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Biomedical subjects

P L Costa

Publications and source records attributed to P L Costa.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Hymecromone in the treatment of motor disorders of the bile ducts: a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study.

Biliary dyskinesia is frequently encountered in clinical practice and is characterized by pain during or after meals. The present study was designed to assess the action of hymecromone in patients with motor disorders of the bile ducts. One hundred twenty-three patients (36 men and 87 women) were enrolled in the multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled study. The mean age was 60.3 years +/- 14.2 SD. Diagnosis was dyspepsia in 58 patients, dyskinesia in 59, cholelithiasis in five and hepatopathy in one. The patients were divided into two groups. One group (61 patients) was treated with hymecromone (300 mg tablets at a dosage of 1,200 mg/day, 2 tablets midday and evening) and another group (62 patients) was treated with placebo. Treatment lasted for 14 days. Control of dyspepsia and pain symptoms of biliary origin was more marked and constant with hymecromone than with placebo. By the end of the treatment, patients in the hymecromone group showed a 70.3% reduction in intensity of spontaneous abdominal pain, while the placebo group showed a 43.8% reduction. Hymecromone was well accepted by the patients and judged to be effective by the investigator in 88.5% of patients treated. The possibility of using hymecromone in 300-mg tablets in the treatment of motor disorders of the bile ducts is thus confirmed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

The renal and hepatic distribution of Bence Jones proteins depends on glycosylation: a scintigraphic study in rats.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate renal and liver distribution of two monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains. The chains were purified individually from the urine of patients with multiple myeloma and characterized as lambda light chains with a molecular mass of 28 kDa. They were named BJg (high amount of galactose residues exposed) and BJs (sialic acid residues exposed) on the basis of carbohydrate content. A scintigraphic study was performed on male Wistar rats weighing 250 g for 60 min after i.v. administration of 1 mg of each protein (7.4 MBq), as the intact proteins and also after carbohydrate oxidation. Images were obtained with a Siemens gamma camera with a high-resolution collimator and processed with a MicroDelta system. Hepatic and renal distribution were established and are reported as percent of injected dose. Liver uptake of BJg was significantly higher than liver uptake of BJs (94.3 vs 81.4%) (P < 0.05). This contributed to its greater removal from the intravascular compartment, and consequently lower kidney accumulation of BJg in comparison to BJs (5.7 vs 18.6%) (P < 0.05). After carbohydrate oxidation, there was a decrease in hepatic accumulation of both proteins and consequently a higher renal overload. The tissue distribution of periodate-treated BJg was similar to that of native BJs: 82.7 vs 81.4% in the liver and 17.3 vs 18.6% in the kidneys. These observations indicate the important role of sugar residues of Bence Jones proteins for their recognition by specific membrane receptors, which leads to differential tissue accumulation and possible toxicity.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Hepatocellular carcinoma. Prognostic factors and survival analysis in 135 Italian patients.

This is a retrospective study to evaluate the history of hepatocellular carcinoma and find the relationship between clinical, biochemical and ultrasonographic features and survival in Italian patients. In 135 consecutive patients median follow-up was 16 months (range 1-66 months) and median survival from the time of diagnosis was 12 months. Univariate analysis showed that individual variables associated with significantly decreased survival included: absence of therapy, Okuda's Stage III, Child-Pugh's Class C, alpha-fetoprotein greater than 400 ng/ml, presence of symptoms, moderate or severe ascites, tumor involving both lobes, mixed internal echo pattern, and multinodular or massive type. Multiple regression analysis (Cox model) revealed that the mixed internal echo pattern of hepatocellular carcinoma, the presence of moderate or severe ascites and Okuda's Stage III were independent predictors of high risk of death. These data can help in selecting patients whose probability of survival is considered high enough to undergo treatment and may be useful for stratifying patients in randomized controlled trials.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Air in the main pancreatic duct: demonstration with US.

Air in the pancreas--nearly always related to an abscess or a pancreatic fistula--is rarely demonstrated. Over a 3-year period, the authors detected air in the main pancreatic duct with ultrasonography (US) in 11 patients. The ductal caliber was normal in five patients and dilated in six. At US, air in the main pancreatic duct is characterized by strongly echogenic foci or echogenic lines in the duct, casting acoustic shadows or producing reverberation artifacts. It is likely that in patients who have biliary-enteric anastomoses or have undergone sphincterotomy, air in the duct of Wirsung is the result of biliary-pancreatic reflux. In patients who have not undergone such operations, the likely cause of pancreatic gas is duodenal-pancreatic duct reflux. Pancreatic gas may be related to causes other than a pancreatic abscess or fistula; it is therefore important for clinicians to realize that pancreatic ductal gas seen on US images may be secondary to prior surgery or due to sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Action of secretin on pancreatic enzyme secretion in man. Studies on pure pancreatic juice.

