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Biomedical subjects

M Catalano

Publications and source records attributed to M Catalano.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Effects of treatment with verapamil SR and captopril on the lipid profile of hypertensive patients.

The potential beneficial effects of antihypertensive drugs on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality may be compromised by their adverse effects on serum lipid levels. In our study we compared verapamil and captopril and evaluated their effects on blood pressure and on serum lipid and lipoprotein levels, with particular attention to lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)]. 20 hypertensive patients were treated with sustained release verapamil 240mg once daily or captopril 25mg twice daily for 3 months in a double-blind randomised study. Diastolic blood pressure was reduced from 100 +/- 3mm Hg to 87 +/- 6mm Hg (p < 0.01) and from 100 +/- 5mm Hg to 92 +/- 7mm Hg (p < 0.05) in the verapamil and captopril groups, respectively. Small but significant changes in serum lipid levels were noted: total cholesterol was reduced from 6 to 5.8 mmol/L (verapamil) and from 6.1 to 5.9 mmol/L (captopril); low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was reduced from 4 to 3.8 mmol/L (verapamil) and from 4.2 to 3.9 mmol/L (captopril); apolipoprotein C-III was reduced from 0.3 +/- 0.07 to 0.2 +/- 0.06 mmol/L (9.7 +/- 2.5 to 9.2 +/- 2.3 mg/dl) [verapamil] and from 0.2 +/- 0.1 to 0.2 +/- 0.09 mmol/L (9.1 +/- 3.7 to 8.3 +/- 3.4 mg/dl) [captopril]; apolipoprotein A-II increased only with verapamil (p < 0.02). Lp(a) levels showed only minor changes in individual patients. In conclusion, in our study verapamil and captopril were effective antihypertensive agents and did not adversely effect the lipid profile.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1991

A multicenter study of doxazosin in the treatment of patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension and concomitant intermittent claudication.

This study assessed the efficacy and safety of once-daily doxazosin in the treatment of patients (n = 19) with mild or moderate essential hypertension (sitting diastolic blood pressure [DBP] 95 to 114 mm Hg) and concomitant intermittent claudication (Doppler ankle/arm ratio of less than 0.80 and walking tolerance of less than 700 m on the treadmill). After 14 weeks of treatment with doxazosin, a significant (p less than 0.05) reduction in systolic blood pressure and DBP was observed. Mean blood pressures were reduced from 170/100 mm Hg at baseline to 161/93 mm Hg at the end of treatment. Minor changes in heart rate occurred, which with continued treatment were not statistically significant from baseline. In 12 of 16 (75.0%) efficacy-evaluable patients blood pressure was normalized (DBP to less than or equal to 90 mm Hg with an greater than or equal to 5 mm Hg reduction from baseline) with a mean daily dose of 7.6 mg/day. Doxazosin improved the hypertension severity category in 13 of 16 (81.3%) patients. The blood pressure ratios between both the thighs and arms and ankles and arms showed no statistically significant changes after treatment with doxazosin. Thigh blood flow at rest and the reactive hyperemia after 3 minutes of arterial occlusion did not change statistically. There was a tendency for pain-free distance to improve. Laboratory data were not significantly changed after treatment with doxazosin. Of the 19 patients studied, 5 reported mild or moderate side effects that were either tolerated or disappeared with continued treatment. No patient had therapy withdrawn and no patient required a dose reduction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Antihypertensive Agents↗
PubMed1991

The PLAT Study: a multidisciplinary study of hemostatic function and conventional risk factors in vascular disease patients.

In this paper are reported the basal results of a multidisciplinary, multicenter study designed to explore in a population with ischemic disease the relation between hemostatic variables, conventional risk factors and atherothrombotic sequelae. 953 patients less than or equal to 69 yrs with documented coronary, cerebral or peripheral atherosclerotic disease were studied and followed-up for 24 months. Examinations included hemostatic and lipid laboratory assays, arterial Doppler examination, cerebral computerized tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance, exercise electrocardiogram and coronary angiography. Fibrinogen (301.4 +/- 71.52 mg/dl) correlated positively with antithrombin III (r = 0.27) and leukocytes (r = 0.25), negatively with HDL-cholesterol (r = 0.18) and tended to increase with smoking. Heavy smokers had higher leukocyte counts than non-smokers (8.0 +/- 2.0 vs. 7.2 +/- 2.1 x 10(3)/microliters), higher triglycerides (1.87 +/- 1.12 vs. 1.53 +/- 1.35 mmol/l) and lower HDL-cholesterol (0.93 +/- 0.27 vs. 1.00 +/- 0.25 mmol/l). FVII correlated positively with triglycerides (r = 0.16) and protein C (r = 0.45). vWF:Ag (145.4 +/- 70.58%) ad FVII:C (139.7 +/- 59.10%) were positively correlated (r = 0.44). FVIII:C correlated positively with fibrinogen (r = 0.21). Myocardial infarction survivors with associated cerebral and peripheral vascular lesions had higher FVIII:C, FVII, fibronogen and vWF:Ag. These findings suggest that hemostatic factors may enhance and/or mediate the effects of conventional risk factors in atherothrombotic ischemic events.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Serum lipids and apolipoproteins in patients with essential hypertension.

