594 blood donors were studied to define the influence of regular blood donation on blood pressure. Blood pressures were compared at the first phlebotomy performed at the Padova Blood Unit, the ...13-year phlebotomy, and the median between the two. As a control population, a cohort of 594 non-donors from the same general population similar to the blood donors was studied twice at a 15-year interval. Subjects had made on average 7.3±0.4 donations at the first step, 23±0.6 at the second, and 30.9±0.7 at the last step. Unadjusted systolic blood pressure regularly and significantly increased by 1.6% from the first phlebotomy to the second one and by 2.3% from the first to third. Adjusted systolic blood pressure, on the contrary, significantly decreased by 2.1% and by 2.7% respectively. Diastolic blood pressure tended to increase insignificantly, while the adjusted one did not change at all. The increase of systolic blood pressure from the first to second step directly correlated with the number of donations, and this also applied to differences between the first and the third. When the increase in age was introduced in the multiple regression analysis, systolic blood pressure rise from the first to third step showed an inverse correlation with the number of phlebotomies. Our data render suspect the results of epidemiological investigations which took into consideration cohorts of blood donors; although these cohorts may be anagraphically representative of a general population, repeated phlebotomies introduce a bias leading to the detection of misleadingly low blood pressure values in regular blood donors.
1) To evaluate serum levels and tissue expression of Tumour necrosis factor alpha in primary biliary cirrhosis: 2) to correlate serum tumour necrosis factor alpha levels and cellular proliferation ...with the severity and prognosis of liver disease.
Twenty-nine primary biliary cirrhosis patients (6 stage I, 8 II, 8 III, and 7 IV) entered the study. Serum tumour necrosis factor alpha was measured by EIA (Innogenetics, Antwerp, Belgium). Tissue tumour necrosis factor alpha and Ki-67 were tested by indirect immunoperoxidase staining on liver sections.
Serum tumour necrosis factor alpha increased with the severity of histological stage (from 10.8 +/- 11 pg/ml in stage II to 17.1 +/- 10 in stage III and 22.8 +/- 8.7 in stage IV, p < 0.036). A positive correlation was also found between tumour necrosis factor alpha serum levels and the Mayo score (p < 0.05). A weak and sporadic expression of tumour necrosis factor alpha was observed in the inflammatory infiltrate around the bile ducts. Tissue Ki-67 (expressed as the labelling index in the hepatocellular nuclei) was evaluated in all stages of the disease (1.09 +/- 0.6% in stage I, 1.14 +/- 0.6% in stage II, 2.11 +/- 1.9% in stage III, and 2.67 +/- 2.8% in stage IV; the labelling index was significantly lower in early stages (I/II) than in late stages (III/IV), p < 0.05. A strong correlation between Ki-67 and the Mayo score was observed (p < 0.0005).
1) tumour necrosis factor alpha production seems related to the severity and the prognosis of primary biliary cirrhosis; 2) liver mononuclear cells in the inflammatory infiltrate do not seem to be the major site of tumour necrosis factor alpha release; 3) cellular proliferation is correlated with the severity of liver disease.
The effect of magnesium-aluminum-hydroxide antacid (Maalox) on the oral absorption of theophylline anhydrous time-release capsules Somophyllin CRT was studied in eight healthy volunteers. The ...subjects were given 500 mg of theophylline alone or with 30 ml of antacid in a complete crossover design. Drug serum concentrations were determined by an immunoenzymatic method within 24 hours at frequent intervals. Antacid induced a significant reduction of theophylline serum levels and of the fraction absorbed at 1 and 1.5 hours of the monitoring period (less than 0.05), but no significant differences were found at later sampling time. Maalox did not influence the area under the curve from 0 to 24 hours and the peak concentrations; the time to peak was slightly but significantly longer with antacid (p less than 0.05). Our results indicate that physicochemical factors such as gastrointestinal fluid pH do not influence substantially absorption of the slow-release formulation Somophyllin.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the bronchodilating activity and the tolerability of broxaterol (B, CAS 76596-57-1) given as drops by inhalation after single administration at different doses ...and after repeated administrations for 1 month. Two groups of 12 patients each were treated in a double-blind fashion and according to a within-subject design: one group with B at the single doses of 1.25 mg and 2.50 mg and with placebo (P), and the other with B at the dose of 0.75 mg and with P. A further group of 12 patients was treated in open fashion for 1 month with B at the dose of 1.25 mg 3 times a day. On each study day for the single doses and on the 1st and 30th days for the repeated doses, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV1), maximal middle expiratory flow (MMEF), heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) were measured immediately before and 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 min after the conclusion of the treatment. At the beginning and at the end of the 1-month treatment period, haematology and biochemistry were checked. After B 0.75 mg, 1.25 mg and 2.50 mg the values of spirometric variables proved significantly and dose-dependently higher than the basal values. The changes from baseline in lung function test values with B (all doses) were significantly greater than with P.
In peripheral blood lymphocytes of 12 nurses and 3 patients exposed to antineoplastic drugs we determined the ability to repair DNA after UV irradiation and DNA replicative synthesis after ...stimulation by PHA. In nurses the levels of unscheduled DNA synthesis and DNA replication were not different than in a control group, whereas in patients significant changes were observed during and after chemotherapy in the level of both types of DNA synthesis.