Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Cazzola

Publications and source records attributed to M Cazzola.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Increased whole body hematocrit: venous hematocrit ratio in diabetes mellitus, evidence of microcirculatory hemoconcentration.

Plasma volume and red cell volume were measured in 24 diabetic outpatients. From the blood volume measurements, the whole body hematocrit was derived, and the ratio between whole body hematocrit:venous hematocrit (WBH:VH ratio) was considered to represent an index of the difference in red cell distribution between small and large blood vessels. The WBH:VH ratio was increased in 9 out of 13 males and in 1 out of 11 females, being inversely correlated to the plasma volume (r = -0.51, p less than 0.001). Although the significance of these findings is far from clear, the occurrence of small vessel hemoconcentration in male patients with diabetes mellitus may be relevant to the pathophysiology of vascular complications of diabetes.

Diabetes Mellitus↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of the selective 5-HT2 antagonist ketanserin on adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction in asthmatic subjects.

In eight asthmatic subjects a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study was performed to investigate the effect of inhaled ketanserin, a 5-HT2 receptor blocking agent, in a dose of 10 mg given 30 min before test, on adenosine-induced bronchospasm. The protective effect of ketanserin was significant in all patients, even though it altered basal bronchomotor tone in only two subjects. On the contrary, ketanserin did not inhibit histamine-induced bronchoconstriction in four of these eight asthmatics, even though it modified sensitivity and reactivity in one of them. The results suggest that ketanserin influence on adenosine bronchial reactivity and sensitivity was not due to the bronchodilator effect of ketanserin itself or to its antihistaminic activity. We have no certain explanation for the inhibition of adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction elicited by ketanserin. It is possible that 5-HT may play, at least in part, a role as mediator of adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction.

Adenosine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An acute bronchodilator test with tiotropium or salmeterol does not allow a subdivision of patients according to responses.

BACKGROUND: The possibility that individual chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients respond better to either tiotropium or salmeterol has been suggested and an acute bronchodilator test might help to guide the choice of therapy. OBJECTIVES: We explored the responses to tiotropium and salmeterol within the first 3 h using the recommended dosages (18 microg for tiotropium and 50 microg for salmeterol) in order to verify whether there are differences in the short-term bronchodilator effects between these two long-acting bronchodilators in patients with stable COPD. Moreover, we investigated whether these differences could discriminate between the two agents. METHODS: Forty consecutive patients with COPD, but in a stable phase of the disease, participated in this double-blind, double-dummy, randomized crossover study. The study involved a screening visit and 2 study days separated by at least 1 week. For determination of the onset of action, we measured FEV1 at 10, 20, 30, 60 and 90 min, and again 2 and 3 h after inhalation of single study drug. RESULTS: At all time points, both tiotropium and salmeterol caused significant (p< 0.001) changes from baseline. A mean increase of 12% above baseline was reached 66 min (95% CI: 45-87) after tiotropium and 59 min (95% CI: 41-77) after salmeterol. Nine patients after tiotropium and 5 patients after salmeterol did not have this type of improvement. A mean increase of 200 ml above baseline was reached 76 min (95% CI: 52-101) after tiotropium and 76 min (95% CI: 52-100) after salmeterol. Eighteen patients after tiotropium and 15 patients after salmeterol did not have this improvement. Twenty-one patients after tiotropium and 24 patients after salmeterol reached an improvement that was at the same time 12% and 200 ml greater than baseline. CONCLUSIONS: These data clearly show that the bronchodilator effects of tiotropium and salmeterol within the first hours after their acute administration are similar in patients with stable COPD when they are evaluated as mean changes from baseline in FEV1. Therefore, they question the direct therapeutic relevance of a subdivision of patients according to bronchodilator responses to tiotropium or salmeterol.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A comparison of dothiepin versus placebo in the treatment of pain in rheumatoid arthritis and the association of pain with depression.

The effectiveness of dothiepin (a tricyclic anti-depressant) at a dose of 75 mg given orally at night was compared with placebo for 4 weeks in alleviating pain in 60 patients with classical or definite active rheumatoid arthritis. Patients were classified as either 'depressed' or 'not depressed'. The week before, during and 2 weeks after the study, 600 mg ibuprofen was given orally three times daily to all patients. Compared with placebo, dothiepin produced a significant reduction in daytime pain by the end of the treatment period. The Hamilton rating scale in 'depressed' patients was significantly improved in patients given dothiepin. The Cassano-Castrogiovanni self-evaluation rating scale in both 'depressed' and 'not depressed' patients showed a tendency (not significant) to be improved following dothiepin treatment compared with placebo. These results suggest that patients with rheumatoid arthritis may experience an increase in pain symptoms due to an alteration of mood. Therapy with tricyclic anti-depressants, such as dothiepin, therefore, may determine an improvement of pain indexes besides having an anti-depressant effect.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Salsalate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind clinical and gastroscopic trial versus piroxicam. I. Clinical trial.

A double-blind, double-dummy controlled study to compare the clinical efficacy and gastric tolerability of salsalate and piroxicam in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis was performed. Twenty-three patients were treated with 1.5 g salsalate twice daily and 20 with 20 mg piroxicam (taken after the evening meal) for a period of 4 weeks. Patients were submitted to gastroscopy at the start and end of treatment; only patients who presented a normal baseline gastroscopy were admitted to the trial. At the end of the planned treatment period, a statistically significant improvement of all clinical variables was observed in both treatment groups, the difference between the two drugs not being statistically significant. Seven (37%) patients treated with salsalate complained of tinnitus. The results show that salsalate and piroxicam have equal efficacy in relieving the symptoms of arthritis.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Double-blind study of 5-hydroxytryptophan versus placebo in the treatment of primary fibromyalgia syndrome.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and tolerability of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) was conducted in 50 patients with primary fibromyalgia syndrome. All the clinical parameters studied were significantly improved by treatment with 5-HTP and only mild and transient side-effects were reported. Further controlled studies are required to define properly the value of 5-HTP in patients with primary fibromyalgia syndrome.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Italian consensus on EULAR recommendations 2005 for the management of hip osteoarthritis].

