PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Mestre

Publications and source records attributed to C Mestre.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Intrathecally administered gabapentin inhibits formalin-evoked nociception and the expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity in the spinal cord of the rat.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of intrathecal gabapentin on nociceptive behaviors and the numbers of spinal Fos-like immunoreactive (Fos-LI) neurons evoked by injection of 0.25 to 2.5% formalin in the hindpaw of the rat. Pretreatment with gabapentin dose dependently decreased flinches and weighted pain scores in phase 2, but not phase 1, at each concentration of formalin. The highest dose of gabapentin (100 microgram) shifted the EC(50) values of formalin for both flinches and weighted pain scores to the right by 2.5-fold, suggesting that formalin was perceived to be significantly less noxious. Gabapentin also decreased phase 2 behaviors when administered after formalin but was only one third as potent. Unlike its inhibition of formalin-evoked nociceptive behaviors, the effect of gabapentin on the expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity in the spinal cord was highly dependent on the concentration of formalin. Intrathecal pretreatment with 100 microgram of gabapentin did not decrease the numbers of Fos-LI neurons evoked by 0.5% formalin, yet this dose decreased the numbers of Fos-LI neurons in laminae I-II and VII-X of rats that received 1.25% formalin and uniformly decreased by 50% the numbers of Fos-LI neurons in all laminae of rats that received 2.5% formalin. These latter findings suggest that gabapentin neither nonselectively decreases the excitability of spinal cord neurons nor uniformly inhibits the release of all neurotransmitters from primary afferent terminals. Rather, its effects may be preferential for those neurotransmitters released by higher, more noxious concentrations of formalin and for conditions in which there is a greater induction of central sensitization.

Acetates↗
PubMed1998

[The importance of lipoprotein(a) as a predictive factor of coronary atherosclerosis].

OBJECTIVE: The predictive value of lipoprotein(a), Lp(a), for coronary artery disease, is strongly suspected, though unproven. The normal serum level is 0.3 g/l. We searched for correlations between serum Lp(a) levels and coronary artery disease in a population of patients hospitalized in a general cardiology unit. METHOD: Serum Lp(a) was assayed in all patients consecutively hospitalized during 1994 in the Valence hospital cardiology unit. Two groups were distinguished: patients with coronary artery disease (n = 444) and those presumed free of coronary artery disease (n = 555). Coronography were performed when required. Serum Lp(a) levels were compared for the following variables: age, sex, smoking habits, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoproteins A1 and A2. Univariate, then multivariate analysis were performed first patients of all ages, then for those aged more and less than 60 years. RESULTS: Univariate analysis demonstrated that Lp(a) > 0.3 g/l was associated with coronary heart disease (OR = 1.33; p = 0.03), although this correlation was no longer significant after adjustment for other known risk factors (OR = 1.28; p = 0.07), except in the subgroup of patients over 60 years of age (OR = 1.37; p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: There was a non-significant trend favoring an association between serum Lp(a) level > 0.3 g/l and the development of coronary artery disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Subcoracoid dislocation of the distal end of the clavicle. A case report.

Subcoracoid dislocation of the outer end of the clavicle in association with an acromial fracture is a rare injury usually produced by high energy trauma that moves the clavicle posterior to the conjoined tendon and inferior to the coracoid process. To restore the acromioclavicular joint, open reduction is needed. After the reduction is accomplished, the clavicle has to be stabilized with a coracoclavicular screw. The acromial fracture can be reduced and held with nonabsorbable sutures placed through the bone. To avoid osteolysis of the distal end of the clavicle and to be able to repair the torn ligaments, treatment should not be delayed.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1997

Effects of clomipramine and desipramine on a C-fiber reflex in rats.

A C-fiber nociceptive reflex evoked by electrical stimulation within the territory of the sural nerve, was recorded from the ipsilateral biceps femoris muscle in urethane anesthetized rats. Intravenously administered clomipramine and desipramine produced a dose-dependent depression of the C-fiber reflex. High doses of intrathecal desipramine also inhibited the C-fiber reflex, while similar intrathecal doses of clomipramine produced only a modest inhibition of the response. Intracerebroventricular administration of clomipramine decreased dose-dependently the C-fiber reflex whereas intracerebroventricular desipramine increased this reflex. These findings suggest that tricyclic antidepressants with noradrenergic selectivity, as desipramine, inhibit the spinal processing of C inputs by acting directly at the spinal cord level, while those with serotonergic spectra, as clomipramine, depress the C-fiber-evoked spinal reflex by acting at a supraspinal modulatory site.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: analysis of factors related to cerebrospinal fluid dynamics determining functional prognosis.

