Sonographic evaluation of the portal venous system after elective endoscopic sclerotherapy of esophageal varices.

In order to evaluate possible changes in the portal venous system after endoscopic sclerosis of esophageal varices, 25 cirrhotic patients underwent abdominal ultrasonography before the first session of sclerotherapy and after eradication of esophageal varices had been achieved. The caliber of the portal, splenic, and superior mesenteric veins was measured sonographically in each case. Sonographic results were compared statistically before and after sclerotherapy.

Relationship between morphological changes detected by ultrasonography and pancreatic exocrine function in chronic pancreatitis.

We have studied the degree of pancreatic secretory alterations assessed by secretin-cerulein test (S-C) in relation to various morphological changes detected by real-time ultrasonography (US) in 42 patients affected by chronic pancreatitis. Exocrine insufficiency was found in 41 patients (97.6%), while morphological alterations were detected in 32 (76.

Effects of short- and long-term administrations of famotidine and ranitidine on some pituitary, sexual and thyroid hormones.

The endocrine effects of short-term (4 weeks) and long-term (6 months) oral administration of famotidine (40 and 20 mg nocte, respectively) and ranitidine (300 and 150 mg nocte, respectively), were investigated in 20 male patients with duodenal ulcers. Basal PRL, LH, FSH and TSH serum levels were evaluated and their response to specific releasing factors, and basal blood levels of some sexual (E2, P, T) and thyroid (T3, T4) hormones. None of the treatments modified basal and RH-stimulated levels of PRL, LH, FSH and TSH, nor basal levels of sexual hormones.

Serum pancreatic enzyme behavior during the course of acute pancreatitis.

The variations of serum levels of amylase, pancreatic isoamylase, lipase, trypsinogen, and elastase 1 were evaluated in 21 patients with acute pancreatitis. The patients were studied for a mean period of 7 consecutive days (range 5-12 days) after admission to the hospital. On the day of onset of acute pancreatitis, all enzyme levels were abnormally high; pancreatic isoamylase showed the greatest increase compared with its upper normal limit, whereas the increase increment for elastase 1 was the lowest.

The sonographic appearance of the normal gastric wall: an in vitro study.

In order to evaluate the real number and anatomical correspondence of the ultrasonographically recognizable layers within the gastric wall, we used a high frequency (7.5 MHz) rotating transducer to examine five surgical specimens of the stomach suspended in a water bath. Five layers were always clearly distinguishable within the gastric wall, whose thickness was 3-6 mm.

[Effect of tiropramide on solid gastric emptying time in man].

The influence of Thyropramide, a recently developed spasmolytic on the gastric emptying times of a solid meal was assessed in 10 healthy subjects aged 23-54. Thyropramide (300 mg per diem for 3 days per os) does not significantly modify gastric emptying time compared to the placebo though a slight average increase in T 1/2 was noted. No side effects were noted during the study.

A double-blind controlled trial of ranitidine 300 mg nocte and ranitidine 150 mg b.i.d. in the short-term treatment of gastric ulcer.

A multi-center study was carried out to compare the healing rates of ranitidine 300 mg nocte and 150 mg b.i.d.

Comparison between two different posologies of ranitidine on 24-hour gastric acidity in duodenal ulcer patients.

Eight outpatients with active duodenal ulcer, endoscopically proven, entered a controlled double-dummy cross-over study aimed at comparing the effects of ranitidine 150 mg b.i.d.

The role of colloidal bismuth subcitrate in the short-term treatment of duodenal ulcer.

Colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS) is a drug used in the treatment of duodenal ulcer; it acts mainly by increasing mucosal resistance against endoluminal aggressive agents, without inhibiting gastric secretion. In previous clinical trials, CBS solution induced healing rates significantly higher than placebo and similar to those observed with cimetidine. In spite of these promising results, the drug has never been widely employed, mainly because of its unpleasant taste, which greatly reduced patient compliance.

The evolution of anti-ulcer therapy with cimetidine. Is a single large nocturnal dose of cimetidine the right therapy for duodenal ulcer?

Peptic ulcer results from the prevalence of agents causing endoluminal lesions over the defence mechanisms of the mucosa of the upper GI tract. Particularly, in the case of duodenal ulcer, the pathogenetic relevance of non-buffered acid secretion of the early nighttime period has been emphasized. This is indeed confirmed by the fact that a single night dose of 800 mg cimetidine has apparently been proved able--in numerous controlled clinical trials--to provide results that are similar to those obtained with the classic dose of 1 g daily or 400 mg twice daily.

[Famotidine versus placebo in prevention of the recurrence of duodenal ulcer disease. A multicenter study in Germany, Austria and Italy].

The aim of this study was to gain experience concerning efficacy and safety of famotidine, the new H2-receptor antagonist, for the maintenance of duodenal ulcer disease. 344 patients whose acute duodenal ulceration had recently been healed under famotidine or ranitidine were recruited for a year maintenance treatment with 20 mg bedtime dose of famotidine or placebo. 167 patients were treated with famotidine over 6 and 52 over 12 months.

Value of serum determinations for prediction of increased ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic levels in bile.

The correlation between biliary and serum levels of ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acids was studied in a double-blind controlled manner in 39 patients before and during treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid, 800 mg/day; ursodeoxycholic acid, 400 mg/day; chenodeoxycholic acid, 750 mg/day; chenodeoxycholic acid, 375 mg/day; and placebo, respectively. On a total of 74 occasions, fasting duodenal bile and venous blood samples were obtained simultaneously. Biliary bile acid composition was determined by gas-liquid chromatography and serum ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acid concentrations by radioimmunoassays.

