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Biomedical subjects

N De Rosa

Publications and source records attributed to N De Rosa.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Inguinal endometriosis or irreducible hernia? A difficult preoperative diagnosis.

Two cases of endometriosis infiltrating the round ligament and associated with an inguinal hernia are presented. The initial diagnosis was irreducible hernia, since this rare association often causes unusual preoperative symptoms and diagnostic problems. Diagnosis is frequently made by histologic examination. Surgery is the treatment of choice both for hernia and for endometriosis, and is locally curative. However, in a fertile woman with a painful mass in the inguinal region the possibility of endometriosis should be considered, and if suspected at inguinal exploration a laparoscopy should be made to rule out the presence of intraperitoneal endometriosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Impairment of endothelial functions by acute hyperhomocysteinemia and reversal by antioxidant vitamins.

CONTEXT: Increased levels of homocysteine are associated with risk of cardiovascular disease. Homocysteine may cause this risk by impairing endothelial cell function. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of acute hyperhomocysteinemia with and without antioxidant vitamin pretreatment on cardiovascular risk factors and endothelial functions. DESIGN AND SETTING: Observer-blinded, randomized crossover study conducted at a university hospital in Italy. SUBJECTS: Twenty healthy hospital staff volunteers (10 men, 10 women) aged 25 to 45 years. INTERVENTIONS: Subjects were given each of 3 loads in random order at 1-week intervals: oral methionine, 100 mg/kg in fruit juice; the same methionine load immediately following ingestion of antioxidant vitamin E, 800 IU, and ascorbic acid, 1000 mg; and methionine-free fruit juice (placebo). Ten of the 20 subjects also ingested a placebo load with vitamins. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Lipid, coagulation, glucose, and circulating adhesion molecule parameters, blood pressure, and endothelial functions as assessed by hemodynamic and rheologic responses to L-arginine, evaluated at baseline and 4 hours following ingestion of the loads. RESULTS: The oral methionine load increased mean (SD) plasma homocysteine level from 10.5 (3.8) micromol/L at baseline to 27.1 (6.7) micromol/L at 4 hours (P<.001). A similar increase was observed with the same load plus vitamins (10.0 [4.0] to 22.7 [7.8] micromol/L; P<.001) but no significant increase was observed with placebo (10.1 [3.7] to 10.4 [3.2] micromol/L; P=.75). Coagulation and circulating adhesion molecule levels significantly increased after methionine ingestion alone (P<.05) but not after placebo or methionine ingestion with vitamins. While the mean (SD) blood pressure (-7.0% [2.7%]; P<.001), platelet aggregation response to adenosine diphosphate (-11.4% [4.5%]; P=.009) and blood viscosity (-3.0% [1.2%]; P=.04) declined in these parameters 10 minutes after an L-arginine load (3 g) following placebo, the increase after methionine alone (-2.3% [1.5%], 4.0% [3.0%], and 1.5% [1.0%], respectively; P<.05), did not occur following methionine load with vitamin pretreatment (-6.3% [2.5%], -7.9% [3.5%], and -1.5% [1.0%], respectively; P=.24). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that mild to moderate elevations of plasma homocysteine levels in healthy subjects activate coagulation, modify the adhesive properties of endothelium, and impair the vascular responses to L-arginine. Pretreatment with antioxidant vitamin E and ascorbic acid blocks the effects of hyperhomocysteinemia, suggesting an oxidative mechanism.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Metabolic and cardiovascular effects of carvedilol and atenolol in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hypertension. A randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic patients are considered less suitable than nondiabetic patients for beta-blocker therapy because of the risk for worsened glucose and lipid metabolism and more severe hypoglycemic attacks. OBJECTIVE: To compare the metabolic and cardiovascular effects of carvedilol with those of atenolol in diabetic patients with hypertension. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, 24-week trial. SETTING: University hospital clinic. PATIENTS: 45 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hypertension. INTERVENTION: After a 4- to 6-week run-in period during which placebo was given in a single-blind manner, patients were randomly assigned to carvedilol or atenolol. MEASUREMENTS: An oral glucose tolerance test; assessment of insulin sensitivity and hormonal responses to insulin hypoglycemia; and assessment of lipid levels, blood pressure, left ventricular mass, and lipid peroxidation. RESULTS: Changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and left ventricular mass index were similar with carvedilol and atenolol (P > 0.2). Fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels decreased with carvedilol and increased with atenolol. Responses to carvedilol were greater than those to atenolol, as follows: increase in total glucose disposal, 9.54 mumol/kg of body weight per minute (95% CI, 7 to 11.9 mumol/kg per minute); decrease in plasma glucose response to oral glucose, 61 mmol/L x 180 minutes (CI, -101 to -21 mmol/L x 180 minutes); decrease in insulin response to oral glucose, 6.2 nmol/L x 180 minutes (CI, -9.8 to -2.6 nmol/L x 180 minutes); decrease in triglyceride level, 0.56 mmol/L (CI, -0.75 to -0.37 mmol/L; P < 0.001); increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, 0.13 mmol/L (CI, 0.09 to 0.17 mmol/L; P < 0.001); and decrease in lipid peroxidation, 0.25 mumol/L (CI, -0.34 to -0.16 mumol/L). CONCLUSIONS: By improving glucose and lipid metabolism and reducing lipid peroxidation, carvedilol may offer advantages in patients with diabetes and hypertension.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed1996