The action of pure, natural secretin on the pancreatic secretion of enzymes was investigated in six patients with external transduodenal drainage of the main pancreatic duct performed after biliary tract surgery. Secretin infused for five successive 50 minute periods at increasing doses of 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 0.9 and 2.7 clinical units (CU)/kg/h, produce a dose dependent increase in protein and lipase output. A weak but significant (p less than 0.02) increase of enzyme output above the fasting level was already observed with the lowest dose. The maximal output of protein and lipase, observed with the highest dose of secretin infused, corresponded to about 50% of that induced by maximal doses of cerulein (100 ng/kg/h) plus secretin (1 CU/kg/h). As far as bicarbonate is concerned, the lowest dose of secretin (0.03 CU/kg/h) significantly (p less than 0.001) stimulated bicarbonate output. The dose of 0.9 CU/kg/h of secretin evoked a bicarbonate output of 526 +/- 49 micromol/min; trebling the dose of secretin did not significantly increase the output of bicarbonate above this value. Increasing doses of secretin induced a dose related increase in calcium output. There was a close parallel between calcium and protein outputs, suggesting that the increase in calcium output reflected primarily an increase in the enzyme-associated fraction of pancreatic juice calcium. It is concluded that secretin stimulates pancreatic enzyme secretion in man probably by a direct action on the acinar cells.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Cardiovascular lesions in chronic pancreatitis: a prospective study.

We prospectively investigated fifty-four consecutive patients with proven chronic pancreatitis and 54 control subjects for the presence of cardiovascular lesions. Clinical and laboratory evidence of arterial involvement was found in 18 patients (33%) and in five controls (9%) (P less than 0.01). Electrocardiographic alterations indicating coronary heart disease were found in eight patients and in three controls, and peripheral symptoms and signs indicating obliterative atherosclerotic disease of the lower extremities were found in 12 patients (two had associated electrocardiographic changes) and in two controls. No significant differences in the prevalence of the major vascular risk factors were observed between patients with vascular lesions and those without, and between patients and control subjects. It is concluded that patients with chronic pancreatitis have more frequent cardiovascular lesions which tent to develop at an earlier age, compared to the general population. The possibility that chronic pancreatitis may favor the development of these lesions is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Effects of morphine on human pancreatic secretion: studies on pure pancreatic juice.

Data concerning the effects of morphine on human pancreatic secretion are fragmentary and inconclusive. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of morphine on pure pancreatic secretion in nine subjects with external transduodenal drainage of the main pancreatic duct performed after biliary tract surgery. Intravenous infusion of a small dose of morphine, 40 microgram/kg/h, during pancreatic stimulation with secretin and cholecystokinin, caused a significant increase in volume, bicarbonate, and calcium secretion, and a significant decrease in protein secretion. The stimulatory effect on water and electrolyte secretion was rapid and much more pronounced, reaching about 45-50% of the control levels, whereas the inhibition of protein output was slightly delayed and of lesser magnitude, reaching about 20-25% of the control values. Both effects were long-lasting. The addition of naloxone, potent opiate antagonist, prevented in part the effects of morphine on pancreatic secretion, suggesting that specific opiate receptors might be involved in these effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Cortisol and pancreatic secretion. Observations on pure pancreatic juice.

In view of the conflicting results in the literature, we undertook a study of the effects of intravenous administration of control on the external secretion of the pancreas. The study was carried out in five subjects with external transduodenal drainage of the main pancreatic duct, performed after biliary tract surgery. The intravenous injection of cortisol, 100 mg, during a constant intravenous infusion of secretin and cholecystokinin did not cause any significant change in pancreatic secretion. The results do not confirm previous findings in man indicating an inhibitory effect of glucocorticoids given intravenously on exocrine pancreatic secretion.

Female↗
PubMed1980

Serum gastrin in chronic pancreatitis.

Fasting serum gastrin and gastrin response to a protein meal were measured in a group of patients with chronic pancreatitis and in controls. No significant differences were found between the two groups of subjects. In patients with chronic pancreatitis no relation was found between gastrin release and the severity of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Exocrine pancreatic function after total gastrectomy.

The secretion of bicarbonate, lipase, and chymotrypsin into the duodenum in response to exogenous stimulation with secretin, 1 CU/kg-h, plus caerulein, 100 ng/kg-h, was investigated in 12 patients, on an average, 20.7 months after total gastrectomy and in 14 control subjects. The secretion of bicarbonate and lipase was significantly lower in patients than in controls. The reduction in outputs compared with the control values was 47.9%, 38.7%, and 24.2% respectively for bicarbonate, lipase, and chymotrypsin. Eight of the 12 patients (67%) had steatorrhoea. No significant correlation was found between this parameter and lipase output. It is concluded that the exocrine pancreatic function is impaired in the majority of patients subjected to total gastrectomy. The impairment, which particularly affects bicarbonate and lipase, is generally mild to moderate.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

A comparison between injection and infusion of pancreatic stimulants in the diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

Exocrine pancreatic function was studied by rapid intravenous injection and by prolonged intravenous infusion of a combination of secretin and caerulein in a group of patients with proven pancreatic disease and in controls. The aim was to compare the value of the two procedures of stimulation in the diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Results showed that the pancreatic response to infusion of the stimulants discriminates normal from abnormal pancreatic function better than responses to rapid injection.

Adolescent↗