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Biomedical subjects

M Bigazzi

Publications and source records attributed to M Bigazzi.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Induced human gestational hypoprolactinemia: lack of action on fetal adrenal androgen synthesis.

To investigate the possible role of PRL in the control of fetal adrenal function, blood samples were collected from maternal peripheral and cord blood from six women at delivery, who had received treatment with bromocriptine (3.75--35 mg daily) for the entire gestation. A group of eight untreated parturients served as control. Parameters measured were PRL and dehydroepiandrosterone, the latter as an indicator of fetal adrenal function. PRL was significantly suppressed (P < 0.002), whereas dehydroepiandrosterone was not influenced by bromocriptine treatment. The results indicate that the control of fetal production of androgenic substrate by the adrenals is not specifically PRL dependent.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1980

Relaxin in human decidua.

Relaxin (RLX) has been purified from the ovary of the pregnant pig and rat but not from human tissues. Our study shows that tissue extracts and incubation media of in vitro culture of human decidua contain a substance with relaxin bioactivities: the inhibition of spontaneous uterine contractions and the elongation of the interpubic ligament. After chromatography on Sephadex G-50 the bioactivity was retained in a protein fraction of approximately 6000 daltons mol wt. The yield of RLX from decidua was 15--33.5 GPU/g fresh tissue. This opens the possibility of the isolation and purification of RLX in the human species.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

A pregnancy in an acromegalic woman during bromocriptine treatment: effects on growth hormone and prolactin in the maternal, fetal, and amniotic compartments.

An unexpected 20-week-old pregnancy was found in a young acromegalic who had been treated with 10 mg bromocriptine/day for 10 months. The drug was continued throughout the period of gestation. No growth of the pituitary adenoma was noticed. The intrauterine development of the fetus was normal. Bromocriptine therapy had no discernible effect on the expected patterns of secretion of placental hormones, but inhibited completely the increase of PRL in the serum of the mother. Maternal plasma GH concentrations were very high in spite of the treatment and progressively declined after delivery. The plasma GH level was normal in the child, but PRL was very low at birth and increased in the following days. The expected high PRL concentration was found in the amniotic fluid. This case study suggests that bromocriptine crosses the human placenta and affects the fetal pituitary, maternal GH does not influence fetal or amniotic GH, and amniotic fluid PRL correlates poorly with either maternal or fetal blood levels and is not affected by bromocriptine.

Acromegaly↗
PubMed1979

Is human decidua a specialized endocrine organ?

The production of protein hormones by human placenta, amnion, chorion, and decidua capsularis was studied in in vitro experiments to establish whether the decidua could be considered a specialized structure for the release of PRL. The tissues were incubated in the incubation medium, we found a highly significant rise of PRL during culture of the decidua, while no increase was noticed during culture of the placenta or amnion. Conversely, chorionic somatomammotropin and CG increased greatly and quickly during culture of placenta but not during culture of other tissues. No significant change was found in GH. The total PRL released into the medium from decidua was 3 times higher than the initial PRL content of this sittue; addition of puromycin to the incubation medium reduced both the tissue content and the release of PRL to almost 50% of the control values. This result raises the possibility of a specific endocrine activity of decidua capsularis. The PRL-secreint cells of the decidua probably do not possess dopamine receptors, since bromocriptine, when added to the medium, did not influence the release of PRL, confirming our previous in vivo observations.

Amnion↗
PubMed1977

High level of a nerve growth factor in the serum of a patient with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland.

The serum of a patient with a familial medullary thyroid carcinoma showed levels of a factor, active in the nerve growth factor (NGF) bioassay and cross-reacting immunologically with mouse NGF, 20-1000 times higher than sera from normal controls or from patients with unrelated tumours. Variations of the level of this factor in the serum closely correlated with the progression of the disease. One of the patient's sons, apparently clinically normal, also showed high levels of this factor in the serum, raising the possibility that abnormality in the production of this factor could be present at an early stage of the disease.

Adult↗