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Biomedical subjects

G Folli

Publications and source records attributed to G Folli.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Naloxone inhibition of postprandial growth hormone releasing hormone-induced growth hormone release in obesity.

The effects of opiate receptor antagonist naloxone on growth hormone (GH) release after growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) administration were investigated, before or after feeding, at 13.00 h, in 20 obese women and in 10 normal women. When GHRH was administered to obese women before a meal at lunch time, the mean peak plasma GH levels were very low, while plasma GH responses significantly increased after feeding. Naloxone, infused at a rate of 1.6 mg/h starting 1 h before GHRH administration (50 micrograms i.v. as a bolus), was capable of inhibiting GH release induced by administration of GHRH after feeding. On the contrary, naloxone did not induce significant variations on the fasting GHRH-induced GH release. In normal women, naloxone did not significantly modify the GH response to GHRH, both before and after lunch. The inhibitory effect of naloxone indicates that in obese women there is an increased opioid activity, which could represent an abnormal response of the gastrointestinal tract to food ingestion.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Cardiovascular reactivity and plasma prolactin response to mental stress in normals and hypertensives.

Central dopaminergic activity (CDA) may be involved in blood pressure control as a negative modulator of sympathetic outflow. In this study the plasma PRL changes produced by mental stress (a colour-word conflict test, CWT) were investigated in normals (NT, n.15) and stable hypertensives (HT, n.16) and the PRL response, as a possible index of CDA was correlated to the cardiovascular and the plasma renin activity (PRA) responses as indexes of peripheral sympathetic outflow. A significant (p less than 0.05) slight decrease in mean values of PRL was observed in normals after the CWT but no change was found in hypertensives. No correlation was found between the PRL responses to CWT and the maximal mean arterial pressure changes or the PRA changes whether the groups were considered separately or together. These findings indicates that PRL does not appear to be a reliable index of the CDA involved in blood pressure control.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[The relationship between high-density lipoproteins, thromboxane B2 and arteriosclerosis in a case of primary hypoalphalipoproteinemia].

Data in the literature suggest that cases of hypoalphalipoproteinemia involve an increase in thromboxane B2 (TXB2) together with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. A recent detailed examination of a 32-year-old man revealed clinical and biochemical features strongly indicative of that pathology. The case presented several unusual features: marked infiltration of the skin and mesenteric lymph nodes by histiocytic lipids with sufficient hyperplasia to induce acute intestinal occlusion combined with an in vivo TXB2 generation curve, subsequently inhibited by aspirin, that was comparable to the curves of the control subjects. Furthermore there were no signs of early atherosclerotic damage so that it was possible to postulate the hypothesis that despite the 50% drop in alpha-lipoprotein levels, they were still sufficient to ensure normal turnover of the other lipoproteins so that, however complex the clinical condition, it was an incomplete expression of a phenotype.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Usefulness of sublingual captopril in hypertensive emergencies. Preliminary results].

The aim of this study, whose preliminary findings are reported, is to evaluate the efficacy of captopril, administered by a sublingual route, in the treatment of hypertensive emergencies. Captopril has been given by this route to 20 hypertensive patients while these had an ongoing hypertensive crisis (defined as a systolic arterial pressure above 200 mmHg associated with a diastolic arterial pressure above 115 mmHg). Arterial pressure has been measured after 5, 20, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 120 min. For 8 patients it has been measured until the eighth hour. Results were the following: a satisfactory control of hypertensive crisis in 85% of patients, as stated by a slight but significant drop of arterial pressure after 10 min (15/10 mmHg; p less than 0.05) and by a maximum antihypertensive effect after 30 min (57/39 mmHg; p less than 0.001); an antihypertensive effect was evident until 6 hours after the administration of the drug; a positive correlation between the antihypertensive effect and pretreatment levels of arterial pressure and plasma renin activity; drug was free from relevant side effects; sublingual captopril can be considered an efficacious, easy to use and valuable tool in the treatment of hypertensive emergencies.

Administration, Sublingual↗
PubMed1989

Effects of calcium channel blockers on the endothelial release of von Willebrand factor after exercise in healthy subjects.

