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G Saba

Publications and source records attributed to G Saba.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Analysis of sodium-23 nuclear magnetic resonance spin-lattice relaxation for the study of the intracellular sodium state.

Sodium-23 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance relaxation spectroscopy has been used to investigate the state of intracellular Na+ in control and CCl4-treated rat livers. The analysis of spin-lattice relaxation rates at 1.88 and 7.07 Tesla based on a two-site exchange model led to estimates of pertinent modulation times. Also it has been found that a relatively high quantity of Na+ (PB = 1.59 x 10(-2)) is bound to charged sites of intracellular macromolecules or membranes. The degree of binding strongly decreases in CCl4 treated rat livers.

Animals↗

Proton and tritium NMR relaxation studies of peptide inhibitor binding to bacterial collagenase: conformation and dynamics.

The interaction of succinyl-Pro-Ala, a competitive inhibitor of Achromobacter iophagus collagenase, with the enzyme was studied by longitudinal proton and tritium relaxation. Specific deuterium and tritium labeling of the succinyl part at vicinal positions allowed the measurement of the cross-relaxation rates of individual proton or tritium spin pairs in the inhibitor-enzyme complex as well as in the free inhibitor. Overall correlation times, internuclear distances, and qualitative information on the internal mobility in Suc1 (as provided by the generalized order parameter S2) could be deduced by the comparison of proton and tritium cross-relaxation of spin pairs at complementary positions in the -CH2- CH2- moiety as analyzed in terms of the model-free approach by Lipari and Szabo. The conformational and motional parameters of the inhibitor in the free and enzyme-bound state were directly compared by this method. The measurement of proton cross-relaxation in the Ala residue provided additional information on the inhibitor binding. The determination of the order parameter in different parts of the inhibitor molecule in the bound state indicates that the succinyl and alanyl residues are primarily involved in the interaction with the enzyme activity site. The succinyl moiety, characterized in solution by the conformational equilibrium among the three staggered rotamers--i.e., trans: 50%; g+: 20%; g-: 30%--adopted in the bound state the unique trans conformation.

Alcaligenes↗

The combination of a low-Na/high-K salt with metoprolol in the treatment of mild-moderate hypertension. A multicenter study.

To extend our previous findings that a low-Na/high-K salt (S) reduces BP in hospitalized patients, a multicenter study was performed. After a placebo period during which patients were informed by written instruction how to avoid only foods with a high Na content, 143 out-patients (84 males and 59 females, mean age 50.7 years, range 28-69) with DBP greater than or equal to 95 mm Hg randomly received for 4 weeks either metoprolol (M) 200 mg SR qd (67 patients), or S, 2 g bid to add to foods (76 patients). At the end of this period patients with DBP still greater than 90 mm Hg combined the two treatments for a further 4 weeks. Mean blood pressure (mm Hg), HR (bpm), 24-hrs urinary Na and K excretion were measured fortnightly. In comparison to pretreatment values MBP was significantly (P less than 0.01) reduced by both treatments, although to a greater extent in the M group already at the second week, without any further decrement thereafter. In the S group MBP decreased by 4.4 mm Hg and 27/76 patients were responders (DBP less than or equal to 90 mm Hg), while in the M group it was reduced by 9.0 mm Hg and 28/67 patients were responders. In the S group urinary Na excretion was significantly (P less than 0.01) lower than in the M group, and this difference was present until the end of period 1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Plasma renin activity does not predict the antihypertensive efficacy of chlorthalidone.

It has been established that angiotensin II stimulation may limit the antihypertensive potential of diuretic therapy in some patients. It is less clear, however, whether renin-angiotensin II stimulation is the cause of the flat blood pressure dose-response relationship to diuretics. To investigate this, 75 out-patients with essential hypertension were treated with chlorthalidone 12.5, 25 or 50 mg o.d. for 3 weeks, in a double-blind, placebo controlled cross-over study. Chlorthalidone significantly reduced blood pressure in all the groups, a plateau being reached at 25 mg o.d. Similarly, plasma renin activity was increased by each dose level of chlorthalidone, but it showed a different trend, being increased to a comparable extent at 12.5 mg and 25 mg o.d., and still higher at 50 mg o.d. Thus, greater stimulation of renin was coincident with the levelling of the blood pressure response to chlorthalidone. However no significant correlation was found between interindividual plasma renin activity and change in blood pressure, either in the entire series, or in each treatment subset. The data suggest overall that renin stimulation may influence the characteristic dose-hypotensive response relationship to diuretic agents in antihypertensive therapy, but it is unlikely that measurement of individual plasma renin activity will provide an useful guide to the optimal dose of a diuretic agents.

Adult↗

Aminophylline antagonizes diazepam-induced anesthesia and EEG changes in humans.

General anesthesia was induced in eight subjects by the slow IV injection of 60 mg diazepam. During the anesthetic effect, the EEG was characterized by 3-5 Hz high voltage activity. Immediate recovery of consciousness and reversal of the EEG pattern to fast low voltage activity was obtained after the IV injection of 60 mg aminophylline. On the other hand, three diazepam-treated subjects who received IV saline instead of aminophylline recovered from anesthesia 73-120 min after saline.

Adult↗

[Transcranial magnetic stimulation in cognition and neuropsychology].

Classical neuropsychology relies on patients with irreversible brain lesions and cognitive impairments give informations about normal brain function. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive method which involves placing an electromagnetic coil on the scalp. A pulse generates a magnetic field and this one passes, unattenuated by the skin and scalp, into the cortex inducing a current which results in neural activity. The technique shows a good temporal resolution and, moreover, because it represents an interference technique, can be said to have excellent functional resolution. For this reason, TMS appears to be a new tool for research in neuropsychology, producing transitory 'virtual lesion'effects which could help to understand how, when and where cognitive tasks are performed. The purpose of this article is to review recent research using TMS in cognition and neuropsychology, in a non exhaustive way. In safety studies, single TMS over motor cortex can produce simple movements. Several groups have applied TMS to the study of visual processing and found an impaired detection of visual stimuli. In a same way, TMS can disrupt speech when it was delivered in the language dominant hemisphere. Studies on the memory effects of TMS have been conflicting and the results seem to depend on the choice of paradigm and parameters. Other study depicted improvements in executive functioning after TMS on the left middle frontal gyrus or a diminution in reaction time during an analogic reasoning task. Moreover, some facial emotions seem to be less recognizable after TMS. Although TMS seem to be a new tool for neuro-psychological investigations in healthy subjects, few studies reported cognitive effects of rTMS treatment in psychiatry. In a therapeutic view, many of these trials have supported a significant effect of TMS, but in some studies the effect is small and short lived. Several groups have reported on the use of rTMS as a treatment in resistant major depression and the impact on cognition functioning. Most of results tend to find no adverse cognitive effects after several weeks of daily rTMS in depressed patients, compared to Electroconvulsivo-therapy (ECT). The effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on hallucination severity and neurocognition were studied in a recent study. A statistically significant improvement was observed on a hallucination scale and on one cognitive measure. TMS is a promising tool for cognitive neuroscience and can provide complementary information to the one obtained using neuropsychological tests, and the one obtained using functional imaging techniques, which have superior spatial but inferior temporal resolution.

Cognition Disorders↗