This investigation has been undertaken to analyze the findings with both the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure (Pcsf) and CSF pulse pressure (PP) in order to predict the outcome of patients with the syndrome of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Accordingly, a prospective clinical study was planned in which two groups of patients with NPH, having analogous prevalence of several matched clinical and radiological parameters, were separated on the basis of their positive or negative response to shunting. Both the resting Pcsf and CSF PP profiles were compared in these two groups, and between them and normal controls. CSF PP amplitude and CSF PP latency correlated directly in conditions associated with either normal or high compliance (controls and patients with Alzheimer-like disorders), whereas this correlation was inverse in states of low compliance (NPH). On the other hand, shunt-responders showed a resting Pcsf significantly higher than both non-responders and controls. The following conclusions were obtained: 1) CSF PP is a high-amplitude and relative low-latency wave in NPH when compared with controls: 2) CSF PP amplitude and latency correlate directly in normal subjects and in those with primary cerebral atrophy; 3) a non-reversible stage of NPH could be conceived in contradistinction to the reversible one, in both of which an inverse correlation between the amplitude and the latency takes place, the main difference between them being the resting Pcsf, which is significantly lower in the former than in the latter, depending on the degree of atrophic changes developed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[An unusual cause of oxygen desaturation: isorhythmic atrioventricular dissociation].

A 69-year-old man, with a history of angina pectoris treated with verapamil, was admitted in the intensive care unit after a right liver resection. On admission, the chest X ray and the arterial blood gases (PaO2/FlO2 = 320) were normal. There after, the patient exhibited brief decreases of SpO2 (at 82%) which were spontaneously reversible. The ECG showed an isorhythmic atrioventricular dissociation associated with SpO2 falls. The SpO2 returned to normal values when cardiac rhythm became sinusal again. This case shows that in case of an important and brief decrease in SpO2, unexplained by a respiratory cause, a decrease of arterial pressure due to rhythmic disease should be considered.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Involvement of bulbospinal pathways in the antinociceptive effect of clomipramine in the rat.

The involvement of bulbospinal pathways in the antinociceptive effect of clomipramine in experimental pain was studied. The antinociceptive effect of the antidepressant (0.5 mg/kg), intravenously injected, was evaluated after a unilateral lesion of the dorsolateral funiculus. The results showed that this effect was suppressed only in the hindpaw ipsilateral to the dorsolateral funiculus lesion, and suggest that the antinociceptive effect of antidepressants needs intact descending inhibitory bulbospinal pathways.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1995

Intrathecal pertussis toxin but not cyclic AMP blocks kappa opioid-induced antinociception in rat.

The role of inhibitory G-proteins and cyclic AMP in spinal mechanisms of kappa opioid receptor-mediated antinociception was assayed by recording the withdrawal response latency of the rat tail following immersion into a water bath of 49 degrees C. Intrathecal administration of pertussis toxin (1 microgram/rat, five days before the behavioral evaluation) prevented the antinociceptive effect of the kappa receptor agonist U-50,488H, while administration of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (10 micrograms/rat, 17 min. after U-50,488H) did not antagonize the antinociceptive action of the kappa ligand. Results suggest that in the spinal cord the signal transduction mechanism subserving the antinociceptive effect of U-50,488H involves a Gi or Go protein, but also that cyclic AMP is not implicated in coupling Gi/Go proteins to the effector system.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

[Decrease in isoflurane requirements and of postoperative pain with preanesthetic intrathecal morphine].