Metformin improves hemodynamic and rheological responses to L-arginine in NIDDM patients.

OBJECTIVE: The endothelium plays a pivotal role in the regulation of vascular tone by releasing nitric oxide (NO). Increased availability of L-arginine, the natural precursor of NO, induces vasodilatation and inhibits platelet activity. We studied the effect of metformin on hemodynamic and rheological responses to L-arginine in patients with NIDDM. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Ten newly diagnosed NIDDM patients with mild fasting hyperglycemia (7.5 +/- 0.3 mmol/l) and without evidence of both micro- and macrovascular complications were investigated. They received an intravenous infusion of L-arginine (1 g/min for 30 min) with evaluation of plasma glucose and insulin, systolic (sBP) and diastolic (dBP) blood pressure, heart rate and plasma catecholamines, platelet aggregation, and blood viscosity and filterability. The L-arginine test was repeated after an 8-week treatment with metformin (850 mg b.i.d.). RESULTS: Metformin treatment significantly reduced basal fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, and platelet aggregation to ADP (P < 0.05); the other parameters did not change. During pretreatment test, L-arginine infusion decreased sBP (from 137 +/- 4.1 to 129 +/- 4.5 mmHg, P < 0.01) and dBP (from 79 +/- 1.9 to 75 +/- 1.2 mmHg, P < 0.01) without affecting heart rate or plasma catecholamines. Both platelet aggregation and blood viscosity showed significant decrements after L-arginine, while blood filterability did not change. After metformin treatment, the decrease in blood pressure after L-arginine infusion was significantly enhanced, with a maximal decrease of sBP of 12 +/- 3.4 mmHg (8 +/- 2.5 mmHg pretreatment, P < 0.05) and dBP of 9.5 +/- 2.4 mmHg (4.5 +/- 1.9 mmHg pretreatment, P < 0.01). Heart rate, plasma norepinephrine levels, and blood filterability also rose significantly (P < 0.05-0.01). The decrease in both platelet aggregation and blood viscosity after L-arginine was significantly amplified after metformin. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that L-arginine infusion in newly diagnosed NIDDM patients without vascular complications produces relevant hemodynamic and theological changes, which are amplified by an 8-week treatment with metformin. Whether these vascular effects of metformin will improve the poor cardiovascular outlook of the diabetic patient is still unknown.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1996

[Double cardiac fibroma in a newborn infant].

The authors describe the autopsy finding of two fibromas within the left ventricular wall of a five-day-old newborn. Histochemistry and immunohistochemistry showed the lesion as a purely fibroblastic proliferation, with intense elastic fibers formation and secondary morphological alteration and biological damage of the pre-existing muscular fibers. The authors, on the basis of the phases of the cardiac metamers development and of myocardial tissue differentiation, exclude any relationship with disembryogenetic factors, and hence the hamartomatous origin of the lesion, despite their onset in the first months of intrauterine growth.

