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S Ezzat

Publications and source records attributed to S Ezzat.

84 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Growth hormone regulation in primary fetal and neonatal rat pituitary cell cultures: the role of thyroid hormone.

GH is first detectable in the fetal rat pituitary between gestational days 18 and 19. The reasons for the GH surge soon after birth and subsequent postnatal decline to adult levels remain unclear. We therefore determined whether GH gene regulation in the developing pituitary could be distinguished from adult rat somatotroph function. In primary cultures of fetal and neonatal rat pituitary cells, GH secretion was detected by the 20th gestational day. These cells were stimulated by GH-releasing hormone (GHRH), but not by T3 or the morphogen retinoic acid. The stimulatory effect of T3 (0.25 mM) on GH secretion was detected only on the 2nd neonatal day and was similar to that seen in mature rat pituitary cell cultures. GHRH (10 nM) treatment for 24 h caused a 5-fold induction of GH secretion in pituitary cells derived from 2-, 5-, and 12-day-old neonatal rats. The presence or absence of T3 in the culture medium did not alter the response to GHRH. In contrast, only 2-fold induction of GH was observed in adult male pituitary cells during the same time course. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I; 6.5 nM), the peripheral target hormone for GH, resulted in a modest (20%) attenuation of GH secretion from pituitary cells derived from 20-day-old fetuses. IGF-I, however, produced a 70% reduction in GH levels in adult male pituitary cells grown under similar conditions. The effects of IGF-I on adult pituitary cells grown in T3-depleted medium were blunted. Addition of T3 partially restored the responsiveness of these cells to IGF-I. The results suggest that the high circulating GH levels in the fetal and neonatal rat may be secondary to relative insensitivity of the immature somatotroph to the inhibitory actions of IGF-I in addition to enhanced responsiveness to GHRH compared with the adult rat pituitary. Relative thyroid hormone deficiency in the immature rat may be contributory to this early transient state of pituitary IGF-I resistance.

Aging↗

Octreotide stimulates insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) levels in acromegaly.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) circulate in a complexed state with several binding proteins (BPs). Of these, IGFBP-1 is regulated by hormonal and nutritional factors. The somatostatin analogue, octreotide, has been used to effectively control hypersomaototropism in acromegaly. IGFBP-1 levels were measured by RIA in 17 acromegalic patients receiving octreotide. Serum hormone sampling was conducted hourly for 8 hr periods. Among 13 octreotide responders, mean pre-treatment basal GH, IGF-1, and IGFBP-1 levels were 19 +/- 5 micrograms/L, 1021 +/- 168 micrograms/L, and 36 +/- 8 micrograms/L respectively. One month following octreotide treatment, an acute subcutaneous injection (100 micrograms) maximally attenuated GH to 3 +/- 0.6 microgram/L (18% of control, P less than 0.03) and IGF-1 to 467 +/- 75 micrograms/L (46% of control, P less than 0.008) after 4 hrs. IGFBP-1 levels, however, were stimulated to 95 +/- 16 micrograms/L (297% of control, P less than 0.003) during the same time period. A significant increase in IGFBP-1 levels occurred within 2 hrs (158% of baseline, P less than 0.03), and was sustained until the 7th hr following injection. Insulin, a known suppressor of IGFBP-1, did not change during this time. Among the 4 octreotide non-responders, mean basal IGFBP-1 levels were 42 +/- 4 micrograms/L, and 4 hrs following octreotide administration IGFBP-1 was 40 +/- 7 micrograms/L. Octreotide induced a dynamic inverse relationship between circulating GH and IGFBP-1 levels (r = -0.73, P less than 0.001). The absence of IGFBP-1 changes in octreotide non-responders and the non-suppression of insulin in octreotide responsive patients, suggest a direct GH-mediated mechanism of IGFBP-1 regulation in octreotide treated patients with acromegaly. IGFBP-1 may be another useful marker in evaluating the response of acromegaly to octreotide treatment in patients who experience clinical benefit but equivocal GH and IGF-1 attenuation.

