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Biomedical subjects

R E Gray

Publications and source records attributed to R E Gray.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Diphosphonates and phosphate homoeostasis in man.

1. The effects of three intravenous diphosphonates (etidronate, clodronate and aminohexane diphosphonate) on phosphate homoeostasis were studied in 30 patients with Paget's disease of bone and in three patients with hypoparathyroidism. 2. In Paget's disease, all three diphosphonates induced significant increases in serum phosphate and renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate. This effect was most marked and persistent after etidronate, whereas in the clodronate- and aminohexane diphosphonate-treated patients the increases were less, of shorter duration and followed thereafter by significant decreases in serum phosphate and renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate. Unlike etidronate, both clodronate and aminohexane diphosphonate caused a significant reduction in serum and urinary calcium, with appropriate homoeostatic increases in immunoassayable parathyroid hormone. 3. Phosphaturic responses to infused parathyroid hormone were observed in two patients with etidronate-induced hyperphosphataemia. 4. In three hypoparathyroid patients, clodronate induced a more marked increase in serum phosphate and renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate than in Paget's disease, which was of comparable degree but of shorter duration than that after etidronate in Paget's disease. 5. These findings suggest that all three diphosphonates increase renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate, but that this effect is attenuated with those diphosphonates which induce secondary hyperparathyroidism.

Diphosphonates↗
PubMed1987

Effects of intravenous etidronate disodium on skeletal and calcium metabolism.

The induction of hypercalcemia in malignant disease is almost invariably associated with increased bone resorption. However, tumor-induced changes in bone formation and renal tubular resorption of calcium are also important factors that induce hypercalcemia in some patients. In addition, alterations in calcium fluxes to and from the extracellular fluid secondary to hypercalcemia are important in maintaining or aggravating the hypercalcemic effects of increased bone resorption. These factors significantly affect the responses to treatment of hypercalcemia with inhibitors of bone resorption. This study examined the relative importance of these factors and the effects of intravenous etidronate disodium (etidronate) in neoplastic bone disease with and without hypercalcemia and in Paget's disease of bone. It is concluded that intravenous etidronate is an effective inhibitor of bone resorption, which accounts in large measure for its effects on serum calcium concentrations. These studies of etidronate in hypercalcemia suggest the response is sustained for several weeks.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Aminohexane diphosphonate in the treatment of Paget's disease of bone.

We studied the effects of the intravenous or oral administration of aminohexane diphosphonate (AHDP) in 42 patients with active Paget's disease of bone. Treatment of mouth (400 mg daily for 1 month) or intravenously (25 mg or 50 mg daily for 5 days) induced marked suppression of biochemical indices of disease activity. Urinary excretion of hydroxyproline fell to 39 and 42% of pretreatment values (oral and IV treatments respectively), and was followed by a similar decrease in the serum activity of alkaline phosphatase. In both groups of patients, disease activity remained suppressed for the 6 months of followup, and pain improved in 34 out of 37 patients who had bone pain attributed to Paget's disease. Both biopsies indicated that osteoblast and osteoclast numbers decreased with no adverse effects on mineralization. Neither regime was associated with significant side effects. We conclude that short courses of AHDP provide a promising treatment for the long-term control of Paget's disease.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1987

Long-term follow-up observations on treatment in Paget's disease of bone.

The development of specific inhibitors of bone resorption has revolutionized the treatment of Paget's disease. The diphosphonates, the calcitonins, and mithramycin are capable of inducing marked suppression of disease activity for prolonged periods as judged by biochemical, kinetic, and histologic techniques. Whereas the effects of the calcitonins and mithramycin persist only for the duration of treatment, diphosphonate treatment consistently results in a reduction of disease activity for many months or even years after stopping treatment. The question arises whether the long-term control of the disease activity confers significant clinical advantages to the patient. Relief of bone pain, spinal neurologic syndromes, immobilization hypercalcemia, and high-output cardiac failure are related to the degree of biochemical control attained by treatment. New bone formed during treatment is lamellar and radiologic progression of disease is favorably modified. It is not yet known whether long-term treatment will decrease bone enlargement and deformity or reduce the risk of fracture.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1987

Treatment of the hypercalcaemia of malignancy with intravenous clodronate.

We studied the effects of intravenous clodronate (100-300 mg daily for 3-10 days) in 27 episodes of hypercalcaemia due to malignancy. Comparisons were also made between responses in patients with haematological malignancies and those with solid tumours. Following extracellular volume expansion, clodronate induced a significant decrease in serum calcium within 2 days of the start of treatment which was maximal at 7 days. This was associated with a decrease in bone resorption as judged by decreases in urinary excretion of hydroxyproline and calcium. Hypercalcaemia recurred 5-7 days after stopping treatment. Patients with solid tumours had higher pretreatment serum calcium values than those with haematological malignancies despite comparable values for fasting urinary excretion of calcium suggesting that renal tubular reabsorption of calcium was more markedly increased in patients with solid tumours. No difference was observed in the final calcium values between patients with solid tumours and haematological malignancies except in those patients in whom renal tubular reabsorption of calcium was markedly increased before treatment. We conclude that intravenous clodronate provides a safe and effective treatment of hypercalcaemia due to a wide range of tumour types provided that increased bone resorption contributes significantly to the hypercalcaemia. When increased renal reabsorption of calcium is the predominant mechanism for the maintenance of hypercalcaemia, the response to clodronate is incomplete.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Clodronate in the medical management of hyperparathyroidism.

