Biomedical subjects

M Saladini

Publications and source records attributed to M Saladini.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Ischemic stroke in young patients with activated protein C resistance. A report of three cases belonging to three different kindreds.

BACKGROUND: A new pathological condition termed "activated protein C (APC) resistance" has recently been reported to be the most common hereditary blood coagulation disorder associated with familial thrombosis. APC resistance is characterized by a poor anticoagulant response to APC in the plasma of patients and is due to a defect of factor V. CASE DESCRIPTIONS: This report deals with three Italian families with inherited APC resistance in which stroke had occurred at a young age in one of the family members. One of the patients exhibited ischemic stroke at 8 months of age. Although deep vein thrombosis is considered the main clinical manifestation of the defect, its possible association with stroke is discussed. DNA analysis confirmed the presence of the 1691GA mutation in the factor V gene (factor V Leiden) in all patients with a normalized APC sensitivity ratio of less than 0.70. In three cases the APC sensitivity ratios were very low (approximately 1.2), with a normalized APC sensitivity ratio of approximately 0.4. DNA analysis confirmed that these patients were homozygous for the mutation. The clinical history of these patients suggests that homozygosity for the defect is compatible with life and does not seem to be associated with early or more severe thrombophilia compared with homozygous defects of other clotting inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: The cases reported here suggest a possible association of inherited APC resistance with ischemic stroke in young patients. Case-control studies should be performed to assess the true association.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Protein redistribution diet and antiparkinsonian response to levodopa.

Sixteen parkinsonian patients with daily fluctuations in the clinical response to levodopa have been placed on a redistribution protein diet. The diet was virtually protein-free until the evening meal and then unrestricted until bedtime. While on the redistribution protein diet, a group of patients (5 out of 16) had a clear and significant benefit from dietary therapy showing a definite reduction of diurnal motor performance fluctuations. In addition, all patients tended to show an improvement and a more constant response to levodopa treatment. A trial of redistribution protein diet appears a simple, reasonable, worthwhile approach to PD patients who begin to experience oscillating clinical response to levodopa treatment.

Aged↗

PubMed1986

Evaluation of chronic levodopa therapy in Parkinson's disease.

Levodopa is the most useful drug for treatment of Parkinson's disease today, even if a progressive decline of therapeutic activity with the appearance of important side affects is a well known feature of the long-term levodopa therapy. Here we report our 15 year experience on uninterrupted treatment with levodopa. Among parkinsonian patients two groups of parkinsonian patients can be distinguished, one of them is dopa-sensitive and the other one is dopa-insensitive. The direct dopaminergic agents showed to be effective in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, particularly in the treatment of patients who are no longer satisfactorily responding to levodopa. We suggest to keep the dose of levodopa low, using the minimal effective dosage, for an optimal long-term management.

Humans↗

PubMed1981

[Pharmacological influences on the brain level and transport of GABA. II) Effect of various psychoactive drugs on brain level and uptake of GABA].

The effects of some psychoactive drugs on the level and uptake of GABA in the mouse brain was studied using well standardized procedures, mainely the silica-gel cromatography for determining the GABA content and the brain slices for measuring GABA uptake. It was found that levomepromazine, sulpiride, haloperidol and amytryptiline were without effects on the cerebral level of GABA; it was also found that these drugs do not influence the rates of uptake of GABA by mouse brain slices. Such results do indicate that the psychoactive drugs studied are without effects on the level and uptake of GABA in the brain.

Amitriptyline↗

PubMed1981

Effect of antiepileptic drugs on the cerebral amino acid uptake in vitro.

The effects of four commonly used antiepileptic drugs (phenobarbital, diphenylhydantoin, clonazepam and dipropylacetate) on the uptake of amino acids were investigated in mouse cerebral slices. Phenobarbital and diphenylhydantoin showed a net influence on the transport of the neutral amino acids that are also precursors of monoamine neurotransmitters, increasing their uptake. A similar effect was observed for diphenylhydantoin on GABA uptake. The increase in phenylalanine and valine uptake induced by phenobarbital was at least partly due to a decreased release of these metabolites. No major effects were observed for clonazepam and dipropylacetate. Our findings seem to indicate that some antiepileptic drugs may influence cerebral transport of neurotransmitter substances; further investigations are needed to find out whether these effects play a role in the antiepileptic action of these drugs.

Absorption↗