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Biomedical subjects

M Cavazza

Publications and source records attributed to M Cavazza.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

[Not Available].

In Italy, the physiological theories of Albrecht von Haller, based on the thesis of the independence of the property of irritability, characteristic of muscles, from sensitivity, characteristic of nerves, and on a refutation of the traditional iatro-mechanical explanation of muscular motion, found numerous supporters and just as many opponents. This gave rise to a heated polemic, which involved numerous physicians, physicists and philosophers. The principal site for this polemic, most acute between 1756 and 1760, was Bologna, a city where the influence of Malpighian iatromechanics was still very strongly felt, but also where Haller's two most ardent supporters, Marc'Antonio Caldani and Felice Fontana, were active. The present study proposes to analyse the reactions of scientific circles in Bologna to this debate, especially for the case of the local Academy of Sciences, and to place them in the context of the continuing dialectic between innovation and tradition that characterised the city.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed1992

Effectiveness of loading oral flecainide for converting recent-onset atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm in patients without organic heart disease or with only systemic hypertension.

Sixty-two patients with recent-onset (less than or equal to 1 week) atrial fibrillation (New York Heart Association functional class 1 and 2) were randomized in a single-blind study to 1 of the following treatment groups: (1) flecainide (300 mg) as a single oral loading dose; or (2) amiodarone (5 mg/kg) as an intravenous bolus, followed by 1.8 g/day; or (3) placebo for the first 8 hours. Twenty-four-hour Holter recording was performed, and conversion to sinus rhythm at 3, 8, 12 and 24 hours was considered as the criterion of efficacy. Conversion to sinus rhythm was achieved within 8 hours (placebo-controlled period) in 20 of 22 patients (91%) treated with flecainide, 7 of 19 (37%) treated with amiodarone (p less than 0.001 vs flecainide), and 10 of 21 (48%) treated with placebo (p less than 0.01 vs flecainide). Resumption of sinus rhythm within 24 hours occurred in 21 of 22 patients (95%) with flecainide and in 17 of 19 (89%) with amiodarone (p = not significant). Mean conversion times were shorter for flecainide (190 +/- 147 minutes) than for amiodarone (705 +/- 418; p less than 0.001). No major side effects occurred. At Holter monitoring, a pause of 9.3 seconds was observed in 1 asymptomatic patient treated with flecainide. Phases of atrial flutter with a ventricular rate less than or equal to 150 beats/min were detected before sinus conversion in 1 patient receiving placebo and in 2 receiving flecainide.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1987

Analysis of azide-insensitive Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity in atrial specimens from patients with coronary or valvular heart disease.

The activity of the azide-insensitive Ca2+-dependent ATPase (highly enriched in myofibrillar ATPase activity) was studied in specimens of both right and left atria which were taken from patients with ischemic and/or valvular heart disease during coronary by pass and/or valvular substitution. A significantly lower enzymatic activity was found in atrial specimens from patients with left ventricular heart failure in comparison to the atrial fragments obtained from the patients with normal heart function. Such an inhibition reflected a significant increase in the Km of the enzyme for ATP and was associated with a concomitant reduction in Vmax, both more evident in the left atrial fragments. Moreover, tissue homogenates of atrial specimens from failing hearts exhibited a lower protein SH group content when compared to the atrial homogenates from the heart with normal left ventricular heart function.

Azides↗
PubMed1987

Clinical trial with muzolimine in healthy and hypertensive subjects: new vistas on the drug action.

The mechanism of muzolimine (3-amino-1-[3,4-dichloro-alpha-methyl-benzyl]-2 pyrazolin-5-one) action is still not completely defined. The identified site of action is the Henle loop, similarly to furosemide which acts also by mediating renal prostaglandin synthesis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the early effects of muzolimine (30 mg per os) on renal function and prostaglandin urinary excretion in healthy controls and hypertensive subjects. Urinary flow reached the peak values by the third hour after the drug and a diuretic effect not directly dependent on glomerular filtration was observed, especially in hypertensive patients. In these cases the diuresis increased also due to a low glomerular filtration rate and tubular phenomena were more evident than in controls: an increasing Na+ tubular excretion and a parallel decreasing % Na+ reabsorption. Blood pressure was not significantly influenced by muzolimine in healthy subjects, while it returned to normal values in the hypertensive group. A cyclooxigenase inhibitor, lysine acetylsalicylate (1 g i.m.) administered 10 minutes after muzolimine, was not able to modify the parameters under consideration. Therefore a mediation by prostaglandins on the diuretic and antihypertensive effects of the drug under study may probably be excluded.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids and prostaglandin synthesis on renal function.

The effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (phosphatidylcholine) on renal function in healthy subjects and in patients with chronic renal failure, with liver cirrhosis, and with heart failure were studied. The drug was administered at 3.5 mg/kg i.v. (Linoleic acid 1.24 mg/kg). In all cases, the administration of the drug caused an increased excretion of sodium and especially of water with a reduction in basal urinary hypertonicity. The polyuria was caused by the higher glomerular filtration rate not being counterbalanced by an increase in tubular water reabsorption. The water reabsorption was mostly anisosmotic. The presence of urinary hypertonicity excluded an inhibition of ADH secretion by this drug. The sodium excretion was probably caused by an increase of the glomerular filtration rate whereas no significant changes in the tubular reabsorption of sodium were seen. We found a significant (p 0.05) increase in PGE2 urinary excretion after phosphatidylcholine administration. Lysine - acetylsalicylate injection after phosphatidylcholine, in other trials in the same patients, prevented the effects previously reported. Therefore we suggest that the effects of this drug are mediated by an increased availability of renal prostaglandins.

Aspirin↗
PubMed1984

[Urinary excretion of PGE2 and renal function in acute myocardial infarction].

In 17 hospitalized patients affected by acute myocardial infarction (AMI) PGE2 urinary excretion, renal function and, furthermore, cortisol urinary excretion were tested during a 21 days trial. In 12 patients all the parameters under consideration underwent a similar trend: PGE2 urinary excretion exactly like glomerular filtration rate, Na+ excretion and diuresis tended to be reduced during the first 5 days and they rapidly recovered the normality after this period. Cortisol urinary excretion displayed a characteristic pattern: i.e. the highest values were observed in the first days, followed by a progressive decrease towards physiological levels since the 4th day. Different findings were obtained in 5 cases treated with an antiinflammatory drug (Indoprophen i.m. 200 mg x2 die). In fact the low levels of urinary PGE2 on the first days did not display any increasing and GFR, urinary flow, and Na+ tubular balance underwent irregular and not significant variations. These data suggest that an impaired Prostaglandin synthesis may be related to a compromised renal function often occurring in AMI.

Dinoprostone↗
PubMed1984

[Effects on renal function of a drug antagonistic to morphine-like peptide systems after water load].

Following i.v. administration of 0,4 mg Naloxone, a pure antagonist of opioid peptides, a study of renal function was performed in 5 patients who underwent oral water load equal to 20 cc/Kg water for 15-20 min. Within 15 min after administration of the drug all cases showed a further increase in urinary flow resulting from an increase in glomerular filtration rate and CH2O. The absence of systemic haemodynamic changes (BP, HR) suggested an intrarenal origin of the phenomena observed, as a sign of expansion of the system responsible for free water elimination. We put forward the hypothesis that Naloxone inhibits the antidiuretic activity of opioid peptides - in any case quiescent under water load conditions - which is masked by osmotic and volume mechanism.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[Effect, on renal function, of a product rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids: results obtained in subjects with chronic renal failure caused by nephroangiosclerosis].

Subjects with renal chronic failure were studied. Four patients were treated with 2,5 mg/Kg of phosphatidylcholine, a drug with an high content of polyunsatured fatty acids. The drug's effects, studied during three successive 30 min. Clearance periods, were the same as in healthy subjects, i.e.: a statistically significant increase of: urine flow, renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate and sodium excretion. In other 6 patients, administration of i.v. lysine acetylsalicylate (10,5 mg/Kg) caused a decrease of the parameters under study, that were increasing for a previous dose of phosphatidylcholine and made ineffective another administration of this drug. If the thesis is assumed that in normal subjects phenomena may be referred to the local synthesis of PG, then the authors believe that the potential synthesis capacity of these substances is not compromised in chronic renal failure.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

[Effect, on renal function, of a product rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids: results obtained in healthy subjects].

In 7 healthy subjects a 2,5 mg/Kg dose of i.v. phosphatidylcholine a drug with an high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, caused variations in renal functionality as follows: a statistically significant increase of: urine flow, renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate and sodium excretion. The above phenomena which resulted in a hypertonic poliuria, were detected during three 30 mins clearance periods. In other 5 subjects, a dose of lysine acetylsalicylate (10,5 mg/Kg) either suppressed the phenomena induced by the previous administration of phosphatidylcholine or prevented them to appear when the drug was given successively. Authors suggest that the data obtained may be ascribed to stimulation of local PG synthesis.

Aspirin↗