VALUTAZIONE DEL TEST MONOLISA HCV AG-AB ULTRA IN UN LABORATORIO DI SIEROIMMUNOLOGIA: DATI PRELIMINARI

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VALUTAZIONE QUANTITATIVA DI HIV RNA CON IL SISTEMA NUCLISENS EASYQ HIV-1 E CORRELAZIONE CON VERSANT HIV -1 (bDNA)

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Cytomegalovirus encephalitis in a non-immunocompromised patient: CSF diagnosis by in situ hybridization cells

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) encephalitis in immunologically normal patients is rarely reported in the literature. CMV infection was diagnosed by viral DNA probe techniques on CSF cells in a 32-year-old, immunologically normal male presenting with a severe clinical picture due to encephalitis. Administration of ganciclovir was followed by an immediate improvement in the patient's condition. More sensitive techniques for CMV detection could allow to discover more cases of CMV encephalitis in non-immunocompromised patients than previously recognized

Glycometabolic control in Acromegalic patients with Diabetes: a study of the effects of different treatments for GH excess and for hyperglycaemia.

Background. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is frequently observed in patients with acromegaly. Current therapies for acromegaly may impact glucose regulation, influencing insulin sensitivity and secretion. The question whether these therapies modify control and progression of diabetes once present is still open. Aim. Aim of our study is to analyse glucose control in acromegalic patients with diabetes, evaluating the relation with treatments for GH excess and for diabetes. Methods. Seventy patients with acromegaly and diabetes were studied. Duration and treatments of acromegaly and DM were recorded, together with clinical and metabolic parameters. Results. Most patients (92.8%) were treated with somatostatin analogs (SSAs), either alone or in combination with dopamine-agonists (20%) or pegvisomant (15.7%). 7.1% patients had been treated by surgery alone. Metformin (65.7%), alone or in combination with other hypoglycaemic drugs, was the most frequent treatment for diabetes, followed by insulin (21.5%). Only 15.7% were treated with diet alone. The whole cohort showed a very good control of diabetes and acromegaly. Median glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was 6.4% (5.9-7). IGF-1 was within normal range for age in most patients. No relation was observed between duration of acromegaly or diabetes and metabolic control. SSAs had a negative effect on insulin secretion, but these effects did not influence glucose control. Finally, we observed a low prevalence of nephropathy (6%) and retinopathy (20%). Conclusions. Our study shows that a good control of hyperglycemia can be obtained with success in the majority of acromegalic patients with diabetes, independently from the type of treatment for GH excess

Secretive and proliferative tumor profile helps to select the best imaging technique to identify postoperative persistent or relapsing medullary thyroid cancer

Background and Objective: In patients with postoperative persistent medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), the tumor detection rate is generally low for most of the imaging techniques now available. The aim of this study was to investigate if the the clinico-biological profile of the tumor may indicate which imaging technique to perform in order to identify postoperative persistent or relapsing MTC foci. Patients and Methods: Thirty-five consecutive MTC patients with detectable and progressively increasing postoperative serum concentrations of calcitonin were enrolled in the study. The detection rates of 18F-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET), somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) and 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy (MIBG) were compared in relation with calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen serum concentrations, Ki-67 score and results of conventional imaging techniques (CIT). Results: FDG-PET positivity was significantly associated with calcitonin serum concentrations >400 pg/ml and Ki-67 score >2.0% (p800 pg/ml (p2.0% suggests to perform a FDG-PET in addition to conventional imaging. Calcitonin secretion predicts both FDG-PET and SRS uptake but SRS positivity is generally found only in patients with well defined MTC lesions which are also detectable at the conventional imaging examination. MIBG outcome is not predicted by any clinico-biological factors here investigated