[Presence of HLA-DRB1 alleles in a group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with low doses of sodium aurothiomalate].

The good results of a therapy with small doses of sodium aurothiomalate (20 mg/month) in 17 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis are reported. The mean age +/- ESM at the beginning of treatment was 59.9 +/- 3.

Vascular damage and not hypertension per se influences endothelin-1 plasma levels in patients with non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Several reports indicate higher endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels in patients with non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), although this finding has not been confirmed by other studies. The discrepancy may be partially explained by the frequent coexistence in NIDDM patients of other pathologies, such as essential hypertension, and by the presence of diabetic vascular complications or renal failure, able, per se, to increase ET-1 circulating levels. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of arterial hypertension and/or of diabetic angiopathy on ET-1 circulating levels in a group of NIDDM patients.

[The use of low doses of sodium aurothiomalate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Current trends in basic therapy].

We studied 20 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis treated with small doses of sodium aurothiomalate (20 mg/month, seldom 40 mg/month) for a mean time of 6.1 years (range 2.7-10.

Painful vein overdistension in migraine patients: no relationship with serotoninergic parameters.

Overdistension of the hand-forearm veins after a period of ischaemia-induced stasis causes local pain in a high percentage of migraineurs, but never in healthy subjects. To investigate the mechanism of such pain, we compared 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) whole blood levels and hand vein 5HT reactivity of migraine subjects who did experience pain during venous overdistension to those who did not. No differences were found in whole blood 5HT levels or in the venoconstrictor activity of 5HT between subjects experiencing pain and those who did not.

Sex differences in headache sufferers' responsiveness to painful overdistension of the hand-forearm veins.

A short-lasting overdistension of the hand-forearm veins, through the application of the Hand Arm Vein Distension (HAVD) test was carried out on patients suffering from migraine (no. = 102) and females with chronic daily headache (no. = 26): chronic tension-type headache (CTH) and migraine with interparoxysmal headache (MIH).

Comparison between venoconstrictor effects of sumatriptan and ergotamine in migraine patients.

The vasoconstrictor activity of sumatriptan and ergotamine were compared by injecting these drugs in the hand vein of migraine subjects. We used the "venotest method", which permits the evaluation of the venoconstrictor effect of small doses of drugs, acting locally in the hand vein. Sumatriptan injected at increasing doses in the hand vein provoked contraction only at high doses (500 micrograms): venoconstriction lasted 5-15 minutes and was similar in intensity and duration to that induced by 0.

Amplifying effect of sumatriptan on noradrenaline venoconstriction in migraine patients.

The venoconstrictive activity of sumatriptan and its interaction with noradrenaline (NA)- and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) venoconstriction was studied in vivo in the hand vein of migraineurs. Sumatriptan, injected at increasing doses into the vein, caused local venoconstriction after a 500 microgram dose, comparable to that induced by 0.5-1 micrograms of 5HT.

[Headache caused by analgesic and/or ergotamine abuse].

Headache induced by ergotamine-abuse was described 40 years ago. More recently there is ample evidence suggesting that chronic headache may also be provoked by analgesic abuse. A recent Classification of the International Headache Society has defined this kind of headache as an autonomous disease.

Reduced angiotensin converting enzyme plasma activity in scleroderma. A marker of endothelial injury?

Decreased levels of angiotensin converting enzyme plasma activity were found in systemic sclerosis. No relationship with clinical characteristics of the disease and increased von Willebrand factor antigen concentration (a widely accepted marker of endothelial injury) were statistically demonstrated. An inverse relationship between the reduced activity of the enzyme and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was detected (r = 0.

Substance P in the human iris: possible involvement in echothiophate-induced miosis in cluster headache.

Substance P-like immunoreactivity (SP-LI) was measured by radioimmunoassay in iris, choroid, and retina obtained from men after death. Although present in different amounts, SP-LI, eluting as authentic SP or SP sulfoxide in the high-performance liquid chromatography system, was found in the three ocular structures. The retina contained higher concentrations of SP-LI than the iris and choroid.

N-Methyl-benzylamine, a metabolite of pargyline in man.

1. N-methyl-benzylamine was identified in human urine and plasma after the administration of pargyline in man. This metabolite was identified by thin layer chromatography mobility, gas chromatographic retention time and mass spectrum relative to authentic N-methyl-benzylamine.

[Exploration of extra-cephalic pain induced in essential headaches].

The deep pain threshold and migrainous patient's tolerance were investigated by different methods such as: the post-ischemic stasis, muscular exercise in an ischemic condition, sural pressure, comparing them with the cold pain test employed to assess the superficial pain threshold. The tests were carried out simultaneously and symmetrically to both extremities in order to check the possible asymmetry of the pain threshold. Migrainous patients showed a reduced threshold and a lower tolerance to deep pain, while this is not evident when testing the superficial threshold.

Plasmatic prekallikrein and kallikrein inhibitor in pregnancy, labor and in newborn.

In order to reveal the possible physiological role of the kallikrein during the stress of birth, the prekallikrein and kallikrein inhibitor were evaluated in 15 pregnant women and in 15 newborns from terminated pregnancies. The results show a very low level of prekallikrein in the funiculus blood at the moment of birth and a still lower level in venous blood 24 hours after birth. No important changes resulted in the mother's blood either in pregnancy, nor at the end of the labour.

Histamine and kallikrein system in man.

Histamine infusion modifies the kallikrein system, studied by kaolin contact method, in man. The main modifications are the increase of the spontaneous esterase activity and the prekallikrein lowering. Apparently the histamine administration activates the kallikrein, and consequently a release of kinin can take place.

Monoamine oxidase defect in essential arterial hypertension. A single dose pargyline test.

A defect in the level of monoamine oxidase activity of platelets was observed in essential arterial hypertension. This defect seems dependent upon a lower rate of synthesis of the enzyme and not to the presence of an isoenzyme, as the net rate of return of the enzymatic activity after pargyline inhibition does not significantly differ between hypertensive and normotensive subjects.

Urinary excretion of kallikrein following myocardial infarction.

Kinin has been hypothesized to be involved in the mechanism of the procordialgia, collapse, and shock in myocardial infarction. In spontaneous and experimental animal infarction, the long-lasting lowering of plasma kininogen is perhaps the expression of kinin release from the plasma precursor. More recently, a durable reduction of plasma prekallikrein and of the plasma inhibitor of kallikrein, both evaluated with the kaolin contact method, has been demonstrated to support the implication of the kinin system in the course of myocardial infarction.