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Biomedical subjects

U Montemagno

Publications and source records attributed to U Montemagno.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Impairment of dopaminergic and opioidergic activity in patients with polycystic ovarian disease is restored by treatment for the induction of ovulation.

The luteinizing hormone (LH) response to metoclopramide (MCP), a dopamine receptor antagonist, and naloxone (NAL), an opioid receptor antagonist, was evaluated in 7 patients with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) before and during treatment with purified human urinary follicle-stimulating hormone (hFSH), and in 6 control women during spontaneously ovulating cycles. Before treatment, in all patients both MCP and NAL administration did not increase plasma LH levels. In the 6 subjects ovulating following hFSH treatment the LH response to MCP and NAL at preovulatory and midluteal phases was restored, as it occurred in control women. Our results suggest that in PCOD the dopamine and opioid activity in the hypothalamus are decreased. The reversal of peripheral ovarian response induced by treatment for the induction of ovulation may restore these impaired neuroendocrine activities.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Determination of squamous cell carcinoma antigen in the blood of patients with cancer of the uterine cervix].

The RIA method has been used to assay the squamous cell carcinoma antigen in the serum of twenty-four patients suffering from cervical cancer. The results obtained showed expressive differences between the levels in women with metastatic relapse and in those in remission, but the SCC antigen is particularly useful in the therapeutic monitoring, since it can assess of the current treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The adjuvant treatment of ovarian cancer: result of the pilot study of a new combination chemotherapeutic regimen (DAC).

Twenty-three previously untreated ovarian cancer patients were treated, from January 1986 to March 1987, with combination chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, cyclophosphamide and cytarabine (DAC regimen). All patients had advanced disease, which included 18 stage III and 5 stage IV patients. Sixteen patients had serous, 6 undifferentiated and 1 mixed histotype. Surgery consisting of total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, partial omentectomy and appendicectomy was performed in only 11/23 patients. Seventeen patients had bulky disease when the treatment was started. Four courses of chemotherapy were initially administered to all patients; second look laparotomy was performed in patients with no clinically measurable disease or with presumable entirely resectable tumor. Vomiting was the major side effect of chemotherapy: myelotoxicity was mild and in only one patient permanent renal damage occurred. A total of 14 objective clinical responses (73.7%) were observed, of which 9 were complete (47.4%). Six clinical complete remissions (37.5%) occurred in the group of patients with bulky disease. At second-look laparotomy six patients were found disease free (26%), 4 of whom originally had bulky disease (25%). Short-term DAC regimen seems to be a very effective treatment, with acceptable toxicity, in patients with ovarian cancer.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1989

Vulvo-vaginal condylomatosis and relapse: combined treatment with electrocauterization and beta-interferon.

The therapeutical effectiveness of beta-interferon and the possibility of reducing the incidence of relapses were evaluated by selecting three groups of patients affected with three forms of condylomatosis and submitting then to various treatments. In the first group of sixty patients treated with beta-interferon, we obtained the best results in micro-condylomatosis (a 100% response), while florid condylomatosis responded less well to the treatment (72% with no response). In the second group of ten patients, electrocoagulation of florid condylomata determined a complete response (CR) in seven cases (70%). Moreover, immunoperoxidase identified three case of sub-clinical infection, two of which relapsed. In the third group of ten patients, we combined electrocoagulation with beta-interferon. This combination showed the effectiveness of beta-interferon in decreasing relapses. This result is evident if we consider that only one out of four patients with immunoperoxidase-positive biopsy relapsed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Vaginal administration of gemeprost for preoperative cervical dilatation in non pregnant patients.

