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Biomedical subjects

L Gullo

Publications and source records attributed to L Gullo.

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

Stimulation of gallbladder emptying by intravenous lipids.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have dealt with the effect of i.v. administration of lipids on gallbladder emptying, and the results have been conflicting. METHODS: Five healthy volunteers, three women and two men, aged 26 to 54 years, (mean, 29 years) were studied. Gallbladder emptying was assessed by means of real-time ultrasonography. RESULTS: In all subjects, the infusion of a 10% fat emulsion (Intralipid; Kabivitrum, Stockholm) over 3 hours caused a reduction in gallbladder volume. This effect was statistically significant at about 80 minutes of lipid infusion and became progressively more marked as the infusion progressed, reaching a reduction of approximately 30% during the third hour of infusion. A significant relationship (p < .001) was found between the concentration of serum triglycerides and the degree of gallbladder volume decrease. In control studies, infusion of physiologic saline containing glycerol, the excipient of intralipid, caused no significant changes in gallbladder volume. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that i.v. infusion of lipids is able to stimulate significantly contraction of human gallbladder.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Medical treatment of chronic pancreatitis.

The medical treatment has an important role in patients with chronic pancreatitis. Pain is the most frequent symptom, at least in the initial phases of the disease. In about 60% of patients it can be successfully treated by medical therapy; in the remaining 40% it requires surgery. Malabsorption of fat and protein and diabetes usually appear in the advanced stages of the disease. The treatment of these complications is based on the administration of pancreatic extracts and insulin. There are several types of pancreatic extracts; the most useful are those with high lipase content and high lipase-protease ratio. Moreover, they should be protected against gastric acid and should have a gastric emptying simultaneously with chyme, with a rapid liberation of enzymes into the duodenum. The treatment of diabetes usually requires low-moderate doses of insulin. Diabetic ketoacidosis is rare, while microvascular changes have the same frequency as in type 1 diabetes.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neurotensin: a physiological regulator of exocrine pancreatic secretion?

The aim of the present review was to evaluate the effects of neurotensin on the exocrine pancreatic secretion. Neurotensin immunoreactivity has been identified in the central nervous system and also in the digestive system, where it is found in specific endocrine cells of the intestinal mucosa (N cells), in nerve fibers of the enteric nervous system and in intrapancreatic ganglia (both in nerves and cell bodies). Studies in laboratory animals and in humans have demonstrated that the ingestion of a meal causes a significant release of neurotensin into the circulation and that exogenous administration of low doses of the peptide strongly stimulates exocrine pancreatic secretion. These findings, together with the demonstration that the immunoneutralization of circulating neurotensin significantly reduces the pancreatic secretory response to a meal, suggest that neurotensin is a physiological regulator of exocrine pancreatic secretion.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Serum pancreatic enzymes in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the pancreas].

Serum levels of amylase, pancreatic isoamylase, lipase, trypsinogen, and elastase 1 were determined in 41 patients with pancreatic carcinoma and compared with those 71 patients with chronic pancreatitis and 17 patients with digestive non-pancreatic carcinoma, in an attempt to evaluate their relative values in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Trypsinogen and elastase 1 levels were the most frequently abnormal (56%), followed by pancreatic isoamylase (39%), lipase (34%), and amylase (27%). In 4 patients with resectable cancer levels of all serum enzymes were within normal limits, with the single exception of a low trypsinogen level in one patient. No significant differences in the behavior of serum enzymes were found between patients with pancreatic cancer and those with chronic pancreatitis or digestive non-pancreatic cancer. The results of our study indicate that measurement of serum pancreatic enzymes is of limited usefulness in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in pancreatic cancer.

While the association between pancreatic cancer and diabetes is well recognized, little is known about glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in patients with this tumour. Thirty patients with pancreatic cancer not complicated by diabetes, 10 with nonpancreatic cancer, and 10 healthy subjects were studied for glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in response to an oral glucose load. Twenty of the 30 patients with pancreatic cancer (70%) had impaired glucose tolerance compared with none of the patients in the other two groups. In most of these 20 patients' insulin responses were higher than those of patients with non-pancreatic cancer or healthy subjects. The results indicate that about two-thirds of patients with pancreatic cancer have abnormal glucose tolerance; this intolerance is associated with elevated insulin secretion, suggesting that it may be due to a peripheral resistance to insulin.

Aged↗