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Biomedical subjects

G Labò

Publications and source records attributed to G Labò.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

HLA-B13 and chronic calcific pancreatitis.

In view of a possible role of genetic factors in the etiology of chronic calcific pancreatitis, we undertook a study of the frequency of HLA antigens in this disease. Sixty-four patients with chronic calcific pancreatitis were typed for the HLA-A, -B and -C loci. Fourteen of these 64 patients (21.9%) were found to have antigen B13 compared to 7.5% of 425 controls. These results have a P value of 0.00059 which remains significant (P = 0.020) even when multiplied by the total number of antigens tested. Sex, alcoholism, age at the clinical onset of the disease, presence of pain, and diabetes had no apparent influence on the distribution of HLA alleles. The significant association between chronic calcific pancreatitis and HLA antigen B13 further supports the role of genetic factors in the etiology of the disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Cardiovascular lesions in chronic pancreatitis: a prospective study.

We prospectively investigated fifty-four consecutive patients with proven chronic pancreatitis and 54 control subjects for the presence of cardiovascular lesions. Clinical and laboratory evidence of arterial involvement was found in 18 patients (33%) and in five controls (9%) (P less than 0.01). Electrocardiographic alterations indicating coronary heart disease were found in eight patients and in three controls, and peripheral symptoms and signs indicating obliterative atherosclerotic disease of the lower extremities were found in 12 patients (two had associated electrocardiographic changes) and in two controls. No significant differences in the prevalence of the major vascular risk factors were observed between patients with vascular lesions and those without, and between patients and control subjects. It is concluded that patients with chronic pancreatitis have more frequent cardiovascular lesions which tent to develop at an earlier age, compared to the general population. The possibility that chronic pancreatitis may favor the development of these lesions is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Ultrasonography in the diagnosis of portal hypertension: diminished response of portal vessels to respiration.

This study assesses the usefulness of ultrasound in the diagnosis of portal hypertension due to hepatic cirrhosis. Seventy-nine patients with portal hypertension and 45 control subjects underwent ultrasonography. Two factors were measured: (a) the caliber of the portal vein and (b) the caliber variation of the splenic and superior mesenteric veins during respiration. A lack of normal caliber variation (an increase during inspiration and a decrease during expiration) in these vessels is put forward as an ultrasonographic sign of portal hypertension, and the pathophysiological and clinical significance of this finding are discussed. The sensitivity of ultrasound in detecting portal hypertension, based on the measurement of caliber variation, was 79.7%, and the specificity was 100%. In contrast, the sensitivity of the method, assessed on the basis of portal dilatation, was only 41.8%.

Humans↗
PubMed1982

Influence of adrenal cortex on exocrine pancreatic function.

The exocrine pancreatic function of 8 patients with chronic adrenocortical insufficiency was studied and compared with 12 control subjects. The secretion of bicarbonate, lipase, and chymotrypsin in response to secretin and caerulein was significantly reduced in patients with adrenocortical insufficiency. The mean reduction in bicarbonate, lipase, and chymotrypsin output compared with the control values was 42%, 66%, and 53%, respectively. Chronic glucocorticoid substitution therapy restored pancreatic function almost to normal. It is concluded that the adrenal cortex plays an important role in maintaining the function of the exocrine pancreas in humans. The possible mechanisms are discussed.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed1981

Secretin-stimulated trypsin-like immunoreactivity in alcoholics.

Serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI) was studied in alcoholics without evidence of pancreatic disease and in controls. Basal values were 29 +/- 4.6 microgram/l (mean +/- S.E.M) in alcoholics and 23 +/- 4.4 microgram/l in controls (p not significant). The injection of secretin was followed by a significant increase of serum TLI in both groups; the integrated trypsin output (ITO) in the first hour after secretin administration was 947 +/- 403 (mean +/- S.E.M.) in alcoholics and 76 +/- 15 in controls (p less than 0.05). In 9 (75%) of the alcoholics tested, ITO was higher than the highest ITO of controls. The increase of serum TLI after injection of secretin is probably due to secretion and/or regurgitation of trypsinogen into the bloodstream when the pancreas is stimulated with intravenous secretin. In the light of experimental studies on chronic ethanol intoxication in animals, the increased ITO observed in alcoholics may suggest obstruction to pancreatic secretory flow in spite of the absence of any clinical sign of pancreatic disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Different mechanisms of "in vitro' lymphocytotoxicity against isolated rabbit hepatocytes during the course of acute viral hepatitis.

