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Biomedical subjects

M Boulangé

Publications and source records attributed to M Boulangé.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Factors of variation and reference values for TSH in 45-70 year old women.

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was measured in a sample of 4,403 women, aged 45-70 years in 11 Centers for health screening, to define the interest of this biological indicator for screening subclinical hypothyroidism. The aim of this work was to describe clinical signs, symptoms and medical history linked to TSH variations, to estimate the distribution of this hormone in a general population and reference limits in a selected subgroup. All the participating laboratories used the same third-generation immunoassay on fresh samples. In the general sample population (age mean: 55.2 6.9 yrs), 1.1% presented hyperthyroidism (TSH<0.3 mU/l) and 0.4% had hypothyroidism (TSH>12 mU/l). In the sub-sample of 151 women (3.4%) with TSH between 4-12 mU/l, 131 had subclinical hypothyroidism (FT4>8 ng/l). The TSH mean was significantly lower (- 10 to - 23%) in women presenting a nodular goiter. Inversely, TSH was higher in women with muscle cramps, asthenia, recent weight gain, morning eyelid edema and abnormal electrocardiogram. The reference limits for percentiles 2.5 and 97.5 were 0.43 and 3.71 mU/l on 1 348 subjects after excluding women having one of these symptoms or taking any drug treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Use of spa therapy to improve the quality of life of chronic low back pain patients.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the effectiveness of adding spa therapy to usual drug treatment in chronic low back pain patients. METHODS: A total of 224 patients were assigned randomly to either a treatment (n=128) or a control (n=96) group. Subjects in both groups received usual drug therapy. Those in the treatment group also underwent spa therapy in Vittel, France, for 6 days a week for 3 consecutive weeks. Effectiveness was assessed using a quality-of-life scale (the Duke Health Profile), clinical measures, and the Roland and Morris disability questionnaire. Groups were compared using an analysis of variance with repeated measures. RESULTS: At both 3 weeks and 3 months, patients in the treatment group exhibited significant improvement in measures of: physical and mental dimensions of quality of life, anxiety, depression, pain duration, pain intensity, and functional disability. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that spa therapy is an effective treatment for chronic low back pain patients.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1997

Measurement methods of drug consumption as a secondary judgment criterion for clinical trials in chronic rheumatic diseases.

Drug consumption is sometimes used as a secondary judgment criterion for clinical trials. Many measurement methods are available to quantify drug consumption. Several methods were applied in a rheumatic disease trial involving 121 patients with chronic low back pain who lived around Saint-Nectaire, France, and who participated in the trial from April to November 1993 to determine an easily used and practical measurement method to detect a significant drug consumption change over time. Analgesic and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were classified according to the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification. Consumption was quantified on a weekly basis in number of tablets (method 1), unit of defined daily dose (method 2), milligrams of active principle (method 3), and NSAID equivalence score (method 4). These methods were applied in a randomized clinical trial of spa therapy on sufferers of chronic low back pain. An analysis of variance with repeated measures showed a significant difference in drug consumption between treatment and control groups detected by all methods, except for the NSAID consumption measured with method 3. The comparison of each method by the relative efficiency index indicated that method 1 had a greater sensitivity for detecting changes of drug consumption. Tablet count appears to be a more sensitive and more practical method for detecting a drug consumption change in clinical trials.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1995

Effectiveness of spa therapy in chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the overall effectiveness of spa therapy compared with usual routine drug therapy in chronic low back pain (LBP). METHODS: One hundred and twenty-one patients were randomly allocated to treatment (n = 59) and control (n = 62) groups. In the treatment group, patients underwent routine drug therapy and spa therapy 6 days/week for 3 consecutive weeks in Saint-Nectaire, France. In the control group, patients received routine drug therapy. Effectiveness was assessed based on clinical measures, duration and intensity of pain, Roland and Morris' disability questionnaire, the patient's overall evaluation of back health, and drug consumption (analgesic and antiinflammatory). Groups were compared using analysis of covariance with repeated measures. RESULTS: At 3 weeks, patients in the treatment group had significant improvement in all outcome variables (p < 0.0001) except for the Schober index and analgesic and antiinflammatory drug consumption. At 6 months, improvement was still significant for the same outcome variables (p < 0.0001), plus a significant reduction in analgesic consumption. CONCLUSION: This study suggests both immediate and 6 month effectiveness of spa therapy in chronic LBP. Spa therapy may be beneficial in the management of chronic LBP.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1993

Microdialysis in the estimation of interstitial myocardial neuropeptide Y release.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of cardiac microdialysis for the in vivo estimation of cardiac interstitial peptide concentrations, and, to determine the changes in neuropeptide Y release in myocardial tissue during experimental brain death in pigs. Using a specifically designed concentric flexible probe, perfused with Ringer solution containing 0.5% of bovine serum albumin at a flow rate of 2 microliters/min, allowed us to obtain a 23 +/- 2% relative recovery rate in vitro. Based on these in vitro recovery data, a regional study of the kinetics of interstitial NPY levels following brain death was obtained by monitoring the changes in NPY dialysate levels recorded from dialysis probes implanted into the right and left ventricular walls of the beating heart in vivo. Basal dialysate NPY levels determined by radioimmunoassay were of 95.2 +/- 7.0 and 93.2 +/- 9.1 pmol/l in left and right ventricle, respectively. Brain death was followed by a sustained 2 h increase in NPY dialysate levels in both ventricles (peak levels: 173.2 +/- 30.9 pmol/l in left ventricle, and 149.7 +/- 23.9 pmol/l in right ventricle), which then returned to control levels. We conclude that cardiac microdialysis is a simple and promising new tool for evaluating the role of peptides in cardiovascular regulation.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Changes in endocrine control of electrolyte homeostasis and blood pressure following heart and heart-lung transplantation. A comparative study.

