Biomedical subjects

A Nonis

Publications and source records attributed to A Nonis.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy and tolerability of mepartricin in the treatment of BPH.

BACKGROUND: Mepartricin, a semisynthetic polyene derivative with a favorable effect on urethro-prostatic function, was clinically evaluated, adopting the diagnostic and research criteria recommended by the First International Consultation on BPH. METHODS: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study compared mepartricin 40 mg/daily to placebo in the treatment of 196 patients with newly diagnosed BPH and mild-to-moderate symptomatology. International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS), quality of life (QoL) index and maximum urinary flow-rate (Qmax) were determined every 4 weeks for 6 months; postvoiding volume, prostate volume, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were assessed after 3 and 6 months of therapy. RESULTS: Mepartricin was shown to determine a statistically significant improvement over placebo in I-PSS and QoL index from month 2 onwards, and a significant linear increase in Qmax over the study period. At month 6, the improvement in the mepartricin and placebo groups in I-PSS, QoL index, and Qmax was 6.3 (standard error (SE) 0.51) and 4.2 (SE 0.60) points (P = 0.003), 0.99 (SE 0.14) and 0.62 (SE 0.12) points (P = 0.036), and 2.7 (SE 0.46) and 1.2 (SE 0.46) ml/sec (P = 0.051), respectively. No significant differences were noted in postvoiding residual volume, prostate volume, or PSA. Mepartricin tolerability was good, showing no adverse events on sexual function. CONCLUSIONS: Mepartricin proved to be an effective treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, determining an improvement in symptoms, quality of life, and peak urinary flow.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

In-vitro activity of 3-azinomethyl-rifamycin (SPA-S-565) against Chlamydia trachomatis.

The in-vitro activity of a 3-azinomethyl-rifamycin (SPA-S-565) against Chlamydia trachomatis was compared to that of rifampicin and of erythromycin. The compound showed excellent activity for standard strains as well as isolates from patients with sexually transmitted diseases, being more active than the other drugs tested. SPA-S-565 also showed a low frequency of emergence of resistance. Passage of standard strains at sub-inhibitory concentrations caused an increase in MIC values of rifampicin while those for SPA-S-565 remained unchanged.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1994

Evaluation of neuron-specific enolase, tissue polypeptide antigen, and carcinoembryonic antigen as markers for staging and monitoring response to therapy of lung cancer.

Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE), tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were measured in 60 patients with small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and in 94 patients with advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) at diagnosis, during induction chemotherapy, and at restaging. At diagnosis, the positivity rates of NSE, TPA, and CEA were 88, 52, and 43% in SCLC, and 20, 62, and 53% in NSCLC, respectively. Serum NSE and TPA levels were significantly higher in extensive than in limited SCLC. TPA and CEA levels were significantly correlated with the extent of NSCLC. NSE and TPA were significantly concordant with the clinical response to initial combination chemotherapy, the former in SCLC, the latter in both SCLC and NSCLC. By discriminant analysis, the presentation levels of the markers were not predictive of response to induction chemotherapy, whereas changes in NSE and TPA levels after the first cycle of chemotherapy were.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Comparative bioavailability of isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide administered in free combination and in a fixed triple formulation designed for daily use in antituberculosis chemotherapy. I. Single-dose study.

A comparative bioavailability study of the antituberculosis drugs isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide was carried out in a group of 10 healthy volunteers after administration of the three compounds, once in individual association and once in a combined, fixed preparation. The investigation was designed as an open, crossover study where each subject received five tablets of a preparation containing 50 mg isoniazid, 120 mg rifampin, and 300 mg pyrazinamide (corresponding to a total dose of 250 mg isoniazid, 600 mg rifampin, and 1,500 mg pyrazinamide). The same doses were administered in the session where the drugs were combined using the individual formulations. For each subject and experimental session, 15 blood samples were collected over a period of 24 h, and the plasma concentrations of the three drugs were assessed. The results indicated the absence of negative pharmacokinetic interactions between the drugs when administered in both free and this new, fixed combination.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Comparative bioavailability of isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide administered in free combination and in a fixed triple formulation designed for daily use in antituberculosis chemotherapy. II. Two-month, daily administration study.

