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M Mestre

Publications and source records attributed to M Mestre.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

[Angiotensin-converting enzyme in sarcoidosis: diagnostic and prognostic value (author's transl)].

Between April 1976 and February 1980, serum levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme were determined in 61 cases of sarcoidosis at different stages of evolution. Cases were divided in three groups on the basis of social determinations done every 3-6 months. In the group with 46 active cases the increase in mean value of the enzyme is statistically significant compared to the control group; 30 of these (65.2%) had values higher than + 2DS. In the second group with 24 cases of non-progressive or inactive sarcoidosis the mean value was slightly higher than the normal mean value, without being statistically significant; 21 patients (87.5%) showed normal values: in the third group with 19 patients who had been treated with corticosteroids, mean value was equal to normal values; after 12 months treatment values were normal in 17 cases (89.5%). In the control group of 80 patients with a variety of pulmonary diseases other than sarcoidosis (pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia, pulmonary thromboembolism and primary lung cancer) only 9 cases presented values higher than the normal + 2SD (11.2% false positive). Serial determination of angiotensin-converting enzyme is a useful diagnostic parameter in sarcoidosis; especially in evaluating progression of the disease as well as the efficacy of corticosteroid treatment.

Adolescent↗

Synthesis and pharmacological properties of 4-piperazino-5-methylthiopyrimidines. Selection of new antiemetic agents.

We have synthetized a series of 22 new 4-piperazinopyrimidines bearing a methylthio substituent in the 5 position of the pyrimidine ring. These compounds have been obtained by separation of the isomers formed during nucleophilic attack of the corresponding 2,4,6-trichloropyrimidine by amines. Pharmacological screening has shown that this chemical series displays a very interesting profile, which includes antiemetic, tranquilizing, analgesic, antiserotonin, and musculotropic-spasmolytic properties. We have particularly selected for clinical investigations two compounds with powerful antiemetic activity: 2-methylamino-4-(N-methylpiperazino)-5-methylthio-6-chloropyrimidine and 2-isopropylamino-4-(H-methylpiperazino)-5-methylthio-6-chloropyrimidine.

Animals↗

Carcinoma of the nasopharynx: analysis of treatment results in 167 consecutively admitted patients.

Radiotherapy with curative intent was administered to 159 of 167 consecutively admitted patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The classification (UICC 1982) gave the staging: stage I 8%, stage II 2%, stage III 28%, and stage IV 61%. The actuarial local tumor control was 54% and correlated to the T-classification. Primary control of neck nodes was 67% but was not correlated to the N-classes. Distant failure occurred in 20% of the patients; this was correlated to the N-classification. The 10-year actuarially corrected survival rate was 37% (stage I+II 60%, stage III 49%, stage IV 27%). Late reactions were seen in 69%, and most patients had mild to moderate xerostomia. Men with high hemoglobin had a better prognosis than men with values in the lower part of the normal range. It is concluded that primary control in the T- and N-positions is the parameter most crucial to success.

Actuarial Analysis↗

Frequency-independent blockade of cardiac Na+ channels by riluzole: comparison with established anticonvulsants and class I anti-arrhythmics.

The Na+ channel blocking activity and the antiarrhythmic effects of riluzole, and established anticonvulsants (lamotrigine and lifarizine) and class I antiarrhythmics (lidocaine, flecainide and disopyramide) were studied under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Guinea-pig cardiac Purkinje fibres were superfused with Tyrode solution and electrically driven for recording action potentials with intracellular microelectrodes. In these preparations paced at 1 Hz, all compounds tested produced concentration-dependent (0.3-100 microM) reductions in the maximum rate of depolarization of the action potential (Vmax). For riluzole, phenytoin and carbamazepine this effect was frequency-independent (0.5-6 Hz) but for lamotrigine, lifarizine, lidocaine, flecainide and disopyramide it was frequency-dependent. In anaesthetized rats, riluzole, in contrast to flecainide, did not delay the appearance of aconitine-induced arrhythmias. Riluzole (0.3-3.9 mg/kg, i.v.) also lacked notable cardiac electrophysiological effects in anaesthetized dogs. At an i.v. dose of 3.0 mg/kg riluzole failed to restore a normal sinus rhythm in conscious dogs with polymorphic arrhythmias produced by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery 24 h earlier. These results indicate that riluzole, phenytoin and carbamazepine, unlike lamotrigine, lifarizine and flecainide, block cardiac Na+ channels in a frequency-independent manner. This property may account for the lack of antiarrhythmic activity of riluzole, phenytoin and carbamazepine in animal models of arrhythmias that respond to class I antiarrhythmic drugs. It may also account for the clinical observation that riluzole does not seem to cause the unfavourable electrocardiographic changes characteristic of drugs that block cardiac Na+ channels in a frequency-dependent manner.