The purpose of this study was to compare the early postoperative effects of heart and heart-lung transplantation on the secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-ANP), renin, aldosterone, and vasopressin. This was carried out from the first to the eighth postoperative day in ten heart and five heart-lung recipients. The changes in the release of these hormones were similar in both groups. Vasopressin release remained stable while that of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system progressively returned to more normal levels. Grafted heart tissue was capable of high alpha-ANP release early on in both heart and in heart-lung recipients. This sustained alpha-ANP release was not a function of the resulting overall atrial tissue mass. Our findings suggest that it might be the consequence of an intrinsic hypersecretion of alpha-ANP resulting from the loss of normal heart innervation occurring in both heart and heart-lung transplantation.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Atrial natriuretic factor after heart-lung transplantation. Consequences of cardiac denervation].

Due to the discovery and elaboration of alpha ANP, the heart can be considered a veritable endocrine gland involved in fluid and electrolyte homeostasis as well as blood pressure regulation. Nevertheless, the mechanisms regulating the synthesis and release of this new hormone are far from being understood. Heart-lung transplantation provides an interesting research model for evaluating the consequences of allograft denervation on alpha ANP synthesis and release, without the disadvantage of significantly increasing the overall atrial tissue mass, as observed in orthotopic heart transplantation. To appreciate better these consequences, we studied the changes in alpha ANP release following heart-lung transplantation. Five patients were included in the study. It began during the immediate postoperative period and went on to the 8th postoperative day. Alpha ANP levels were determined using radioimmunoassay. The postoperative course was characterized by a rapid significant increase in hormone levels as of the 6th postoperative day (45.6 +/- 5.5 fmol/ml). These findings were comparable to those found in a previous study involving orthotopic heart transplantation alone. Thus, the heart-lung group was also capable of high levels of alpha ANP release from the onset. However, this rapidly increasing release was not found to be correlated with the changes in hemodynamic parameters observed postoperatively (blood and cardiac filling pressures). Moreover, we observed no episodes of rejection which might explain the increased release of this hormone. Finally, the fact that increased alpha ANP release occurs despite a smaller increase in the overall tissue mass is more than noteworthy. In conclusion, as we found in our initial study involving heart transplant recipients, the sustained high levels of alpha ANP observed following heart-lung transplantation are in favour of a possible modulating role played by cardiac innervation on the release of this hormone.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

[Contribution to the study of labeled neurohypophysial hormones. Preliminary data on the properties of the macromolecular compound: vasopressin-dextran (author's transl)].

The neuropeptide binding sites at the level of their target cells can be localized by several morphological methods. For one of the neurohypophysial hormones, vasopressin, not all labelling techniques can be applied: radioiodinated vasopressin has no biological activity; only 3Hvasopressin can be used. Immunocytochemical evidence for vasopressin receptors must be supported by complementary data in order to demonstrate the specificity of the binding. A new labelled ligand is prepared: vasopressin-dextran. In vivo, this macromolecular compound has antidiuretic properties equivalent to those of free vasopressin. In vitro, it gives a cross reaction with specific anti-vasopressin antibodies. For the same macromolecular compound, the ratio between the conjugated vasopressin estimated through R.I.A. and that assayed by biological method was 30.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

[Acid labile aldosteronuria. Comparison of radio-immunoassay and colorimetry (author's transl)].

The daily excretion of aldosteronuria was studied in 87 normal or pathological subjects by 3 methods : one, classical, by thin layer chromatography (TLC), based on a modification of Neher's technic, the others, by radio-immunoassay with or without prior extraction of urinary aldosterone (RIA). The normal subjects receiving a daily sodium intake of 150 nmol excrete 24,9 +/- 3,4 nmol/24 hours of aldosterone (TLC) and 23,0 +/- 4,2, 26,3 +/- 3,7 nmol/24 hours (RIA) respectively. These values are not statistically different, RIA of aldosteronuria appears to be a reliable and simple technic and permits one to carry out a large number of examinations within a short period of time with only one technician.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed1979

Muscular fatigue and rate of tension development.

The effects of long-term fatigue upon maximal force and peak rate of tension development (PRTD) (dF/dt max) are studied in man (elbow flexors), in the rat (pseudo-isolated gastrocnemius muscle) and in the frog (isolated sartorius muscle). The muscles are fatigued by voluntary anisometric anisotonic contractions against an elastic resistance in man, and by maximal tetanic contractions in the frog and the rat. In man, the excitation level of the muscle is controlled by the integrated surface EMG of the biceps brachii. In the animals, the muscles are stimulated by a neurostimulator. The PRTD and the maximal isometric force are measured during fatigue tests. In man, frog and rat, the maximal voluntary isometric torque or the maximal force and the PRTD decrease initially more or less rapidly according to the power developed during the fatigue process, and then less rapidly. The relationship between PRTD and maximal force is linear in the animals and curvilinear in man. The variations of maximal force and PRTD are discussed in relation to the level of excitation of the muscles and of the composition in different motor units types and their spatio-temporal recruitment. From a biomechanical point of view, it seems necessary to study the behavior of the series elastic component during the evolution of long term fatigue.

Animals↗