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Biomedical subjects

F Bottiglioni

Publications and source records attributed to F Bottiglioni.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Intramuscular interferon-beta treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia II associated with human papillomavirus infection.

A placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of intramuscular injection of interferon-beta has been performed on 37 patients suffering from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia II (CIN II) associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the cervix: twenty-two patients were treated with interferon-beta (2 x 10(6) I.U. daily) for ten days; fifteen received placebo (2 ml of saline solution daily) for ten days. Prior to therapy, and at day 70, 190, 370, 550, 730 after the beginning of treatment, patients were examined by colposcopy and punch biopsies of the cervix. Results showed a progressive amelioration in the interferon-beta treated patients, which was statistically significant at any control station (70, 190, 370, 550, 730 days) as compared to placebo treatment. Percentages of lesions that regressed, persisted or progressed were 36.4%, 54.5%, 9.1% respectively in the Interferon-beta group, and 0%, 67.7% and 33.3% respectively in the placebo group. Interferon-beta administered intramuscularly has shown to be an efficacious treatment of CIN II (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia II) associated with HPV infection, without evident side effects; it can be used in patients requiring medical treatment with at least one-year monitoring by cervical biopsies or as an adjuvant surgical treatment (which remains the principal treatment) in the management of patients suffering from CIN II associated with HPV infection.

Adult

Bleeding patterns in postmenopausal women taking continuous combined or sequential regimens of conjugated estrogens with medroxyprogesterone acetate. Menopause Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the bleeding patterns obtained with two continuous combined and two sequential regimens of conjugated estrogens with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and conjugated estrogens alone. METHODS: This was a 1-year double-blind, randomized study done with 1724 postmenopausal women at 99 sites in the United States and Europe. All five treatment groups received 0.625 mg/day of conjugated estrogens. Groups A and B also took continuous daily doses of 2.5 and 5.0 mg of MPA, respectively. Groups C and D took 5.0 and 10.0 mg of MPA, respectively, for the last 14 days of each 28-day cycle. Group E took continuous daily doses of placebo to match MPA. RESULTS: The two continuous combined regimens (A and B) produced amenorrhea in 61.4 and 72.8%, respectively, of all evaluable cycles. Generally, the incidence of amenorrhea increased and irregular bleeding decreased with longer duration of treatment. In addition, amenorrhea occurred for at least the last seven consecutive cycles of the treatment year for about 40% of the patients taking the lower-dose continuous combined regimen (A), about 50% of the patients taking the higher-dose continuous combined regimen (B), and about 50% of the patients taking conjugated estrogens alone. About 5% of the patients who took either of the sequential regimens (C or D) had amenorrhea during that time. Most of the cycles (81.3 and 77.0% in groups C and D, respectively) for patients taking the sequential conjugated estrogens-MPA regimens had regular withdrawal bleeding or withdrawal spotting. There was no bleeding or spotting in 75.5% of the cycles for patients who took conjugated estrogens alone. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half of the women who took the continuous combined conjugated estrogens-MPA regimens had amenorrhea, and the incidence tended to increase during the study. Women who took the sequential regimens had good cycle control with minimal irregular bleeding. More than half of those who took conjugated estrogens alone had amenorrhea.

Adult

[Italian multicenter study for the verification of the efficacy and tolerability of short-term substitution hormone therapy using conjugated estrogens and progestagens administered orally in the postmenopausal a period].

Three hundred and sixty-three postmenopausal women received 6 months of cyclic hormone replacement therapy with conjugated estrogens in differing doses (0.625 mg and 1.25 mg) associated in a sequential pattern lasting 12 days with progestagens (medroxyprogesterone acetate or medrogestone) in 16 italian health centres. The results of the multicentre study confirm the efficacy of this conjugated estrogen-progestogen regimen in resolving climacteric syndrome, offering cardiovascular protection and vaginal trophic effect and preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis, as well as confirming its tolerability in relation to blood pressure, body weight, breast, endometrium, blood coagulation and hepato-renal function.

Administration, Oral

A randomized comparative study for the clinical evaluation of hormone replacement by transdermal and oral routes.

During a six-month randomized study involving 460 post-menopausal women, transdermal estradiol has proved to be as effective as oral conjugated equine estrogens in the control of menopausal symptoms and to produce similar estrogenic effects on the endometrium. The group of patients treated with transdermal estradiol showed better compliance and had fewer drop-outs. Moreover, the quality and duration of menstrual bleeding were considered more physiological in the transdermal estradiol group than in the orally treated patients. The trial was carried out with the co-operation of 17 Italian University Centres, under the supervision of Ciba-Geigy Italy S.p.A. Medical Department.