Fatal Outcome↗
PubMed1995

Tolrestat in the primary prevention of diabetic neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of tolrestat and placebo in patients with subclinical diabetic neuropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients with early involvement of the autonomic nervous system were identified by only one pathological (outside the 99% confidence interval of the normal population) squatting test (vagal or sympathetic). Fifty-seven patients entered a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel 52-week study of tolrestat at a dose of 200 mg/day. Cardiovascular reflex tests (squatting vagal and sympathetic tests, pressure gain, deep breathing, lying-to-standing, Valsalva maneuver, and orthostatic hypertension), vibration thresholds, tendon reflexes, and muscle strength were assessed throughout the study. RESULTS: At 12 months, nerve function significantly improved in patients receiving tolrestat and deteriorated in patients taking placebo. At baseline, the squatting vagal test was normal in 16 patients in the tolrestat group and in 15 patients in the placebo group. At 12 months, 25 patients taking tolrestat had a normalized squatting test, but only 6 patients taking placebo did (P = 0.02). Vibration perception threshold improved by a value of 6 +/- 3 V in the tolrestat group (P < 0.001) and deteriorated by a value of 3 +/- 1.8 V (P < 0.001) in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Tolrestat may be useful in the primary prevention of diabetic neuropathy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1995

[Pulmonary malformations associated with congenital cardiopathy].

The authors describe, in a series of 132 pediatric autopsies in the period January 1979-December 1994, the associations between congenital cardiopathies and pulmonary malformations. These latter were present in 13 of 46 cases (34.8%) in which cardiopathy was associated to a malformation of other discricts. In 9 of cases was exclusively interested the lung, while in the remaining 4 cases also other organs presented anomalies. The lung malformations observed were represented in 12 cases by supernumerary scissures with conjuncted cardiac septal system defects; in one case an alveolar dysplasia was associated to a previous Botallus duct. None of the 8 malformative syndromes, due to chromosomopathies, showed lung malformations. Examining the sequential chronological phases of the development of the two apparatus, the Authors hypothesize a common etiopathogenesis in both malformations, due to the isochronous action of the same intra-uterine pathogenic noxa, favoured by the topographic relationships of the two systems. Conversely, seems unlike the action of genetic damages, although either in genetically determined, or intra-uterine acquired, malformative syndromes, the pulmonary defects are almost exclusively represented by anomalies in the scissures formation.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1994

Pilomatrix carcinoma. A case report with immunohistochemical findings, flow cytometric comparison with benign pilomatrixoma and review of the literature.

We report a case of pilomatrix carcinoma in a 42 year old woman. The patient presented a rapidly growing 4-cm subcutaneous mass in the right preauricular area. She was free of recurrence 24 months after surgery. Immunoreactivity was studied for cytokeratins, epithelial membrane antigen, S-100 protein, blood group antigens, Leu-M1, beta-2-microglobulin, vimentin, neuron-specific-enolase and cellular binding for peanut agglutinin. Squamous cells were reactive for cytokeratin AE1/3, epithelial membrane antigen, blood group antigens B and H, and peanut agglutinin. Basaloid cells were focally reactive for cytokeratin AE1/3 and epithelial membrane antigen. Flow cytometry revealed a euploid DNA content and a high proliferative rate of the pilomatrix carcinoma and in benign pilomatrixoma studied for comparison. The pathological diagnosis must be based on histomorphological criteria.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Giant cell reparative granuloma of the distal skeletal bones. A report of five cases with immunohistochemical findings.

Giant cell reparative granuloma (GCRG) is a reactive bone lesion that most often involves the jaws. However, occasional cases of GCRG in the distal extremities have been reported, to which we add five cases. All the patients were young to middle-aged adults and had sharply bordered, lytic lesions. Histologically, all the lesions had areas of osteoclast-like giant cells and osteoblast mantled osteoid. Two of the cases had foci of osteoclast-like giant cells lining vascular spaces. In extragnathic locations, GCRG may simulate other osteolytic giant cells lesions such as giant cell tumour of bone and aneurysmal bone cyst (AnBC). Immunohistochemically, all cases showed positive staining of the stromal spindle cells for vimentin and actin, and of the osteoclast-like giant cells for CD68, vimentin and leucocyte common antigen. GCRG is a benign lesion and conservative therapy is curative. As GCRG may have histological features which resemble AnBC it may be considered to be the solid variant of AnBC.

