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Biomedical subjects

G Licata

Publications and source records attributed to G Licata.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Correlation between different degree and duration of metabolic control and thyroid hormone levels in type 1 and type 2 diabetics.

Thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), reverse T3 (rT3) and HbA1c were assayed in 21 insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetics and in 45 non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetics with normal thyroid function and different levels of control, and were compared to values found in apparently healthy controls. rT3 and rT3/T3 ratio were significantly increased both in type 1 and type 2 diabetics. T3 and T4 were significantly lower in type 2 diabetics than in the controls. Significant positive correlations of HbA1c to rT3 (r = 0.63) and to rT3/T3 ratio (r = 0.53) were found in type 1, and in type 2 diabetics (HbA1c, rT3-r = 0.50), (HbA1c, rT3/T3-r = 0.37). There was no correlation between glycemia (BG), relative body weight (RBW) and thyroid hormones. These data suggest that the alterations of thyroid hormones in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus reflect the degree of control better than the hyperglycemia and the duration of metabolic unbalance.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical and haemodynamic effects of ketanserin in lean and obese hypertensive patients.

Systemic and central haemodynamics were evaluated in 10 lean and 10 obese hypertensive patients (World Health Organization stage I-II) after treatment for 8 weeks with a serotoninergic antagonist, such as ketanserin. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded and first-pass radionuclide angiocardiography was performed to determine cardiac output, cardiac index and ejection fraction of the left ventricle; total peripheral resistance was also calculated. In both obese and lean patients, ketanserin significantly reduced diastolic (P less than 0.05) and mean (P less than 0.005) blood pressure but no significant changes in systolic blood pressure, cardiac output, cardiac index and ejection fraction were observed in lean and obese hypertensive patients. Total peripheral resistance was significantly (P less than 0.05) reduced in lean patients but in obese hypertensives it was only moderately reduced. It is concluded that monotherapy with ketanserin is effective in treating mild to moderate hypertension in both lean and obese hypertensive patients, without interfering with left ventricular performance.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Thyroid function and release of thyroid-stimulating hormone and prolactin from the pituitary in human obesity.

Thyroid function, basal serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and prolactin concentrations, and the effects of 200 micrograms TSH-releasing hormone (TRH) given intravenously on TSH (delta TSH) and prolactin (delta prolactin) were investigated in 25 euthyroid obese subjects and 20 lean controls. No significant differences in serum thyroid hormone concentrations, glucose metabolism parameters, or basal TSH and prolactin concentrations were detected between groups, but a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in delta TSH and a significant (P less than 0.01) decrease in delta prolactin were observed in obese subjects. No significant differences in basal TSH and prolactin were observed in obese men and women compared with corresponding lean controls, but delta prolactin decreased significantly (P less than 0.01) in obese men and women compared with lean controls and TSH increased significantly (P less than 0.01) in obese men and women. No correlation was found between delta TSH or delta prolactin and body mass index. The study suggests that hyper-responsiveness of TSH and hyporesponsiveness of prolactin to TRH in obese subjects can be related to changes in the central serotoninergic system.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunoinflammatory activation during the acute phase of lacunar and non-lacunar ischemic stroke: association with time of onset and diabetic state.

Several studies have stressed the involvement of inflammation in the pathophysiology of acute brain ischemia, but the role of immunoinflammatory activation in diabetic stroke patients has not yet been fully evaluated. The aim of our study was to evaluate immunoinflammatory activation of acute phase of stroke in relation to time of symptoms onset, diabetic state and diagnostic subtype. We enrolled 60 patients (32 diabetics; 28 non- diabetics) with acute ischemic stroke and 123 subjects without acute ischemic stroke, and measured levels of IL-1beta, TNF-alpha IL-6, IL-10, E-selectin, P-selectin, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, VWF, 24-72 h and 7-10 days after stroke onset; TPA, PAI-1 plasma levels at 24-72h. Our stroke patients exhibited significantly higher plasma levels of cytokines, selectins, adhesion molecules and PAI-1, and diabetic stroke patients exhibited higher plasma levels of PAI-1 in comparison with non-diabetic ones. Lacunar strokes in comparison with those non-lacunar exhibited significantly lower levels of TNF-alpha and IL1-beta P-selectin and ICAM-1. Moreover, diabetic patients with lacunar strokes exhibited a minor grade of immunoinflammatory activation of the acute phase at 24-72h and 7-10 days after stroke onset. The minor grade of immunoinflammatory activation of patients with lacunar strokes, particularly diabetic ones, could be related to the minor extension of the infarct size, owing to the typical microvascular disease of diabetic subjects which could also explain the reported better outcome of this subtype of ischemic stroke.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The difficulties of translating into daily clinical practice the favorable results of clinical trials in chronic heart failure].

