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Biomedical subjects

C M Villabona

Publications and source records attributed to C M Villabona.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Salivary excretory pattern of testosterone in substitutive therapy with testosterone enanthate.

OBJECTIVE: To determine salivary and serum T levels by an RIA method after a single injection of 250 mg IM of commercially available T enanthate. DESIGN: Research study. SETTING: Patients attended in a hospital environment. PATIENTS: Sixteen men with secondary hypogonadism. INTERVENTIONS: Testosterone enanthate was administered, and salivary samples were taken before the injection. Thereafter, these samples were obtained daily until day 7 and then on alternate days until day 28 after injection. Blood samples were taken previously and after the injection (5 samples during the month). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Salivary and serum T. RESULTS: Salivary T levels rose from 3.46 +/- 3.16 to 13.82 +/- 7.78 ng/100 mL (0.12 +/- 0.11 to 0.48 +/- 0.27 nmol/L) within 24 hours and remained in that range until day 7. From day 9, 7.20 +/- 2.88 ng/100 mL (0.25 +/- 0.10 nmol/L), a progressive decrease of these values was observed until day 14: 5.18 +/- 2.88 ng/100 mL (0.18 +/- 0.10 nmol/L). From day 16 until day 28, salivary concentrations returned to hypogonadal levels. CONCLUSION: We conclude that T salivary concentrations may be applied to assess the effectiveness of T substitutive therapy in hypogonadal men and could replace serum in the monitoring of this type of therapy.

Adult↗

Tuberculous Addison's disease. Utility of CT in diagnosis and follow-up.

The computed tomographic (CT) findings in five patients with tuberculous Addison's disease were evaluated. All patients had extra-adrenal tuberculosis. Two patients had enlarged adrenal glands with calcifications at the times of diagnosis. Follow-up CT from 4 to 30 months showed a progressive decrease in the size of adrenal glands from bilateral enlargement to small calcified glands and provides a clue to the etiology of Addison's disease and proper therapy.

Addison Disease↗

[Hypophyseal apoplexy: clinico-radiologic analysis and clinical course in 18 patients].

The period of time between clinical manifestations and admission of 18 patients with pituitary apoplexy (PA) was of a mean of 6 days with the exception of two cases. Distribution by age and sex, absence of previous endocrinal clinical manifestations in 38.8% of the patients was similar to that of larger series described. Headache constituted an almost constant symptom. The most affected cranial pairs were II (12 patients), III and IV, both in 8 cases. Following decompression surgery, great improvement was observed in visual acuteness in 5 of these patients, and in the ophthalmoplexy in 8. Alterations in the level of consciousness is less and less frequent in the context of PA thanks to the diagnosis of less severe clinical episodes. Similarly, a high rate of clinical suspicion and the use of new imaging techniques (NMR) have contributed notably with the most outstanding findings being resumed. Moreover, a case of PA with associated intracranial aneurysm verified by carotid angiography is described.

Adult↗

Growth hormone response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone in acromegalic patients: reproducibility and dose-response study.

The aim of the study was to analyze 14 consecutive patients with active acromegaly who had not undergone any therapy, the dose response of growth hormone (GH) to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), the existence of reproducibility of such response as well as to rule out the possibility of spontaneous fluctuations of GH which would mimic this response. On several nonconsecutive days, we investigated the GH response to saline serum, 100, 200 (twice) and 400 micrograms of TRH administration. We also studied both basal serum prolactin, serum prolactin after TRH administration and thyrotropin values. Our results show an absence of GH response after saline serum infusion, whereas after TRH doses, 36.3 42.8 and 45.4% positive responses were obtained, respectively. All GH responders were concordant to the different doses administered. The mean of GH concentrations of the different doses at different times did not reach significant differences. The response to the administration of the same dose brought about a significative increase, although it was not identical. It demonstrated a progressive increase of the area under the response curve, as did the means of increments after each TRH administration, albeit without reaching statistical significance. Between the GH-responding and GH-nonresponding groups there were no differences in either basal serum prolactin or serum prolactin and thyroid-stimulating hormone levels after TRH stimulation. The present study clearly shows that TRH elicits serum GH release from GH-secreting pituitary tumors. The response was reproducible in qualitative terms rather than quantitative, and no dose-response relationship was found between the TRH concentrations and the amounts of GH secreted.

Acromegaly↗

[Pituitary apoplexy: analysis of endocrine function in 17 cases].

BACKGROUND: From a neurological standpoint, pituitary apoplexy (PA) is a well defined syndrome. There are few systematic studies addressing pituitary hormone secretion after a PA episode. The aim of the present study was to assess the frequency and degree of endocrine dysfunction due to PA. METHODS: In 17 consecutive patients, the secretion of growth hormone (GH), the pituitary-adrenal axis status, thyrotropin (TSH), prolactin and gonadotropins (LH, FSH) were evaluated after the administration of insulin, thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (LHRH) after an episode of PA. 20-90 days after surgery the measurements were repeated. Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) was measured by plasma/urine osmolality after water deprivation and, in some cases, by administration of hypertonic saline. RESULTS: The most commonly found deficiency was that of GH (84%), which in two cases resulted in cure of acromegaly, followed by that of LH (78%). Pituitary-adrenal dysfunction was improved in two patients after surgery. In all cases except one there was a reduced secretion of at least two hormones. If serum prolactin was reduced, the rest of pituitary function was usually impaired. In one case, permanent diabetes insipidus developed after PA. The prevalence of PA in pituitary adenomas was 9%. CONCLUSIONS: Pituitary hormone secretion after a PA episode is almost invariably impaired. This impairment may be reversed after surgery. Hypoprolactinemia is an indicator of pituitary hypofunction.

Adenoma↗

Salivary testosterone in prostatic carcinoma.

Testosterone concentrations in saliva were measured in 13 patients with prostatic carcinoma after surgical or medical (diethylstilboestrol or Estracyt) orchiectomy. The salivary testosterone values in these patients were significantly lower than in normal males but not significantly different from those in normal females. The salivary testosterone concentrations were measured for 6 consecutive months and did not vary significantly from month to month. The results suggest that the measurement of salivary testosterone concentrations could be useful in evaluating the androgenic function of patients with prostatic carcinoma after medical or surgical orchiectomy.

Aged↗