Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Salvioli

Publications and source records attributed to G Salvioli.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Composition of ascitic fluid in liver cirrhosis: bile acid and lipid content.

The concentrations of lipids, bile acids and proteins were evaluated in the ascitic fluid and plasma of 23 cirrhotics. Ascitic fluid density was highly correlated with its protein content, represented mostly by low molecular weight proteins. The ratio of plasma to ascitic fluid concentrations of nine examined proteins increased with molecular weight, indicating a selective ultrafiltration of the peritoneal transudate. Low density lipoproteins in ascitic fluid had modified electrophoretic mobility. Total cholesterol had a higher plasma to ascitic fluid ratio than high density lipoprotein cholesterol, whereas bile acids and proteins had similar plasma to ascitic fluid ratios. Indeed, bile acids strongly bind to circulating albumin: consequently ascitic fluid contains more cholic acid (less hydrophobic) than other bile acids. Analysis of both plasma and ascitic fluid composition in cirrhotics provides useful information on processes regulating passage of blood components into the peritoneal cavity.

Aged↗

[Polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine and bile lipid composition].

The lipid composition of bile and the molar percentages of its components (cholesterol, lecithin [Lec], and bile salts) are influenced by diet composition (for example the content of cholesterol) and during fasting. Molecular species of Lec can be affected by the species of dietary fatty acids (a high n-3 fatty acid content in the diet increases their proportion in biliary Lec). The administration of polyunsaturated Lec (EPL), rich in 18:2-18:2-PC, increases the percentage of linoleic acid at position 2 of biliary lecithin, which is often reduced in subjects with cholesterol gallstones.

Animals↗

Urinary excretion of bile acids during acute administration in man.

Six healthy subjects, 45-72 years old, received a 10-day feeding of 750 mg of two of the following bile acids: deoxycholate (DCA), chenodeoxycholate (CDCA), cholate (CA), hyodeoxycholate (HDCA), ursodeoxycholate (UDCA), and ursocholate (UCA). The urinary excretion of total bile acids was low during administration of lipophilic bile acids (DCA and CDCA), when serum levels show low postabsorption peaks. Instead, hydrophilic bile acids (UDCA and above all HDCA) were heavily excreted in the urine as sulphates and glucuronides, and serum levels reach high values. Only UCA, strongly hydrophilic, was predominantly excreted as unconjugated fractions. Thus, the physicochemical properties of bile acids (as measured by both the partition between octanol and water, and the water solubility) were factors that influenced the route of bile acid elimination from the body, whereas their conjugation was not always requested for urinary excretion.

Administration, Oral↗

Effect of ursocholic acid on bile lipid secretion and composition.

To further clarify the relationship between physical-chemical characteristics of bile acids and biliary lipid secretion, we investigated the effect of ursocholic acid, the 7 beta-hydroxyepimer of cholic acid, on bile lipid secretion and composition. The study included acute duodenal infusion (1 g/h for 5 h) of ursocholic acid contrasted with a less hydrophilic bile acid, ursodeoxycholic acid, in 3 T-tube patients and short-term oral administration (2 wk) of ursocholic acid (10-15 mg/kg X day) to 10 gallstone patients. Following acute infusion, ursocholic acid, similarly to ursodeoxycholic acid, accounted for greater than 80% of the biliary bile acids. However, ursocholic acid induced (per micromole of secreted bile acid) a significantly lower (p less than 0.01) secretion of cholesterol (0.013 mumol) and phospholipids (0.054 mumol) than that induced by ursodeoxycholic acid (0.034 mumol of cholesterol and 0.138 mumol of phospholipids). Biliary alkaline phosphatase activity during ursocholic acid administration was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) than during ursodeoxycholic acid administration. After short-term oral administration, ursocholic acid, undetectable before treatment, constituted 20.50% +/- 8.60% of the biliary bile acids. The percentage of deoxycholic acid increased from 32.35% +/- 18.79% to 47.53% +/- 16.19% (p less than 0.05). Mean saturation index decreased from a pretreatment value of 1.23 +/- 0.22 to 0.99 +/- 0.17 (p less than 0.05), but only in 4 of 10 subjects did bile become undersaturated. It is concluded that ursocholic acid, due to its higher hydrophilicity, stimulates a lower cholesterol and phospholipid output than ursodeoxycholic acid. Consequently, despite the low enrichment of the biliary bile acids with ursocholic acid, oral administration of ursocholic acid induces a reduction of bile cholesterol saturation.

