Several clinical trials have demonstrated the effect of octreotide as acute treatment (abortive agent) in cluster headache, where it has been shown that administration of subcutaneous octreotide is effective when compared with placebo.Octreotide has also been investigated in people with pain from chronic pancreatitis.It has been used in the treatment of malignant bowel obstruction.Octreotide may be used in conjunction with midodrine to partially reverse peripheral vasodilation in the hepatorenal syndrome. By increasing systemic vascular resistance, these drugs reduce shunting and improve renal perfusion, prolonging survival until definitive treatment with liver transplant. Similarly, octreotide can be used to treat refractory chronic hypotension.While successful treatment has been demonstrated in case reports, larger studies have failed to demonstrate efficacy in treating chylothorax.A small study has shown that octreotide may be effective in the treatment of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Obesity
Octreotide has been used experimentally to treat obesity, particularly obesity caused by lesions in the hunger and satiety centers of the hypothalamus, a region of the brain central to the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. The circuit begins with an area of the hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus, that has outputs to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), the brains feeding and satiety centers, respectively. The VMH is sometimes injured by ongoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or surgery or radiation to treat posterior cranial fossa tumors.
This is manifest on the ECG as the PR interval, which is about less than 200 milliseconds, the time from activation of the atria (manifest as the P wave) and activation of the ventricles (manifest as the QRS complex).Individuals with JET have a "short-circuit" in their heart, where the electricity bypasses the AV node, causing the heart to beat faster than normal. The cause of the arrhythmia, the ectopic focus, is usually near the AV node in the triangle of Koch (a rough triangle with points at the coronary sinus, the tendon of Todaro, and the tricuspid valve).Patients of heart surgery may experience an accelerated narrow complex tachycardia, usually within the first 24–48 hours (but occasionally longer) after surgery. There may be atrio-ventricular disassociation with more ventricular signals than atrial signals. The cause of JET is felt to be due to manipulation of the tissue surrounding the AV node during surgery, however debate exists regarding the exact cause, as it is seen after procedures even without significant manipulation of this area.JET-like symptoms can also manifest congenitally and in the first six months of life. This syndrome, which may also referred to as His bundle tachycardia, is resistant to therapy and can be difficult to treat. Diagnosis
JET is most commonly diagnosed using a 12-lead ECG. The appearance is usually of a tachycardia with rapid, regular ventricular rates of 170-260 beats per minute. The QRS complexes are usually narrow, but may be broad if a bundle branch block is present.