Fifty hypertensive untreated outpatients (34 women, 16 men), with stage I and II essential hypertension, were studied in comparison to 50 age- and sex-matched controls with similar life-styles. Total cholesterol triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol were measured by enzymatic methods, and apolipoproteins AI, AII, B, CII, CIII and E by RID. The results showed significant differences between hypertensives and controls respectively in triglycerides (135.2 +/- 73.9 versus 90.2 +/- 33.8, P less than 0.01) and VLDL cholesterol (26.7 +/- 14.8 versus 17.7 +/- 6.6, P less than 0.01) while no significant differences were observed in total, LDL and HDL cholesterol. Significant differences between the two groups were also observed in apolipoproteins, particularly in apo AI (130.0 +/- 28.2 versus 144.9 +/- 27.9, P less than 0.05), apo AII (32.9 +/- 10.2 versus 39.6 +/- 11.4, P less than 0.01), apo CII (4.0 +/- 2.6 versus 5.4 +/- 2.9, P less than 0.05) and apo E (5.0 +/- 1.8 versus 4.3 +/- 1.8, P less than 0.05), while no significant differences were observed in apo B and CIII values. The results suggest that in untreated hypertensive patients alterations in the apolipoproteins profile are present which, in part, may be responsible for the elevated incidence of cardiovascular disease, independently from the blood pressure values.

Apolipoproteins↗
PubMed1991

Peripheral opioid secretory pattern in anorexia nervosa.

The peripheral secretion of endogenous opioids was studied in 10 women with restrictive anorexia nervosa and 10 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The circadian rhythm of beta-endorphin (beta-EP) and beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH), and their responses to the administration of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH, 1 micrograms/kg body weight, i.v.), clonidine (150 microgram, i.v.), domperidone (10 mg, i.v.), and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP, 200 mg, p.o.) were examined in patients and controls. The results revealed increased nocturnal secretion of beta-EP and diurnal-nocturnal secretion of beta-LPH with loss of circadian rhythmicity of both peptides, normal response to CRH stimulation, blunted response to clonidine and domperidine, and normal beta-EP and blunted beta-LPH response to 5-HTP stimulation. The data suggest a complex alteration of peripheral opioids and of central aminergic mechanisms that regulate proopiomelanocortin-derived peptide secretion and eating behavior.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗
PubMed1990

Beta-TG and plasma catecholamines levels after sympathetic stimuli in hypertensives and patients with peripheral vascular disease.

The influence of the sympathetic nervous system on platelet functions in vivo is still controversial. The aims of our study were to compare the response to various sympathetic stimuli in normal subjects and in patients with essential hypertension (HT) or peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and to evaluate any correlations among plasma levels of catecholamines, beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and platelet factor 4 (PF4). In basal conditions beta-TG and PF4 values in the HT patients were higher than those observed in the controls of the same age but lower than those of the PVD patients. Although the different sympathetic stimuli (90 degrees tilting, handgrip, treadmill test, bicycle test) caused a significant increase of the plasma epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) levels, they did not modify the beta-TG and PF4 levels in any of the groups studied. The platelet activation indices, therefore, regardless of the basal values, do not seem to be influenced by sympathetic stimulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Tonic and dynamic gonadotropin secretion in depressive and normothymic phases of affective disorders.

Baseline follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) plasma levels and their responses to luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) stimulation were investigated in 72 patients who met Research Diagnostic Criteria for affective disorders and in 72 healthy volunteers. Fifty-six patients were examined during a depressive phase and 16 during a normothymic phase. LH-FSH basal levels were significantly lower in postmenopausal depressed and normothymic women than in controls. In fertile women and men, concentrations of the two gonadotropins were also lower in patients than in controls, but the phenomenon did not generally reach statistical significance. LHRH-induced LH rises were lower in postmenopausal and fertile depressed and normothymic women than in controls, while FSH rises were reduced only in postmenopausal depressive women in both depressed and normothymic phases. The impairment underlying the gonadotropin secretory deficiency remains to be elucidated.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Amino acid patterns in schizophrenia: some new findings.

