Platelet aggregation in patients with coronary disease treated with nifedipine

The effect of nifedipine on the aggregation of blood platelets has been studied in patients with coronary heart disease. The study involved 78 males, aged between 36 and 64 years (mean age 51 years). The level of aggregation was evaluated before and after a single nifedipine dose of 10 mg (in 15 patients) and of 20 mg (in 34 patients) as well as before and after the treatment with nifedipine (of 29 patient) with a daily dose of 30 mg for two weeks. Aggregation of blood platelets induced by adenosine--diphosphate in of concentrations 1 microM/ml and of 5 microM/ml were estimated by the Born method. It was found that nifedipine reduces the aggregation of the blood platelets in patients with coronary heart disease following single and long-term treatment.     

Intestinal permeability in children with Crohn's disease and coeliac disease.

Mannitol and lactulose were used as probe molecules to measure intestinal permeability in children with active small-bowel Crohn''s disease and with untreated coeliac disease. Mannitol and lactulose were administered by mouth in a moderately hypertonic solution (580 mmol (mosmol)/l), and results were expressed as the ratio of the molecules excreted in urine over five hours. Patients with Crohn''s disease had a sixfold increase in permeability (due to increased lactulose permeability) and those with coeliac disease a fivefold increase (due to decreased mannitol permeability). From these results the test offers potential as a noninvasive investigation in children with small-bowel disease.