Biomedical subjects

T Ricci

Publications and source records attributed to T Ricci.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Acute oxygen supplementation does not relieve the impairment of respiratory muscle strength in hypoxemic COPD.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To verify whether hypoxemia affects respiratory muscle strength in the absence of malnutrition and whether such effect, if present, is reversible with an acute oxygen supplementation. DESIGN: Case series analysis, before-after trial. SETTING: Outpatient pneumology departments of two university hospitals. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty patients affected by COPD in stable conditions having actual to ideal body weight ratio of > or =90%. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) was measured at functional residual capacity level in the whole sample of subjects and during oxygen supplementation in 58 patients having a PaO2< or =60 mm Hg when breathing in room air. Predictors of MIP were assessed by a multivariate analysis. MIP values before and after oxygen supplementation were compared by a paired t test. MIP was independently correlated with FVC (p<0.001), PaO2 (p<0.01), and age (p<0.01). In the subgroup of hypoxemic patients, MIP values did not change significantly after oxygen supplementation (3.08+/-1.74 vs 3.03+/-1.91 kPa, t=0.43, not significant). CONCLUSIONS: Hypoxemia is an important negative correlate of MIP even in well-nourished COPD patients. Its effect is not reversible with an acute oxygen supplementation.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1995

Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation caused by various plant extracts.

In a previous study (Am J Physiol 1993;265: H774-8), we found that certain red wines and other grape products caused endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation. In the present study, aqueous extracts of a variety of vegetables, fruits, teas, nuts, herbs, and spices were tested for their endothelium-dependent relaxing ability in vitro. Rings of rat aorta, with or without an intact endothelium, were mounted in tissue baths, contracted with phenylephrine, and then exposed to diluted plant extracts. Many, but not all, extracts exhibited endothelium-dependent relaxations that were reversed by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, which suggested involvement of nitric oxide, the endothelium-derived relaxing factor in the response. Furthermore, extracts that caused relaxation also increased tissue levels of cyclic GMP, the mediator of nitric oxide-induced vascular smooth-muscle relaxation. These results may lend further support to mounting evidence that plant foods contain compounds that, if absorbed intact and in sufficient quantities, could conceivably be beneficial in prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Experimental investigation of temperature gradients in the inner ear following argon laser exposure.

In microsurgery of the middle ear using argon laser, heat is produced on the sensorineural structures adjacent to the irradiated bones. Thermal gradients following laser applications have been measured by means of special thermocouples. The footplate was perforated by a 50 msec. ray applied both at 380 mWatt and at 460 mWatt. The maximum temperature increase registered in the labyrinthine spaces was respectively 2 degrees C. and 3.5 degrees C. Coagulation of the promontory mucosa was performed using 100 msec. impulses at 200 mWatt. At the end of a series of 12 applications the temperature increase at the level of the basal coil was 1.4 degrees C. From the above results the authors conclude that no damage is induced during laser microsurgery and that, considering the power and time values relative to impulses, the use of laser in routine clinical practice should be relatively safe.

Ear, Inner↗

PubMed1980