PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

D Bessarione

Publications and source records attributed to D Bessarione.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

A new glucose clamp algorithm: clinical validation.

A new glucose clamp technique for in vivo studies of insulin sensitivity was validated clinically. Eighteen patients (10 males, 8 females, age 35-80 years, body mass index 34.6-17.04) were connected to a computer-assisted artificial pancreas "Betalike R", using a new algorithm based on a "minimal model", to carry out the glucose clamp technique automatically and especially to overcome the well-known problems of its priming phase. We performed the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp in four patients and the hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp in 14. In one patient both clamps were done. The mean priming time to reach steady-state glycemia was 20 min. Plasma insulin concentrations were measured every 20 min. This new automatic glucose clamp technique enables the priming phase to be run without any significant overshoot, and accidental variations of glycemia in steady state were reduced to a minimum. The system showed satisfactory safety and stability in controlling the patient's glycemia and assured high speed of the priming phase.

Adult

[Blood pressure monitoring during hospital convalescence].

Blood pressure ambulatory monitoring has provided numerous and interesting informations on the clinical as well as investigational setting of arterial hypertension. The vast majority of data have been obtained registering blood pressure during the normal daily activities of the patients and surprisingly few studies have been undertaken to evaluate blood pressure behaviour in inpatients. We observed the 24 hours pattern of blood pressure in hypertensive and normotensive inpatients, using an automated sphygmomanometer (Omega 1400), whose performance was previously evaluated by us. The results demonstrate that blood pressure monitoring in inpatients could be a useful tool in managing hypertensive patients.

Adult

Famotidine has no significant effect on gonadal function in man.

The effect of a single bedtime dose of famotidine 40 mg on gonadal function was studied in 8 male duodenal ulcer patients. The drug was orally administered for 4 weeks. Our results show that this new H2 blocker influences basal and stimulated serum levels of neither testosterone nor gonadotrophins (LH, FSH). Besides, no significant variations were observed before and after famotidine treatment in seminal fluid characteristics evaluated in 5 out of 8 cases. It can be concluded that famotidine appears to leave gonadal function unaffected in man.

Administration, Oral

Cytosolic and nuclear androgen receptor activity in the cancer of the larynx.

It is well known that the larynx is a target organ for androgens and the cancer of larynx is more frequent in male subjects. We have evaluated the androgen receptors (AR) in the cytosol (ACR) and in salt extractable (ANR) and salt resistant nuclear fraction (AMR) in a group of 24 male patients with cancer of the larynx surgically removed. In addition specimens obtained from the normal mucosa of the same subjects were analyzed. In 5 patients estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptors were also assayed. In all subjects blood samples were taken before surgery for the assay of the following hormones: LH, FSH, estradiol, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, delta 4-androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, cortisol. The results observed showed that 18 out of 24 normal larynx mucosa specimens and 17 out of 24 larynx cancer specimens were positive for ACR or ANR or AMR. The 5 samples of normal and cancer tissues analyzed for ER and PgR were negative. In conclusion there is no significant correlation between AR positivity from one size, histology, degree of differentiation and invasivity of the cancer, age of patients and hormonal blood levels from the other. The high ANR and AMR positivity (normal hormonal translocation and binding on DNA acceptors) confirm that the normal and cancer larynx are target tissue for androgens and establish the hormone dependence of this cancer. Hormonal therapy could be envisaged as an alternative or a complementary therapy for this type of cancer at least in the cases in which the analysis of hormone receptors will prove to be positive.

Adult

Growth hormone response to growth hormone-releasing hormone in normal and uraemic children. Comparison with hypoglycaemia following insulin administration.

The uraemic syndrome is characterized by several endocrinological disturbances. This study was undertaken in order to evaluate the GH response to growth hormone-releasing hormone (GRH) in children with chronic renal failure (CRF) and to compare the results with those observed after insulin hypoglycaemia. Twenty-two children with CRF, 10 undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and 12 on conservative treatment (CT), age ranges 2-15 years, were studied and the data were compared with those from 14 children with normal renal function and normal hormonal behaviour, affected by short stature (NC), and those form 13 healthy adult volunteers (NA). The GRH test (l micrograms/kg body weight, iv) was carried out in 8 CAPD, 8 CT, 9 NC and 10 NA subjects. The blood samples were taken every 30 min for 3 h in CAPD and CT and for 2 h in NC and NA starting at 09.00 h. The following hormones were measured: GH, LH, FSH, Prl, TSH and cortisol (F). The insulin test (0.1 U/kg body weight, iv) was carried out in 5 CAPD, 5 CT, 10 NC and 9 NA on blood samples taken every 30 min for 2 h, measuring GH and glycaemia. No adverse effects were observed after the infusion of GRH. GRH administration induced a prompt response in all subjects, but GH plasma levels were significantly higher in uraemic children than in adults (peak value of 43.5 +/- 8.2, 45.0 +/- 8.4, 27.8 +/- 6.0; 13.5 +/- 2.6 micrograms/ml in CAPD, CT, NC and NA, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent