PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Della Casa

Publications and source records attributed to L Della Casa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Systolic time intervals in isolated septal defects before and after corrective surgery in female patients. I. Atrial septal defect.

Systolic time intervals (STI) were evaluated in 19 female patients with uncomplicated ostium secundum atrial septal defect (ASD), before, shortly after (within 2 months) and a long time after the corrective surgery (mean 13.2 years). The measurements were obtained from simultaneous high speed photographic recordings of electrocardiogram, external carotid pulse and phonocardiogram. Before the operation, a significant prolongation of Q-I heart sound interval was detected, together with a less prominent but statistically significant shortening of the left ventricular ejection time; the above alterations were not correlated with the magnitude of the shunt and disappeared shortly after corrective surgery. The STI were still normal a long time after surgical closure of ASD. In accordance with hemodynamic studies reported by other authors, our results confirm that the deviations of STI observed in ASD are due to a reduced diastolic filling of the left ventricle secondary to an apparent decreased distensibility.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Systolic time intervals in isolated septal defects before and after corrective surgery. II. Ventricular septal defect.

Systolic time intervals (STI) were analyzed in 34 patients with isolated ventricular septal defect (VSD) and undirectional left-to-right shunt. 14 of the patients who underwent corrective surgery were followed-up for at least 10 years. The measurements were obtained from simultaneous high speed photographic recordings of electrocardiogram, external carotid pulse and phonocardiogram. Before the operation the Q-I sound interval and, consequently, the pre-ejection period were significantly prolonged and the left ventricular ejection time significantly abbreviated, the degree of abbreviation relating with the magnitude of the shunt. The above deviations persisted after corrective surgery, and only several years after the operation the parameters studied became normal. It is concluded that the most likely explanation for these abnormalities is the depressed contractility of the left ventricle, secondary to the long-standing volume overload, which tends to persist after corrective surgery.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chronobiology of catecholamine excretion in normal and diabetic men.

The adrenomedullary response to stimuli is often elevated in poorly controlled insulin dependent diabetic patients, and it is controversial whether the adrenomedullary hyperactivity induces the suppression of the circadian rhythm of catecholamines. We have studied the urinary excretion of catecholamines in 11 diabetic patients during 48 h in 4-h collections. Eleven age and weight matched normal subjects served as controls. A circadian rhythm was detected for adrenaline and noradrenaline excretion both in normal and diabetic subjects, with the highest value for both catecholamines in the early afternoon. The mean daily adrenaline levels were significantly higher in diabetic than in control subjects (p less than 0.05). The dopamine excretion was correlated with noradrenaline excretion in normal subjects but did not show a definite circadian rhythm. We conclude that the adrenomedullary hyperactivity does not affect the rhythmic fluctuations of adrenaline and noradrenaline. The dopamine excretion does not show circadian variations and this probably reflects the absence of a single controlling oscillator.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Daily variations in catecholamine excretion are not influenced by very low calorie diet in obese women.

The increase in metabolic efficiency during energy restriction seems to be an established phenomenon in obese patients. The sympathoadrenal system is involved in the control of energy expenditure and the catecholamine responses to stimuli vary during the day. We therefore studied the circadian pattern of urinary catecholamine excretion during 4-h collections for two consecutive days in a group of 20 obese female patients during and after a very low calorie diet (500 kcal/die). The diet period induced a significant weight loss in all the patients studied (99.1 +/- 3.7 vs 92.5 +/- 4.1 Kg; p < 0.01). The mean daily excretion of epinephrine did not change after 24 days of diet restriction when compared with the value obtained at the 4th day (12.0 +/- 2.5 vs 10.3 +/- 2.2 nmol/4 h respectively; p = NS) while a slight decrease was observed in the mean daily excretion of norepinephrine (52.5 +/- 8.7 vs 66.6 +/- 9.3 nmol/4 h respectively; p = NS). A circadian rhythm was detected for epinephrine and norepinephrine excretion both during and after very low calorie diet. No significant changes were found in the chronobiological characteristics of epinephrine and norepinephrine with the peak of excretion in the afternoon both during (epinephrine: 16:30 h; norepinephrine: 16:45 h) and after the diet (epinephrine: 17:35 h; norepinephrine: 18:00 h). It seems doubtful that alterations in the chronobiological pattern of catecholamines play a role in the metabolic adaptation occurring during very low calorie diet in obese females.

Adult↗