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Biomedical subjects

B Ritz

Publications and source records attributed to B Ritz.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

[Efficacy and tolerability of isoptine LP in mild to moderate hypertension. A multicenter study with 50 patients].

A multicenter open trial involving 50 hypertension patients enabled evaluation of the efficacy and tolerability of Isoptine L.P. (sustained release verapamil) in mild to moderate essential hypertension. Following a 2-week placebo run-in period, patients were given Isoptine L.P. (240 mg/24 h) as a morning dose for 3 months, with a possible dose increase (360 mg/24 h) in case of diastolic blood pressure of 95 mmHg or more at the 30-day evaluation. Blood pressure was measured by mercury sphygmomanometer and, in 20 patients, by a Dinamap type Automatic device. After 3 months of treatment, blood pressure levels in supine and standing position, measured manually and automatically, showed a highly significant decrease, with a mean fall of 18.4 mmHg for systolic (13.7 percent) and 13.2 mmHg diastolic (-14.6 percent). 67 percent of patients were responders after 1 month of treatment and 79 percent at 3 months, including one-fifth at the dose of 360 mg/24 h. Seventeen patients, i.e. 34 percent, reported one or more adverse reactions. Among these, four patients had to stop treatment, twice because of headache and twice for constipation. Adverse events seen most frequently were constipation, headache, tiredness and vomiting. No cardiac adverse events were reported with the exception of one case of atrial premature contractions. The electrocardiogram revealed significant slowing of heart rate, as well as slight prolongation of PR and QT intervals and slight widening of the QRS complex. Tolerability on the basis of laboratory parameters was good.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[Hemodynamic testing at rest and during exertion after mitral valve replacement with a St. Jude Medical prosthesis].

177 mitral valve replacements with the St Jude Medical prosthesis (SJM) were carried out from March 1979 to December 1983. 45 of these patients (22 men and 23 women) underwent right heart catheterisation 6 or 8 months after surgery. These patients were operated for pure mitral stenosis in 24 cases, mitral regurgitation in 10 cases and mixed mitral disease in 24 cases. There was associated aortic valve disease in 26 patients and valve replacement with a Björk prosthesis was carried out in 19 cases. Tricuspid valvuloplasty was performed in 6 patients. 37 patients were at Stage III or IV of the NYHA classification before surgery; one year later, only 1 patient remained at Stage III, 4 patients were at Stage II and 38 at Stage I. 2 patients died in the first postoperative year of extracardiac causes. Resting pulmonary capillary pressure (Pw) fell from 18 +/- 7 mmHg to 9 +/- 4 mmHg after surgery (p less than 0.001); cardiac index rose from 2.21 +/- 0.45 to 2.59 +/- 0.49 1/min/m2 (p less than 0.001). A capillary arteriolar obstruction observed in 16 patients before surgery was only found in 9 of these patients after surgery. The changes in pulmonary pressures and cardiac output during exercise were studied in 22 patients. Pw rose from 7.6 +/- 1.5 mmHg to 20 +/- 4 mmHg; cardiac index increased from 2.62 +/- 0.19 to 5.46 +/- 0.72 1/min/m2. When compared with theoretical results in a normal subject, pulmonary artery pressures were abnormally high in 13 subjects (59 p. 100), reflecting a stenosing effect of the prosthesis, unmasked by exercise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1984

[Hemodynamic data during muscular exercise after myocardial infarction. Correlations with coronaro-ventriculographic data].

Forty six patients aged 25 to 67 years (average : 52 years) underwent measurement of pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), systemic pressure and cardiac output (Fick) at rest and during exercise in the recumbent position 12 +/- 3 weeks after uncomplicated myocardial infarction; the results were then compared with those of coronary angiography and right anterior oblique monoplane left ventriculography. The site of infarction was anterior in 18 cases and postero-diaphragmatic in 28 cases; it was non-transmural in 4 cases. Twenty patients (43%) had multivessel disease; this was equally common in anterior and inferior wall infarction. Regional wall abnormalities of 3 or more segments were observed in 14 cases. Mean PAP increased from 12,3 +/- 4,6 Torr at rest to 27,8 +/- 10,5 Torr on exercise. In 17 patients (Group A) PAP was normal at rest and during exercise (10 +/- 2 Torr and 18 +/- 3 Torr respectively); 25 patients (Group B) had normal resting PAP (12 +/- 3 Torr) but an abnormal rise on exercise (32 +/- 8 Torr); in 4 patients (Group C) PAP was abnormal at rest (24 +/- 4 Torr) and on exercise (44 +/- 7 Torr). The increase in PAP on exercise was inversely correlated to the ejection fraction (p less than 0.001) and related to the extent of left ventricular hypokinesia (p less than 0.001). Patients in Group A had higher ejection fractions (p less than 0.05), dp/dt/p index (p less than 0.01) and left ventricular compliance (p less than 0.01), lower resting (p less than 0.01) and exercise (p less than 0.05) systemic pressures and small regional wall abnormalities (p less than 0.01) than patients in Group B.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Chronic pulmonary thromboembolism.

