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Biomedical subjects

M Velasco

Publications and source records attributed to M Velasco.

382 records · Page 22Linked to original sources

Reduction in oral mucosa micronuclei frequency following alpha-tocopherol treatment of oral leukoplakia.

Micronuclei frequency, a marker of genotoxicity, was studied within a trial of alpha-tocopherol for chemoprevention of oral leukoplakia. Oral swabs were obtained from two sites, the leukoplakia lesion and normal-appearing mucosa, at baseline and following 24 weeks of therapy with 400 international units of alpha-tocopherol twice daily. These specimens were analyzed for micronuclei frequency. The major risk factors for oral carcinogenesis in the group studied were cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. alpha-tocopherol therapy produced a significant reduction in micronuclei frequencies in specimens from both the visible lesions (P < 0.01) and the normal-appearing mucosa (P < 0.01). The micronuclei frequencies, both at baseline and following therapy, were greater in specimens taken from the lesion than in those from the normal-appearing mucosa. Although these results indicate that alpha-tocopherol has a beneficial effect in oral carcinogenesis, there was no significant clinical or histological response associated with the change in micronuclei frequency. Micronuclei frequency has not yet been validated as a biomarker for cancer incidence, and consequently, its utility as an intermediate end point for chemoprevention trials is not known. Determining clinical significance of micronuclei frequency patterns in oral carcinogenesis and chemoprevention will require further study.

Adult↗

[Increase of renal dopamine production induced by nifedipine in hypertensive patients. Double blind vs placebo study].

Dopamine is synthetized and excreted by kidneys, this amine exerts its natriuretic and diuretic effects by inhibition of sodium reabsorption on kidney convoluted tubules. The objective of this study was to verify the changes of dopamine urinary excretion induced by nifedipine-LP treatment in hypertensive patients. Twenty four patients with essential hypertension (stages 1, 2) were included in this double-blind, placebo controlled study. Twelve patients received nifedipine (average daily dose, 21.5 mg/day) for 4 weeks, and 12 patients received placebo for the same time period. No significant changes were detected upon nifedipine treatment neither in plasma biochemical nor hematological parameters. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was significantly reduced from pretreatment values 168.0 +/- 8.7 mmHg and 102.0 +/- 5.2 mmHg respectively, to end-treatment values 140.0 +/- 6.6 mmHg and 88.0 +/- 5.6 mmHg (p < 0.05). Placebo treatment did not modify SBP and DBP. Urinary dopamine excretion increased by 53% from 679.5 +/- 80.1 micrograms/24 h prior to treatment to 1040.0 +/- 110.1 micrograms/24 h after treatment (p < 0.009. 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference: -538.9 to -183.6). Urinary volume of nifedipine treated patients increased from 1613 +/- 85 mL/24 h to 1920 +/- 160 mL/24 h post-treatment (p < 0.05). No significant changes were observed in urinary noradrenaline and adrenaline excretion in nifedipine or placebo treated patients. Analysis of fluorescent light excitation and emission spectra (200 nm to 800 nm) of dopamine extracted from patient's urine submitted to nifedipine treatment did not reveal any interference when compared to chemically pure dopamine. If is concluded that nifedipine treatment of hypertensive patients increases kidney dopamine production which in turn can exert a natriuretic and diuretic effect besides its well known vasodilator properties.

Adult↗