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Biomedical subjects

C Gennari

Publications and source records attributed to C Gennari.

320 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Effects of tiapride infusion on plasma levels of beta-endorphin, prolactin and dopamine in patients with pain from cancer (author's transl)].

Tiapride, a substituted benzamide, exerts an antalgic effect in man. To examine the possibility that tiapride analgesia might be related to a mechanism involving a release of endogenous opioids, the acute effects of an intravenous injection of the drug on plasma radioimmunoassayable beta-endorphin were studied in patients with pain from cancer (placebo-tiapride double-blind randomized trial). Seeing that substituted benzamides affect prolactin secretion, the plasmatic levels of prolactin and dopamine, a known factor inhibiting prolactin release, were studied as well. The tiapride infusion produced a slight but significant increase in plasma beta-endorphin level, an early and significant increase in plasma prolactin, and a sudden and highly significant decrease in plasma dopamine. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that tiapride influences the neuroendocrine system.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of pravastatin treatment on vitamin D metabolites.

Hyperlipidemias, and notably hypercholesterolemia, represent important risk factors for atherosclerotic vascular disease. The enzymatic inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, a selective and specific key enzyme involved in endogenous cholesterol synthesis, cause a significant mean reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, both in familial and nonfamilial hypercholesterolemic forms. It has been hypothesized that these compounds might interfere with vitamin D endogenous synthesis secondarily to their effects on cholesterol. To verify this hypothesis, we studied 14 hypercholesterolemic patients treated as follows: 4 weeks of low-lipid, fiber-rich diet followed by 8 weeks of pravastatin treatment at the oral evening dose of 20 mg/d and by a 1-month washout period. No significant changes in serum calcium, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D were noticed; on the contrary, significant (P < 0.01) reductions in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and a significant (P < 0.05) increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed. After the final 1-month washout period, all values returned to baseline levels. In conclusion, our study confirms the clinical efficacy of pravastatin on lipid fractions and demonstrates the absence of any interference on the circulating levels of the main vitamin D metabolites.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Calcitonins and osteoporosis.

Calcitonin, a polypeptide hormone secreted by the parafollicular C cells of the thyroid gland, lowers serum calcium by decreasing bone resorption and tubular calcium reabsorption. An analgesic action, possibly mediated via beta-endorphins, is also evident. Parenteral calcitonin has been shown to stabilise and increase indices of cortical and trabecular bone mass and total body calcium when administered to patients with established osteoporosis. The routine use of this route of administration has been limited by poor patient compliance and tolerability. An intranasal preparation of calcitonin provided a more convenient means of administration. Several clinical trials have shown that intranasal calcitonin is effective and well tolerated both in prevention of postmenopausal bone loss and in established osteoporosis. Calcitonin therapy is particularly indicated for patients with high-turnover osteoporosis where results show a net gain of bone mineral in the axial skeleton and a slowing of bone loss in the appendicular bones. Due to receptor downregulation a resistance to the hormone may occur after 12-18 months of continuous treatment. This resistant can be avoided and delayed by the cyclical or discontinued administration of the hormone. Further research is needed to confirm longer-term efficacy and effects on fracture rate.

Calcitonin↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Guidelines for improved therapeutic strategy in patients with Paget's osteitis deformans].

Paget's disease is a localized mono- or polyostotic progressive bone disease of possibly viral etiology characterized by increased bone remodeling, leading to pain, fractures, and skeletal deformities with the risk of osseous, articular and neurological complications. Appropriate treatment should be given to any patient with symptoms and any patient with a pagetic lesion in a high risk location, even if the patient is asymptomatic. First choice of treatment are now potent new bisphosphonates of second generation. These substances are captured in pagetic bone at high concentrations giving a continuing therapeutic effect after application has ceased. Monitoring the course of biochemical markers of bone turnover allows individual decisions about duration and frequency of treatment courses.

Diphosphonates↗