Effect of chemically defined formula diets on pancreatic mass in the rat.

To establish the effect of chemically defined formula diets on pancreatic mass, 58 male Wistar rats, weighing approximately 200 g, were fed orally one of the following diets for 20 days: standard diet; partially hydrolyzed diet; elemental diet. The diets were isocaloric and provided 73 cal/day per rat. At the end of the experiment, the rats were killed and pancreas removed to assess wet weight and DNA and RNA content.

[Accelerated healing of ulcus ventriculi by a single evening dose of famotidine. Results of an Austrian-German-Italian multicenter study].

An 8 week, double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter trial was conducted in Austria, Germany and Italy to determine whether famotidine would speed healing and relief of symptoms in patients with benign gastric ulcer. Of the 131 patients who completed the trial, 66 received 40 mg famotidine in the evening and 65 placebo. At 4, 6, and 8 weeks after entry, ulcers had healed in a higher percentage of patients treated with famotidine than of those treated with placebo (47%, 70%, 91% vs 32%, 49%, 61%).

Oesophageal motor events at the occurrence of acid reflux and during endogenous acid exposure in healthy subjects and in patients with oesophagitis.

In order to assess the oesophageal motor events associated with the occurrence of gastro-oesophageal acid reflux and those during endogenous acid exposure, we studied six healthy subjects and nine patients with symptoms and lesions of reflux oesophagitis. In the case of each subject simultaneous pressure and pH measurements of the distal oesophagus were taken both in fasting conditions and after a standardised balanced meal. Reflux episodes occurred in the absence of a lower oesophageal sphincter relaxation (34.

Depression and gastrointestinal illness: the joint use of biological and clinical criteria.

Occurrence and characteristics of depression were investigated in 37 consecutive patients suffering from gastrointestinal illness. More than 40% of patients with an organic digestive disease and about a quarter of those with functional gastroenterological complaints were found to suffer from a major depressive disorder according to DSM-III criteria. The dexamethasone suppression test--a laboratory marker of the endogenous depressive state--supported clinical diagnosis in several cases, yet its routine use to screen depression is not warranted because of its poor specificity.

Transfer factor for the treatment of HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis.

Transfer factor was obtained from four patients having recovered from acute type-B viral hepatitis. It was replicated in vitro using the LDV/7 lymphoblastoid cell line. This in vitro-produced transfer factor specific for hepatitis B (TFdL-H) was administered to 10 randomly selected patients with biochemically and histologically proven HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis (CAH) at 15-day intervals over a 6-month period.

Candida albicans infection of gastric ulcer frequency and correlation with medical treatment. Results of a multicenter study.

This paper reports the results of a multicenter prospective study of 188 consecutive patients affected by gastric ulcer, verified by endoscopy, in whom the frequency of a mycotic infection of the lesion was evaluated as well as the eventual influence of such pathology on the efficiency of medical treatment, the healing rate, and the healing time. A mycotic infection, defined as penetration of the periulcerous mucosa by the fungi, was found in only 13 patients (6.9%).

Famotidine (MK-208) in the treatment of gastric ulcer. Results of a multicenter double-blind controlled study.

The aim of the present investigation was to study the efficacy and safety of famotidine (MK-208), a new, potent, histamine H2 receptor antagonist, in promoting the healing of active gastric ulcer when compared to placebo. Of the 71 patients who took part in this multicenter double-blind study in Italy, 37 were administered famotidine 40 mg once daily and 34 placebo. Treatment duration was for up to 8 weeks, and endoscopic and clinical studies were performed at onset and week 4 and, if necessary, at weeks 6 and 8.

Famotidine in the management of duodenal ulcer: experience in Italy.

A multicenter study that involved 15 Italian institutions was carried out to compare the efficacy and safety of famotidine 40 mg at bedtime, famotidine 20 mg b.i.d.

Proliferative and antigenic properties of rectal cells in patients with chronic ulcerative colitis.

Two markers related to preneoplasia were studied simultaneously in ulcerative colitis (UC). The renewal of the rectal epithelial cells together with expression of second-trimester fetal antigen (STFA) were evaluated in nine patients with UC and four healthy subjects. Endoscopic biopsies were incubated with tritiated thymidine.

Early gastric cancer. Clinico-pathological analysis of 125 cases of early gastric cancer (EGC).

The frequency and the pathological findings of 125 early gastric cancers (ECGs), and particularly of small and minute lesions, were evaluated in a retrospective study of 839 surgical specimens of gastric carcinoma. Sixty two ECGs were believed to have risen from gastric epithelium, 27 from areas of intestinal metaplasia, and 3 from cardio-pyloric mucosa. The remaining lesions showed mixed histological patterns.

A single-specimen fecal chymotrypsin test in the diagnosis of pancreatic insufficiency: correlation with secretin-cholecystokinin and NBT-PABA tests.

An investigation of fecal chymotrypsin activity on spot fecal specimens was carried out in three groups of subjects, divided as follows: 45 healthy controls (group C); 36 patients with gastroenterological diseases of extrapancreatic origin (group VP); and 42 patients with chronic pancreatitis (group CP). Nineteen patients of group CP underwent pancreozymin-secretin and NBT-PABA tests. The following results, expressed as mg of chymotrypsin/g of feces, were obtained: C = 0.