Biomedical subjects

Victor Rodríguez

Publications and source records attributed to Victor Rodríguez.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Adjuvant Ozonetherapy in Advanced Head and Neck Tumors: A Comparative Study.

Advanced head and neck (H&N) tumors have a poor prognosis, and this is worsened by the occurrence of hypoxia and ischemia in the tumors. Ozonetherapy has proved useful in the treatment of ischemic syndromes, and several studies have described a potential increase of oxygenation in tissues and tumors. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the clinical effect of ozonetherapy in patients with advanced H&N cancer in the course of their scheduled radiotherapy. Over a period of 3 years, 19 patients with advanced H&N tumors who were undergoing treatment in our department with non-standard fractionated radiotherapy plus oral tegafur. A group of 12 patients was additionally treated with intravenous chemotherapy before and/or during radiotherapy. In the other group of seven patients, systemic ozonetherapy was administered twice weekly during radiotherapy. The ozonetherapy group was older (64 versus 54 years old, P = 0.006), with a higher percentage of lymph node involvement (71% versus 8%, P = 0.019) and with a trend to more unfavorable tumor stage (57% versus 8% IVb + IVc stages, P = 0.073). However, there was no significant difference in overall survival between the chemotherapy (median 6 months) and ozonetherapy (8 months) groups. Although these results have to be viewed with caution because of the limited number of patients, they suggest that ozonetherapy could have had some positive effect during the treatment of our patients with advanced H&N tumors. The adjuvant administration of ozonetherapy during the chemo-radiotherapy for these tumors merits further research.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Ozone Therapy on Cerebral Blood Flow: A Preliminary Report.

Ozone therapy is currently being used in the treatment of ischemic disorders, but the underlying mechanisms that result in successful treatment are not well known. This study assesses the effect of ozone therapy on the blood flow in the middle cerebral and common carotid arteries. Seven subjects were recruited for the therapy that was performed by transfusing ozone-enriched autologous blood on 3 alternate days over 1 week. Blood flow quantification in the common carotid artery (n = 14) was performed using color Doppler. Systolic and diastolic velocities in the middle cerebral artery (n = 14) were estimated using transcranial Doppler. Ultrasound assessments were conducted at the following three time points: 1) basal (before ozone therapy), 2) after session #3 and 3) 1 week after session #3. The common carotid blood flow had increased by 75% in relation to the baseline after session #3 (P < 0.001) and by 29% 1 week later (P = 0.039). In the middle cerebral artery, the systolic velocity had increased by 22% after session #3 (P = 0.001) and by 15% 1 week later (P = 0.035), whereas the diastolic velocity had increased by 33% after session #3 (P < 0.001) and by 18% 1 week later (P = 0.023). This preliminary Doppler study supports the clinical experience of achieving improvement by using ozone therapy in peripheral ischemic syndromes. Its potential use as a complementary treatment in cerebral low perfusion syndromes merits further clinical evaluation.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Ozone Therapy for Tumor Oxygenation: a Pilot Study.

Tumor hypoxia is an adverse factor for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Ozone therapy is a non-conventional form of medicine that has been used successfully in the treatment of ischemic disorders. This prospective study was designed to assess the effect of ozone therapy on tumor oxygenation. Eighteen subjects were recruited for the study. Systemic ozone therapy was administered by autohemotransfusion on three alternate days over one week. Tumor oxygenation levels were measured using polarographic needle probes before and after the first and the third ozone therapy session. Overall, no statistically significant change was observed in the tumor oxygenation in the 18 patients. However, a significant decrease was observed in hypoxic values </=10 and </=5 mmHg of pO(2). When individually assessed, a significant and inverse non-linear correlation was observed between increase in oxygenation and the initial tumor pO(2) values at each measuring time-point, thus indicating that the more poorly-oxygenated tumors benefited most (rho = -0.725; P = 0.001). Additionally, the effect of ozone therapy was found to be lower in patients with higher hemoglobin concentrations (rho = -0.531; P < 0.034). Despite being administered over a very short period, ozone therapy improved oxygenation in the most hypoxic tumors. Ozone therapy as adjuvant in chemo-radiotherapy warrants further research.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Effect of ozone therapy on muscle oxygenation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Ozone therapy is being used to treat ischemic disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms for the success are unknown and the therapy has not been accepted fully within conventional medicine. This study sought to assess the effect of ozone therapy on resting muscle oxygenation. PATIENTS AND DESIGN: Twenty-three (23) patients and 3 volunteers were recruited for this prospective study. Systemic ozone therapy was administered by autohemotransfusion on three alternate days over 1 week. Tissue oxygenation (mmHg) was directly measured in the tibialis anterior muscle using polarographic needle electrodes before and after the first and the third ozone therapy session. RESULTS: Globally, the differences in oxygenation were not statistically significant but there was a significant decrease in the percentage of low-oxygenated values (pO(2) < 5 mmHg) following ozone sessions (p < 0.02). The change in muscle oxygenation following ozone therapy was inversely correlated with age (r = -0.398; p = 0.044) and with the initial (baseline pretherapy) muscle oxygenation values (r = -0.644; p < 0.001), indicating that the more poorly oxygenated muscles benefited most from the therapy. A significant (p = 0.031) higher oxygenation in these tissues was observed 48 hours after the second session. CONCLUSIONS: Ozone therapy can modify oxygenation in resting muscles, particularly of those that are most hypoxic. Our results suggest that ozone therapy could be used effectively as a complementary treatment of hypoxic and ischemic syndromes and that the therapy warrants further investigation for possible application in other clinical conditions.

Adult↗