The recommendations for the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip were proposed by EULAR in 2005. Among the most important objectives of the expert charged to provide these recommendations were their wide dissemination and implementation. Thus, the information generated can be used by each individual country to produce their own set of management guidelines and algorithms for treatment in primary care. According with that previously executed for the EU-LAR recommendation 2003 for the knee, the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) has organised a Consensus on the EULAR recommendations 2005 for the management of hip OA. To obtain an acceptability as large as possible, the group of experts was composed by many physicians interested in the management of hip OA, including Orthopaedics, Rheumatologists, Physiatrists, and General Practitioners. Main aim of the Consensus was to analyse the acceptability and applicability of the recommendations according to own experience and local situations in the Italy. The results of this Consensus have demonstrated that a large majority of the EULAR recommendations are endorsed by the Italian experts. Furthermore, the final document of the Italian Consensus clearly indicated the need that the specialists involved in the management of hip OA strongly encourage the dissemination of the EULAR 2005 recommendations also in Italy.

European Union↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Haematopoietic growth factors in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes.

There are several therapeutic options for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients but the potentially curative ones are only available for a minority of individuals. At present, in fact, the only two treatments that can prolong survival are allogeneic stem cell transplantation and intensive chemotherapy. The only two haematopoietic growth factors that can be useful in the treatment of selected MDS patients are recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) and G-CSF. Overall 15 to 20% of patients with MDS respond to rHuEpo treatment but the vast majority of responders are not transfusion-dependent and the doses required to achieve response are > 450 IU/kg per week. Factors predicting response include serum Epo levels <100 mU/ml, female gender and no or low need for transfusion. Recognising potential responders to rHuEpo can be extremely important in individual cases of MDS. G-CSF alone should be used only for short-term treatments. It may be administered to individual patients during an infective episode that does not respond to antibiotic therapy, particularly in the case of fungal infections. In addition, G-CSF may be employed for shortening the length of severe neutropenia following intensive chemotherapy. American and Scandinavian studies have shown that about 40% of MDS patients respond to a combined treatment of rHuEpo with G-CSF with amelioration of anaemia and that response can be maintained for a median duration of 24 months. Using pre-treatment serum Epo levels as a ternary variable (<100, 100-500 or > 500 U/l) and red blood cell transfusion need as a binary variable (<2 or > or =2 units per month), a predictive score for erythroid response to G-CSF plus rHuEpo can be obtained. This score can identify patients with a high probability of erythroid responses (about 75%). Due to the inadequacies of all current treatment modalities, participation in clinical trials should always be encouraged.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Oral type II collagen in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A six-month double blind placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of oral chicken type II collagen (CII) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Sixty patients with clinically active RA of long duration (mean 7.2 +/- 5.5 years) were treated for 6 months with oral chicken CII at 0.25 mg/day (n = 31) or with placebo (n = 29) in a double-blind randomized study. RESULTS: The response rate to treatment of the collagen-treated group, based on the ACR 20% criteria, was higher than that of the control group but this difference was not statistically significant at any time. Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis did not show statistically significant improvement in any of the several secondary outcome measures over the 6 months of the study in the collagen-treated patients in comparison with the placebo-treated group. However, in 2 collagen-treated patients we observed a clinical remission according to the criteria of the American Rheumatism Association. CONCLUSION: Our study seems to show that the oral treatment of RA patients with chicken CII is ineffective and results in only small and inconsistent benefits. Furthermore, our results raise the possibility that in a sub-group of patients oral collagen administration, usually considered devoid of harmful effects, may actually induce disease flares.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Respiratory allergic diseases induced by outdoor air pollution in urban areas.

A wealth of evidence suggests that allergic respiratory diseases such as rhinosinusitis and bronchial asthma have become more common worldwide in recent years and a great deal of etiologic and pathogenic research has been carried out to evaluate the possible causes of this increasing trend. There is also some evidence that increased atmospheric concentrations of pollutants such as ozone (O3), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), respirable particulate (PM10) and volatile organic chemicals (VOC5), which result from increased use of liquid petroleum gas or kerosene, may be linked to the increased prevalence of allergic diseases which develop more frequently in urban areas of developed countries. Since bronchial asthma is a disease which can be aggravated by inhaled compounds, health effects of air pollutants have received attention. In fact various studies have demonstrated that inhalation of air pollutants such as O3, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2), either individually or in combination, can enhance the airway response to inhaled allergens in atopic subjects inducing asthma exacerbations. Moreover, experimental studies have shown that diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) causes respiratory symptoms and is able also to modulate the immune response by increasing immunoglobulin (Ig)E synthesis in predisposed animals and humans. There is also some evidence that air pollutants can interact with aeroallergens in the atmosphere and/or on human airways, potentiating their effects. In fact, by inducing airway inflammation which increases epithelial permeability, some pollutants overcome the mucosal barrier and so prime allergen-induced responses. However, air pollution and climatic changes may also have an indirect effect on the allergic response by influencing quantitatively and qualitatively the pollen production of allergenic plants.

Air Pollutants↗