Biomedical subjects
Aquiles J Roncoroni
Publications and source records attributed to Aquiles J Roncoroni.
[Medical use of cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Breathing control in neurological diseases.
Control of ventilation depends on a brainstem neuronal network that controls activity of the motor neurons innervating the respiratory muscles. This network includes the pontine respiratory group and the dorsal and ventral respiratory groups in the medulla, which contain neurons that fire primarily during inspiration, post-inspiration, or expiration. The ventral respiratory group includes the pre-Bötzinger complex, which contains neurokinin-1 receptor immunoreactive neurons critical for respiratory rhythmogenesis. Structural and degenerative disorders affecting this network produce abnormalities of respiration, including sleep apnea and various patterns of dysrhythmic breathing, not infrequently associated with disturbances of cardiovagal and sympathetic vasomotor control. This emphasizes the important interactions between the respiratory and cardiovascular control networks in the medulla. Common disorders associated with impaired cardiorespiratory control include brainstem stroke or compression, syringobulbia, Chiari malformation, high cervical spinal cord injuries, and multiple system atrophy. This review focuses on the functional organization of the respiratory control network and common causes of impaired control of respiration.
Strong ion difference: metabolic acidosis or alkalosis?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
[The enigma of pulmonary hypertension of undetermined origin].
The purpose of this review paper is to discuss: A) The differences in the nosological characteristics of this condition. Some authors only accept as primary pulmonary hypertension those patients without any other possible cause. They even exclude those with familiar pulmonary hypertension since its genetical etiology is now well established. It is more generally accepted that the very low incidence of pulmonary hypertension in conditions such as anorexigen use, portal hypertension or others, suggest the coincidence of a permissive genotype, susceptible phenotype (endothelial dysfunction) and a triggering factor. In such a way, pulmonary hypertension may be associated with apparently dissimilar conditions. B) The current interpretation of histologic lesions and their relationship with recent histochemical and immunological findings. The previously proposed hypothesis that some lesions are final and inactive results of prolonged hypertension is difficult to uphold since they were found only months after the clinical beginning of the disease. Moreover cells at the center of the plexiform lesion show histochemical activity patterns. It is also proposed that the anatomically inapparent endothelial dysfunction may be the original event. C) Proposed causal mechanisms such as down-regulation or even absence of K+ voltage channels of the pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell. This finding would include primary pulmonary hypertension among the simultaneous "channel diseases". The data that justify the possible influence of serotonin plasma levels are also commented.