A new oral dosage form of diclofenac sodium, enabling the single administration of the daily dose of 150 mg, has been tested for treatment of 20 patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the spine. A control group of 20 patients with the same diagnosis instead received 3 enteric-coated tablets/day, each containing 50 mg of the drug. Treatments lasted in both groups one month. Clinical efficacy was monitored by evaluating the changes in the disease's symptoms and signs (pain, cramps, alterations of function capacity, morning stiffness) and in some laboratory parameters (ESR, C-reactive protein, Rheuma test). Treatment tolerability was evaluated through the routine laboratory blood and urine tests, and by registering any complaint at the gastrointestinal level, as well as any adverse event. The two posology schemes were equally effective in favourably reducing the disease's clinical and laboratory manifestations. Also systemic and local tolerability were superimposable and on the whole good: only a few episodes of mild epigastralgia were reported (3 cases in each group), as expected during a treatment course with NSAIDs.

SUMMARY Following previous work on the three-dimensional morphology of the somites and developing spinal ganglia, sclerotomal differentiation and the first phase of vertebral development were studied by typing the somitic cellular territories using L.M. and T.E.M. for the analysis of 30 chick embryos (from the 51st hour to the 5th day of incubation). Two distinct territories were identified in the ventro-medial portion of the somite: the undifferentiated somitic mesoderm, loose, with polymorphous cells, located in the cranial half of the somite; the sclerotome, dense, with smaller and ovoidal cells, located in the caudal half of the somite and with a trend to extend in a ventro-medial and caudal direction. Moreover, it was possible to reconstruct the mechanism of the formation of the vertebral body, after the fusion, around the notochord, of homologous sclerotomes, situated from the beginning of their differentiation at a more caudal level with respect to the myotomes and spinal nerves. Rejecting the theo...

Localization and development of chick heart peptidergic innervation (Substance P, VIP and Somatostatin) were investigated by means of immunofluorescence technique. The peptidergic component of the heart innervation was observed, for the first time, in older than 11 day chick embryos, i.e., subsequently to the appearance of the cholinergic component. The peptidergic structures achieve nearly full development in about 16-17 day embryos. Substance P is the most represented of the three peptides. It is localized both in nerve bundle fibers and in isolated fibers within the myocardium, the pericardium, the vessel walls; it is also present in fibers of some heart base ganglia. VIP is mostly contained in some thick single fibers travelling along the vessel walls of the heart base, the myocardium and the pericardium. Some VIP immunoreactive cells were also observed in the base ganglia. Somatostatin is mostly contained in some ganglia cells, whilst thin Somatostatin-immunoreactive fibers form a rich plexus among the atrial and ventricular myofibers, without contacting the vessel walls.

Biochemical analysis of the extracellular matrix of human aortas was performed on samples of ascending and descending aortas affected by atherosclerosis in comparison with a control group of nonatherosclerotic aortas. Ulcerated or heavily calcified atheromas were excised and excluded from the analysis in order to differentiate biochemical alterations leading to the formation of atheromas from those due to complications of already formed atheromas. Our results show that the development of atheromas brings about an extensive destruction of elastic fibers and muscular cells, and their place is occupied by other components of the extracellular matrix, most notably, collagen, non-uronic sugars, water, and lipids, which were found significantly increased.

Biochemical analysis of dermal connective tissue was carried out in 14 sub jects affected by primary uncomplicated varicose veins and 14 controls. Skin samples were taken, according to fixed criteria, from operation pieces of total mastectomy for breast cancer. The results suggest that the dermal tissue in these subjects is just thinner than that of controls, confirming previous similar clinical findings. The elective reduction of the collagen content observed, unassociated with changes of other components of the dermal connective tissue, brings evidence for a systemic biochemical defect of the extracellular matrix i.e. a collagen de fect affecting the entire body structure and not only the varicose or pre-varicose veins of the lower limbs.

The biochemical analysis of samples of aortic connective tissue was carried out in 22 subjects from 9 to 84 years old. Aortic samples were taken at necropsy performed after sudden or, more often, traumatic death. The results suggest that aging of the aorta is accompanied by an increase both in collagen content and in total sugar content when expressed as mg/cm 2 while the elastin content, when expressed in the same way, does not undergo any variation.

Collagen, elastin and structural glycoproteins were measured in 21 intact lungs taken at postmortem examination after sudden death from subjects aged from 15 to 83. The data were expressed as milligrams per cubic centimeter of lung peripheral parenchyma inflated and fixed at the standard pressure of 25 cm H2O to exclude the pitfall of referring to dried tissue weight. The volume/weight ratio of inflated dried lung parenchyma increased significantly with aging; likewise the collagen content decreased and so did the collagen/elastin ratio, while the elastin content did not show any significant correlation with age. The present findings indicate that biochemical, morphological and functional data on the senile lung agree well.

Attempts to quantify pulmonary scleroproteins in recent years have failed to show changes of collagen or elastin in emphysema or fibrosis; the collagen content appears to be the same as in the normal lung. We think that the disagreemnt with the optical appearance under the light microscope depends on the inappropriate use of reference parameters, namely weight of dried tissue or DNA content used to express the biochemical values in the sample. We have measured the scleroprotein content of 20 unharmed human right lungs taken at necropsy after sudden death, and expressed the values in μg per unit of volume of peripheral lung tissue inflated and formalin-fixed at the pressure of 25 cmH2O. A significant inverse correlation has been demonstrated between age and total collagen content only if expressed in μg/cc. This is in agreement with the significant direct correlation of the specific volume of expanded lung parenchyma with age. The elastin content does not show any increase when expressed in μg/cc; on the contrary, when expressed in mg/g of dry tissue, a direct correlation between elastin content and aging is shown. Therefore, our results agree with the expected rarefaction of connective tissue in over-inflated senile lung and prompt us to adapt our method of analysis to the study of true lung emphysema as well.

Two groups of subjects have been studied: the first one affected by varicose veins in lower legs, the second one as control (both groups include 138 subjects, mostly corresponding about age, sex and general health conditions). Acrocyanosis, blue sclerae, juvenile spontaneous epistaxis, hand's primary osteoarthrosis, articular hypermobility, thin skin and hernia were present more frequently in the group affected by varicose veins, the difference being statistically very significant. We suggest that mechanical revealing factors lead to the development of varicose veins in subjects who have a constitutional and probably hereditary systemic weakness of connective tissue network.

The collagen, elastin, total sugar, and nonscleroprotein content was eval uated in 32 samples of saphenous varicose vein and in 34 controls. A signifi cantly lower collagen and elastin content was found in the varicose samples without correlation with the degree of pathologic broadening. Otherwise the total sugars and the soluble nonscleroproteins were found to be increased in varicose samples. The results are more significant when expressed as milligrams per surface unit of endothelium. Our data support the hypothesis that the decrease in collagen and elastin content is a primary rather than secondary change.

The collagen, elastin and total sugar content was evaluated in 32 samples of saphenous varicose veins and in 34 controls. A significantly lower collagen and elastin content was found in the varicose samples. In addition, the total sugars and the soluble non-scleroproteins were found to be increased in varicose samples. The results are more significant when expressed as mg per unit surface of endothelium. Our findings support the hypothesis that the decrease in collagen and elastin content is a primary rather than a secondary change.