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Biomedical subjects

F Crespi

Publications and source records attributed to F Crespi.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence for a relationship between recovery from anaesthesia, modified state of consciousness and striatal voltammetric levels of ascorbic acid.

The effects of various procedures which modify consciousness were studied on the extracellular concentration of ascorbic acid (AA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5HIAA) in rat striatum, as measured by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) with electrically pretreated carbon fibre micro-electrodes (CFE). Recovery from anaesthesia (produced by 500 mg/kg i.p. chloral hydrate) was accompanied by a six-fold increase in extracellular striatal AA levels, while negligible changes in DOPAC and 5HIAA occurred. Following complete recovery from anaesthesia, the animals were re-injected with the same dose of anaesthetic which specifically reduced AA levels by 90% (DOPAC levels were unchanged and 5HIAA concentrations slightly reduced). In conscious rats, the neuroleptic haloperidol (1 mg/kg i.p., n = 5) and the minor tranquillizer diazepam (10 mg/kg i.p., n = 5), both considered as behaviourally depressant drugs, reduced extracellular AA levels to 50% of controls. The psychomotor stimulant D-amphetamine (1 mg/kg i.p., n = 5) increased AA levels by 90% over controls. Stress activation of animals (handling for 10 min, n = 10) also produced a transient, significant increase (180% of control values) in this striatal parameter. Taken together with previous reports, our results suggest a close relationship between the state of consciousness and extracellular AA levels in the rat striatum and that this relationship appears to be more correlated to AA as no such clear interdependence was noted between the levels of consciousness and extracellular striatal DOPAC or 5HIAA.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Spontaneous preference for ethanol in naive rats is influenced by cholecystokinin A receptor antagonism.

Naive adult male Wistar rats free to choose between water or 10% ethanol (v/v) spontaneously became water-preferring (WP) rats, as they drank mainly water (approximately 35 ml per day), or alcohol-drinking (ED) rats, as they also drank a significant amount of ethanol (approximately 14 ml per day). The selective CCKA receptor antagonist L-364,718 at doses selective for the CCKA receptor (5 micrograms/kg, IP) halved the consumption of alcohol of the ED rats without modifying their total liquid in-take. In contrast, the CCKB antagonists L-365,260 or GV150013 were without effect when used at doses selective for the CCKB receptor. These data indicate that the CCK system could be involved in the modulation of alcohol intake. In particular, they suggest that CCKA receptors could play a role in the ethanol preference.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cholecystokinin-B (CCK-B) receptor antagonists improve "aged" sleep: a new class of sleep modulators?

Sleep disorders are a major, although often minimized and underdiagnosed, medical problem. Current therapy is based on the use of hypnotics, mainly benzodiazepines, which disrupt the sleep pattern often suppressing rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Here, new types of pharmacological tools such as cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor antagonists are examined. In particular, since the awake-sleep rhythm is mainly altered in old age in humans, the influence of these compounds over REM and non-REM sleep has been studied in aged rats (21 months) vs. young rats (5 months) prepared for electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Basal EEG data indicated that REM and non-REM sleep was reduced in aged rats vs. young rats. GV-150013, a selective CCK-B receptor antagonist, was found to increase REM sleep, as well as non-REM sleep, and therefore total sleep (non-REM + REM) mainly in aged rats. The dose-range of activity (0.5-60 micrograms/kg) together with the evidence that another CCK-B receptor antagonist, L-365,260 (5 micrograms/kg) increased, while devazepide (a CCK-A receptor antagonist; 20 micrograms/kg) decreased non-REM sleep and total sleep time, support the original hypothesis that the activity of GV-150013 on sleep progress through CCK-B receptors. Furthermore, no tolerance was detected after chronic treatments with GV-150013. In contrast, typical EEG modifications (decrease of REM) and the development of tolerance towards benzodiazepines were monitored following chronic treatment with triazolam (400 micrograms/kg). These results suggest that the CCKergic compounds studied are involved via a different mechanism of action than benzodiazepines in the modulation of the awake-sleep rhythm. A further observation is that the total sleep time recorded in aged rats after treatment with GV-150013 reached the value of the total sleep time of young untreated rats also prepared for EEG. Finally, this work suggests that CCK receptor antagonists, GV-150013 in particular, are more effective in aged resulting in an improvement of sleep quality towards that of young rats.

Adamantane↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Proinflammatory and regulatory cytokine levels in AIDS cachexia.

The serum concentrations of inflammatory (Interleukin-1 beta, Tumor necrosis alpha, Interleukin-6) and regulatory cytokines (Interleukin twelve) have been studied in ten AIDS cachectic patients and compared to a control group. A cytokine imbalance, and peculiarly a significant increase in proinflammatory cytokines (Interleukin-1, Interleukin-6, Tumor necrosis Factor alpha) and a decrease in regulatory cytokines such as Interleukin-12 were found. A significant correlation resulted between weight loss and Interleukin-1 beta and 6. A negative correlation between Interleukin-1 and 12 was noted, indicating that this last cytokine has an important regulatory role also in advanced state of the disease.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Solitary non-parasitic hepatic cyst].

A case of isolate non-parasitic hepatic cyst is reported with the emphasis on its pathological rarity and the problem of its nosological and anatomopathological identification. The usual clinical and diagnostic progression of this pathology often prevents definitive conclusions being reached before surgery takes place, though it is implicitly indicated by the reports on the upper abdominal mass. The therapeutic possibilities are also described.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Further studies on rat, mouse and guinea pig muscle esterase activity.

Esterase activity was investigated in several skeletal muscles of different rodent species employing as substrates a series of alpha and beta naphthyl esters of different aliphatic chain lengths. Results with these chemically homogenous substrates show there is marked heterogeneity in the levels of esterase activity in several skeletal muscles of the same animal and among the same muscles from different species depending also on the sex, and the type and stereospecificity of the substrate.

1-Naphthylamine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[A case of degenerated jejunal diverticulum].

Reference is made to a case of jejunal diverticulum that had perforated and degenerated in the course of time. Its manifestation had taken the form of several melaena episodes and the consequent diagnostic difficulties are described.

Diverticulum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Parietal tumors of the stomach].

The preoperative diagnosis, histopathology, clinical picture and treatment of tumours originating in the muscle and nerves of the stomach wall are described in the light of a series of cases collected over a period of 12 yr at the B Surgery Division, Varese District Hospital. Differential diagnosis and histological assessment of malignancy are not always easy. Transition forms exist in addition to those that are typically malignant or benign. Surgical management must take into account the extent, histological features and progess of the tumour. It can range from simple removal by enucleation to resection of the wall around the point of insertion of the tumour, or to distal, proximal or total gastroresection.

Aged↗