The use of Gemeprost vaginal suppositories has been evaluated in a trial for induction of the cervical dilatation in non pregnant women. 30 voluntary patients, 22 nulliparous and 8 pluriparous, had to be subjected to biopsy of the endometrium; 24 were treated for the control of sterility and 6 for menstrual perimenopausal disorders. The biopsies of the sterility control were effected in the second half of the cycle, generally without having recourse to narcosis. A single Gemeprost pessary containing 1 mg of 16, 16-dimethyl-trans-delta 2 PGE1 methyl ester was intravaginal administered, deeply into the posterior fornix, 3 hours before the biopsy. The success rate was 86.66 (26 pts.) with an average dilatation of 5.38 H (Hegar) +/- 0.75 SD. For 4 patients (13.33%) having a dilatation less than 4 H, it was necessary to complete the dilatation mechanically. All the observed side effects presented a modest intensity: cephalalgia 6.6% (no. 2), gastralgia 3.3% (no. 1), vaginal burning 6.6% (no. 2). No significant variation of vital function parameters was recorded. In conclusion this type of preparation of the cervix has permitted us to achieve a more gradual dilatation and to prevent the traumata of the cervico-isthmic system due to forced mechanical dilatations by the exclusive use of Hegar's dilators.

Administration, Intravaginal↗
PubMed1988

Screening for endometrial adenocarcinoma.

A careful evaluation of endometrial adenocarcinoma risk factors has allowed the AA. to suggest an integrated screening program, including cytology, hysteroscopy and guided biopsy. First results of this program are then described.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1987

Domperidone antagonizes bromoergocriptine--induced nausea and vomiting without affecting its inhibition of prolactin secretion in puerperal women.

In the present study, 122 post puerperal women received at random bromoergocriptine, domperidone, bromoergocriptine plus domperidone or placebo treatment. Domperidone started 20-24 h after delivery and given for 10 or 15 days did not antagonize either the decrease in serum PRL induced by bromoergocriptine or the inhibition of lactation. It did suppress nausea and vomiting in the patients. The results are compatible with the idea that domperidone binds with a higher affinity than bromoergocriptine to DA (dopamine) receptors in the area postrema or the stomach. The converse phenomenon occurs at the level of the DA receptors on the PRL- secreting cells of the anterior pituitary gland.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effect of a combination of ethinylestradiol and desogestrel in adolescents with oligomenorrhea and ovarian hyperandrogenism.

Nine oligomenorrheic adolescent girls with a clinical and hormonal picture of ovarian hyperandrogenism were treated with a monophasic oral contraceptive (OC) containing 0.03 mg ethinylestradiol (EE) plus 0.150 mg desogestrel (DOG) for six months. The same treatment was administered in eight eumenorrheic adolescents. In both groups the treatment induced a decrease in LH, FSH, androstenedione (delta 4-A), testosterone (T) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) levels associated with a significant sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) increase. In oligomenorrheic adolescents a marked decrease in both the total ovarian volume and the number of cystic follicles was observed. All parameters, except SHBG and ovarian volume in hyperandrogenic girls, returned to pre-treatment values 3 months after treatment. Subjective improvement of skin problems occurred in six of the nine oligomenorrheic girls. Although temporary, the EE + DOG formulation pill is effective in the treatment of ovarian hyperandrogenism in adolescents. It may also be useful for the prevention of the progressive transformation in the 'classical' and 'irreversible' micropolycystic ovary of adult age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Opioid regulation of luteinizing hormone in amenorrheic patients after therapy for induction of ovulation.

This study evaluated the activity of central opiate receptors modulating luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion before and during treatment with human menopausal gonadotropin (n = 8) or purified human urinary follicle-stimulating hormone (n = 6) in 14 patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (n = 6) or secondary amenorrhea (n = 8). LH response to saline infusion and naloxone administration (4 mg intravenously) was assessed. As control, 6 normal ovulating women were studied. Before therapy, all amenorrheic patients showed no LH increase after naloxone injection. Gonadotropin treatment restored the naloxone-induced LH response at preovulatory and midluteal phases in ovulating patients with secondary amenorrhea. The same response was present in spontaneously ovulating women but was absent in the hypogonadotropic hypogonad patients, despite the gonadotropin therapy's efficiency. In conclusion, when the alteration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone synthesis and/or release is reversible, the opioid system actively participates in the regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Differences in the opioid control of luteinizing hormone secretion between pathological and iatrogenic hyperprolactinemic states.

