Publications (11)58 Total impact
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Article: Relationship between site of disease and familial occurrence in Crohn's disease.
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ABSTRACT: Concordance in the extent of disease among the family members of patients with Crohn's disease has not been widely investigated. Furthermore, the relationship between the site of the disease and familial occurrence has never been studied. Our aim was to evaluate the familial occurrence of Crohn's disease in the various sites. Nine hundred thirty-four patients with Crohn's disease, observed consecutively in two gastrointestinal departments, were investigated to determine first-degree familial incidence (in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis). Whenever two or more members were attending the same clinic, only one was regarded as a propositus. The analysis, therefore, was carried out on 882 patients. The exact site of the disease was determined in all patients either at diagnosis or during the follow-up by colonoscopy and by small bowel enema. The rate of concordance in the extent of disease and familial occurrence in the various sites was evaluated and the difference was calculated by chi-square test. Sixty-one propositi were identified among all the patients. Forty-nine had familial occurrence for the same disease (concordant patients), whereas 12 had at least one relative with ulcerative colitis (discordant patients). In 44 propositi with only one relative affected, the rates of concordance in the extent of the disease were 84, 68, 18, and 0% respectively, for the ileum, the ileum-right colon, the ileum-total colon, and the colon. The number of propositi in the various sites was as follows: 4 of 162 (2.4%) patients with the disease located in the colon, 1 of 9 (11%) with the jejunum site, 24 of 380 (6.3%) with the ileum site, 16 of 165 (9.7%) with the ileum and right colon site, and 16 of 164 (9.7%) with the ileum and total colon site. The chi-square values of propositi distribution among other sites and the colon was, respectively, as follows: jejunum, 2.2 (N.S.); ileum, 3.4 (P = 0.06); ileum and right colon, 7.4 (P = 0.006); and ileum and total colon, 7.4 (P = 0.006). This study shows a pronounced concordance in the site of the disease for family members with Crohn's disease and suggests that familial occurrence in Crohn's disease is less frequent when the disease is located in the colon rather than elsewhere.Digestive Diseases and Sciences 02/1997; 42(1):129-32. · 2.12 Impact Factor -
Article: Familial aggregation of inflammatory bowel disease in a Mediterranean area.
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ABSTRACT: To evaluate familial aggregation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the Mediterranean area and to estimate the disease risk in first degree relatives. 427 patients with IBD were consecutively interviewed in order to obtain a complete pedigree of first degree relatives. Sufficient information was obtained in 98% of 2,685 family members. The prevalence ratio of IBD in family members was estimated and compared to the prevalence ratio of IBD in general population; the ratio was then standardized by age since the prevalence of the disease is age-dependent. The lifetime risk was assessed by the Kaplan Meier method. Thirty index cases (7%) had at least one affected first degree relative. As compared with the general population, first degree relatives of the 427 patients with IBD had a 4.38-fold increase in the age corrected risk of having the same disease. The kaplan-Meier curve showed a higher risk at 25 years of age for offsprings (3%) than for parents (1%) and siblings (1%) whereas the crude ratio showed a higher risk for siblings (1.9%) compared to parents (0.8%) and offsprings (1%). In the Mediterranean area, the familial prevalence of IBD is higher than in the general population and comparable to North European rates.European Journal of Epidemiology 05/1996; 12(2):205-10. · 4.71 Impact Factor -
Article: Mortality in patients with Crohn's disease.
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ABSTRACT: No data on mortality for Crohn's disease are available from southern Europe. Five hundred and thirty-one patients with Crohn's disease were observed in our unit between 1973 and 1993. In 325 patients the first diagnosis was made in our hospital. In this consecutive incidence series, in which the follow-up was 99% complete, the standardized mortality rate (SMR) was calculated. Nine deaths were observed, against 9.25 expected. The SMR was 0.97 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.4-1.8). The relative risk of dying was significantly higher in the female group in the first 5 years after diagnosis (SMR, 10.3; 95% CI, 2.30-30.2). There was an excess of deaths from tumors of the digestive organs (1 observed, 0.37 expected). These results show that in our geographic area the mortality from Crohn's disease was not increased as shown in other community studies.Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 05/1996; 31(4):372-5. · 2.02 Impact Factor -
Article: [Epidemiology and pathogenesis of Crohn's disease].