Actins↗
PubMed1994

Hyperinsulinemia in glucose intolerance: is it true?

To evaluate whether beta-cell hyperfunction characterizes glucose intolerant states per se independent of fasting glycemia, we conducted a case-control study among 430 subjects who were classified, by NDGG criteria, as having normal glucose tolerance (n = 230, 130M/130F), nondiagnostic tolerance (NDT, n = 100, 50M/50F) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, n = 100, 50M/50F). Thirty-four subjects (17M/17F) with normal glucose tolerance were matched by age, sex, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fasting glucose and HbA1c with 30 NDT (15M/15F) and 30 IGT (15M/15F) subjects. The continuous and significant increase in insulin and C-peptide levels across categories of glucose tolerance (from normal to NDT to IGT) was no longer evident in the case-control study: at a fasting plasma glucose ranging from 5.2-5.5 mmol/L (HbA1c was 5%) the concentration of fasting C-peptide was 0.793 +/- 225 nmol/L (mean +/- SD) in subjects with normal glucose tolerance, 0.805 +/- 200 nmol/L in NDT and 0.807 +/- 231 nmol/L in IGT subjects (p = NS). Similarly, plasma concentrations of triglycerides and blood pressure values were similar when subjects of different categories were compared at the same level of glycemia. Sixteen normal subjects were rendered mildly hyperglycemic by a 24-h glucose infusion to match the fasting glucose level of NDT (1 mg/kg/min) and IGT (2 mg/kg/min) subjects. At the same fasting glucose level, normal subjects presented elevations of fasting C-peptide significantly (p < 0.01) higher than subjects belonging to the NDT and IGT categories.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Tolrestat for mild diabetic neuropathy. A 52-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of tolrestat, an aldose-reductase inhibitor, in patients with mild diabetic autonomic and peripheral neuropathy. DESIGN: Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind 52-week trial. SETTING: University hospital clinic. PATIENTS: Forty-five diabetic patients with asymptomatic autonomic neuropathy identified by at least one pathologic cardiovascular reflex test result. INTERVENTIONS: All patients were given placebo during a 4-week run-in period (single-blind). Twenty patients were randomly assigned to continue to receive placebo, and 25 were assigned to treatment with tolrestat (200 mg/d given in the morning). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: At 12 months, improvements in nerve functions occurred in patients receiving tolrestat. Compared with baseline values, postural hypotension decreased by a value of 5.9 mm Hg (95% Cl, 1.6 to 8.7); deep-breathing, maximum/minimum heart rate (expiration/inspiration ratio) increased by a value of 0.026 (Cl, 0.015 to 0.036); and lying-to-standing heart rate ratio (30:15 ratio) increased by a value of 0.032 (Cl, 0.027 to 0.052). In the placebo group, all test results except postural hypotension deteriorated. Vibration perception threshold at the malleolus and great toe of the dominant leg improved in the tolrestat group (-1.4; Cl, -3.69 to -1.09) but tended to worsen in the placebo group during the study period. No important side effects were detected in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The progression of mild diabetic autonomic and peripheral neuropathy may be halted or even reversed by pharmacologic intervention with the aldose-reductase inhibitor tolrestat.

Aldehyde Reductase↗
PubMed1993

Metformin for obese, insulin-treated diabetic patients: improvement in glycaemic control and reduction of metabolic risk factors.

The efficacy and safety of metformin in the treatment of obese, non-insulin-dependent, diabetic subjects poorly controlled by insulin after secondary failure to respond to sulphonylureas has been investigated. Fifty insulin-treated, obese diabetics participated in this prospective, randomised double-blind six-month trial. After a four-week run-in period, during which all patients were given placebo (single-blind), patients were randomly assigned to continue to receive placebo or to active treatment with metformin. At six months, there was a relevant and significant improvement in glycaemic control in diabetics receiving the combined insulin-metformin treatment (decrease in glucose -4.1 mmol.l-1; glycosylated haemoglobin A1 decrease -1.84%). No significant changes were seen in diabetics receiving insulin and placebo. There was a significant decrease in blood lipids (trygliceride and cholesterol), an increase in HDL-cholesterol and a reduction in blood pressure in diabetics taking metformin. These positive findings were most marked in the 14 diabetics who experienced a good response to metformin (glucose profile < 10 mmol.l-1), and were less marked but still significant in the remaining 13 diabetics, whose response to therapy was not so good (glucose profile > 10 mmol.l-1). The fasting insulin level was significantly lower after six months of combined insulin-metformin treatment as shown by a 25% reduction in the daily dose of insulin (-21.6 U/day). Metformin was well tolerated by all diabetics.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1993

