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Biomedical subjects

M Giordano

Publications and source records attributed to M Giordano.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Post-trial injection of atropine into the caudate nucleus interferes with long-term but not with short-term retention of passive avoidance.

One-trial passive avoidance training was given to Wistar rats and retention of the task was measured 30 min and 24 h later. Atropine (60 micrograms) was injected into the anterior caudate nucleus 2 min after training. Excellent retention was evident 30 min after training, whereas a significant deficit in memory was found when retention was tested 24 h after training. These results suggest that blockade of cholinergic activity of the caudate nucleus induced shortly after training interferes with the consolidation of long-term memory but not with short-term memory processes.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Effects of captopril on blood pressure and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in hypertensive subjects after inhibition of renal vasodilative system.

The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the probable role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, the kallikrein-kinins and the prostaglandins systems on the various types of essential hypertension and also their contribution to the action of captopril. Nineteen patients, 7 with high and 12 with normal or low levels of plasma renin activity (PRA), have been studied. Captopril (100 mg) was administered in acute dosage, blood pressure was checked for two hours and PRA and plasma aldosterone were assayed. The same trial was repeated after inhibition of prostaglandin-synthetase with indomethacin and kallikrein with trasylol, alternatively, and then with indomethacin and trasylol, contemporaneously. Our results showed that the renal vasodilative system was probably also involved in the mechanism of action of captopril, but that this drug reduced blood pressure mainly through a block of angiotensin II production in both groups of patients. Thus the finding of a normal or low PRA does not justify the conclusion that angiotensin II is not one of the mechanisms responsible for an elevated arterial pressure.

Angiotensins↗
PubMed1983

Enhancement of erythrophagocytosis by cyclophosphamide.

The effect of cyclophosphamide (Cy) on erythrophagocytosis carried out by peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) was evaluated. The results indicate that the treatment of BALB/c mice with a single high dose of Cy (200 mg/kg) increases the capability of PEC to ingest sensitized sheep red blood cells. Cy not only increases the percentage of PEC with engulfed erythrocytes, but also augments the activity of individual phagocytes. This effect is exerted upon both mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cells and is probably due to the activation of receptors for the Fc fragment of IgG on PEC membranes, as unsensitized sheep erythrocytes are not phagocytized. Considering that Cy is one of the most used alkylating agents in treatment of immunological disorders and cancer chemotherapy, this enhancing effect on phagocytosis may be important in the regulation of host defense mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Effect of rheumatoid factors and normal human sera on immune complex-Fc gamma R interaction.

The results of this study demonstrate that inhibition of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by ovalbumin (OA)-IgG anti-OA immune complexes (IC) can be affected by rheumatoid factors (RF). Thus, pre-incubation of IC with IgM RF reduced the blocking effect of IC on IgG-Fc receptors (FC gamma R) measured by ADCC activity. However, the opposite effect could be observed when IgM RF was added after IC-Fc gamma R interaction. IgG RF did not modify these interactions significantly. In a previous report it was demonstrated that normal human sera (NHS) lead to recovery of the ADCC activity of PBMC that had been previously blocked by IC. IgM RF enhanced the recovery of ADCC by NHS, while IgG RF did not alter, or slightly decreased the ability of NHS to restore ADCC. These effects correlated with the different capacities of RF to activate complement (C). The results obtained show a new effect of RF on the regulation of immune mechanisms.

Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity↗
PubMed1981

Presence of eosinophilia in progressive systemic sclerosis and localized scleroderma.

Recent studies on eosinophilic fasciitis have lead to this investigation of eosinophilia in progressive systemic sclerosis and localized scleroderma. Eosinophilia (eosinophilic count greater than 300/cmm) was found in ten of 63 progressive systemic sclerosis patients (15.8%) and in two of nine localized scleroderma cases (22.2%). In patients with progressive systemic sclerosis eosinophilia was found occasionally in six cases; it was transitory, but frequent in three cases; it was constant and very high in one case. In patients with localized scleroderma eosinophilia was found occasionally in one case and frequent, but not constant, in the other one. The possible influence of drugs could be excluded in five cases: three progressive systemic sclerosis cases and two affected with localized scleroderma. Therefore, it is possible to confirm that eosinophilia is not a distinctive sign of eosinophilic fasciitis in patients suffering from scleroderma-like syndromes. While eosinophilia is related to inflammation in eosinophilic faciitis, eosinophilia and disease activity could not be correlated in our patients with PSS. Recently, it has been suggested that eosinophilia might be an unfavorable prognostic criterion in progressive systemic sclerosis. Our data does not allow confirmation of this assumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Further studies on glucametacin in rheumatoid arthritis and in other chronic types of rheumatism.

Twenty-three patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 9 patients with other forms of rheumatic diseases were treated for 20 days with 420 mg glucametacin per day, given as three 140 mg capsules. The treatment produced anti-inflammatory effects which were rated as good in about half the cases, with improvement of the majority of the clinical parameters studied. There were mild digestive side-effects. One patient with gallstones developed biliary colic, but the relationship of this to glucametacin treatment was not clear. The results obtained in the 32 patients treated with 140 mg glucametacin capsules were very similar to those which the same authors had observed in a very extensive case series of patients with rheumatic diseases treated with the same daily dose, but given as 70 mg capsules. It is suggested that the new preparation, which halves the number of capsules taken each day, is to be preferred to the smaller dose capsules.

Adult↗