The cause of the amenorrhea that occurs in patients with hyperprolactinemia is unknown. The involvement of endogenous opioid peptides in the inhibition of GnRH release as a central factor leading to the hypogonadotropic state has been recently described. This study analyzed the LH response to opiate receptor blockade by naloxone (4 mg, iv) in groups of subjects with amenorrhea due to hyperprolactinemia of different etiologies. Patients presenting with a PRL-secreting pituitary adenoma (n = 7), idiopathic hyperprolactinemia (n = 9), or hyperprolactinemia during pharmacological treatment for schizophrenia (n = 5) were studied. Furthermore, to evaluate whether high circulating PRL levels influence the activity of the opioid system after the menopause, a group of seven postmenopausal subjects was tested before and 1 week after the administration of metoclopramide (10 mg, three times a day), a dopamine receptor antagonist. Normal premenopausal women (n = 6) served as controls. Naloxone significantly increased plasma LH levels in both prolactinoma and idiopathic hyperprolactinemic patients (P less than 0.01 vs. basal and placebo). In neither of those groups was a significant correlation found between the plasma LH response to naloxone and basal plasma PRL levels. In contrast to pathological hyperprolactinemia, blockade of opiate receptors did not significantly change LH secretion in either amenorrheic women with pharmacologically induced hyperprolactinemia or postmenopausal women. These results suggest that the effect of hyperprolactinemia on opioid modulation of LH secretion is related to the nature of the hyperprolactinemic state, supporting the existence of increased opioid inhibition of LH levels in pathological hyperprolactinemia.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1985

Thyroid hormones in the human pregnancy.

Radio-immunologic T3, T4, FT3, FT4, rT3, TBG and 17 beta-estradiol were measured in women in the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy, during labor, and during the first 14 days of the puerperium. A group of women suffering with gestosis EPH were also investigated. Our data suggest that in women suffering with gestosis EPH and during labor in normal pregnancy there is a T3-selective defect (low T3 syndrome) in which the conversion route of T4 into T3 is inhibited while the conversion route of T4 into rT3 remains fully operative, resulting in low plasma levels of T3 and FT3 and normal levels of T4, normal or high levels of FT4 and high levels of reverse T3.

Estradiol↗
PubMed1985

Increased retraction of fibrin clots by endothelial cells of infants of diabetic mothers.

Cultured endothelial cells (EC) from the umbilical veins of infants of non-diabetic mothers induced retraction of fibrin clots formed by addition of thrombin to cell-free plasma. Fibrin clot retraction activity increased with time, reaching a maximum within 24 hours and was inhibited at 4 degrees C or in the presence of EDTA. This retraction had many characteristics in common with that induced by platelets. EC obtained from the umbilical veins of infants of poorly controlled insulin dependent diabetic mothers (IDDM) showed similar patterns of retraction. However, compared to normals, these cells induced greater retraction. Since the retraction of fibrin clots is thought to promote the exposure of sub-endothelial layers and since such an exposure plays a major role in thrombogenesis, we suggest that retraction of fibrin clot by EC should be taken into account in evaluating pre-thrombotic states.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1985

Influence of bromocriptine on plasma prolactin, human placental lactogen, beta-HCG and steroid hormones in early human pregnancy.

To study the role of prolactin in the regulation of the production of 17 beta-oestradiol, HPL, beta-HCG, progesterone, testosterone, delta 4-androstenedione and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, 20 healthy women were given 5 mg of bromocriptine daily for two weeks between 7-9 weeks of normal pregnancy. Plasma HPRL, HPL, HCG, oestradiol, progesterone, testosterone, delta 4-androstenedione and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone levels were measured before and one and two weeks after the start of bromocriptine-application, and they were compared with those examined in control groups (18 women). Bromocriptine induced a significant HPRL depression at one week and two weeks. Other hormones, except progesterone, showed no significant differences between two groups. These data suggest that neither maternal hypoprolactinemia nor bromocriptine during normal early human pregnancy interfere with the normal synthesis of sex steroids.

Adolescent↗