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Biomedical subjects

G Grassi

Publications and source records attributed to G Grassi.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of a slow-release clonidine preparation by direct continuous blood pressure recording in essential hypertensive patients.

The antihypertensive effect of a slow-release (SR) clonidine preparation was evaluated in hypertensive patients not confined to bed using a 24-h intraarterial blood pressure monitoring (Oxford) method. The monitoring was carried out during placebo administration and after 7-10 days of daily administration of SR clonidine in a single oral dose (250 or 500 microgram). An analysis of all the blood pressure values obtained was performed by computer. The results were as follows: (a) SR clonidine significantly reduced the 24-h systolic and diastolic arterial pressure by 16 and 10 mm Hg, respectively (mean +/- SE). (b) The reduction was well evident throughout the 24-h period, the average decrease in mean arterial pressure observed during the first, second, and third 8-h period after the administration of the drug being 11, 14, and 14 mm Hg, respectively. (c) The blood pressure reduction was similar during the daytime and the nighttime, despite the lower base-line value that occurred in the latter condition. (d) There was no consistent change in blood pressure variability, as measured in each patient by the standard deviation of the blood pressure values, with SR clonidine. SR clonidine caused a reduction in heart rate that, as that in blood pressure, was well evident throughout the 24 h. It is concluded that SR clonidine is an effective antihypertensive agent and that a single administration of this drug can produce a clear-cut reduction in the blood pressure values of hypertensive patients for a 24-h period.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Continuous vs intermittent blood pressure measurements in estimating 24-hour average blood pressure.

In the past few years noninvasive automatic blood pressure (BP) recorders have been increasingly used to estimate patients' 24-hour BP more accurately than by one or few isolated measurements. However, these recorders only allow BP to be intermittently measured at intervals between 5 to 30 minutes, which means that the number of values collected over 24 hours (10 to 100) remains a tiny fraction of the thousands of values that occur during the same period. To determine whether this represents a limitation to this approach, BP was recorded intraarterially for 24 hours (Oxford method) in 20 ambulant hypertensive patients. A beat-to-beat analysis of the BP recording was provided by a computer, and the average 24-hour systolic, diastolic, and mean BP values were compared with those obtained by analyzing single BP waves of the same recording at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 30, and 60 minutes. In each subject the average 24-hour BP values obtained by the beat-to-beat analysis closely corresponded to those obtained by the analysis performed at 5-, 10-, 15-, or 30-minute intervals. In most subjects, this was the case also when the analysis was performed at 60-minute intervals. These findings demonstrate that intermittency of measurements does not limit the accurate assessment of true average BP. Indeed, accurate assessment can be achieved at intervals as much as 30 or 60 minutes apart.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Twenty-four-hour hemodynamic profile during treatment of essential hypertension by once-a-day nadolol.

The effect of nadolol (N) on 24-hour blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) values and on their variability was examined in ambulant patients with essential hypertension, using the Oxford method to obtain continuous intraarterial recording and a computer to have a beat-to-beat analysis of the data. The recording was carried out without treatment and after 10 days' administration of N once daily by mouth (dose range: 80-320 mg). After N, 24-hour BP and HR were reduced by 17 +/- 3% and 27 +/- 4% respectively as compared to before N, the effect being similar for both systolic and diastolic BP. The hypertension and bradycardia were significantly more marked during the day than during the night, neither showing any attenuation in the hours furthest from the administration of the drug. During N, there was a reduction in the 24-hour variation coefficient for HR but the reduction was limited to the longer term component of this phenomenon, the moment-to-moment variations remaining unaffected. The long- and short-term variation coefficients for BP were not modified under N. These findings suggest that N once a day can reduce BP for 24 hours in ambulant hypertensive patients. The lack of alteration in variability of BP and moment-to-moment HR suggests that the hypotension is achieved without interfering with the mechanisms involved in cardiovascular homeostasis.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Semi-automatic determination of blood lactate during hypoglycemic treatment with biguanides].

Blood lactate levels were determined by Lactate Analyzer 640 Kontron in 67 adult insulin-independent diabetics during hypoglycemic treatment with usual therapeutical doses of phenformin. In 5 cases were found lactate values above 2 mmol/l and, in consideration of accompanying conditions prone to lactic acidosis, the drug was discontinued. However, the mean value of blood lactate in diabetics treated with phenformin was not significantly different from that found in a group of insulin-treated diabetics. The semiautomatic determination of blood lactate is proposed as a rapid screening of possible candidates for lactic acidosis during biguanide treatment.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Blood lactate semiautomatic estimation during acidotic diabetic coma (author's transl)].

Blood lactate levels were determined by Lactate Analyzer 640 Kontron during the course of 7 cases of hyperglycemic hyperosmolar diabetic coma, with severe acidosis and more or less marked ketosis. In 5 cases lactate values were found in normal range; slight increases around 2 mmol/l were rapidly corrected following standard coma treatment. One of these cases presented with extreme acidosis and relatively mild hyperglycemia, with differential problems in regard to lactic acidosis. In 2 cases, the former with alcoholic cirrhosis, the latter with myocardial infarction, blood lactate was markedly increased; in the second case, full clinical recovery was accompanied by normalization of lactate levels. A previous biguanide treatment could be ruled out as a cause of lactic acidosis. Thus the association of lactic acidosis and diabetic ketoacidosis seems to be unusual in the absence of concurrent serious conditions. The semiautomatic determination of blood lactate, because of its remarkable prognostic importance, should be included among the routine procedures for the emergency treatment of diabetic coma.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Climate and psychosomatic medicine].

In the last few years, psychosomatic medicine has accomplished very important and interesting analyses of several medical syndromes. On the contrary, medical climatology, even with the development of new tools for climate research, has remained linked to old ideas which need to be revised in order to keep pace with the latest discoveries in this field. It is therefore desirable to undertake research on the action of different climates and microclimates on the human organism, and also to take into account the patients, tendencies and aspirations, because "the climate that will yield the best results is the climate the patient likes best". In conclusion, taking into account a patient's personality and aspirations, thermal therapies and climate treatments may be coupled. As a matter of fact, in our country it is possible to find spas with the same kind of waters but with completely different climates.

Balneology↗