Administration, Oral↗

Bile acid binding in plasma: the importance of lipoproteins.

Bile acid (BA) hydrophobicity, evaluated by the octanol-water partition coefficient, decreases along the series deoxycholic acid-chenodeoxy cholic acid-hyodeoxycholic acid-ursodeoxycholic acid-cholic acid (CA)-ursocholic acid (UCA). In vitro experiments carried out using dialysis techniques (to determine the maximum BA binding) and ultrafiltration of plasma pre-incubated with 0.1 mM BA (to assess the distribution of BA between the different lipoprotein fractions) showed that the maximum binding of BA to plasma and lipoproteins follows the same order of hydrophobicity. The fraction not bound to proteins, greater with the hydrophilic BA (UCA and CA), is distributed in the lipoprotein fractions and in particular in high density lipoproteins.

1-Octanol↗

Cholesterol absorption and sterol balance in normal subjects receiving dietary fiber or ursodeoxycholic acid.

Twelve normal subjects were placed on a constant diet and evaluated during three treatment periods, each lasting four weeks. Patients received regular diet alone during period A, regular diet plus 60 g/day wheat bran during period B, and regular diet plus 15 mg/kg/day ursodeoxycholic acid during period C. Cholesterol absorption, plasma lipid concentration, daily fecal excretion of neutral and acidic sterols, and sterol balance were determined following each treatment. No changes in serum lipid levels are observed in the three study periods. Bran administration increases fecal neutral sterol excretion and decreases cholesterol absorption (from 50.1 to 42.0%) with respect to period C. Ursodeoxycholic acid administration has no effect on fecal neutral sterol excretion, whereas bile acid excretion is markedly increased. Sterol balance (evaluated as neutral and acidic fecal sterols excreted per day minus dietary cholesterol plus ursodeoxycholic acid given per day) is lower during ursodeoxycholic acid feeding (360 +/- 145 mg/day) than during bran feeding (593 +/- 174 mg/day). In conclusion, ursodeoxycholic acid decreases sterol balance values; bran-rich diet increases sterol balance and reduces cholesterol absorption.

Aged↗

Effect of acute administration of bile acids on fatty acid composition of biliary phosphatidylcholine in man.

Little is known on variations in fatty acid composition of biliary phosphatidylcholine (PC) during acute administration of particular bile acids (BAs) in man. Bile was collected hourly for 5 h in 6 T-tube patients (prereplacement period). Thereafter particular BAs were infused into the duodenum at a rate of 1 g/h for 5 h and bile collected hourly (replacement period). Each patient received two BAs at an interval of 3 days, following a cross-over design. Three patients received deoxycholic acid (DCA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and a second 3 patients cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA). Bile acid pool contained mainly the two primary BAs in the prereplacement period and more than 80% administered BAs in the replacement period. Hydrophobic and detergent BAs (DCA and CDCA) increased the secretion rates and the percentage of biliary PC species with arachidonic acid and stearic acid; in contrast less detergent BAs (UDCA and CA) did not significantly alter fatty acid composition of biliary PC. Thus, very hydrophobic and detergent BAs would seem to promote the preferential secretion into the bile of lecithin species present in the liver cell plasma membranes, rich in arachidonic and stearic acid.

Adult↗

Relationships between squalene and cholesterol in bile: effect of ursodeoxycholic acid administration in patients with radiolucent gallstones.