OBJECTIVES: 1) To determine whether preanesthetic intrathecal administration of 0.5 mg morphine reduces isoflurane requirements for anesthetic maintenance. 2) To assess the duration of postoperative analgesia and the type and frequency of complications attributable to the procedure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A series of 45 adults were distributed into 3 groups of 15 patients each based on site of surgery and site of preanesthetic (30 min) injection of 0.5 mg pure morphine. Control group (C0) patients underwent lumbar surgery and received subcutaneous morphine. Group C0.5 patients also underwent lumbar surgery but received intrathecal morphine. Group A0.5 patients underwent long-duration high abdominal surgery and received intrathecal morphine. Anesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide (60%) in oxygen (40%) and a variable concentration of isoflurane. Isoflurane needs were assessed by averaging six consecutive measurements of end-tidal isoflurane pressure (M30FETiso) taken at intervals of 5 min. Postoperative analgesia was evaluated by means of a visual analog scale that was converted to numerical units (VASn). RESULTS: M30FETiso in group C0 (0.8%) was always higher (p < 0.01) than in the other two groups. M30FETiso in group A0.5 was higher (p < 0.01) than in group C0.5 during the first 150 min of surgery. After 180 min, there were no differences in M30FETiso (0.10-0.16%) between the two groups receiving intrathecal morphine. VASn results (mean +/- SD) in the first 4 hours were higher in group C0 (7.33 +/- 0.6) than in group C0.5 (1.13 +/- 0.35) and group A0.5 (1.07 +/- 0.26). The time of morphine-dependent analgesia was shorter (p < 0.01) in group C0 (0.62 +/- 0.38 hours) than in groups C0.5 (30.4 +/- 5.11 hours) and A0.5 (28 +/- 4.34 hours). There were no significant differences between the two groups receiving intrathecal morphine. CONCLUSIONS: Preanesthetic subarachnoid lumbar injection of 0.5 mg of pure morphine reduced early requirements for isoflurane in lumbar surgery (0.14% after 60 min). This reduction was initially less in patients undergoing abdominal surgery (0.44% at 60 min) but was the same after 150 min. Postoperative analgesia was long-term and independent of type or duration of surgery. There was no respiratory depression after surgery and the incidence of postoperative complications was similar in the two groups that received subarachnoid morphine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

A method to perform direct transcutaneous intrathecal injection in rats.

This work describes a method for performing direct intrathecal (i.t.) injections in rats without introducing a spinal catheter. Its ease of use in awake animals yields rapid and reproducible results with no sign of motor impairment. The quality of each injection was ensured by the observation of an injection-induced tail-flick. A 10-microL injection of methylene blue was well localized yielding a very limited diffusion along the spinal cord. The method was validated by demonstrating that morphine (i.t.) had a marked antinociceptive effect and that naloxone (i.t.) blocked the effect of systemic (s.c.) morphine in mononeuropathic rat.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1994

Pretibial myxedema and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin treatment.

Seven patients affected by Graves' ophthalmopathy and pretibial myxedema (four patients with nodular form, two with diffuse, and one with elephanthiasic form) have been treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins. We have observed (a) clinical improvement of pretibial myxedema and Graves' ophthalmopathy in all patients, (b) a reduction of pretibial skin thickness, by ultrasonography evaluation, in four patients, (c) a reduction of mucopolysaccharide skin content in three patients, (d) disappearance of lymphocytic skin infiltration and IgG deposition in two patients, and (e) a parallel reduction of the titer of circulating autoantibodies as antithyroglobulin, antimicrosomal, anti-TSH receptor, and of non-organ-specific antibodies as antinuclear, anti-smooth muscle cells, and anti-mitochondrial. In comparison two patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy and pretibial myxedema treated with systemic corticosteroids did not present any improvement of the cutaneous ailment. Therefore, this study suggests that intravenous immunoglobulins are effective in the treatment of pretibial myxedema and may have an immunomodulant action in patients with Graves' disease and related disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Complications of the pump pocket may represent a significant cause of incidents with implanted systems for intraperitoneal insulin delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To increase awareness of adverse events associated with the use of programmable implantable pumps (PIPs). CASES: There were 7 cases of complications associated with the pump-pocket among 40 patients treated by PIP, and we searched for risk factors. RESULTS: Seven of 40 type I diabetic patients treated by PIP presented severe complications of the pump-pocket, resulting in five definitive explanations and nine other surgical interventions. The lesions included an exudative reaction in the pump-pocket and a skin retraction or atrophy, which were complicated by skin erosion in five patients. Coagulase-negative staphylococcus was identified in the pump-pocket in four patients, including three cases of skin erosion. No specific risk of local complications could be attributed to age, sex, duration of diabetes, body mass index, presence of retinopathy or peripheral neuropathy, HbA1c level since implantation, depth of implantation in the abdominal wall, or duration of experience with PIP. Usual physical activity corresponding to > 2,000 kcal energy expenditure per week, estimated by a questionnaire, appeared to be the only identified significant risk factor. CONCLUSIONS: From these results, we suggest that physical activity should be limited to moderate exercise and exclude vigorous efforts in diabetic patients treated by PIP to avoid an increased risk of complications at the implantation site.

Adolescent↗