Von Willebrand factor (vWF) is known to play a relevant role in the development of atherosclerotic lesions by promoting platelet adhesion to injured endothelial cells. An increase in cytosolic calcium has been shown to be associated with the in vitro release of vWF from endothelial cells. The aim of our investigation was to examine the effect of some calcium channel blockers on the release of vWF antigen (vWF:Ag) induced by exercise in two groups of eight healthy subjects during a randomized crossover study between placebo and calcium channel blockers. Placebo and verapamil (80 mg) or nicardipine (10 mg) were given orally at an interval of 2 weeks three times on the day before and once on the morning of the study day. Measurements of plasma vWF:Ag were made at rest and after a progressive maximal exercise on a cycloergometer. A significant increase in absolute values of vWF:Ag was observed after exercise in the subjects given a placebo in both verapamil (0.397 +/- 0.074 U/ml) and nicardipine (0.327 +/- 0.036 U/ml) groups, p less than 0.05. With use of verapamil the rise in vWF:Ag was blunted and not significant (0.123 +/- 0.081 U/ml) whereas a larger increase in vWF:Ag was found in the subjects given nicardipine in comparison with placebo (0.593 +/- 120 U/ml; p less than 0.05). No correlations were observed between exercise-induced changes in systolic or diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, blood lactate level, or pH and vWF:Ag changes in the subjects given a placebo or in those given calcium channel blockers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Twenty-four-hour blood pressure monitoring after a single dose of sustained-release verapamil.

The antihypertensive effect of a single dose of 240 mg sustained-release (S-R) verapamil was investigated by ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring in 13 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. Following a 2-week washout period, 24-hour BP monitoring was carried out with a Spacelabs ICR 5300 device following random administration of a tablet of S-R verapamil or placebo; BP recording was repeated after crossover 3 to 7 days later. Average whole-day systolic and diastolic BPs were significantly lower after verapamil (130.1 +/- 2.6/87.1 +/- 1.2 mmHg) than after placebo (142.1 +/- 3.3/95.8 +/- 2.1 mmHg) (p less than 0.01). Mean waking BP was 146.4 +/- 3.6/99.1 +/- 2.2 mmHg after placebo and 135.2 +/- 3.3/90.5 +/- 1.7 mmHg after verapamil (p less than 0.01); during sleeping hours BP was 133.8 +/- 3.1/88.7 +/- 2.6 mmHg following placebo and 122.2 +/- 2.3/80.9 +/- 1.8 mmHg following verapamil (p less than 0.01). Blood pressure profile was significantly reduced by verapamil up to 20 hours after tablet administration, while from 21 to 24 hours after drug intake BP values were similar to placebo. Response to verapamil was not correlated to the pretreatment BP values and to the patient's age. In summary, this study suggests that acute administration of 240 mg S-R verapamil in hypertensive patients produces a BP reduction during 24-hour, daytime, and nighttime periods. The hypotensive efficacy is preserved for many hours after tablet intake and seems to be due to individual variation in cardiovascular reactivity to the drug.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Effect of sustained-release verapamil therapy on the blood pressure at rest and on the pressor response to isometric exertion in hypertensive patients.

The effect of a new formulation of verapamil sustained release (SR) 240 mg tablets on resting blood pressure (BP) and on the pressor response to isometric exertion have been examined in a single-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study in 12 hypertensive patients (mean age 45 years). SR verapamil and placebo were administered every 12 h for 6 consecutive weeks. At the end of each period of treatment BP and heart rate (HR) were measured at rest and during isometric exercise, performed as a handgrip (HG) test for 3 min at 30% of the maximum voluntary contraction. There was a significant reduction in resting systolic and diastolic BP, with no change in HR. BP and HR at peak exercise were lower after verapamil than after placebo, but the maximal absolute increase did not change during verapamil therapy. The results are compatible with a role of SR verapamil b.d. in reducing resting BP in hypertension, and in lowering very high pressure at the peak of a HG test, without modifying the physiological reactivity of cardiovascular system.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Differential effects of feeding on the ultradian variation of the growth hormone (GH) response to GH-releasing hormone in normal subjects and patients with obesity and anorexia nervosa.

