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Biomedical subjects

M Recchia

Publications and source records attributed to M Recchia.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

[National Register of congenital hypothyroidism].

The results of five years activity of the National Register of children with Congenital Hypothyroidism (NRCH) have been evaluated. NRCH was established in Italy in 1987, as a pilot project of Health Ministry. All Italian Centers in charge of the screening, treatment and follow-up of CH are involved in the program. The results have provided further epidemiological informations about CH in Italy and have evidenced some aspects in the screening organization which had to be improved. Discussion of Register data in annual meetings has recently allowed to obtain an improvement especially for the beginning of treatment and the used dose of therapy.

Congenital Hypothyroidism↗
PubMed1986

MODDIS: a microcomputer program for model discrimination.

A computer program for a microcomputer (HP 86) is presented to discriminate between different models and to design new experiments for model discrimination. By a non-linear fitting algorithm a set of experimental data is fitted with different models suggested by the user. The parameters characterizing each model are estimated by minimizing the sum of squared residuals; different criteria are used to test the choice between two or more models at different levels of probability and the smallest number of additional experiments required for discrimination is computed. If discrimination is not achieved a direct search method is used to find the local maxima of the divergence (or information for discrimination) over a user-chosen domain of independent variables (x R'''). The x value corresponding to the absolute maximum of the divergence is the best choice to run a new experiment for discrimination.

Biometry↗
PubMed1985

Effect of loperamide and naloxone on mouth-to-caecum transit time evaluated by lactulose hydrogen breath test.

The effect of loperamide and naloxone on mouth-to-caecum transit time was evaluated by the lactulose hydrogen breath test in four men and four women. Each subject underwent tests during the administration of placebo, loperamide (12-16 mg po), naloxone (40 micrograms/kg/h by a three-hour intravenous infusion), and loperamide plus naloxone, carried out at intervals of one or two weeks. The transit time was significantly longer after loperamide, and this effect was antagonised by the concomitant administration of naloxone whereas naloxone administered alone had no effect on mean transit time. No clinically important side effects were reported.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Immunosuppressive effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in strains of mice with different susceptibility to induction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase.

Mouse strains with different susceptibility to aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) induction and with different levels and/or affinity for a specific cytosolic binding protein ("receptor") were used to investigate the immunosuppressive effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Humoral antibody production was strongly inhibited in C57Bl/6 and C3H/HeN mice (more susceptible strains) with very low, single doses of TCDD (1.2 micrograms/kg), while other strains (DBA/2 and AKR) required higher doses (at least 6 micrograms/kg) to be partially suppressed. Longer exposure (8 weeks) did not increase the sensitivity of DBA/2 mice. A good correlation between the degree of enzyme inducibility and immunosuppression was observed in studies with B6D2F1 mice and backcrosses. Similar results were obtained with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF), the most powerful competitor for TCDD "receptor" in vitro and in vivo. TCDD immunotoxic effects appeared to be associated with the presence of a specific cytosolic binding protein which mediates AHH induction.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Morphine tissue levels and reduction of gastrointestinal transit in rats. Correlation supports primary action site in the gut.