Administration, Cutaneous

Analysis of the climacteric syndrome.

The climacteric syndrome (CS) was investigated in a large sample of women (over 4000) who spontaneously attended the Menopause Clinic at the University of Bologna between 1976 and 1986. The participants selected had received no hormonal replacement therapy for at least 6 mth or any other drug for at least 3 mth previously. They were all free from any disease that could influence any of the CS symptoms. The frequency of 12 symptoms considered typical of the CS was investigated. The interrelationships between these symptoms were determined as well as the frequency of the occurrence of individual symptoms in association with various climacteric complaints. The results indicated (a) that the CS is not uniform but both variable and individual, (b) that the frequency of its constituent symptoms remains high in advanced fertile age and the advanced postmenopause, (c) that the symptoms are preferentially interlinked, (d) that many, but not all, symptoms exhibit a differentiated pattern during the course of the natural and surgical menopause/age progression, and (e) that hot flushes and sweating, and to some extent insomnia and headache, are menopause-dependent.

Adult

Body mass index distribution in climacteric women.

Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated in 2481 climacteric women selected from among the outpatients attending the Menopause Clinic at Bologna University in absence of hormonal replacement therapy and diseases that could cause weight gain. Analysis of variance of the W/H2 (weight/height squared) distribution in different age and climacteric situations demonstrates that the pre-menopause is a weight-gain inducing state and that ageing seems to cause a progressive increase in W/H2.

Adult

Dihydroergocristine in stopping lactation: double-blind study vs bromocriptine.

In a double-blind study vs bromocriptine, 30 women who wished to interrupt breast-feeding after a physiological delivery and at least 3 months of nursing were given at random 10 mg dihydroergocristine capsules or 2.5 mg bromocriptine capsules twice a day for 5 days, then 3 times a day for 5 days if treatment had failed to produce an effect. The parameters considered were PRL plasma levels, which were measured at baseline, on the 5th day and, where necessary, on the 10th day of treatment. Milk secretion, breast swelling and pain were recorded at baseline and daily during treatment. The appearance of any side-effect was accurately reported. A prolactin decrease was observed in both groups (p less than 0.01). After 5 days milk secretion was reduced more significantly in the dihydroergocristine group; after 10 days of treatment 6 cases treated with bromocriptine and 1 case treated with dihydroergocristine still revealed a low milk secretion. Breast congestion and pain were absent in both groups. As regards side-effects, a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (standing position) was reported in the bromocriptine group. Other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, insomnia and headache, were reported in 8 patients in the bromocriptine group vs 6 patients in the dihydroergocristine group.

Adult

Non-invasive 24-hr monitoring of high blood pressure in climacteric outpatients.

Blood pressure (BP) monitoring was carried out over a period of 24 hr in 28 hypertensive women selected among the outpatients attending the Menopause Clinic at Bologna University. Seven (7) of the women (mean age 50 +/- 1 yr) were in the pre-menopause, 7 had undergone a natural menopause at 6 to 36 mth previously (mean age 52 +/- 4 yr) and a further 7 had had a natural menopause 37-120 months previously (mean age 56 +/- 5 yr). The control group was made up of 7 women in late fertile age (mean age 47 +/- 1 yr). It was found that: high blood pressure was not confirmed in all patients; there was a significant increase in systolic and diastolic BP values in natural post-menopause subjects (P less than 0.01) temporarily related to ovarian failure, but BP reached a steady state in elderly women when a new hormonal balance is established; 24-hr monitoring made it possible to identify a group of climacteric outpatients at higher cardiovascular risk whose suitability for antihypertensive treatment could thus be assessed.

Blood Pressure

Use of Org OD 14 for the treatment of climacteric complaints.