Nutritional status and metabolic fuels are factors involved in the regulation of GH secretion and GH responses to GHRH. The effects of feeding on GHRH-induced GH release were studied in 13 normal women, 14 obese women, and 9 women with anorexia nervosa. GHRH-(1-44) (50 micrograms, iv) was administered at 0900 h after an overnight fast or at 1300 h after a normal meal at 0800 h, and at the same times 45 min after a 800-Cal meal on different days. The mean peak plasma GH responses to GHRH administered before a meal at 0900 h were 52.8 +/- 5.6 (+/- SE) micrograms/L in normal women, 8.2 +/- 1.3 micrograms/L in obese women, and 53.2 +/- 7.7 micrograms/L in anorexic women. When GHRH was administered before a meal at 1300 h, the mean peak plasma GH levels were lower than those at 0900 h; this reduction was -64.2% in normal women, -64.9% in obese women, and -55.8% in women with anorexia nervosa. After feeding, the plasma GH responses to GHRH were blunted in normal women at 0900 h (-60.9%) and 1300 h (-34.6%) compared with the fasting peak responses. In obese women the plasma GH response to GHRH after feeding was increased compared with that when these women had fasted (+60% at 0900 h and +406.9% at 1300 h). Finally, differential effects of feeding were present in anorexic women; the response was lower at 0900 h (-46.4%) and greater at 1300 h (+50.8%). We conclude that there is an ultradian variation in GHRH-stimulated GH secretion and that the responses differ according to nutritional status and body weight.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Calcium antagonists and hormone release. VI. Effects of a calcium antagonist (verapamil) on the biphasic insulin release in vivo.

The present study was designed to investigate the influence of a calcium antagonist (verapamil) on the two phases of insulin release. The present results confirmed our previous studies and in vitro data, showing that the first phase insulin release is not inhibited by a calcium antagonist and strongly indicated that glucose stimulated insulin secretion has two phases of release: (1) the first phase of release, which is independent from extracellular calcium; (2) the second phase of release, which was inhibited by calcium antagonists, is dependent from calcium uptake from an extracellular source.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Casual versus 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recording in the evaluation of chronic administration of sustained-release verapamil.

Although ambulatory blood pressure monitoring has been used widely for the evaluation of antihypertensive treatment, little information is available regarding the comparison between this method and casual BP measurement during drug trials. In our study, we tested the efficacy of a new formulation of verapamil, 240 mg sustained-release tablets, and compared the degree of BP reduction as detected by casual (standard mercury manometer) and by 24-hour ambulatory recording (Spacelab ICR 5300). A statistically significant fall in casual BP was observed after verapamil with respect to placebo. Moreover, 24-hour, waking and sleeping ambulatory BPs were significantly reduced by verapamil. The mean BP reduction was similar for office (20.1/16.1 +/- 4.3/3.1 mmHg) and for day-time ambulatory monitoring (13.4/10.7 +/- 4.2/1.9 1.9 mmHg), but no correlation was found between BP fall recorded by the two techniques for individual subjects. This study suggests that sustained-release verapamil is an effective antihypertensive drug. Individual mean BP reduction outside the clinic may not be predicted from office readings and therefore ambulatory BP recording seems to provide a better basis for testing the efficacy of drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Plasma markers of endothelial cells and platelet activation following handgrip in normals and hypertensive patients.

Endothelial injury and platelet activation may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertensive vascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in endothelial cell and platelet activation plasma markers after an acute physiological increase in blood pressure. Plasma renin activity (PRA), serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), plasma factor VIIIR:Ag, and plasma beta-thromboglobulin (BTG) were determined before and after handgrip in subjects with borderline (n = 8) and established (n = 11) hypertension and in age-matched normal volunteers (n = 10). A significant mean increase in ACE, factor VIIIR:Ag, and BTG was observed after handgrip in all groups of subjects. A greater response in BTG changes was found in hypertensive subjects when compared with normal subjects. No correlations were found between the blood pressure response after handgrip and the handgrip-induced changes in plasma markers of endothelial cells and platelet activation. Changes in endothelial cells and platelet activity occurring after handgrip did not appear to depend on the associated blood pressure elevations.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Cardiovascular reactivity, plasma markers of endothelial and platelet activity and plasma renin activity after mental stress in normals and hypertensives.

Endothelial injury and platelet activation, mechanisms known to be involved in vascular lesions, may promote the development of cardiovascular disorders possibly associated with mental stress. Plasma markers of platelet activation (beta-thromboglobulin, BTG) and of endothelium activity (factor VIII/von Willebrand factor, FVIII/vWf) and plasma renin activity (PRA) were determined in 17 healthy normotensive volunteers and in 21 hypertensives without target-organ damage before and after mental stress (a colour-word conflict test). The aim of the study was to compare cardiovascular reactivity with the stress-induced changes in platelet and endothelium activity. Individual responses in BTG and factor FVIII/vWf after the colour-word conflict test were markedly different, but significant mean increases were observed in both groups with no difference in the degree of response and in the percentage of responders. No correlations were found among the changes in plasma variables or between cardiovascular reactivity (systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate) and the changes in BTG, FVIII/vWf and PRA. These findings suggest that hypertensive patients do not have an abnormal platelet or endothelium reactivity to mental stress, at least when the disease is free of vascular complications. This dissociation of stress-induced variability in BTG and FVIII/vWf and cardiovascular reactivity indicates that these indices could be used as independent markers of mental stress.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Left ventricular structure and function in normotensive adolescents with a genetic predisposition to hypertension.