Recurrent pulmonary embolism sometimes (3% of hospital autopsies) determines a progressive obstruction of the pulmonary vascular bed, which in turn causes pulmonary arterial hypertension and in time right ventricular hypertrophy and failure. The first stages of this process are characterized by slight pulmonary arterial hypertension at rest and by few and deceiving symptoms which make the diagnosis very difficult. Regarding anatomy, in most cases recurrent thromboembolism obstructs one of the main branches of the pulmonary artery. At the beginning pulmonary embolism usually manifests itself in a spontaneous and atypical manner: paroxysmal dyspnea, tachycardia, lateral chest pain, mild hemoptysis and recurrent fever. The clinical signs of peripheral thrombophlebitis are not very frequent. The chest roentgenogram supplies diagnostic information in 20% of cases, the electrocardiogram in 10%. Very important is the contribution of the analysis of arterial blood gases: hyperventilation, moderate hypoxia associated with shunting, hypocapnia with a widened difference between alveolar and arterial CO2. Pulmonary perfusion scintiphotography shows vast unperfused areas, different to the "plexogenic" appearance in primitive pulmonary arterial hypertension, in about 50% of cases. Pulmonary angiography discloses the exact site and extension of the obstruction in 80-90% of cases. On catheterization pulmonary arterial hypertension results to be inconstant and may appear only during stress. Regarding the evolution of pulmonary embolism, the forms associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension may last several years, although recurrent embolism may shorten its course. When the stage of right ventricular hypertrophy is reached, the evolution is generally rapid (from 1 to 4 years).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angiography↗
PubMed1983

[Acute hemodynamic effects of molsidomine in man].

Molsidomine was administered sub-lingually to two groups of five patients. One group had normal left ventricular function and the other had abnormal left ventricular function. Molsidomine was found to induce a decrease in the left ventricular filling pressure and volume and an increase in ventricular distensibility. It helps reduce the pre-load on the ventricle and parietal rigidity. It also reduces systemic blood pressure and resistance as well as the parietal pressure and the total systolic load opposing ejection. It helps reduce the post-load and the metabolic requirements of the myocardium. It does not have any depressant action on the myocardium, even when the ventricular function was initially abnormal. The action of the molecule is apparent between the 20th and the 30th minute and is maximal at the 40th minute, which was the limit of the experiment. The tolerance of the product was excellent in these ten subjects.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of cadmium body burden on immune response of school children.

The effects of cadmium on measures of immune-system function were determined from a health survey of school children in heavily polluted regions of eastern Germany. A representative sample of 842 students, aged 5-14 y, was included in logistic regression analyses in which the relationship between urinary cadmium content and blood immunoglobulin levels was examined. Investigators further evaluated a subsample of 807 students to determine cadmium's effect on the immediate hypersensitivity reactions elicited by skin-prick challenges with 12 common aeroallergens. Several potentially confounding factors were controlled for, after which investigators found that increasing body burdens of cadmium were associated consistently with dose-dependent suppression of immediate hypersensitivity and of immunoglobin G, but not immunoglobulins M, A, or E levels. The immunoglobulin pattern observed in exposed children led investigators to suggest that secondary humoral responses were impaired by cadmium.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of radiation and chemical exposures on cancer mortality among Rocketdyne workers: a review of three cohort studies.

The purpose of the UCLA Rocketdyne Study was to estimate the effects of occupational exposures to low-level ionizing radiation and selected chemicals on cancer mortality among nuclear and aerospace workers who were employed at Rocketdyne/Atomics International between 1950 and 1993. The results of this retrospective cohort study suggest that: (1) exposure to external radiation, especially doses greater than 200 mSv, increased the risk of dying from lymphopoietic cancers, lung cancer, and possibly other solid cancers; (2) exposure to internal radiation increased the risk of dying from lymphopoietic cancers and upper-aerodigestive-tract cancers; and (3) exposure to hydrazine or other chemicals associated with the same jobs at rocket-engine test stands increased the risk of dying from lung cancer and possibly other cancers.

California↗