[Arterial hypertension in perimenopausal women; tolerability of etozolin]. / Ipertensione arteriosa in donne in età perimenopausale; indagine di tollerabilità dell'etozolina.

Twenty women aged 45-55 years with mild-moderate hypertension were treated for 12 months with etozolin, a new loop diuretic. All patients concluded the study; resting systolic pressure was reduced from 164 +/- 3 to 145 +/- 3 mmHg; diastolic blood pressure dropped from 103 +/- 2 mmHg to 90 +/- 1 mmHg. No changes of blood glucose, blood nitrogen, serum Na+, K+, creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides were observed, nor serious adverse reaction appeared. In conclusion, etozolin is a safe and effective antihypertensive agent in a selection of hypertensive patients highly sensitive to pharmacological side effects.

[Evaluation of the cholesterol-lowering effectiveness of pantethine in women in perimenopausal age]. / Valutazione dell'efficacia ipocolesterolemizzante di pantetina in donne in età perimenopausale.

Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death also in women. Their incidence, rapidly growing in the peri-menopausal period, is related to serum levels of total cholesterol and its LDL fraction. It was also shown that the peroxidation of LDL is an additional factor in the genesis of atherosclerotic vascular disease. As long-term treatments with synthetic lipid-lowering drugs may cause undesirable side effects, while pantethine is known to be well tolerated, we treated 24 hypercholesterolemic women (total serum cholesterol greater than or equal to 240 mg/dl), in perimenopausal age (range: 45-55 years, mean +/- SD = 51.6 +/- 2.4) with 900 mg/day of pantethine. This is a precursor of coenzyme A, with an antiperoxidation effect in vivo, and our aim was to confirm its lipid lowering activity in this particular type of patients. After 16 weeks of treatment, significant reductions of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio could be observed. No remarkable changes of the main laboratory parameters (fasting blood sugar, B.U.N., creatinine, uric acid) were seen. Efficacy percentages of the treatment were about 80%. None of the patients complained of adverse reactions due to the treatment with pantethine. In conclusion, we suggest that pantethine should be considered in the long-term treatment of lipid derangements occurring in the perimenopausal age.

[Systolic times adjustment during pregnancy and puerperium (author's transl)]. / Modificazione dei tempi sistolici durante la gravidanza e il puerperio.

During pregnancy and the post partum period important cardiovascular adjustments take place, which for ethical views need a non invasive approach. In the present work we studied the alterations of the Systolic Time Intervals in both supine and lateral decubitus during each trimester and at the fifth day and fifth week after delivery. In the first part of pregnancy a significant reduction of the preejection time (PE) and PE/EVS with an increase of the left ventricular ejection time (EVS) become evident. In the second part the picture reverses to a significantly reduced EVS and increased PE and PE/EVS. This picture even if decreasing, is present in the post partum period. The first part of pregnancy is characterized by a hyperkinetic condition; in the second one the position of the woman becomes important, and the reduction of the EVS is at least partially due to an impaired venous return (compression of the vena cava by the gravid uterus). The persistence of altered systolic time intervals in the post partum (increased PE/EVS) suggest an impaired myocardial performance.