Aconitine↗

Hypersensitivity reaction after orgotein (superoxide dismutase) administration.

Orgotein is being increasingly used in the treatment of some inflammatory disorders. Up to now no hypersensitivity reaction has been reported. We present the case of an allergic reaction demonstrated by both, "in vivo" and "in vitro" tests. This finding further supports the need for an adequate control during and after orgotein administration.

Adult↗

Modulation of voltage-operated, but not receptor-operated, calcium channels in the rabbit aorta by PK 11195, an antagonist of peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptors.

We compared the effects of PK 11195, an antagonist of peripheral benzodiazepine receptors, on contractions of rabbit aorta by activation of either voltage-operated calcium channels (VOC) using BAY K 8644 (a calcium "agonist") and KCl or receptor-operated channels (ROC) using phenylephrine and B-HT 920, (alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist, respectively). In partially depolarized muscle strips, BAY K 8644 induced contractions that were noncompetitively inhibited by PK 11195 (pD'2 = 5.6 +/- 0.15). The effect of this calcium agonist was also antagonized by nitrendipine (competitively) and by yohimbine (noncompetitively), while prazosin was inactive. Contractions induced by KCl were inhibited by nitrendipine and, weakly, by PK 11195. Contractions induced by phenylephrine and B-HT 920 were inhibited competitively by prazosin and yohimbine and noncompetitively by nitrendipine, while PK 11195 was ineffective. It is concluded that PK 11195 behaves as an antagonist of VOC activated by BAY K 8644 and to a lesser extent by KCl depolarization but not of ROC coupled to alpha 1- and alpha 2-receptors.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗

[Shock. Antioxidant immunologico-therapeutic replacement].

Shock is a specific reaction to a non specific severe injury. The organic reaction is a biphasic (excitation/depression) threefold response: haemodynamic, hemostatic and immunologic. The physiopathology is related with changes produced by injury on macrophages, neutrophils, platelets and endothelial cells. The release of enzymes and certain vasoactive compounds enhance activation of neutrophils, which produce great amounts of free oxygen radicals. Therapy must be basically substitutive, including immunologic substitution. Therapeutic trends are based on the use of substances which can avoid the overproduction or nocive effects of free oxygen radicals.

Antioxidants↗

In vitro donor-specific hyporesponsiveness and T cell subsets in renal allograft recipients.

In order to assess the immune mechanisms triggered by an immunosuppressive regimen consisting of prophylactic antilymphocyte globulin plus low-dose cyclosporine A and steroids, we studied the short-term evolution of both, anti donor in vitro alloresponse and peripheral blood T cell subsets in 21 recipients of a cadaveric kidney allograft. Spleen cells from cadaveric donors and peripheral blood lymphocytes from the respective recipients pretransplant (pre-Tx), at three and six months posttransplant (post-Tx) were obtained to perform one-way mixed lymphocyte cultures and flow cytometry analysis of lymphocyte subsets. The results indicated the development of donor-specific mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) hyporesponsiveness as early as three months post-Tx, paralleled by a decrease in CD4+CD29+ helper-inducer cells and by an increase in CD8+CD45RA+ suppressor lymphocytes in peripheral blood. These changes were reflected in a very good clinical outcome of the patients. The present results further suggest that suppression of the immune system just before transplantation is a suitable method to induce early specific hyporesponsiveness to the allograft.

Adult↗