The skeletal manifestations of hyperparathyroidism are due to the stimulation of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption by high circulating concentrations of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Since diphosphonates inhibit PTH-mediated bone resorption, we assessed the effects of clodronate in 42 patients with hypercalcaemia and increased bone resorption due to primary hyperparathyroidism (20 patients), secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic renal failure (12 patients on haemodialysis replacement therapy) and tertiary hyperparathyroidism following successful renal transplantation (10 patients). Clodronate (0.8-1.6 g daily by mouth or 300 mg given as an intravenous infusion following five consecutive dialysis treatments) significantly decreased serum calcium and biochemical indices of bone resorption in the three groups studied. In primary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism, serum calcium values remained above the upper limit of the reference range despite suppression of bone resorption due to the unopposed effect of PTH on renal tubular reabsorption of calcium. Prolonged treatment (3 months) was associated with a partial recurrence of hypercalcaemia in 8 of 12 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism despite continued effects on bone resorption, possibly due to a secondary decrease in bone formation. These studies indicate that clodronate is capable of suppressing PTH-mediated bone resorption in disorders of parathyroid secretion and may prove to be a useful adjunct in their medical management.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1987

Duration of effect of oral diphosphonate therapy in Paget's disease of bone.

The effects of the diphosphonates etidronate and clodronate were studied in 144 patients with Paget's disease. All five programmes of treatment tested induced a similar suppression of disease activity as judged by serum alkaline phosphatase concentrations, but the proportion of patients responding and the duration of responses differed significantly between programmes. The proportion responding to etidronate 5-10 mg/kg/day for six months was less than for other regimens, and the most sustained response was after treatment with clodronate 1600 mg daily for six months. More complete biochemical suppression was associated with the more prolonged responses irrespective of the regimen used.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1986

Effective short term treatment of Paget's disease with oral etidronate.

Twelve patients with Paget's disease of bone were treated with high doses of disodium etidronate for one month and compared with patients given treatments for longer periods. The effects of treatment for one month with etidronate 20 mg/kg daily were indistinguishable from six months' continuous treatment with the same dose but significantly better than treatment with 5 mg/kg daily in suppressing biochemical indices of disease activity. Treatment for one month was associated with transient osteomalacia but sustained suppression of bone resorption. Short term treatments with high doses of disodium etidronate may maximise suppression of disease activity but decrease exposure to unwanted effects.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1986

Giant inguinal hernia.

We have presented a case of massive scrotal hernia containing the entire mesenteric small bowel and the entire colon. Review of the literature reveals that such extensive hernias are rare and that their surgical repair is often difficult because of loss of domain.

Abscess↗
PubMed1985

Mechanism of malignant hypercalcaemia in carcinoma of the breast.

To investigate the mechanisms of hypercalcaemia in carcinoma of the breast, 22 patients with hypercalcaemia due to metastatic carcinoma were studied and the findings compared with those obtained in normal subjects and patients with benign and malignant breast disease without hypercalcaemia. As expected, patients with metastases of bone showed biochemical evidence of increased bone resorption. Whereas all patients with hypercalcaemia had skeletal metastases, not all patients with skeletal metastases had hypercalcaemia despite considerable degrees of bone resorption. The presence of hypercalcaemia was associated with a significant increase in renal tubular reabsorption of calcium (p less than 0.001) and decreased reabsorption of phosphate (p less than 0.001) despite adequate rehydration of patients. These studies suggest that increased renal tubular reabsorption of calcium, possibly mediated by a humoral factor with activity similar to that of parathyroid hormone, contributes appreciably to the hypercalcaemia of malignant breast disease.

Absorption↗
PubMed1985

Intravenous clodronate in the treatment and retreatment of Paget's disease of bone.

The effects of short courses (5 days) of intravenous clodronate 300 mg daily were studied in 31 patients with active Paget's disease of bone. The diphosphonate induced a striking reduction in biochemical indices of disease activity, which was sustained for at least 6 months after withdrawal of treatment. Apparent resistance to further treatment in patients previously treated for Paget's disease was an artefact due to incomplete relapse before retreatment. There was no significant difference in the degree of suppression of alkaline phosphatase activity between patients given intravenous clodronate and 45 patients given clodronate 1.6 g daily by mouth for 6 months. Short-term intravenous clodronate provides a useful alternative strategy for the treatment of patients with Paget's disease.

Administration, Oral↗