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Biomedical subjects

P Greminger

Publications and source records attributed to P Greminger.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Effect of fish oil on blood pressure and serum lipids in hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.

We studied the antihypertensive and hypolipidaemic effects of fish oil containing eico-sapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in a capsule preparation in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension and in patients with hypercholesterolaemia. In addition, we used two independent procedures to analyse changes in blood pressure, casual and self-recorded blood pressure measurements. A very moderate blood pressure lowering effect of fish oil was confirmed in this study, and a slight antihyperlipidaemic effect in plasma triglycerides was demonstrated. During the fish oil treatment, casual blood pressure values were consistently lower than self-recorded values. It is assumed that this was an observer error due to knowledge of the treatment.

Adult↗

[Malignant lymphomas in HIV-infected patients].

Eleven patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and three patients with Hodgkin's disease were observed among 876 anti-HIV-positive subjects attending the AIDS clinic at the University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland. Compared to the general population this represents a 50-fold (95% confidence limits: 25-90) increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and an 11.4-fold (2.3-33) increased risk for Hodgkin's disease in anti-HIV-positive men. High malignancy, advanced stage of disease at the time of diagnosis, and extranodal localization are characteristic of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in AIDS patients, which carries a poor prognosis. However, remissions and prolonged disease-free survival are possible in individual cases. Only one opportunistic infection was observed during 92 months of treatment and observation using a mild chemotherapeutic regimen (m-BACOD). Less myelosuppressive chemotherapeutic schedules appear to be more beneficial than aggressive regimens in anti-HIV-positive patients due to the lower incidence of opportunistic infections.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

[Mycobacterioses in patients with HIV infection].

Mycobacterial infections were confirmed in 629 HIV-infected persons (1.4%). Five patients had a generalized infection with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), four an extrapulmonary tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tbc). In general, the tuberculosis was the first severe opportunistic infection, while infections with MAC were more frequent in patients with already manifest AIDS. Common to all patients were a septic temperature and definite shift to the left of neutrophil granulocytes. Four of five patients with MAC also had diarrhoea, and three of four with tuberculosis additionally had peripheral lymphomas. The chest x-ray films were normal in six of the nine patients. The diagnosis was made in six patients primarily by the microscopic demonstration of acid-fast bacteria in lymph node tissue or stool, in three patients by culture from blood or liver tissue. Microscopic stool examination was helpful: in three of five patients with MAC and one of two with M. tbc in the stool culture, acid-fast bacteria had already been demonstrated. In an individual case MAC infections could not be distinguished either clinically or morphologically from infections with M. tbc, but only by culture.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

[ACE inhibitors in the diagnosis and therapy of various forms of hypertension].

The diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of ACE inhibitors in patients with various forms of hypertension are discussed. The immediate blood pressure reduction after administration of an ACE inhibitor is significantly more marked in patients with renovascular than with essential hypertension. However, analysis of the individual blood pressure response after captopril does not allow a clear distinction between these two forms of hypertension. In patients with moderate hypertension the reduction of blood pressure with ACE inhibitors is similar to that with betablockers. Their use as a first step agent in moderate hypertension, however, is limited to selected patients. In severe drug-resistant hypertension treatment with ACE inhibitors is well established. Cases with renovascular hypertension may suffer a deterioration of renal function under ACE inhibitors. Other side effects are uncommon where renal function is normal or where the dose is adapted to the decreased glomerular filtration rate.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

The neglected time factor and antihypertensive therapy. A pitfall in evaluating side effects in a cross-over study.

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of a time factor that may lead to inaccurate interpretation of data on the incidence of side effects in a double-blind study with drug cross-over. After a washout period, 58 patients with essential hypertension received either 20 mg of enalapril or 50 mg of atenolol. After two weeks, the dosage was doubled (to 40 mg of enalapril and 100 mg of atenolol) in those patients with diastolic blood pressure higher than 95 mm Hg. After four weeks of active treatment and a second two-week washout period, patients received the alternative antihypertensive agent under the same procedure and time schedule as in the first treatment phase. Four patients dropped out. Side effects were evaluated by questionnaire at weeks 2, 4, 8, and 10. In the 54 patients who completed the study, enalapril and atenolol led to almost identical blood pressure reduction in both treatment phases, indicating that pooling these data is a sound method. However, incidence of side effects was twice as high in phase 1 as in phase 2 and markedly decreased in each treatment phase, with no differences being observed between enalapril and atenolol. These results clearly demonstrate that pooling side effects data from a cross-over study may lead to quite wrong interpretations.

Antihypertensive Agents↗

Haemodynamics at rest and during isometric exercise under long-term treatment with captopril in dilated and ischaemic cardiomyopathy.

In the present study 12 patients with severe chronic heart failure (7 with dilated cardiomyopathy and 5 with ischaemic heart disease) underwent right heart catheterization at rest and during isometric exercise by handgrip before and 6 months after treatment with captopril (mean dose 2 X 39.6 mg/day) while concomitant digitalis and diuretics were unchanged. After 6 months resting haemodynamics changed as follows: decrease in heart rate, mean arterial pressure, pulmonary capillary pressure and total vascular resistance; increase in stroke volume index and stroke work index. During handgrip the following changes were observed after captopril: decrease in total vascular resistance; increase in stroke volume index and stroke work index. Before captopril 11 patients showed no increase or even a decrease in stroke work index during isometric exercise, whereas after captopril 5 out of the 12 patients showed an increase in stroke work index. The results demonstrate that in patients with severe chronic heart failure long-term treatment with captopril lowers preload and afterload, which is accompanied by a significant improvement in left ventricular performance at rest. Furthermore, during isometric exercise after captopril an improvement in left ventricular function was found in 5 out of 12 patients.

Captopril↗

ACE inhibitor versus beta-blocker in the treatment of essential hypertension.

It is to be expected that in the near future the success or failure of antihypertensive substances will be mainly determined by their spectrum of side effects so long as their antihypertensive efficacy is comparable. This double-blind study with crossover of enalapril and atenolol in 58 mild to moderate hypertensive patients is, as far as we know, the first clinical trial evaluating next to the antihypertensive efficacy also compliance and side effects. On the grounds of excellent compliance results (ca. 95%) blood pressure values as well as the incidence of side effects can be assumed to be accurate. Our results show that the antihypertensive efficacy of enalapril is comparable to that of atenolol. The number of patients with side effects did not differ significantly between enalapril and atenolol.

Adult↗