Search

Arterial hypertension is a well known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Today, it is possible to calculate the cardiovascular risk at 10 years with the risk card. The reduction of cardiovascular risk is based on a multi-factorial approach including the lifestyle modification. In Italy, OEC study has calculated that a certain proportion of borderline hypertensives, not eligible for a pharmacological treatment, remain at risk. Borderline arterial hypertension (140-150/90-95 mmHg) in Italian population is documented in 19% of males and 14% of females.: Aim of the study is to examine the efficacy of the lifestyle changes in reducing the global cardiovascular risk in bordeline hypertensives.102 patients affected by borderline hypertensive (46 M and 56 F, mean age: 55.6 yrs ) were enclosed in a 12 months prospective study. Three checks were programmed during the follow-up, i.e., at beginning, 6 months and 12 months later. At the start of the study every patient received a list of lifestyle changes to be respected. Pressure arterial systolic and diastolic were obtained at beginning and at the end of successive. At the last check each patient received a questionnaire to be filled up. According to the calculated score, each patient was classified as: non-responder (score: 0-3), partially responder (score: 4-6), responder (score: 7-9).A significant reduction of the globalcardiovascular risk has been observed at the end of the study in both the responders and partially responders. Such a reduction was seen to be due to positive changes in blood pressure and total, HDL, LDL cholesterol.This study confirmed that a non-pharmacological therapy based on lifestyle changes has to be preventively administered in the presence of a borderline hypertension because of its beneficial effects in reducing the global risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, we firmly think that a prompt utilization of a correct lifestyle can sort the triple effect of improving the expectancy of life, ameliorating the quality of life, reducing the social costs of arterial hypertension.

The treatment of hypertension has evolved in recent years. Blood pressure lowering per se is no longer a sufficient parameter to evaluate its beneficial effects on end-organ damage. Drugs must be considered on the basis of their effects on cellular level and structural alterations that occur in the vasculature, heart and kidney. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers, two classes of drugs that inhibit angiotensin II effects, may protect target organs from damage and thereby improve outcomes. The mechanisms of action are different even if both counteract all noxious effects of angiotensin II. Angiotensin II receptor blockers selectively inhibit AT1 receptors whose stimulation mediates the hypertensive and proliferative effects of angiotensin II while do not interfere with AT2 receptors. These last ones have a role not well established but it has been postulated that they have antihypertensive and antiproliferative effects. A review will be made on the cellular mechanisms of angiotensin II activity and the effects of AT receptor antagonists.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the analysis and identification of related impurities in pharmaceutical-grade 6α-methylprednisolone acetate (MPA). Eight MPA impurities derived from synthesis and/or degradation processes were identified. The method is compared to other analytical procedures recently proposed for the European Pharmacopoeia.

A study of an HPLC method for the analysis of related substances in triamcinolone acetonide is described. Several systems of solvents and samples of different lots and preparative origins were examined and a rapid-scanning diode array UV detector (DAD) was particularly useful. With the proposed technique it was possible to identify 9 alpha-bromo desonide as a principal impurity, which was present in all examined samples of triamcinolone acetonide. This identification was rendered possible by the investigation of the second derivative of the UV spectra and by means of study of the mass spectrum. Furthermore, it was possible, primarily on the basis of the spectrophotometric data, to formulate reliable hypotheses on the possible identification of 9 beta, 11 beta-epoxide of the desonide which was present at very low levels and to exclude the presence of 11-deoxy-9(11)-unsaturated desonide. The presence of the above-mentioned related substances was explained considering the scheme of synthesis described in the literature. The spectrophotometric characteristics of the studied compounds and the limits of applicability of the present procedure are discussed.

A liquid chromatographic procedure is described for the analysis of the principal natural corticosteroids in extracts of adrenal glands. Microparticulate silicic acid columns and gradients of methanol in chloroform are used: conditions are described for the quantitative analysis of the single principal steroidal components of adrenal extracts for pharmaceutical use and of adrenal extracts of rats. It the last case, the use of a 5-μm silica column with the appropriate gradient allows the determination of corticosterone and of 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone, which were identified by means of mass spectromety on their eluates. A single analysis can be performed on the extract of 15 mg of rat adrenal tissue. For the last type of analysis, isocratic conditions on a 10-μm LiChrosorb Diol column are also described. The application of the gradient elution procedure to the analysis of steroidal compounds in human plasma is also described.

In earlier papers we described the gas chromatographic determination of mono- and di-esters of estradiol and estrone esters in oil solutions at a low concentration level (2 mg/ml). In this case a preliminary separation by means of quantitative thin-layer chromatography was necessary in order to separate the steroids from the oil. In order to make the separation step simpler and more generally applicable, we experimented with the partition between hexane and 85% ethanol, and obtained a steroid fraction suitable for gas chromatographic analysis. The present method has been applied to oil solutions of steroids which we representative of the anabolic, androgenic, estrogenic and progestational classes, at concentration levels between 10 and 50 mg/ml; precision and accuracy values for each experiment are reported. The procedure is simple, rapid and suitable for multisample analysis.