It has been suggested that the heart plays an active role in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension. If this is true, there must be early cardiac involvement in young normotensive subjects who develop hypertension later in life and differences in cardiac morphology or function may exist between young normotensive subjects with different risks of developing hypertension. M-mode echocardiography was performed in 51 normotensive male adolescents with at least one hypertensive parent (SHT). These subjects were compared with 55 normotensive sons of normotensive parents (SNT) and with 25 adolescents with borderline hypertension (BH). Control groups were matched for sex and age. The following morphologic parameters were significantly greater in the SHT group than in the SNT group: interventricular septum (0.54 +/- 0.08 vs 0.49 +/- 0.09 cm/m2; p less than 0.01) and posterior wall (0.54 +/- 0.11 vs 0.50 +/- 0.08 cm/m2; p less than 0.05) thickness, left ventricular mass (125.0 +/- 29.1 vs 109.2 +/- 25.4 gm/m2; p less than 0.005), and cross-sectional area (9.9 +/- 1.8 vs 8.9 +/- 1.6 cm2/m2; p less than 0.005). No significant differences between SHT and BH subjects were observed. Excursion of left ventricular posterior wall was significantly higher in the BH group. No differences were observed between SHT and SNT subjects. These data show that the same kinds of changes in cardiac morphology are present in normotensive subjects with a family history of hypertension and in subjects with borderline hypertension, suggesting that cardiac involvement may precede elevation of blood pressure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Beta-blocker versus diuretic for control of the blood pressure response to stress in hypertensive patients.

To compare the antihypertensive effects of beta-blockers and diuretics on the blood pressure increase to stress, a randomized single-blind crossover study was performed in 27 patients with mild or moderate hypertension. At the initial examination and after two subsequent periods of therapy with 100 mg atenolol or with a combination of 50 mg hydrochlorothiazide and 5 mg amiloride hydrochloride, once a day, blood pressure and heart rate were measured at rest, during mental arithmetic, sustained handgrip and cycloergometric test. Both treatment significantly decreased supine and standing systolic and diastolic pressure at rest, during and immediately after mental stress and isometric exercise, with the reduction of diastolic pressure significantly greater after atenolol. During dynamic exercise, systolic and diastolic pressures were significantly decreased by diuretics at the lowest work-load only, whereas beta-blocker caused significant and greater blood pressure reductions throughout the exercise. The combination of two classes of drug normalized resting blood pressure in 8 of 9 subjects in which the monotherapy had failed to obtain values less than 140/90 mmHg and gave a better control of systolic and diastolic pressures throughout all the stress tests. It is concluded that atenolol is more effective than diuretics during stress, suggesting that beta-blocking drugs are the first choice treatment for mild to moderate hypertension and that when the antihypertensive effect of a single agent is insufficient, a combination of beta-blockers and diuretics is also effective during stress.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Role of blood pressure response to provocative tests in the prediction of hypertension in adolescents.

To assess the value of exercise stress testing and of mental stress as predictors of hypertension, we studied 130 normotensive males 14-18 years of age. Sixty-five had at least one hypertensive parent (SHT), while 65 had normotensive parents (SNT). Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, rate-pressure product (RPP) and 12-lead ECG were recorded at rest, throughout the tests and during the recovery phase. The two groups were not significantly different at rest for the examined variables. However, the SHT group showed a greater average SBP than the SNT group (198.4 +/- 18.7 vs 189.5 +/- 14.9 mmHg; P less than 0.05) at the peak of exercise. A significantly higher proportion of SHT subjects (40.0% vs 18.5%: P less than 0.01) had SBP greater than 200 mmHg. No difference in the ECG pattern between the two groups was observed. During mental stress, no significant differences in the examined variables between the two groups were noted, although SBP, DBP, HR and RPP were slightly higher in SHT than in SNT subjects. These data suggest that the SBP response to dynamic exercise may be a good predictor of hypertension in subjects at risk.

Adolescent↗