Glucose and erythrocyte ATP: distinctive effects of dipyridamole and of ticlopidine.

This experiment suggests the following points: 1. Erythrocytes in control patients and in atherosclerosis patients seem to have a variable grade of affinity for adenosine and for plasma glucose. This variable grade seems to fix the level of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) reserves and induces the erythrocytes' deformability. 2. The drop in the level of ATP reserves that induces the poor deformability of the erythrocytes in atherosclerosis patients would appear to be caused by two consecutive shortages: first a shortage that seems to be related to a deficiency of erythrocyte adenosine as the ATP shortage disappears with dipyridamole treatment and then a shortage induced by the lack of erythrocyte glucose and suppressed by the addition of ticlopidine to the dipyridamole treatment.

Atherosclerosis and cerebral ischemic attacks: intakes of cerebrography with xenon133 inhaled and platelet tests in the diagnosis, clinical and therapeutic monitoring; the preventive role of dipyridamole.

A study of patients to develop the significance of the role of the blood platelets in the recurrence of transient cerebral ischemic attacks in patients with cerebral atheromatous, develop the effectiveness of dipyridamole in the prophylactic therapeutic regimen. In the group treated with dipyridamole, a 76.3% clinical improvement was recorded (mean increases of 11.2 ml/min. and 11.4 ml/min. of the cerebral hemispheric flows), 15.8% of cases stabilized (mean increases of 1.7 ml/min. and 1.2 ml/min.) and 7.9% failures (mean decreases of 10.4 ml/min. and 14.3 ml/min.) of these same flows. The cerebrography with xenon133 inhaled as well as the platelet tests used, constitute unfailing means of diagnosing and monitoring the clinical development.

Platelet hyperaggregability, blood prostacyclin and dipyridamole.

This study demonstrates the presence of PGI2 in blood and its influence on platelet retention tests, possibly by the intermediate of a releasing system in the columns, which is followed by a proximate recuperation on the erythrocyte sites after the passage. The presence of prostacyclin on the erythrocyte sites seems to depend upon the red cell deformability in relation to the good condition of their erythrocyte ATP reserve. The load of the erythrocyte sites increases with the daily dose of dipyridamole. The maximum load of the sites appears to be reached with a daily dose of dipyridamole 450 mg. Approximately 10% of the atherosclerosis patients who have been treated by dipyridamole keep their platelet hyperaggregability and their abnormally lowered prostacyclin level.

[The distribution of cervical cancer mortality in Spain (1981-1986). An ecological study]. / Distribución de la mortalidad por cáncer de cérvix en España (1981-1986). Un estudio ecológico.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to analyze the geographic distribution of mortality by cervical cancer in Spain from 1981-1986 and to examine the relationship with a group of variables such as per capita income, the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases, the number of hotel rooms, and the prescriptions of oral contraceptives at a provincial level. METHODS: The causes standardized of death for cervical cancer in each Spanish province during the period from 1981 to 1986 were estimated. Multivariate analysis by Poisson regression was performed to determine the relationship between mortality and the variables collected. To do so the provinces were classified into four categories according to quartile distribution of each independent variable considered with the relative risk for each category created being estimated. RESULTS: A characteristic mortality pattern was observed in cervical cancer with the greatest mortality being found in the island and some coastal provinces and the lowest mortality in the peninsular inland provinces. Upon simple analysis of the relationship of mortality with the ecologic variables an important positive association was found with the number of hotel rooms and, to a lesser degree, with the oral contraceptive prescriptions, provincial per capita income, the percentage of urban population and the rate of illiteracy. CONCLUSIONS: A distribution of mortality by cervical cancer which appears to correspond to a certain leisure-tourism pattern, in addition to greater urban and lesser cultural development is reported. This may be in agreement with the hypothesis that cervical cancer is more frequent in more urban areas in which women demonstrate greater promiscuity and relaxation of sexual behaviours, together with the persistence of a low education level.