A method is described for the determination of estradiol monoesters in oil solutions, for pharmaceutical use (concentration 2 mg/ml). The separation of the steroid is performed by means of thin-layer chromatography followed by a colorimetric or a gas chromatographic method for quantitative analysis. As examples, the procedure for the analysis of estradiol-17β-cyclopentylpropionate (1) and estradiol-3-benzoate (2) is reported. The TLC step is similar in both cases; in example (1) a sapnification technique is applied to the steroid ester adsorbed on the silica gel thus achieving simultaneous elution and hydrolysis to estradiol, which is then extracted with ethyl ether. In example (2) a simple elution with chloroform is performed. The estradiol (example 1) or its monoester (example 2) is transformed into the respective trimethylsilyl ether (TMSE) prior to gas chromatography. For this step a method previously described by the authors for diesters of estradiol or estrone esters is employed. The colorimetric analysis is performed by B rown 's method as described for urinary estrogens, with the correction of the absorption values according to A llen . Recovery values and the precision of both methods are reported.

A method is described for fractionation and determination of the lipid and steroid components in very small amounts of substrates. Samples as small as 20 suprarenal glands of either normal or pantothenic acid deficient rats were extracted with chloroform-methanol (2:1). The total lipid extracts were separated by thin-layer chromatograms, the solvent system being benzene-ether-acetic acid (70:30:1). Spots corresponding to cholesterol esters, triglycerides, fatty acids, cholesterol, and phospholipids were obtained; corticosteroids lag behind as the least mobile fraction, together with the phospholipids. The areas were eluted with appropriate solvents and the main components were determined. Corticosteroids were estimated by a colorimetric method with tetrazole blue and by U.V. spectrophotometry. A second chromatogram was then performed on the corticosteroid eluate; the solvent system was chloroform-methanol-water (90:10:0.25). A clear-cut separation of the principal corticosteroids present in the suprarenal glands of rats was obtained.

A method is described for the fractionation of neutral lipids into classes by means of silicic acid column chromatography. Elution is performed with a concave gradient of ethyl ether in petroleum ether; the gradient is achieved by means of two metering pumps. This gradient is simple to obtain and can be easily modified for different requirements following our scheme of calculation. The effluent is monitored continuously by means of a hydrogen flame ionisation detector, a part of the effluent being continuously drawn off. Our method can be used for analytical purposes as well as for isolation of pure lipidic fractions. The quantitative analysis of the components of a lipid mixture is performed following a weighing microtechnique, using a Cahn electrobalance. Examples are reported of the separation of reference lipid mixtures of oils and tissue lipids and of oil solutions of steroids for pharmaceutical use. Our method is also useful for detecting lipidic contaminants in solvents and materials for chromatography. The necessity of very carefully controlled solvents and materials to avoid contamination is underlined.

The present paper describes a thin-layer chromatographic method for the determination of some less polar hormonal steroids in oily solution. By using an ascending technique with continuous elution it is possible to considerably increase the time of the chromatographic run. In this way a ready separation of the steroids is possible, not only from the principal components of the oils (triglycerides) but also from those components (diglycerides and free fatty acids) which under normal conditions of chromatography interfere because of their RF values. It is possible to determine testosterone, 19-nortestosterone and estradiol esters and also progesterone spectrophotometrically in the U.V. Other colorimetric determinations may be performed on the same chromatographic eluate.

A method is described for the fractionation of corticosteroids in mixtures by means of column chromatography with small size columns, reduced elution times and continous monitoring of the eflluent with data recording. As a test mixture, eight natural corticosteroids were chosen in order to reproduce extracts from glands or biological fluids: corticosterone , 11-dehydrocorticosterone, 11-deoxycortisol, cortisone, cortisol, aldosterone, tetrahydrocortisone and tetrahydrocortisol. Firstly, the influence of the activation of the adsorbent on the separation was studied and the shape and the extent of the gradient considered. The adsorbents were silicic acids of different structural types, and the gradient components were methanol and chloroform. Monitoring of the effluent was performed by means of two detectors, acting in parallel: the first was a UV detector and the second was a hydrogen flame ionization detector, part of the effluent being continously drawn off to the detector. Conditions for the optimization of the separations are reported and possible analytical applications are discussed.

A method is described for the separation of steroids in mixtures of pharmaceutical interest by means of silicic acid column chromatography. Associations of estrogenic with progestational steroids, in some cases extended to androgens, are considered. Elution is performed with a gradient of ethyl ether in petroleum ether, obtained by means of two metering pumps. The effluent is monitored continuously by means of a hydrogen flame ionisation detector, a part of the effluent being continuously drawn off to the detector. The quantitative analysis of the steroids, separated as described in the method, is performed by a UV spectrophotometric or a colorimetric procedure.

Il saggi espone le caratteristiche principali della poesia europea nella fase modernista.

Il contributo ricostruisce l'incidenza del tema della velocità su modi e forme della letteratura europea novecentesca.

Nel corso del ’900, sotto l’urto delle provocazioni avanguardiste e delle sperimentazioni moderniste, va in pezzi l’idea di teatro unitaria del XIX secolo e, con essa, la grammatica drammaturgica borghese. Tra le molte soluzioni tentate per superare la crisi della scrittura per la scena convenzionale, in Italia si impongono le proposte di Pirandello, De Filippo e Fo; sul fronte internazionale trionfano invece i due modelli del teatro epico di Brecht e del teatro della crudeltà di Artaud. Un successo tutto particolare riscuote nella seconda metà del secolo la drammaturgia dell’assurdo.

Il contributo ricostruisce l'influenza di temi mitologici sulla letteratura europea del novecento.