The time course of the plasma concentrations of isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide was assessed in a group of 13 patients with lung tuberculosis treated over a period of 2 months on a continuous daily basis with a fixed triple combination of the same drugs. The blood kinetics of the three antituberculosis drugs were determined on Days 1, 15, 30, and 60 of treatment. The triple combination employed in this study contained 50 mg isoniazid, 120 mg rifampin, and 300 mg pyrazinamide per tablet, the number of tablets ranging from four to seven per day according to the body weight of the patients. Almost superimposable plasma concentration curves for isoniazid were observed during the 4 days of the study. For rifampin, a fall in the plasma concentrations at the time intervals after the peak was observed comparing the data on Day 1 with those on Days 15, 30, and 60, which did not differ from each other. This finding is thought to be due to the well-known phenomenon of self-induction, which leads to an increased rate of disposal of the antibiotic from the blood compartment within the first and second weeks of continuous treatment. For pyrazinamide, an equilibrium in the opposite sense as that of rifampin seemed to take place within the 2 months of the study. Because of the relatively high plasma levels observed 24 h after each administration, an increase in plasma concentrations with respect to those observed on Day 1 was found on Days 15, 30, and 60, the levels on these days no differing from each other.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

Penetration of roxithromycin in bronchial secretions.

Roxithromycin sputum and serum concentrations after administration of therapeutic doses (150 mg in a single dose) were evaluated in six patients. Blood samples and pooled sputum samples were collected at corresponding time intervals up to 24 h after drug administration. Roxithromycin sputum levels were found to be almost always above serum concentrations, the highest sputum levels being 5.85 +/- 2.5 micrograms/ml in the interval ranging from 2 to 4 h after drug administration. Due to its antibacterial spectrum and favourable pharmacokinetic properties, roxithromycin, like other macrolide antibiotics, seems to be particularly indicated in the treatment of respiratory tract infections.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Eskimo: an epidemiological simulation kinetic model for tuberculosis.

A simple, easy to use, kinetic model allowing the simulation of the main epidemiological parameters of tuberculosis and of the financial costs associated with the implementation of different anti-tuberculous policies, has been developed and described. The model, which has been denominated "ESKIMO" (Epidemiological Simulation Kinetic Model) can be utilized on a personal computer and requires, for its use, the knowledge of a series of easily available census data relative to a given country or geographical area, an essential epidemiological profile of the disease in the same area and data which characterize one or more antituberculous treatments in therapeutic and financial terms. The rationale of the model, which is a multicompartemental system, derive from an analysis of the relationships (transfer rates) between sub-populations of individuals in relation to tuberculosis either when the dynamic state of the system is governed by "natural forces" (no treatment) or when an external action is applied to it with an aim to alter its internal pathways in a favourable sense (vaccination, long-term hospitalization, chemotherapy). The model is based on the assumption that the main objective of any antituberculous program is the reduction in size of the subpopulation of patients who can infect other individuals and therefore perpetuate the disease. Validation and projection tests carried out through Eskimo seem to indicate that concentrating the analysis on the effect of various treatments on this group of patients simplifies the calculations while the relative precision of the estimates of other parameters is very satisfactory. The results of several simulations substantiate and quantify the opinions expressed by several experts in the past that the policy of applying cheap regimens of low efficacy to a relatively small fraction of the patients' population, as frequently done in developing countries, not only does not alter the trend of the disease but produces essentially negative results (increase in the number of new cases and in the frequency of resistant M. tuberculosis). Treatment with highly effective regimens of the same number of patients as those treated now (constant coverage) and therefore without the extra costs resulting from the improvement of the available sanitary infrastructures, produces much better results in clinical terms and overall saving of financial resources.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Past, present and future trends in tuberculosis epidemiology in a region of northern Italy. An analysis carried out through the application of a simulation model (Eskimo).

The epidemiological model Eskimo has been utilized to simulate some epidemiological parameters relative to tuberculosis in a restricted geographical area of northern Italy. After having identified a series of features relative to the regimens applied in the area in the period 1982-86 and which were found to be compatible with the observed data, this hypothesis has been utilized to project data on tuberculosis for the period 1986-1996. The results have indicated that the incidence in the area should stabilize around values of 20 new cases per year (per 100,000 population). A decrease in the incidence can be expected to occur only if the regimens so far employed are brought to a greater part of the patients' population (increasing coverage). The effects of importing the disease from developing countries through immigration and of the AIDS epidemic are likely to negatively affect the trend of tuberculosis incidence in the future.

Cohort Studies↗