Hyperinsulinemia in hypertension: increased secretion, reduced clearance or both?

Peripheral hyperinsulinism is said to be associated and perhaps implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension. There is however some inconsistency in the evidence of the relationship between insulin and blood pressure. We prospectively investigated glucose metabolism, insulin and C-peptide values and serum lipids in a large sample of hypertensive as compared with age and body habitus-matched normotensive subjects. As a group, the 145 hypertensives (blood pressure: 160/99 +/- 8.5/6.5 mmHg, mean +/- SD) had significantly elevated fasting plasma insulin (p < 0.02), total and LDL-cholesterol (p < 0.01) than 132 normotensive control subjects. The fasting HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin A1c)/insulin ratio, an estimate of insulin sensitivity, was significantly lower (5.15 +/- 1.45) in the hypertensives than normotensives (5.8 +/- 1.5, p < 0.001). Hypertensives had normal fasting C-peptide levels and lower C-peptide/insulin molar ratios, indicating low hepatic insulin extraction. There was no correlation between mean blood pressure (1/3 systolic + 2/3 diastolic) and fasting serum C-peptide (p = 0.14), insulin (p = 0.11), HbA1c/insulin ratio (p = 0.6), C-peptide/insulin ratio (p = 0.22) and HbA1c (p = 0.19), even after adjusting for age, BMI and family history of diabetes. The differences between hypertensives and normotensives persisted after dividing the subjects according to the presence/absence of either obesity or impaired glucose tolerance, but the significance was lost due to the smaller samples of the subgroups. The obese hypertensives with impaired glucose tolerance had the lowest values of insulin sensitivity and clearance in the fasting state.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Comparison of nitrendipine and cilazapril in patients with hypertension and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

The metabolic and cardiovascular effects of nitrendipine and cilazapril in patients who have elevated blood pressure and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were compared. After at least 6 weeks of a washout period, 20 NIDDM patients who had diastolic blood pressure in the range of 90-105 mm Hg received a single-blind placebo for 4 weeks and then were randomized to receive 20 mg nitrendipine once daily and 5 mg cilazapril once daily each for 12 weeks according to a crossover, double-blind procedure. Nitrendipine and cilazapril reduced diastolic blood pressure levels 12% and 13%, left ventricular mass index (LVMI) levels 13% and 12%, and raised whole glucose disposal levels 18% and 19.5%, respectively. Only nitrendipine reduced glucose-stimulated insulin levels. Nitrendipine is as effective as cilazapril in lowering diastolic blood pressure and LVMI levels and in increasing glucose disposal levels in these patients.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1993

Metformin improves glucose, lipid metabolism, and reduces blood pressure in hypertensive, obese women.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of metformin on blood pressure, left ventricular mass, and some metabolic and endocrine parameters in nondiabetic, obese, hypertensive women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Twelve obese, nondiabetic, hypertensive women received 850 mg metformin 2 times/day for 12 wk and placebo for another 12 wk, according to a double-blind, cross-over, randomized design. All patients were hospitalized 4 times, i.e., before randomization and after each treatment (metformin or placebo), to conduct metabolic and cardiovascular investigations (oral glucose tolerance test, euglycemic clamp associated with indirect calorimetry, and echocardiography). RESULTS: Fasting glucose, HbA1c, fasting and glucose-stimulated insulin, blood pressure and left ventricular mass, cholesterol, triglycerides, and fibrinogen decreased significantly after metformin treatment, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased. The improvement in glucose metabolism resulted from increased sensitivity to insulin. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that metformin treatment in obese, nondiabetic, hypertensive women produces a more favorable cardiovascular risk profile.

Blood Glucose↗