many and heterologous drugs, sometimes on a simple empirical basis. In a recent study Robinson and Kligman claimed to have obtained satisfactory results treating several cases of actinic keratosis with an alternate regimen of retinoic acid and 5-FU. We wish to report an open-label pilot study using a simple and readily accessible combination of commercially formulated and available agents as 0,05% retinoic acid cream and 5% 5-FU cream over two groups of patients. Treatment consisted of bid application of sparing amounts of an equal parts combination of retinoic acid and 5-FU. The first group consisted of 7 patients affected by skin diseases associated with an altered epidermal keratinization (actinic keratosis, Darier's disease, seborrheic keratosis, phrynoderma and epidermodysplasia verruciformis). The patients were followed up for a period of 15 to 60 days and, as it might be expected, the results were quite good. The second group, on the contrary, consisted of 6 patients affected mainly by dermatosis involving the corium (LED, milium, colloid pseudomilium). The patients were followed up for the same period of time as the first group was, but the results were much less rewarding. Only a partial resolution of the process, which was followed soon after by a relapse, was noted. Finally we believe that this modified regimen of equal parts of retinoic acid and 5-FU has to be recommended in the topical treatment of the above mentioned dermatosis associated with an altered keratinization.

A new technique of anatomical study of cardiac nerves in man is described, and the results of the investigation are reported and discussed. Sections of the heart, 10 micron in thickness, stained with a modification of Masson's trichrome technique, and surrounded by at least 3 nerves fibres as a marker were projected by an ordinary photographic enlarger, and drawn on a polythene foam termoplastic material. The scale drawings were cut and put together to form a scale model of the heart studied in the peripulmonary tissue and between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. The advantages and the limits of this technique are then discussed.

Authors report own experience on 384 patients operated for acute cholecystitis, from 1970 to 1979, among over 2.100 operations for cholelithiasis performed in that period. Operations have been divided in 3 groups: 1) deferred after 2 months (196 cases); 2) deferred, but during hospitalization, between 8th and 25th day from the onset of acute symptomatology (133 cases); 3) early, within 72 degrees hour from beginning of the disease (55 cases). Many clinical features have been considered and among these bacteriological investigations. Diagnostic acids, especially echotomography in last years, surgical procedures, pathological findings and different rates of mortality and morbidity, for each group of patients, have been studied. The conclusion is that acute cholecystitis have to be operated early, not after degrees day from onset of symptoms, especially if there is no tendency to remission of symptomatology.

Stated that the alimentary inconguities, the improper mastication and the quickly eaten of foods are to avoid for the direct irritant effect on the stomach, the authors have examinate the various dietetic treatments, imploied for peptic ulcer and they conclude that only during the acute clinical phase more restrictive regimens are necessary. When the patient in on way of recovery, the alimentation must be free in agreement to the tolerance and personal taste using more variety of food. Moreover it's necessary to remember that the patient is not an "ulcer", but "his ulcer" be treated with the psycho-pathological implication correlated.

After a brief reference on the so-called diseases of "civilisation" and on their correlations with a diet rich in refined high caloric carbohydrate having poor gastric filling capacity and therefore lacking in fibre, the authors present their experience on a new product, MF/D/80, which is an association of cereal and acid fruit fibres. 25 patients (3 men and 22 women) were treated, 22 of them suffered from chronic constipation and 3 from colitis. The experiment was carried out without the use of control drugs. The aim of the research was that of verifying the efficacy and tolerability of the product. The efficacy was optimal in 88%, good in 4% and modest in 2 cases (8%) of the entire number of cases while the tolerability has been optimal in all the cases. The Authors conclude the retaining that MF/D/80 is a product that can be used with enormous advantages in chronic constipation for its efficacy, optimal tolerability and for its mechanism of action. The Authors finally underline its usefullness as an "alimentary integrator" in all those diseases (obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis etc.) which among the various etiopathogenetic moments, also count in refined alimentation.

The Authors have studied bone marrow CFUc and CLFC of 8 cases affected by idiopathic myelofibrosis, 7 by chronic granulocytic leukemia, 6 by polycythemia, and 3 by sideroblastic anemia. The authors studied also C.S.F. activity in peripheral blood of 8 cases. The method of Pike and Robinson for in agar culture was utilized. The results indicated a correlation between increase of clusters/colonies fraction, growth of blasts-like clusters, reduction of C.S.F. activity in peripheral blood and transformation in acute leukemia of preleukemic syndromes.

The early and long-term results using the polytetrafluorethylene (Gore-Tex) are reported. In 20 patients, 12 ilio-femoral bypasses, 10 femoro-popliteal and 2 aorto-subclavian bypasses have been performed; 5 of these patients underwent simultaneously femoro-popliteal bypasses with Gore-Tex and ilio-femoral bypasses with Dacron. Only once the Gore-Tex was used as patch. The results have been satisfactory. However, longer follow-up and many more patients are needed to determine if the Gore-Tex will be the substitute for the autogenous saphenous vein in peripheral vascular reconstruction.

Double contrast arthrography, under fluoroscopic control, is a technically simple procedure with a high degree of diagnostic accuracy. The Authors performed 95 arthrographies in patients with suspect meniscal lesion, making a correct diagnosis of 84 (94%) out of 89 cases undergone surgical intervention. They conclude giving the indications to arthrographic examination, which needs to be limited to those cases in which the clinical diagnosis is difficult on uncertain.