In order to characterize the effector mechanism of "in vitro' lymphocytotoxicity against isolated rabbit liver cells in acute viral hepatitis (AVH), the test was performed in 4 patients with type A, in 8 with type, B, and in 2 patients with non-A non-B AVH: (a) using peripheral blood lymphocytes; (b) after enzymatic digestion of the surface membrane immunoglobulins of these lymphocytes, and (c) as in b with addition of patients' sera. 78.5% of the patients had an elevated cytotoxicity which did not change when the lymphocytes were treated as in b and c. Only the 2 patients which progressed to chronicity had an elevated cytotoxicity which disappeared after enzymatic exposure and reappeared with the addition of patients' sera. The results suggest that "in vitro' cytoxicity in recovering AVH is not antibody dependent, but probably of spontaneous type. On the contrary an antibody-dependent cytotoxicity is present in the 2 cases of AVH who progressed to chronicity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone inhibits pancreatic enzyme secretion in humans.

Recent studies have shown that thyrotropin-releasing hormone is present in gastrointestinal tissues and has effects on gastrointestinal motility and secretion. In the present study, we have investigated in healthy subjects the effects of various doses of thyrotropin-releasing hormone on secretin-cholecystokinin-stimulated pancreatic secretion. Intravenous infusion of thyrotropin-releasing hormone at doses of 4, 20, and 100 microgram/30 min, administered during a constant pancreatic stimulation with secretin (0.5 Clinical Units/kg/h) and cholecystokinin (0.5 Ivy dog units/kg/h), produced a significant decrease in lipase and chymotrypsin secretion without affecting volume and bicarbonate secretion. The decrease appeared immediately with the lowest dose of TRH employed, and was progressively more marked with increasing doses of the hormone. Compared with the control experiments, the maximal inhibition of lipase output reached -17.6%, -37.2%, and -43%, and the maximal inhibition of chymotrypsin output -18.2%, -39.3%, and -44.9%, for the three doses of thyrotropin-releasing hormone employed, respectively. It is concluded that TRH has a marked inhibitory effect on the enzymatic component of the pancreatic secretion stimulated by submaximal doses of secretin and cholecystokinin. The physiologic importance of this effect remains to be defined.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Modifications in gastroduodenal motility induced by the extramucosal section of circular duodenal musculature in dogs.

The effect induced on the gastroduodenal motility by the extramucosal section of the circular layer of the first two parts of the duodenum, excluding the pylorus, was studied in a series of 5 dogs. The myoelectric and manometric activities of the antrum, pylorus, and duodenum were recorded by using special devices surgically implanted in the gut wall. The recordings were made 3 mo after operation, both during basal conditions and after stimulation with neostigmine. The results were statistically compared with those obtained in a control group of 4 dogs in which the electromanometric devices had been implanted 3 mo before. The gastric emptying time of a food-barium meal was determined radiologically before the operations, and 3 and 9 mo after. The results demonstrate that extramucosal duodenal myotomy: (a) significantly decreases the basal and stimulated motor activity of the duodenum, without noteworthy alterations of the gastroduodenal myoelectrical activity and coordination of motor waves; and (b) significantly shortens the gastric emptying time.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1981

Clinical and manometric effects of nifedipine in patients with esophageal achalasia.

The effect of a new calcium antagonist, nifedipine, which has a spasmolytic activity on smooth muscle cells, was studied on the esophageal function of 20 patients with achalasia of mild and moderate degree. The study was carried out by using constantly perfused catheters and recording the pressure variations at the lower esophageal sphincter, before and after sublingual administration of 10-20 mg of nifedipine. The drug significantly decreased the lower esophageal sphincter pressure for more than 1 h. A clinical trial was also carried out by assessing the improvement of symptoms in achalasia patients taking sublingually a dose of 10-20 mg of nifedipine before each meal. After 6-18 mo of nifedipine therapy these patients underwent a placebo treatment, whereas an additional group of 9 achalasia patients was treated first with placebo followed by nifedipine. The nifedipine treatment gave excellent or good results in a large majority of patients of both groups. The moderate results were only 5 and the poor responses only 3. The clinical improvement induced by nifedipine was statistically significant when compared, not only with the pretreatment clinical state, but also with the results of the placebo treatment. No tachyphylaxis and few side effects were seen either during the manometric recordings or the longest periods of therapy. This study suggests that nifedipine may be advantageously used in the medical treatment of achalasia of mild or moderate degree.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

[Endoscopic treatment of obstructive cholangitis].