Squalene is an obligate intermediate of cholesterol synthesis and plasma squalene to cholesterol ratio correlates significantly with cholesterol synthesis rate in the liver. Sixteen nonobese patients with radiolucent gallstones were randomly allocated into two treatment groups receiving 15 mg/kg/day ursodeoxycholic acid (group A) or 15 mg/kg/day lactose (group B) administered three times daily for 30 days. In group A, biliary squalene to cholesterol ratio was significantly lowered (from 1.19 to 0.86, P less than 0.02), as was cholesterol saturation (from 1.39 to 0.95, P less than 0.001); levels of plasma very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) (from 30 to 26 mg/dL) and plasma VLDL-triglyceride (VLDL-TG) (from 81 to 68 mg/dL) decreased significantly only in the group taking ursodeoxycholic acid. No variations of squalene concentrations and squalene to cholesterol ratio were observed in the plasma of both groups. Biliary cholesterol saturation during ursodeoxycholic acid administration correlated directly with squalene to cholesterol ratio in bile; reduction of these two parameters is accompanied by decreased VLDL-C levels.

Adult↗

Medical treatment of biliary duct stones: effect of ursodeoxycholic acid administration.

Twenty-eight patients with radiolucent biliary duct stones without cholangitis and jaundice were randomly allocated into two treatment groups receiving ursodeoxycholic acid 12 mg/kg (group A) or placebo (group B) in three daily doses for 24 months. In group A stones disappeared completely in seven patients and partially in one; placebo administration had no effect on stone size and three patients of group B (only one of group A) went to surgery for complications. Ursodeoxycholic acid treatment did not adversely affect liver function tests, and alkaline phosphatase decreased. Abdominal and biliary colics also became less frequent in the first six months of therapy in group A, but not in the placebo group. The bile was supersaturated with cholesterol in both groups, but decreased significantly only in patients receiving ursodeoxycholic acid even though the lithogenic index remained high. Cholesterol saturation of bile does not seem to be the only factor determining the dissolution of biliary duct stones which sometimes contain cholesterol as the main component.

Adolescent↗

[Effects of insulin on the deformability of normal erythrocytes suspended on artificial tampons, in normal plasma and plasma of diabetic patients].

The effect of different insulin concentrations on the deformability of normal red blood cells resuspended in different media was studied in vitro. Insulin enhances red blood cell deformability measured by the filtration method and the observed increases are directly correlated with insulin concentrations. When red blood cells are resuspended in plasma of diabetic patients, the red blood cell filterability through Nucleopore filters is slower than that observed by resuspending the erythrocytes in normal plasma. This suggests that the plasma of diabetic patients contains an unknown factor able to reduce red blood cell deformability.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1↗

Cholesterol gallstone dissolution in bile. Dissolution kinetics of crystalline cholesterol monohydrate by conjugated chenodeoxycholate-lecithin and conjugated ursodeoxycholate-lecithin mixtures: dissimilar phase equilibria and dissolution mechanisms.