Overnight-fasted male rats given a single dose of tritium-labeled morphine either intraperitoneally or intravenously were fed a charcoal test meal by stomach tube. The drug remaining in tissues was assayed by liquid scintillation counting of thin-layer chromatograms from homogenates, and gastrointestinal transit was tested by measuring the portion of the small intestine traversed by charcoal in 5 min. Morphine, 0.15 mg/kg, given intraperitoneally either 10 min or 30 min before testing substantially reduced gastrointestinal transit (to 23% and 55% of drug-free controls, respectively), and produced maximum drug levels 5 min after administration in small intestine longitudinal muscle with attached myenteric plexus (500 +/- 42 ng/g, mean +/- SE, n = 4). Intact small intestine, plasma, and brain, respectively, contained decreasing drug concentrations that, in the latter, never exceeded 2%-3% of that in longitudinal muscle. Rats receiving 0.15 mg/kg morphine intravenously presented only minor and short-lived inhibition of gastrointestinal transit that was significantly below (approximately 35%) that of drug-free controls at 10 min, but not 30 min, after drug administration. Morphine levels in the brain and plasma of these rats were up to five times higher, and in the intact small intestine longitudinal muscle were up to 20 times lower than in intraperitoneally treated rats. Morphine concentration in the tissues assayed was plotted against the effect on gastrointestinal transit at the same interval for individual rats regardless of dose, administration route, and observation time: data analysis, in small intestine longitudinal muscle, but not in the brain or plasma, indicated a highly significant correlation and fitting of computer-generated curves described by a currently accepted equation according to the receptor occupation theory of drug response. In view of these findings, and of the complete prevention by the "peripherally selective" narcotic antagonist N-methyl naloxone of gastrointestinal transit inhibition after an intravenous analgesic dose of morphine (1 mg/kg), the investigated animal model is consistent with the primary role of a gut-located action site in opiate-induced constipation.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The simulated randomization test.

Non-parametric statistical methods have been the subject of renewed interest. They are particularly useful in the behavioral sciences as they can be applied to a large class of distributions, and because the investigator is not forced into making any erroneous assumptions about a Gaussian distribution for the parent population or about equal variances in the contrasted groups. The randomization test is the most powerful non-parametric test [1] but it is rarely used because it calls for a prohibitive amount of computation. However, two tools now available make it more feasible: simulation and high-speed computer calculations. This test's importance lies in the extremely simple logic by which it is set up. The program described here is written in BASIC language for a microcomputer and carries out an approximate randomization test using a simulated distribution instead of the entire distribution. This version is slightly less powerful, a small price to pay for reducing the enormous calculation capacity otherwise required.

Computers↗
PubMed1982

SPBS: statistical programs for biological sciences. Minicomputer software for applying routine biostatistical methods.

The main routine statistical analyses can be carried out from start to finish on a minicomputer with basic language capability and greater than or equal to 32000 bytes of random access memory. However, no statistical software packs for minicomputers are ever complete enough for exhaustive analysis of most problems. Taking account of the requirements of statistical models, this paper gives an outline of how to set up a program. Examples are given from the package of statistical programs developed at this institute. The advantages and disadvantages of making these analyses on minicomputers are discussed, in comparison with the use of statistical programs requiring large computers.

Biometry↗
PubMed1982

Walker carcinoma 256: a model for studies on tumor-induced anorexia and cachexia.

Data on anorexia and cachexia induced by Walker carcinoma 256 in Sprague-Dawley rats were analyzed in order to standardize an experimental model using a statistical (nondeterministical) procedure for assessing the efficacy of potential orexigenic agents. This model was characterized by a mean survival time of 14 +/- 1 days and by food intake and body weight loss starting from day 6 after tumor implantation. The complex course of cachexia was characterized by reduction in the weight of gastrocnemius muscle and epididymal adipose tissue, taken as representative sites of loss of proteins and lipids.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1981

Inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system by L-dopa with and without inhibition of extracerebral dopa decarboxylase in man.

1. The present study was undertaken to investigate the possibility that central nervous system mono-aminergic pathways may play a role in the control of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in man. 2. Eight normal subjects received in a randomized order placebo, L-dopa (500 mg, orally) and L-dopa (100 mg, orally) plus carbidopa (35 mg, orally) after pretreatment with carbidopa (50 mg every 6 h for four doses). 3. L-Dopa administration elicited a significant fall in plasma renin activity (PRA) (P less than 0.01 at 120, 150 and 180 min) and in plasma aldosterone levels (P less than 0.05 at 90, 120, 150 and 180 min); L-dopa plus carbidopa induced a decrease in PRA (P less than 0.05 at 120 and 150 min, P less than 0.01 at 180 min) and in plasma aldosterone concentration (P less than 0.05 at 30 and 60 min, P less than 0.01 at 90 and 120 min), in comparison with placebo administration; between-drugs analysis revealed no difference in the decreases in PRA and plasma aldosterone levels induced by the two regimens. 4. Since L-dopa, as well as L-dopa plus carbidopa, has been shown to augment catecholamine levels in the brain of various animal species, the present data suggest that in man PRA and plasma aldosterone concentration might be inhibited by increased central nervous system catecholamine levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Monosodium glutamate kinetic studies in human volunteers.