Blood concentrations of various amino acids were measured in schizophrenic patients and control subjects. Significantly higher blood concentrations of glycine, glutamate, and serine were found in the schizophrenic patients. Glycine was abnormally elevated in subjects with paranoid or undifferentiated schizophrenia, but not in disorganized patients. Since glutamate, glycine, and serine play a complex role in the regulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, which are important in the control of normal cognitive processes, we hypothesized that the elevated levels of these amino acids might disrupt the normal functioning of NMDA receptors and might be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Microcirculation and hemorheology in NIDDM patients.

The authors studied 10 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and 5 controls matched for age, sex, blood lipids, and smoking habit. The two groups were also comparable for hemorheologic characteristics as evaluated by viscosimetry on whole blood, plasma and serum, erythrocyte filtration and aggregation. The microcirculation was studied in the subjects of both groups by microalbuminuria determination, retinal fluorangiography, and capillaroscopic examination of the bulbar conjunctive and nail folds. None of the patients presented microalbuminuria values higher than the upper limit of normal (20mg/24h). Fluoroangiographic alterations were observed in 4 patients, and all 10 presented capillaroscopic alterations at the bulbar conjunctiva (microaneurysms, erythrocyte aggregates) and nail folds (more frequently of the fingers than toes). Similar alterations were detected in controls. Thus these abnormalities seem independent of hemorheologic values.

Blood Viscosity↗
PubMed1990

[Telemetric surveys in plant pathology and for taking the census of ungulates].

Two new applications of the remote sensing techniques in the territory management which make use of a thermal scanner, are described here: the first concerned with the vegetal pathology field and the second with the big game censusing the Castelporziano farm. The former constitutes an improvement of the usual techniques either for its quick performance or for being an uncurrent intervention on plants, the latter allows to realize censuses also in thickly bushy or woody lands, where the usual methods of counting "at sight", besides to need a large staff are not much reliable.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1989

Alpha 2-adrenoceptor sensitivity in anorexia nervosa: GH response to clonidine or GHRH stimulation.

Growth hormone (GH) response to clonidine and growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) stimulation, together with baseline somatomedin C (SmC) levels, were examined in parallel in a group of 21 patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and in 10 controls. In addition, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRS) was administered to the patients. Clonidine (2.5 micrograms/kg body weight, iv) induced GH elevations that were not significantly different between patients and controls. In contrast, GHRH (1 microgram/kg body weight, iv) produced a significantly higher GH response in anorectics than in controls. The ratio between GH responses (area under the curve, or AUC) to GHRH and to clonidine was significantly higher in patients than in controls. Baseline SmC levels (6 patients) were significantly lower in anorectics than in controls. Minor depressive symptomatology was present in all patients. When viewed in relation to the GH hyperresponsiveness to GHRH, the apparent normality of the response to clonidine in anorectics reflects the existence of an actual alpha 2-adrenoceptor subsensitivity. As clonidine reportedly acts via release of endogenous GHRH, an excessive, rather than a normal, GH response to clonidine was to be anticipated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Ticlopidine in the treatment of intermittent claudication: a 21-month double-blind trial.

After a 3-month, single-blind, run-in period, 151 patients with intermittent claudication were randomly allocated to receive the antiplatelet agent ticlopidine (250 mg twice per day) or an identical placebo. One hundred and twenty patients completed the double-blind phase of the trial, which lasted 21 months. The primary analysis was performed according to the "intention-to-treat principle" in all 151 enrolled patients. There was, continuing on from the third month after randomization, a progressive and sustained improvement of the pain-free and maximum walking distances in the two treatment groups that was significantly greater in the ticlopidine group. The ankle-arm systolic blood pressure ratio at rest and after exercise increased in a significant manner in the ticlopidine group only. In a secondary analysis, with exclusion of 25 patients because of protocol violations at selection, consistently significant differences in favor of the ticlopidine group were still observed for maximum walking distance and systolic ankle-arm blood pressure ratio, both at rest and after exercise. No major side effects were reported in the treated group. It is concluded that long-term treatment with ticlopidine improves walking ability and ankle systolic blood pressure in patients with claudication.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1988

Effect of lithium treatment on the GH-clonidine test in affective disorders.

The effects of short-term lithium (Li) administration on alpha 2-adrenoceptor sensitivity was studied in 10 healthy volunteers and in 15 patients with normothymic, phasic depressive disorders. The GH-clonidine test was used to examine alpha 2-adrenoceptor sensitivity, administered before and after Li treatment (600 mg/day for 7 days in controls and for 15 days in patients). Before treatment, the GH response to clonidine in the patients was blunted, and afterwards it tended to increase in the patients and it was significantly decreased in the controls. The difference between the response in the two groups was significant and was correlated both with the diagnosis and the pretreatment GH response to the stimulus. The opposing pattern of the response in patients and controls to Li administration suggests that the drug exerts a modulatory effect on alpha 2-adrenoceptor sensitivity, with up or down regulation inversely correlated with pretreatment status.

Adolescent↗