Acromegaly↗

Cell proliferation in carcinoma in bilharzial bladder: influence of pre-operative irradiation and clinical implications.

Cell proliferation in carcinoma in the bilharzial bladder was studied in 92 patients in terms of the in vitro labeling index (LI), cell density (CD) and labeled cell density (LCD) using the in vitro 3H-Tdr technique. Cell proliferation was much greater in high than in low grade tumors and in deep than in superficial parts of the tumor, but was much less dependent on cell type; transitional cell cancer had the highest activity followed by squamous cell and adenocarcinoma. The probability of local recurrence after cystectomy decreased markedly when the LI exceeded 5.0%. The influence of the following three pre-operative radiotherapy regimens was studied: split-course (SC): the initial course consisted of 20 Gy in 10 treatments with a similar course was given after one week, hyper-fractionation using 17 treatments 0.6 Gy each on two successive days, this 2-day course of 20 Gy was repeated after one week, and concentrated irradiation consisting of two treatments, 6.0 Gy each with a gap of one week. Cystectomy was performed 14-20 days after treatment in all groups. Preoperative irradiation was generally associated with an increased probability of local control. The unfavorable influence of a high pretreatment LI was not noted after pre-operative irradiation. The CD was also reduced in proportion to the pretreatment LI. It is proposed that the response to irradiation was proportional to the initial proliferation activity and hence the prognostic significance of tumor grade and pretreatment LI was masked. Postirradiation tumor volume reduction was a strong predictor of treatment outcome. Concentrated irradiation was the least efficient pre-operative irradiation regimen and was associated with the least tumor volume reduction.

Carcinoma↗

The use of misonidazole in association with a three-fractions per day regimen in advanced head and neck epidermoid cancer. A pilot study.

Twenty-one patients with Stage III or IV head and neck epidermoid cancer were treated by a three-fractions per day radiotherapy regime plus misonidazole (MIS). An initial course of 45 Gy was used, spread over 12 days and divided into 30 fractions 1.5 Gy each with a 3-hour interval between fractions. A daily MIS dose of 1 g/m2 was given 2 hours prior to the first fraction. A boost dose of 22.5 Gy/5 days was given to 10 patients, 4 weeks after the initial course, using the same fractionation scheme. The local acute and chronic reactions were acceptable. Eight patients suffered mild reversible peripheral neuropathy. The mean MIS blood level corresponded to an enhancement ratio of about 1.45. The 1-year disease-free survival rate was 9/21 and was significantly greater in patients receiving the boost irradiation. The control rate of nodal disease was encouraging. Based on this pilot study, a prospective trial is proposed aiming at testing the usefulness of MIS in MDF regimens in advanced head and neck cancer, either as the sole method of treatment or as a preoperative measure.

Adult↗

Misonidazole in the preoperative and radical radiotherapy of bladder cancer.

Measurement of intercapillary distances suggests the presence of significant cell hypoxia in Bilharzial bladder cancer. This tumor seems to be capable of reoxygenation in view of the existence of a correlation between prognosis and immediate tumor shrinkage after irradiation. Two programs are presented: 1) Use of misonidazole with concentrated preoperative irradiation where the reoxygenation properties are not used fully. A prospective randomized study is presented whereby cystectomy alone is compared with cystectomy plus preoperative irradiation (6.5 Gy X 2F/1 week) with or without misonidazole. the drug is given either orally (in two doses 3 g/m2 each given 3.5 hours prior to each fraction; blood levels: 90-110 micrograms/ml) or intravesically. The intravesical administration is designed in the light of penetration studies and seems to have the advantage of the complete lack of systemic drug toxicity. Twenty-eight patients were included in this study and no drug toxicity was recorded. A second preoperative irradiation study is presented whereby cystectomy alone is compared with cystectomy plus preoperative irradiation (4.0 Gy X 5F) with or without misonidazole in individual doses of 2 g/m2. 2) Two radical radiotherapy regimes are presented. One protocol involves a split course (SC) protracted regime making full use of spontaneous reoxygenation. The drug is given in 0.5 g/m2 daily doses (total dose 14 g/m2 spread over 61 days, blood level: 15-20 micrograms/ml). A second protocol involves hyperfractionation stimulating continuous low-dose-rate irradiation. Higher blood levels are attained (60-80 micrograms/ml) after daily doses of 2 g/m2 (total dose: 14 g/m2 spread over 35 days). In a phase II study using SC technic, reversible grade 1 peripheral neuropathy was encountered in 5 of 22 patients. Complete tumor regression 3 months after irradiation was achieved in 18 of 22 patients with 3T tumors. No neuropathy was encountered in four patients subjected to the HF regimen who also showed complete tumor regression.

