Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to N Ragni.
Ultrasound can provide important information for the assessment of cervical incompetence (C.I.) and for the follow-up of pregnant women submitted to a cervical cerclage. Attention must be paid to the technical problems involved in the examination and the physiological variations in anatomical configuration must be taken into account.
Carboplatin (JM8), a new cisdiamminodichloroplatin (CDDP) analogue, has exhibited the same antitumor as CDDP. In our pilot study, aiming at optimizing the dosage of this drug in a combination regimen with other chemotherapics, we planned to evaluate the existence of drug related damage on cochleo-vestibular structures. The study was performed on 9 patients suffering from advanced ovarian carcinoma. The results obtained in our study showed that patients undergoing carboplatin chemotherapy do not require an audiometric check-up. In order to assess definitely the existence of vestibular toxicity of this drug, larger studies planned to test JM8 in a high-dosage regimen are desirable.
21 women with menopausal disorders were given veralipride, which is a benzamide derivative having a central anti-dopaminergic action. The LH, FSH and PRL plasma levels were controlled before and after treatment. Treatment, using veralipride at a daily dose of 100 mg for 20 days, improved the climacteric syndrome, and, in particular, the sudden hot flushes. The FSH plasma levels remained unchanged, the LH levels were reduced, although they remained high, and the PRL levels increased during the course of the treatment.
The metabolic effects of a widely used betamimetic agent (ritodrine) were studied in two groups of pregnant patients with abnormal glucose tolerance. No significance modification of various metabolic parameters was detected when the drug was orally administered in standard doses for at least 1 week. The possible reasons for this finding are discussed. Following the absence of any diabetogenic effect, a prolonged use of betamimetics to achieve tocolysis seems to be safe even in patients with metabolic disorders.
The Authors suggest a simple, inexpensive and accurate method to evaluate the sigmoid and rectal radiodoses delivered by brachitherapy in the treatment of cervical neoplasia.
The authors evaluate the reliability of computed axial tomography in the staging of cervical cancer. This technique, neither invasive nor dangerous for the patient allowed to define better the involvement of perirectal fat tissue and of the external layer of the rectal wall. On the other hand it has some limits, in particular it is aspecific and unable to define exactly morphological changes of lymph-nodes and other structures.
We have used a derivative of PGE2, sulprostone, to induce abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy in 26 women. 500 micrograms of sulprostone were administered i.m. every four or six hours and clinical rating of the efficiency of the treatment was done using a scale ranging from 20 to 100. FSH, prolactin, 17-beta-estradiol, progesterone, hPL and beta-hCG plasma levels were monitored during treatment. The drug was effective in 20 cases (79.9%) while in three cases additional administration of oxytocin was necessary and in three cases no effect was seen. Treatment was interrupted, due to the appearance of unpleasant side effects, in only one case. No specific variation in hormone levels was seen. In three cases in which only two doses of the drug were sufficient to induce abortion, hormone levels dropped more rapidly and to a greater extent than in the remaining cases. A correlation exist between the rate of decrease in progesterone and 17-beta-estradiol plasma levels and the time required for the treatment to induce abortion.
Twenty-one women were given mezlocillin for the treatment or prevention of infections after obstetric and gynecological surgery. Ten women had active infections caused by Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, or Streptococcus faecalis. They had a 90% rate of recovery after an average of seven days of treatment with 6 to 15 gm/day of mezlocillin. The other 11 women were given mezlocillin prophylactically, 2 gm every 12 hours for seven days. All had good postoperative courses without complications caused by infections. Among both groups only three adverse reactions occurred, two instances of rash and one case of moderate diarrhea. All resolved spontaneously without discontinuation of treatment.
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The effects of lisuride (Schering) and bromocriptine (Parlodel, Sandoz), two dopaminergic drugs, on the inhibition of puerperal lactation were compared in a double-blind study. At the dosages selected, lisuride was as effective as bromocriptine for the inhibition of lactation but bromocriptine was more effective in lowering serum prolactin levels.
The efficacy and safety of mezlocillin, a new broad-spectrum semisynthetic penicillin, were compared with those of carbenicillin in a nonblind, controlled clinical study in 89 adult patients. The infections treated were primarily those of the urinary tract, skin, and gastrointestinal or hepatobiliary tract. Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus morganii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the causative organisms isolated most frequently. A complete resolution of signs and symptoms was achieved in 78% of the mezlocillin patients and in 71% of the carbenicillin patients. In the mezlocillin group, causative organisms were eliminated in 80% of the courses, and in the carbenicillin group the elimination rate was 86%. Two adverse reactions, rash and diarrhea, were reported in mezlocillin-treated patients; none were reported for the carbenicillin group.
After a rapid examination of the international literature concerning human, animal, histological and epidemiological experimental data, the Authors state that the use of oral contraceptives considerably reduces the risk of benign disease of the breast. This risk reduction seems to be connected to the presence of progestin in this type of contraception. The Authors then expound the data regarding a group of patients (3527), who came to the center for the diagosis and prevention of cancer of the breast at the S. Martino hospital of Genoa during the years 1977-1980. The results of the study are comparable to those found in international literature, in that they confirm the protective effect of hormonal contraception on benign pathology of the breast. Finally we have shown the data of the retrospective and prospective studies conducted up till now on the effects of hormonal contraception on malignant breast pathology. In conclusion we have shown which lines of study should be taken in order to clarify once and for all the links existing between estroprogestins and cancer of the breast.
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The effects of ritodrine infusion on the cardiovascular system of six women in threatened or premature labour are reported. In contrast to other betamimetics, ritodrine caused a moderate rise in systolic blood pressure, the corresponding fall in diastolic pressure leading to a widened pulse pressure but no risk of hypotension. Ritodrine caused a rise in cardiac output, and was well tolerated by the patients. Special care should be taken in treating patients with known heart disease.
Lisuride, a new semisynthetic ergot derivative, was given to 53 women to inhibit lactation; 26 women had 300 micrograms daily and 27 had 600 micrograms daily for seven days. Eight lactating women acted as controls. Lisuride effectively inhibited lactation and also suppressed the serum prolactin levels; the latter effect was dose related. Lisuride produced no untoward side effects.
Intravenous injections of 50 mg dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were given to 7 women with normal pregnancies and 5 with pathologic pregnancies and the serum levels of 17 beta-estradiol and estetrol were assayed before and at 15 or 30-minute intervals for three hours after the injection. All tests were carried out during the 25th to 36th week of amenorrhea. Serum estradiol rose rapidly in normal subjects and remained high to the end of the test. In patients with gestational pathology the estradiol pattern was not significantly different from that of the controls. Esterol plasma levels showed a biphasic pattern with an initial rise at 30 min. and a second rise at 90 min. in normal pregnancies, whereas in pathologic pregnancies this response was either lacking completely or was markedly reduced compared to the controls.