A long catheter can be positioned in the bile ducts by means of a fibre glass gastroduodenoscope, thus making it possible to drain bile and inject medicaments locally. This technique gives excellent results and is particularly indicated in cases of choledocic lithiasis complicated by cholangitis in order to clear up the infection and send the patient in for surgery in ideal condition.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Diathermy ERCP: an alternative method for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in jaundiced patients.

Standard ERCP was unsuccessful in 5 jaundiced patients. This problem was surmounted in 4 of these patients by endoscopically inducing a small choledochoduodenal fistula through which a catheter could be inserted and diagnostic cholangiograms were obtained. In the fifth patient, the attempt to create a fistula was insufficient, and the contrast material infiltrated the duodenal wall with transient ensuing fever. In subsequent observations, the induced fistulas promptly healed. The method is offered as an alternative procedure when standard ERCP fails.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Serum immunoreactive trypsin after secretin stimulation in chronic pancreatitis.

Serum immunoreactive trypsin (IRT) response to secretin injection was studied in 13 patients with chronic pancreatitis with different degrees of exocrine dysfunction and in 10 control subjects. The maximal increase of serum IRT from basal values and the integrated trypsin output (ITO) after secretin administration were significantly correlated with the output of chymotrypsin into the duodenum during caerulein-secretin infusion (p < 0.01), but not with the output of lipase nor of bicarbonate. Serum IRT response to secretin stimulation was greater in 4 of the 5 patients with chronic pancreatitis with mild to moderate exocrine dysfunction than in the control group, suggesting an increased regurgitation of IRT into the blood stream by the pancreas, probably due to some degree of obstruction to pancreatic secretory flow in absence of severe acinar cell damage. Conversely, the response of serum IRT after secretin administration in 7 of the 8 patients with severe exocrine pancreatic deficiency was lower than in control subjects, probably because of the advanced distruction of the acinar pancreatic tissue. The response of serum IRT to secretin stimulation seems to vary following pancreatic function impairment and might reflect the degree of pancreatic exocrine dysfunction in chronic pancreatitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Effect of cimetidine on trypsin-like immunoreactivity in serum.

Serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI) was studied after administration of secretin (GIH, 75 CU i.v.) in 10 alcoholics and in 3 patients with type IV hyperlipoproteinemia. A significant increase of TLI was observed after secretin administration and persisted throughout the test. In order to assess the possibility of an acid-sensitive effect, the test was repeated on a different day, one hour after the administration of cimetidine (400 mg. p.o.). Cimetidine did not affect serum TLI for one hour, but did reduce significantly the response of serum TLI to injection of secretin (p < 0.01). Some studies were performed, which failed to show any effect of cimetidine on pancreatic exocrine function. However, they were based on the measurement of pancreatic secretion into the duodenum, which required aspiration of gastric secretion from the stomach before entering the duodenum. Therefore, the reduction of TLI response to injection of secretin may be tentatively attributed to the inhibition of gastric acid secretion and delivery to the duodenum caused by cimetidine. If an endogenous acid-sensitive mechanism is involved, it is unlikely to be mediated by secretin.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Prolonged manometric study of the gastroduodenal junction in man.

A study of the motor activity of the gastroduodenal (GD) junction has been carried out on 8 subjects by using an original probe provided with a suction cup, that allows not only a duodenogastric (DG) pull-though, but also a prolonged recording of the pyloric, antral and duodenal motor activity, in basal condition and after intraduodenal instillation of HCl 0.1 N and intravenous infusion of cerulein. The position of the probe was controlled with fluoroscopy and transmural potential difference. The DG pull-through did not show a zone of high pressure at the GD junction, but the prolonged study showed, during HC1 and cerulein administrations, a significant increase of the pyloric tonus.

Adult↗