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug↗

The results of surgical treatment of spondylotic radiculomyelopathy with complete cervical laminectomy and posterior foramen magnum decompression.

Twenty-six patients with cervical spondylosis and radiculomyelopathy were treated surgically. Eight patients had cervical laminectomy C1--C7, and 16 patients had complete cervical laminectomy C1--C7 with excision of the posterior rim of the foramen magnum. Follow-up of patients was from two months to eight years. The majority of patients improved markedly, and some of them had excellent results.

Adult↗

Cell proliferation of carcinoma in Bilharzial bladder: an autoradiographic study.

The rate of cell production in thirty-five cases of carcinoma in Bilharzial bladder was evaluated from the labelling index after in vitro incubation with [3H]TdR. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most frequent histological type in this series and had a median LI of 8.0% which corresponds to a potential doubling time of 5.9 days. In squamous cell tumours the LI increased with the histological grade. Transitional cell tumours had a somewhat greater LI. In all histological types the LI was significantly greater in the deep infiltrating parts of the tumour than in the superficial parts. The discrepancy between the estimated potential doubling time and the growth rate normally attributed to such tumours suggests the existence of an extensive cell loss factor. Areas of focal or diffuse mucosal hyperplasia were associated with increased LI.

Autoradiography↗

Longitudinal assessment of economic burden and clinical outcomes in acromegaly.

OBJECTIVE: To determine costs and outcomes over time for surgical and various medical regimens in the management of patients with acromegaly. METHODS: We studied a sample of 53 consecutive Canadian patients with acromegaly who underwent a transsphenoidal pituitary surgical procedure only (N = 27) or in conjunction with medical therapy (N = 26). Outcomes were analyzed as person-months spent in various health state outcomes, which were defined on the basis of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I levels. Costs are reported in 1998 Canadian dollars. RESULTS: The mean duration of follow-up was 49 months. Of the 53 patients, 25 (47%) had microadenomas at admission. Patients spent as much as 65% of the time in "uncured" health states. Patients with less extensive disease had better outcomes. The mean annual cost per patient was $8,111 (95% confidence interval, $5,848 to $10,374). Medications were the largest contributor to overall cost (38%). Although per patient surgical costs themselves were high (ranging from approximately $2,800 to $9,200), when averaged over the 4 years the mean annual cost was approximately $2,400, less than the cost of medications. Treatment of macroadenomas cost more than treatment of microadenomas ($11,425 versus $4,442 annually). The treatment of acromegaly costs $14.7 million annually in Canada (95% confidence interval, $10.6 to $18.8 million) and, if patterns of care are similar, about $139 million annually in the United States. CONCLUSION: Treatment of acromegaly is no more costly than therapy for other chronic diseases, especially those with a surgical component. Early diagnosis (at the stage of microadenoma) resulted in better outcomes and lower costs. Thus, from the standpoint of economics and well-being, a continued aggressive attitude toward screening programs and treatment of persistently active acromegaly seems warranted.

Acromegaly↗