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ABSTRACT: The onset of Crohn's disease (CD) is more frequent between 15 and 30 years and also has a second peak over 60 years. It female sex it is slightly more prevalent among female. Incidence rates vary in different geographic areas, ranging from 2 to 4 new cases/100,000 inhabitants/year. Prevalence data range from 1.2 to 200,000/100,000. Ethnic differences are beginning to disappear, underlining the role of environmental factors in the genesis of the disease. At the moment the most reliable hypothesis is that CD has a multifactorial pathogenesis: antigenic and environmental factors acting in genetically predisposed patients. According to this hypothesis, first degree relatives of CD patients have a relative risk of disease ranging from 2 to 4. Many infective agents have been associated with its onset and relapse; the most reliable observations are those related to the measles virus. There is an activation of the immunosystem which is shown by abnormal T-cell activation, by the increase of some cytokines and by the expression of adhesion molecules. The role of oral contraceptives and diet as risk factors is controversial. Smoking is the only risk factor positively associated with the onset of CD and its clinical course; this association is specific and dose-related.Chirurgia italiana 02/1995; 47(5):1-7. -
Article: Epidemiology of Crohn's disease in Sicily: a hospital incidence study from 1987 to 1989. "The Sicilian Study Group of Inflammatory Bowel Disease".
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ABSTRACT: An epidemiologic study of Crohn's disease was carried out in the Province of Palermo, Italy, between 1987 and 1989. The incidence of first hospitalization was prospectively evaluated in this period. A total of 103 patients (59 males, 44 females) were diagnosed. The standardized annual incidence was 2.7/100,000. The incidence was quite constant during the 3 years of the study (1987: 2.9/100,000; 1988: 2.4/100,000; 1989: 2.99/100,000). Incidence rates were slightly higher in men than in women. The disease had a bimodal age distribution in female (with peaks at age 20-29 and 60-69) and males (with peaks at age 30-39, 40-49). No cases were observed at age 0-9. The incidence of Crohn's disease in southern Italy is comparable to that reported in northern Europe.European Journal of Epidemiology 12/1991; 7(6):636-40. · 4.71 Impact Factor -
Article: Epidemiology of crohn's disease in Sicily: A hospital incidence study from 1987 to 1989
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ABSTRACT: An epidemiologic study of Crohn's disease was carried out in the Province of Palermo, Italy, between 1987 and 1989. The incidence of first hospitalization was prospectively evaluated in this period. A total of 103 patients (59 males, 44 females) were diagnosed. The standardized annual incidence was 2.7/100,000. The incidence was quite constant during the 3 years of the study (1987: 2.9/100,000; 1988: 2.4/100,000; 1989: 2.99/100,000).Incidence rates were slightly higher in men than in women. The disease had a bimodal age distribution in female (with peaks at age 20–29 and 60–69) and males (with peaks at age 30–39, 40–49). No cases were observed at age 0–9. The incidence of Crohn's disease in southern Italy is comparable to that reported in northern Europe.European Journal of Epidemiology 01/1991; 7(6):636-640. · 4.71 Impact Factor -
Article: Familial association of Crohn's and coeliac diseases.
The Lancet 09/1989; 2(8658):338. · 38.28 Impact Factor -
Article: Hospital incidence of Crohn's disease in the province of Palermo. A preliminary report.
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ABSTRACT: The hospital incidence of Crohn's disease in the province of Palermo was studied from January 1987 to June 1988. A total of 51 patients (34 in 1987 and 17 in the first half of 1988) were diagnosed. The incidence rate calculated for the 1st year was 2.7/100,000. A similar figure was observed in the first 6 months of 1988, which ought to rule out an overestimation in the 1st year. These preliminary data suggest that the incidence of Crohn's disease in southern Italy is similar to that reported in northern Europe.Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology. Supplement 02/1989; 170:27-8; discussion 50-5. -
Article: [5-aminosalicylic acid treatment of ulcerative colitis during the acute phase in patients resistant or intolerant to salazopyrine].
Recenti progressi in medicina 03/1987; 78(2):76-8. -
Article: [Crohn's disease. Clinical presentation and short-term natural history in a Sicilian population].
Recenti progressi in medicina 03/1986; 77(2):77-80. -
Article: [Primary lymphoma of the small intestine. Radiographic image of enteroclysis with double-contrast media].
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ABSTRACT: The authors retrospectively reviewed the radiographic (double-contrast small-bowel enema) examinations of 20 patients with primitive small intestinal lymphomas. The diagnosis was histologically confirmed in all cases. The technique was very sensitive (100%) in detecting small-bowel abnormalities. On the contrary, a definite differential diagnosis was difficult to make (65%), except for 4 cases of lymphoma complicating celiac disease in which the presence of a nodular pattern and of thickened and irregular mucosal folds seemed to be highly specific. The most difficult differential diagnosis was with Crohn's disease. In all the cases with surgical confirmation (17), disease extent exactly corresponded to that suggested by small-bowel enema. Primitive small intestinal lymphoma is not radiologically distinguishable from secondary involvement during systemic lymphoma. From the analysis of radiological abnormalities, the authors observed that, different from previous reports, severe luminal narrowing was frequent, whereas "aneurysmal" dilatations of intestinal loops were never observed. CT was confirmed as the best technique for staging. Clinical implications of double-contrast enema in the diagnosis of primitive small intestinal lymphomas are discussed; radiographic patterns are reviewed.La radiologia medica 81(1-2):78-82. · 1.44 Impact Factor