Using compressed discs and microcrystals of cholesterol monohydrate, we evaluated the mechanisms and kinetics of dissolution in conjugated bile salt-lecithin solutions. In stirred conjugated ursodeoxycholate-lecithin and cheno-deoxycholate-lecithin solutions, dissolution of 10,000-psi discs was micellar and linear with time for 10 hours. The dissolution rate constants (k) decreased in proportion to the lecithin content and dissolution rates and k values were appreciably smaller in conjugated ursodeoxycholate-lecithin solutions. After dissolution for 5 to 10 days the discs incubated with ursodeoxycholate-lecithin systems became progressively transformed into macroscopic liquid crystals. Unstirred dissolution of 3,000-psi discs in "simulated" human bile containing physiological lecithin concentrations gave apparent k values that decreased in the following order: ursodeoxycholate-rich >/= chenodeoxycholate-rich > normal. In most cases the discs incubated with ursodeoxycholate-rich bile became covered with a microscopic liquid-crystalline layer. With 20-25 moles % lecithin, these layers eventually dispersed into the bulk solution as microscopic vesicles. During dissolution of microcrystalline cholesterol in conjugated ursodeoxycholate-lecithin systems, a bulk liquid-crystalline phase formed rapidly (within 12 hours) and the final cholesterol solubilities were greater than those in conjugated chenodeoxycholate-lecithin micellar systems. Prolonged incubation of cholesterol microcrystals with pure lecithin or lecithin plus bile salt liposomes did not reproduce these effects. Condensed ternary phase diagrams of conjugated ursodeoxycholate-lecithin-cholesterol systems established that cholesterol-rich liquid crystals constituted an equilibrium precipitate phase that coexisted with cholesterol monohydrate crystals and saturated micelles under physiological conditions. Similar phase dissolution-relationships were observed at physiological lecithin-bile salt ratios for a number of other hydrophilic bile salts (e.g., conjugated ursocholate, hyocholate, and hyodeoxycholate). In contrast, liquid crystals were not observed in conjugated chenodeoxycholate-lecithin-cholesterol systems except at high (nonphysiological) lecithin contents. Based on these and other results we present a molecular hypothesis for cholesterol monohydrate dissolution by any bile salt-lecithin system and postulate that enrichment of bile with highly hydrophilic bile salts will induce crystalline cholesterol dissolution by a combination of micellar and liquid crystalline mechanisms. Since bile salt polarity can be measured and on this basis the ternary phase diagram deduced, we believe that the molecular mechanisms of cholesterol monohydrate dissolution as well as the in vivo cholelitholytic potential of uncommon bile salts can be predicted.-Salvioli, G., H. Igimi, and M. C. Carey. Cholesterol gallstone dissolution in bile. Dissolution kinetics of crystalline cholesterol monohydrate by conjugated chenodeoxycholate-lecithin and conjugated ursodeoxycholate-lecithin mixtures: dissimilar phase equilibria and dissolution mechanisms.

Bile↗

Bile acid transformation by the intestinal flora and cholesterol saturation in bile. Effects of Streptococcus faecium administration.

In 8 normal subjects the daily administration for 30 days of at least 750 X 10(6) Streptococcus faecium, a bacteria producing substances acting against Clostridia and other intestinal microorganisms reduced the cholesterol saturation and the molar percentage of deoxycholic acid (DCA) in bile. The percentage of cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (DCA) increased significantly in feces, whereas lithocholic acid (LCA) decreased from 49.2 to 40.5%. In vitro fecal samples of subjects taking S. faecium transformed more slowly CA to DCA and CDCA to LCA. Moreover, 7-ketolithocholic seems an intermediate step in the biotransformation of CDCA to LCA. During SF administration, the anaerobic bacteria count of feces decreases, whereas aerobic bacteria increase; the changes of fecal flora may reduce the degradation of primary bile acids influencing the bile acid composition in both the bile and the intestine.

Adult↗

Active and inactive renin and kidney function in young subjects with different predisposition to develop essential hypertension.

Renal and cardiac function were measured in 65 offspring of hypertensive parents (OHP) and in 56 offspring of normotensive parents (ONP). In two additional groups of 24 OHP and 42 ONP plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma active (PRAC), inactive (PRIC) and total (PRTC) concentration were measured. OHP had significantly higher renal plasma flow (p less than 0.01), glomerular filtration rate (p less than 0.02) and 24-hour urinary output than ONP, while PRA was lower (p less than 0.01). The measurements of the different forms of renin gave the following results: PRIC and PRTC were lower in OHP than in ONP, but the only statistically significant difference concerns PRIC (p less than 0.025). A possible interpretation of these findings is that a primary increased tubular ion and water reabsorption might be the cause of the kidney function pattern seen in OHP.

Catecholamines↗

[An approach to hypertension in a native population].

In the article the authors illustrate: a) a community detection program designed to identify subjects with high blood pressure for treatment; b) the degree of participation; c) the cost of realization; d) the prevalence of arterial hypertension. A total of 4.149 subjects, or 65% of the examined population over age 8, were screened. The opportunity to have their blood pressure checked were offered with a letter of invitation to a centralized ambulatory. The cost of realization was L. 360 for every screened subject. The prevalence of hypertension was 20.4%.

Adolescent↗