(a) A kinetic study of plasma glutamic acid (GA) was made after monosodium glutamate (MSG) administration to human volunteers. MSG was given at doses of 30,60 and 120 mg/kg in a bouillon and of 60 mg/kg in tomato juice. In another experiment a normal meal was consumed without added MSG. (2) Plasma area under the curve (AUC) was found to be lower in females than in males. (3) Plasma AUC was lower when MSG was taken in tomato juice than when consumed in bouillon. (4) Consumption of the normal meal did not result in any significant increase in plasma GA.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Multicentre comparative trial of tienilic acid and hydrochlorothiazide in hypertensive patients.

To compare the clinical and metabolic effects of a new diuretic uricosuric agent, tienilic acid, with those of hydrochlorothiazide, a multicentre double-blind trial was performed in 56 hypertensive patients. Twenty-eight patients were randomly assigned to take tienilic acid and 28 to take hydrochlorothiazide. The diuretic and anti-hypertensive actions of the two compounds were similar. No significant differences were observed between tienilic acid and hydrochlorothiazide in their effects on urinary and serum electrolytes, hepatic and renal function tests, and fasting lipids. The patients who received tienilic acid showed a significant fall in serum uric acid, mediated by the uricosuric effect. The availability of an agent combining diuretic, antihypertensive and hypouricemic effects offers promise in the treatment of arterial hypertension.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Human platelet monoamine oxidase activity in glaucoma.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO, E.C. 1.4.3.4) activity was determined by spectrophotofluorimetric assay of the reaction product of the artificial substrate kynuramine in platelets from venous blood samples from 50 outpatients with glaucomas and 47 sex- and age-matched controls. No significant differences were found between MAO activity in control subjects and that in subjects with glaucomas grouped according to diagnostic subcategories. Irrespective of ocular disease, women had significantly higher enzyme activity than men. Age-related changes in platelet MAO were inconsistent.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Subcellular distribution of etorphine in rat brain and evidence for in vitro stereospecific binding.

1 Control experiments were carried out by homogenizing rat brain at 0 degrees C with sucrose containing various concentrations of [3H]-etorphine. Subcellular fractionation of this homogenate showed that the distribution of the labelled drug amongst the primary fractions was dependent on the concentration of etorphine in the homogenate. 2 Rats were injected intravenously with 0.2 and 20 microgram/kg of [3H]-etorphine. The brains were homogenized and fractionated in sucrose containing 4.2 x 10(-5) M unlabelled etorphine in order to control redistribution artifacts. Different distribution profiles in the subcellular fractions were observed at these two dose levels. 3 Concurrent administration of either cyprenorphine or naloxone with intravenous etorphine, caused a shift of the labelled drug from the P3 fraction to the supernatant fraction. 4 The subcellular distribution of intravenously administered [3H]-etorphine was also studied by homogenizing brains in etorphine-free sucrose, and sucrose containing either levorphanol or dextrorphan. From these experiments it was concluded that the P3 microsomal fraction is a major site to which in vivo etorphine is stereospecifically bound in the rat brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Prognostic significance of radiological bone involvement in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

In 98 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, aged 1 to 12 years, the prognostic significance of radiological bone involvement was studied. The mean duration of remission and of survival was much shorter in cases with multiple bone involvement (3 or more bones) than in those where bone involvement was absent. In those cases presenting with 1 or 2 bone lesions no statement of prognostic significance can be made at this stage. A radiological skeletal survey should be made in all children presenting with leukaemia to identify those (about 15%) having multiple bone lesions and therefore a poor prognosis, in order that they can be given more intensive therapy.

Bone Neoplasms↗