Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-4-17
pubmed:abstractText
Recent evidence suggested that periovulatory treatment with an immunomodulatory agent such as verapamil might be an effective alternative to conventional treatment for endometriosis-associated subfertility. In particular, it has been reported that the drug might reduce the accentuated macrophage peritoneal activation demonstrated in patients with endometriosis. In this study, we compared the effect of the calcium antagonist verapamil with those of gestrinone, danazol and testosterone on human monocyte phagocytosis in an attempt to evaluate any significant differences in their ability to influence a parameter of cell inflammatory activation. Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from 37 healthy women. Monocyte function was determined by phagocytosis of fluorescent microspheres after an overnight incubation in the presence or absence of the various agents. This study indicates that verapamil at the pharmacological concentration of 0.4 micrograms/ml, the systemic level in patients taking 40-80 mg/8 h p.o., significantly inhibits monocyte function. A lower immunosuppressive but still significant effect was achieved in this assay system with gestrinone at a concentration of 3 x 10(-8) M). The pharmacological concentration of danazol (10(-6) M) and the physiologic concentration of testosterone (10(-8) M) did not significantly affect this immunologic test system. These results provide evidence that verapamil is able to exert a slightly greater immunosuppressive effect than steroidal drugs on monocyte phagocytosis. However, due to the small differences observed, further studies on the biological mechanism of the drug seem to be necessary to completely elucidate its potential role in endometriosis-associated subfertility.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0378-7346
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
43
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
6-10
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
Comparative effect of the calcium antagonist verapamil and the synthetic steroids gestrinone and danazol on human monocyte phagocytosis in vitro.
pubmed:affiliation
2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinica L. Mangiagalli, University of Milano, Italy.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study