The effects of treating climacteric complaints in post-menopausal women were studied in an open trial in which Org OD 14, a placebo and no treatment were compared. In addition to the symptomatic effects, clinical and laboratory parameters were also studied. One hundred and twenty-four women who had undergone a natural or surgical menopause completed 4 mth of randomized treatment; 35 received Org OD 14 (2.5 mg/day, per os), 46 a placebo, and 43 no treatment. The mean ages and time in years since menopause were comparable for each group. The parameters were assessed before treatment and after 4 mth. The results in the group treated with Org OD 14 were compared statistically with those for the other two groups using the chi 2 test, Student's t test or analysis of variance. A beneficial effect on clinical parameters was seen following Org OD 14 treatment. The results as regards hot flushes and sweating were significantly better statistically than those in the other groups. Org OD 14 was found to have no effect on the endometrium, breasts, body weight or blood pressure, while vaginal atrophy was slightly improved. Serum levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and phosphate were slightly reduced by Org OD 14. Liver function tests, clotting factors and the other routine laboratory parameters were not affected by Org OD 14 treatment. It was concluded that Org OD 14 is an effective and safe compound for the treatment of climacteric syndrome.

Calcium

Physiopathological aspects of body overweight in the female climacteric.

The correlation between overweight and the climacteric was studied in 550 menopause clinic patients by investigating certain clinical and sociocultural parameters (age, marital status, educational level, occupation and type of work, calorie intake, smoking habits, parity, blood pressure, previous hormonal therapy and climacteric symptoms), evaluating plasma levels of various hormones (17 beta-oestradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing (LH), testosterone, hydrocortisone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), growth hormone (GH) and insulin), glucose and various lipid fractions (total lipids, total cholesterol, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), triglycerides and phospholipids) and exploring the blood-clotting pattern ( Owren 's test, euglobulin lysis time, antithrombin III and prothrombin agglutination time (PAT). The subjects were classified as normal weight or overweight by reference to Broca's Index, as modified by Brusch , and the degree of overweight was determined by means of the Body Mass Index (BMI). Of the subjects examined, 49% were overweight and, in successive years following the menopause, there was a growing bipolarization of the weight increase. The correlation between overweight in the climacteric and the parameters considered was found to be significant only in regard to calorie intake, age and educational level. Post-menopausal gonadotrophin levels in blood were significantly lower in the overweight than in the normal-weight women. With the onset of menopause, the plasma level of testosterone fell in the normal-weight women, while it increased, along with that of hydrocortisone, in the overweight women. In the normal-weight women at menopause, it was found that there was a tendency towards a substantial increase in lipid fractions and glycaemia, as well as a state of hypercoagulability. In the overweight women, the tendency was towards an even more marked increase in both glycaemia and the various lipid fractions, and, besides the hypercoagulative state, there was an associated reduction in fibrinolytic activity. It is concluded that the menopause not only causes metabolic changes but also aggravates the metabolic and endocrine tendencies which characterize overweight subjects and thus, clinically, constitutes an obesity risk factor in those women who already demonstrate a tendency towards overweight in the pre-menopausal phase.

Adult

A study of thyroid function in the pre- and post-menopause.

Serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), free triidotthyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) were measured in 382 healthy women who were attending a menopause clinic. Of these women, 140 were in the pre-menopausal phase, 162 had been post-menopausal for less than 3 yr and 60 had been post-menopausal for greater than 3 yr. Analysis of the results as a function of climacteric situation, revealed that the only significant difference was a lower serum concentration of FT3 in the women who had been post-menopausal for over 3 yr than in the women who were in the pre-menopausal phase. Statistical analysis of the results as a function of both climacteric situation and age showed that the serum level of TBG increases with age, while serum levels of circulating thyroid hormones decrease, and that although the menopause does not bring about marked changes in thyroid function, it nevertheless tends to reduce that function, especially when menopause occurs at the expected time. Finally, by correlating values with T4 values on an individual basis, it was possible to ascertain that when physiological changes in thyroid function do occur in the climacteric, they are not caused by primary changes in TSH secretion.

Adult

Female sexual activity as a function of climacteric conditions and age.

By establishing a statistical profile of the average sexual behaviour of women during the climacteric period, an attempt was made to determine what influence the climacteric had on female sexual activity. With the advancement of age, the sexual activity of women tends to decline. The menopause itself tends to further reduce the retrogression of the sexual activity in women.

Adult

[Value of allergic intradermal reactions to antibiotics in preparation for surgery (in patients with a history of drug allergy)].

An allergological examination technique for application in patients with a history of hypersensitivity to antibiotics is described with reference to a personal series of 250 subjects admitted to the Bologna University obstetric and gynaecological pathology department for small pelvis surgery. The method of investigation is described and the results obtained are reviewed. It is felt that the investigation is of value in preoperative screening insofar as it eliminates or reduces the risk of allergic shock, and enables more precisely directed antibiotic management to be employed.

Adolescent