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Biomedical subjects

F Franchi

Publications and source records attributed to F Franchi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Clinical classification and survival in chronic lymphocyte leukemia.

Sixty-one consecutive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan from September 1962 to August 1976 were classified according to the staging system of Rai et al. (16). Analysis of this series showed the following median survival (in months) from diagnosis: stage 0-I, 73; stage II, 44; stage III-IV, 32. In 11 patients without peripheral palpable adenopathies, the lymphangiogram showed abnormal retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Therefore, the initial stage was changed from 0 to I in 5 cases. The median survival for the entire series was 50 months. Patients with "indolent" disease had a median survival of 52 months, while in patients with "active" CLL, the median survival was 32 months. Both sex and age were shown to be poor predictors of survival. Increased duration of survival was observed in patients with less compared to those with more than 30,000 lymphocytes/mm3 (66 versus 41 months). The method of staging proposed by Rai et al. and utilized to classify this series at the time of diagnosis was confirmed to be a reliable predictor for survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Immunologic and clinical investigation on a bovine thymic extract. Therapeutic applications in primary immunoedificiencies.

Thirteen patients with primary immunodeficiencies (eight with T-cell deficiency, one with Wiskott-Aldrich (W-A) syndrome, two with common variable agammaglobulinemia (CVA), and two with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) were treated with a calf thymus extract, called thymostimulin (TS). It has been shown that this extract causes in vitro differentiation of T-cell precursors in patients with T-cell defect. Five of eight patients with pure T-cell defect showed immunologic recovery and clinical remission lasting for several months after interruption of the therapy; one had only transient reconstitution, one had slight increase in T-cells (clinical conditions not yet estimated), and two patients soon died from severe infections after showing a slight increase of T-cells. Immune recovery was assess by an increase of the absolute number of E-rosettes forming cells, of human T-lymphocyte antigen positive cells and of PHA responsiveness in the peripheral blood, and by a positive delayed hypersensitivity reaction to antigens. In five patients, there was also B-cell increase after TS treatment. Clinical remission consisted of disappearance of infections, weight gain, and in improvement in general conditions. No effect was observed in one patient with W-A syndrome, in two with CVA, and in two with SCID. Several hypotheses on the mechanisms involved in immune reconstitution are discussed. It seems likely that TS acts on prethymic cells or on the epithelial cells of hypoplastic thymuses. TS was not effective, either in vitro or in vivo, in patients with SCID probably because of a defect in stem cells.

Agammaglobulinemia↗
PubMed1979

Hemodynamic effects of nitroglycerin.

The authors have studied the hemodynamic effects of sublingually administered nitroglycerin (NG). Obtained data indicate that the response to NG is time-dependent. A first phase, lasting about 2 minutes, is characterized by a reduction of total systemic resistance (TSR) and an increase of cardiac output (CO), without significant variations of left ventricular filling pressure (FP) and blood pressure (BP). A modest increase of heart rate (HR) is observed. The second phase is characterized by a reduced FP and later, after 5 minutes, of BP. Subsequently HR increases to a greater degree, CO decreases and TRS presents a variation toward control values.

Female↗
PubMed1979

Assessment of sinus node function in asymptomatic subjects with sinus bradycardia and in symptomatic patients with sino-atrial disease.

Sinus node function was evaluated in 18 patients with sinus bradycardia without complaints (Group I), in 16 patients with sinus bradycardia and/or sinoatrial block with complaints (subgroup IIa) and in 14 patients with the bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome (subgroup IIb). Mean values of corrected sinus node recovery time (CSRT), atrial effective refractory period (AERP) and atrial functional refractory period (AFRP) differentiated significatively asymptomatic subjects of group I from the two subgroups of patients with sinoatrial disease, but failed to differentiate each subgroup from the other one. There was no significative difference in mean sinoatrial conduction time (SACT) between group I and each of the two subgroups. Three patients of subgroup IIa and 1 patient of subgroup IIb had a false negative response after both overdrive and premature programmed atrial pacing. Spontaneous cycle length was directly correlated with the sinus node recovery time and the atrial refractoriness in group I, and with the only sinus node recovery time in subgroup IIb. No direct correlations were observed in subgroup IIa. This suggests a less disturbed sinus node automaticity in bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome.

Arrhythmia, Sinus↗
PubMed1979

The cardiac electrophysiological effects of nifedipine.

A study was carried out on the electrophysiological effects of a sublingually administered antianginal drug: nifedipine (20 mg). The results show a significant shortening of sinus cycle length from 925 +/- 249 msec to 810 +/- 245 msec, (p less than 0.005) and the disappearance of some interpolation and echo zones. There are no significant effects on the other evaluated parameters of sino-atrial and AV-node function. In one case, during atrial pacing, a second-degree, Wenckebach type, A-V block was present only before nifedipine. The following conclusions were reached: 1. nifedipine has no significant electrophysiological effect on the human heart; 2. the electrophysiological effects observed are probably indirect and related to the vasodilating effect of the drug; 3. the absence of direct cardiac electrophysiological actions may be useful in patients suffering from coronary artery disease and presenting disturbances in the formation and/or conduction of the cardiac impulse.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Circulating prolactin and its response to TRH following administration of testosterone undecanoate in normal men.

To investigate the effect of orally administered testosterone undercanoate (TU) on circulating prolactin (PRL) and PRL response to TRH stimulation, 8 eugonadal male volunteers, aged 19--30, presenting with normal plasma levels of FSH, LH, testosterone (T), estradiol (E2) and PRL, were given 120 mg/day of TU for 6 days. Plasma PRL levels were measured daily during the pre-treatment phase (3 days), treatment phase (6 days) and post-treatment phase (3 days) by radioimmunoassay. The TRH Test (200 micrograms iv) was done on the 3rd day of the pretreatment phase and on the treatment phase. No significant changes in circulating PRL levels or in PRL response to TRH stimulation were observed. Plasma T and E2 levels showed a slight, but not significant tendency to increase, while gonadotropin levels remained unchanged.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Effect of epimestrol on gonadotropin and prolactin plasma levels and response to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone/thyrotropin-releasing hormone in secondary amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea.

The effects of epimestrol (5 mg every 6 hours for 5 days) on basal levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (Prl), estradiol, progesterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and on the response to LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation, were studied in 18 cases of secondary amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea of hypothalamic-pituitary origin, in three cases of anorexia nervosa, in two cases of long-lasting progestin-induced amenorrhea, and in one case of precocious menopause. The results in the first 18 patients indicate that epimestrol treatment induces a significant increase in LH and Prl levels after 24 hours, while the FSH increase becomes significant only after 4 days of therapy. Twelve hours after discontinuation of treatment, all three hormone levels decreased significantly to values similar to the basal levels, while the pituitary response to LH-RH indicated a much more marked LH secretion than before treatment. A second test, performed 36 hours after the last drug administration, again showed a significantly higher LH response than that found under basal conditions. No significant variations were observed in the FSH response to LH-RH, nor in the Prl response to TRH. These data suggest that epimestrol interferes at the level of the centers responsible for Prl and gonadotropin secretion in the manner of a weak estrogen.

Adolescent↗