[The impact of regular physical activity on physical and mental health: how motivate the patient?]. / L'impact d'une activité physique régulière sur la santé physique et mentale: comment motiver le patient?

A sedentary lifestyle is associated with the development of numerous diseases and seems to increase in western societies. The influence of a regular physical activity in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancers, anxious and depressive disturbances is summarized. Potential mechanisms of its positive influence are discussed and prescription recommendations are made.

Plasma pancreatic hormone levels in a case of somatostatinoma: diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

Plasma somatostatin immunoreactivity (SIR) was elevated 40-fold in an insulin-treated diabetic with disseminated pancreatic carcinoma. The diagnosis of somatostatinoma was supported by histological and ultrastructural similarities between metastatic cells and pancreatic D cells. Under acid conditions, 75% of the plasma SIR eluted as a 6000- to 7000-dalton protein and 25% as synthetic somatostatin (mol wt 1600), whereas the 20-fold elevated urine SIR consisted almost exclusively of the higher molecular weight fraction. The hypersomatostatinemia was associated with reduced basal and stimulated pancreatic hormone levels, which might reflect its involvement in the steatorrhea and diabetes, and its protection against ketoacidosis. Plasma SIR rose 50% upon insulin withdrawal and 10-fold after tolbutamide injection and fell 30% after diazoxide. It is concluded that an increase in plasma and urine SIR, the presence of a 6000- to 7000-dalton SIR fraction in plasma and urine, a reduction in basal and stimulated pancreatic hormone levels, and tolbutamide-induced somatostatin release can be diagnostic for a somatostatinoma. Streptozotocin reduced tumor volume, hypersomatostatinemia, and tolbutamide-induced somatostatin release, suggesting that this drug may be useful in the treatment of disseminated somatostatinoma.

Relief of epigastric pain in nonulcer dyspepsia: controlled trial of the promotility drug cisapride.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 32 patients with nonulcer dyspepsia received 5 mg of cisapride or placebo three times daily for four weeks after a two-week run-in phase on placebo. Limited antacid use was allowed. Cisapride was superior to placebo in reducing the intensity of epigastric pain at two weeks (P = 0.03) and four weeks (P = 0.01). At the end of treatment, 82% of the cisapride-treated patients and 43% of the controls had no or only mild pain. Minor, gastrointestinal side effects were observed in two cisapride-treated patients and in one control.

Efficacy of cisapride in functional dyspepsia resistant to domperidone or metoclopramide: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed to determine the therapeutic efficacy of cisapride in patients with refractory functional dyspepsia. A total of 147 patients with functional dyspepsia characterized by prominent epigastric pain or discomfort were randomized to 2 weeks' treatment with metoclopramide or domperidone (both 30 mg/day); of these, 53 patients unresponsive to dopamine antagonist treatment were randomized to cisapride 30 mg/day or placebo for an additional 2 weeks. Metoclopramide and domperidone produced comparable alleviation of epigastric symptoms; global efficacy was good or excellent in 62% and 57% of patients, respectively. In refractory patients, cisapride tended to display greater efficacy than placebo against epigastric pain, particularly at night. Global assessments of efficacy significantly favored cisapride over placebo, with good or excellent ratings in 65% and 32% of patients, respectively. Cisapride was well tolerated. Thus, cisapride appears to be an effective agent in functional dyspepsia unresponsive to other gastrokinetic agents.

Parathyroid hormone-like biological activity in urine.

1. The parathyroid hormone-like biological activity of concentrated urine was measured by the increase of plasma calcium concentration after intravenous injection of the sample into chickens. 2. Urine was tested in hypoparathyroid patients, normal volunteer subjects, primary hyperparathyroid patients before and after surgery and patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. 3. In primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism the biological activity was significantly higher than in urine from normal subjects, which was in turn significantly higher than the activity in the urine of hypoparathyroid patients. This bioactivity diminished after surgical removal of a hyperparathyroid adenoma. 4. Decreased activity after trypsinization indicated the peptidic nature of the hypercalcaemic substance.

Urinary cyclic AMP in hyperthyroidism.

Urinary cyclic AMP was studied in 22 female and in 6 male hyperthyroid normocalcemic patients and in 3 hyperthyroid hypercalcemic men. Cyclic AMP/creatinine ratios were elevated both in female (4.12 +/- 0.26 mumoles/gm creatinine) and male (3.92 +/- 0.41 mumoles/gm creatinine) hyperthyroid normocalcemic patients as compared with normal female and male controls (2.85 +/- 0.20 and 2.54 +/- 0.14 mumoles/gm creatinine, respectively). However, there was no difference in the 24-hour urinary cyclic AMP excretion of both hyperthyroid and normal subjects. The hyperthyroid hypercalcemic men excreted less (2.47 +/- 0.19) mumoles/24 hr) cyclic AMP/24 hr than the normal male controls. In the thirteen female patients, studied when euthyroid, the cyclic AMP/creatinine ratio was normalised.

Renal responsiveness to parathyroid hormone in a case of nonfamilial hypophosphatemic osteomalacia.

Plasma immunoreactive parathyroid hormone level, urinary excretion of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and the sensitivity of the renal tubule to calcium infusion and to parathyroid extract were investigated in a patient with nonfamilial hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. Plasma immunoreactive parathyroid hormone concentration was normal and basal urinary excretion of cyclic AMP was increased. Renal cortical adenylate cyclase, as measured by urinary cyclic AMP excretion, was certainly as sensitive to exogenous parathyroid extract as in normal subjects. After a previous calcium infusion, a greater parathyroid-hormone-sensitive component of phosphorus transport in the kidney was present than in two control subjects. Our results indicate that in nonfamilial hypophosphatemic osteomalacia the renal tubule could be hyperresponsive to parathyroid hormone.