Congestive heart failure is a growing public health problem and continues to be characterized by a poor prognosis. Its prevalence may be estimated at 0.4-2% of the general population with an incidence varying from 1-10% in elderly patients. This may be in part explained by the progressive aging of the population and the more effective therapeutic strategies for coronary heart disease and hypertension: since they increase the life-expectancy of patients, they favor the onset of this clinical syndrome at a more advanced age. The number of hospital admissions has also increased; mortality is 50% within 4 years of diagnosis, although patients with very severe cardiac decompensation die within 1 year. Despite the fact that with the use of the most advanced molecules created by pharmacological research (ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, angiotensin-II-receptor antagonists) a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality as well as clear improvement of symptoms and quality of life have been obtained in diverse clinical trials, there is still no certain evidence that in the general population, mortality due to chronic heart disease has been reduced. In our opinion, several factors explain the gap between the favorable results of clinical trials and the lack of significant reduction in morbidity and mortality in clinical practice: A) the selection criteria utilized in clinical studies exclude, for the most part, patients present in general population; B) the average age of the patients included (60 years) is not representative of the overall population; C) patients with associated co-morbidity are generally excluded; D) the number of women enrolled in the trials is quite low; E) compliance is certainly better in the trials than in clinical practice; F) higher drug dosages are used in the trials than in clinical practice. To intervene in these areas and thus make the positive results obtained in the trials available to the general population is, in our opinion, the principal challenge of the future. For this task, the close collaboration and commitment of the internist, the geriatrist, the cardiologist and the family doctors is necessary so that the results reported in clinical trials may be translated into general medical practice.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tolerability and efficacy of high-dose furosemide and small-volume hypertonic saline solution in refractory congestive heart failure.

Thirty patients aged 65-85 years, with refractory New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV congestive heart failure (CHF) were treated with an intravenous infusion of furosemide (250-2000 mg/d) and small-volume hypertonic saline solution (150 mL of 1.4-4.6% NaCl) twice a day for 6 to 12 days. A daily fluid oral intake of 1000 mL and previous cardiac therapy were maintained. Clinical signs and symptoms of CHF, such as dyspnea, edema and weakness, improved, as did severity of illness as defined by NYHA class. The infusion was well tolerated. After a 12-month follow-up, 24 patients (80%) were alive and in the NYHA class assigned on discharge from the hospital. This therapeutic combination is effective and well tolerated and should represent an innovative approach to the management of refractory CHF.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The discovery of insulin: what really happened 80 years ago].

The Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1923 for the discovery of insulin in 1921 was awarded to Frederick G. Banting and John J.R. MacLeod. This choice was highly debated: Banting decided to share his part of the prize with his younger co-worker Charles H. Best, and MacLeod, too, decided to share his part with biochemist James B. Collip. Although previous investigators such as Nicolas C. Paulesco, had obtained some positive results isolating "the internal secretion" of the pancreas, only the group in Toronto succeeded in proving consistently the efficacy of their insulin extracts. Banting had the idea of isolating insulin after reading an article in a medical journal. He received support for his proposed research at the University of Toronto, under the direction of John J.R. MacLeod and was assisted by Charles H. Best, a medical student. Banting's and Best's initial experiments were not definitive, but their apparently favorable results encouraged greater efforts that, with the important contribution of biochemist James B. Collip who has hardly ever been associated with this event, culminated in the discovery of insulin.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Impaired expression of erythrocyte glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane CD59 in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Relation to terminal complement pathway activation.

OBJECTIVE: Complement-mediated injury is regulated by many factors; among these CD59 has been identified as a widely distributed glycoprotein that inhibits membrane C5b-9 (terminal complement component) formation. The aim of the study was to assess erythrocyte CD59 expression in patients with psoriatic arthritis in order to understand the role of CD59 in the pathogenesis. METHODS: Washed erythrocytes from 50 patients with psoriatic arthritis, 8 with cutaneous psoriasis and 24 healthy subjects were incubated with monoclonal anti-CD59 antibody followed by a second FITC conjugated antibody and fluorescence intensity analysed by FAC-Scan flow cytometer to assess their CD59 membrane expression. SC5b-9 levels were measured in the plasma by ELISA and results compared with CD59 values. Immune complexes, complement C3 and C4 and rheumatoid factor were also determined. RESULTS: Impaired expression of erythrocyte membrane-anchored CD59 was found in patients with psoriatic arthritis; the lowest levels were seen in active patients (p < 0.01). Increased SC5b-9 was seen in the plasma of patients with active disease. An inverse correlation was also found between plasma C5b-9 and the CD59 expression levels (r = -0.81, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The low CD59 expression on erythrocytes from patients with psoriatic arthritis may be an index of a low tissue CD59 expression. This impairment could facilitate the activation of complement pathway and increase the risk for arthritis. Membrane attack complex formation in deficient membrane bound CD59 may also exacerbate synovial cell injury and inflammation.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) or watermelon stomach syndrome: report of 3 cases and clinical and therapeutic indications].

OBJECTIVE: The authors report their experience in diagnosis, treatment and ambulatorial follow up of 3 cases of obscure upper gastrointestinal bleeding by gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Complete clinical report of 3 cases. Clinical and endoscopic indication, evaluation of effectiveness of endoscopic treatment with bipolar electrocoagulation and follow-up. SETTING: Operative Unit of General and Thoracic Surgery. University "Paolo Giaccone" of Palermo. INTERVENTION: Endoscopic treatment by multiple session with bipolar electrocoagulation. No complications were registered. RESULTS: Complete recovery with "restitutio ad integrum". No relapse were recorded at follow up. CONCLUSIONS: The objective of the treatment is to recognize the site of obscure bleeding and then stop it. The choice between pharmacological, endoscopic and surgical treatment is individual for each patient. According to us, the endoscopic treatment is the first step in a gradual clinical approach, to detect the site of the lesion, to treat with bipolar electrocoagulation or with Argon Plasma Coagulator (lower wall penetration and minimal risk of perforation).

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Successful salvage therapy of intravenous cyclophosphamide for refractory polymyositis in an elderly patient: case report.

Dermatomyositis and polymyositis may affect children and adults and are now widely recognized as major causes of disability which, thanks to the introduction of immunosuppressive drugs, is often treatable, at least to some extent. Few data exist regarding polymyositis in elderly patients. We describe a case of refractory life-threatening polymyositis in an elderly patient, successfully treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide.

Aged↗