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Biomedical subjects

S Seminara

Publications and source records attributed to S Seminara.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Oral clonidine: an effective provocative test of growth hormone release.

The authors tested the efficiency of clonidine as a stimulant for growth hormone (GH) release in a group of 31 undersized children aged from four to fourteen years. The efficacy of clonidine was compared with insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, which has so far been considered the most valid test for somatotropic function measurement. The average GH peak after clonidine was 13.7 +/- 1.9 ng/ml, while after insulin it was only 7.0 +/- 0.9 ng/ml. The number of patients responding to clonidine and insulin reacting with GH values below 5, between 5 and 8, and higher than 8 ng/ml were reported, and the difference between the two sets of values was found to be statistically significant (p less than 0,01) in favour of clonidine.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum and urine somatomedin B in pediatrics.

Somatomedin B was determined by the radioimmunological method in the serum and urine of 104 normal subjects divided into seven age groups. The serum and urine of each patient were divided into two fractions of which one was heated at 60 degrees C for 30 min. SmB serum levels were significantly higher in heated than in unheated samples in all age groups. Moreover, SmB levels in unheated samples increased slowly, but significantly, up to the age of four years, then decreased until nine years of age, when they started increasing again. In heated serum, however, a rapid and significant increase occurred from the age of six months; later SmB levels showed slight, not significant variations. In urine no significant difference was shown in SmB levels either between unheated and heated samples or between age groups. The difference in the behavior of SmB in serum and urine may be explained by assuming the presence of carrier proteins in the blood.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Growth hormone binding protein activity in obese children.

We evaluated growth hormone binding protein (GHBP) activity in a group of obese children (12 boys and 12 girls, age 3.1-14.7 years, BMI 21.1-33.3, 11 prepubertal and 13 early pubertal) and in 26 age-matched normal weight children (14 boys and 12 girls, age 2.1-16.0 years, BMI 14.2-21.4, 18 prepubertal and 8 early pubertal). All children were of normal stature. GHBP activity was significantly higher in the obese (39.1 +/- 1.1%) than in the control children (28.3 +/- 1.0%, p < 0.0001). Mean serum GHBP was not different between boys and girls or between prepubertal and pubertal subjects. A positive correlation was found between BMI and GHBP levels only in the normal weight children (r = 0.425, p < 0.05). Baseline insulin concentrations in the obese children were 97.6 +/- 7.9 pmol/l (normal values, 45.0 +/- 18.6 pmol/l), and the mean insulin AUC following OGTT in the obese was 811.3 +/- 160.7 pmol/l (normal values, 373.1 +/- 150.1 pmol/l). Serum GHBP activity in the obese was not correlated with baseline serum insulin concentrations or with the insulin AUC following OGTT. In conclusion, we found that obese children have elevated GHBP activity, and speculate that this phenomenon may serve to compensate for their reduced GH secretion and accelerated GH clearance.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Different effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide on superoxide anion production by macrophages from normal and tumor-bearing rats.

Bacterial endotoxins or lipopolysaccharides (LPS) exhibit a wide range of modulatory activities on immunocompetent cells. Among the numerous effects of LPS on macrophages, an enhancement of superoxide anion (O2-) release has been reported. In previous studies carried out on tumor-bearing rats, it was found that several functions of peritoneal macrophages such as phagocytic, microbicidal and antiviral activities were depressed. In this paper we evaluated the spontaneous or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced production of superoxide anion by macrophages from tumor-bearing rats with respect to controls. Moreover, the effect of in vitro priming with LPS on O2- production by the same cells was studied. It was found that the pattern of superoxide release by macrophages from tumor-bearing rats is significantly different from controls. Preincubation of macrophages from normal rats with LPS enhanced the spontaneous and PMA-induced production of O2-. In contrast, the same concentrations of LPS did not prime macrophages from tumor-bearing rats.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Arterial blood-gases and acid-base balance in acute diseases of the lower respiratory tract in infancy (author's transl)].

A group of 31 infants, aged 1 month to 13 months, recovered at the Pediatric Institute of the University of Florence for acute diseases of the lower respiratory tract, were analyzed for paCO2, paO2, pH and BE. Samples of arterial blood were obtained in the first, second, fourth and eighth day of recovery. Hypoxia occurred in all the infants and metabolic acidosis was found in almost every case. The paCO2 value resulted high in some of the babies, normal in others and below normal in the remaining. pH showed a lower value in patients affected with metabolic and respiratory acidosis. paCO2 returned to normal value on the eighth day in all the infants, while pH remained slightly below normal value, due to persisting metabolic acidosis. paO2 registered only a small increase during the stay, remaining on the eighth day still below normal level.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Two new cases of triploidy in premature liveborn infants (author's transl)].

Two liveborn triploid infants are described. The phenotype agrees, in the first case, with that reported in the other observations of the literature. In the second case, hydranencephaly was associated with ambiguous genitalia. Cytogenetic studies, made on cultivated leucocytes, showed triploid number of morphologically normal chromosomes; and constitution 69, XXY in the first case. Mosaicism were found in the second child, with constitution 46XY/69XXY. It is remarked the usefulness of an early diagnosis in order to the genetic counseling.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Therapy with arginine chlorohydrate in children with short constitutional stature].

It is common knowledge that the administration by mouth of chlorhydrate arginine in children with BSC is followed by an increase of plasma levels of Growth Hormone and Insulin as well as an improvement of statural growth. In order to confirm or disprove this observation we have administrated chlorhydrate arginine for six months in children affected by BSC. We have treated 20 prepubertal children (14 males, 6 females) affected by BSC (13 constitutional growth delay, and 7 familiar short stature) with chronological age ranged from 4.75 to 12.55 years, and bone age from 3 to 12 years, with height < 10 degrees centile. The chlorhydrate arginine was administered by mouth at a daily dosage of 4 g (1 phial/2) for 6 months. Height was controlled 6 months before treatment ("off" period) at the start, and after 6 months of treatment ("on" period). Before the start of treatment GH release was assessed with 3 pharmacological tests (arginine, insulin and clonidine) at last of treatment has been made only arginine test in order to investigate GH and insulin response. We have compared the "off" with "on" period and we have observed a substantial improvement (p < 0.01) of the height velocity (HC), worded in SDS-HC (standard deviation score of height velocity) that changed from -1.21 +/- 0.40 to -0.30 +/- 1.37 with a positive difference of +0.91 +/- 0.47 between the two periods. As for as GH release is concerned we have observed, after therapy, a significant increase of mean almost twice that see in the "off" period and the difference is significant p = 0.012).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Arginine↗