0000000000071158
AUTHOR
Licata G
Usefulness of echocardiography in the assessment of internal medicine inpatients: An analysis according to ACC/AHA guidelines
BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze the importance of echocardiography in our Internal Medicine Institute. We think that this technique could have a large impact in the evaluation of the internistic inpatient who is usually affected by multiple pathological problems. METHODS: Analysis was performed according to the ACC/AHA guidelines for the application of echocardiography. The data of 1211 consecutive inpatients were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty-three per cent of all the patients had two or more associated diseases. Moreover, patients in whom echocardiography could be considered appropriate or useful were 67%. Our results point out that echocardiographic examination is generally a technique of gre…
Immunoinflammatory activation during the acute phase of lacunar and non-lacunar ischemic stroke: Association with time of onset and diabetic state
Several studies have stressed the involvement of inflammation in the pathophysiology of acute brain ischemia, but the role of immunoinflammatory activation in diabetic stroke patients has not yet been fully evaluated. The aim of our study was to evaluate immunoinflammatory activation of acute phase of stroke in relation to time of symptoms onset, diabetic state and diagnostic subtype. We enrolled 60 patients (32 diabetics; 28 non- diabetics) with acute ischemic stroke and 123 subjects without acute ischemic stroke, and measured levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, E-selectin, P-selectin, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, VWF, 24–72 h and 7–10 days after stroke onset; TPA, PAI-1 plasma levels at 24–72h. Ou…
Effects of moderate Sicilian red wine consumption on inflammatory biomarkers of atherosclerosis.
Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of moderate Sicilian red wine consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and, in particular, on some inflammatory biomarkers. Methods: A total of 48 subjects of both sexes who were nondrinkers or rare drinkers of moderate red wine were selected and randomly subdivided into two groups assigned to receive with a crossover design a Sicilian red wine (Nero d’Avola or Etna Torrepalino) during meals: Group A (n ¼ 24), in whom the diet was supplemented for 4 weeks with 250 ml/day of red wine, followed by 4 weeks when they returned to their usual wine intake; and Group B (n ¼ 24), in whom the usual wine intake was maintained for 4 weeks, fol…
Malattia di KiKuchi-Fujimoto e lupus eritematoso sistemico: quale connessione ?.
Relationship between low Ankle-Brachial Index and rapid renal function decline in patients with atrial fibrillation: a prospective multicentre cohort study.
Objective: To investigate the relationship between Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) and renal function progression in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Design: Observational prospective multicentre cohort study. Setting: Atherothrombosis Center of I Clinica Medica of 'Sapienza' University of Rome; Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of University Magna Græcia of Catanzaro; Atrial Fibrillation Registry for Ankle-Brachial Index Prevalence Assessment-Collaborative Italian Study. Participants: 897 AF patients on treatment with vitamin K antagonists. Main outcome measures: The relationship between basal ABI and renal function progression, assessed by the estimated Glomerular Filtration R…
Sindrome Cardiorenale nello Scompenso Cardiaco cronico: fisiopatologia e terapia.
Insegnare a progettare nell'epoca di Autocad
Atherosclerosis in females patients with rheumatoid arthritis; a two years follow-up.
Gender-differences in disease distribution and outcome in hospitalized elderly: data from the REPOSI study.
none 330 Women live longer and outnumber men. On the other hand, older women develop more chronic diseases and conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and depression, leading to a greater number of years of living with disabilities. The aim of this study was to describe whether or not there are gender differences in the demographic profile, disease distribution and outcome in a population of hospitalized elderly people.Retrospective observational study including all patients recruited for the REPOSI study in the year 2010. Analyses are referred to the whole group and gender categorization was applied.A total of 1380 hospitalized elderly subjects, 50.5\% women and 49.5\% men, were conside…
Atherosclerosis in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a two years of follow up
Long-term anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy reverses the progression of carotid intima–media thickness in female patients with active rheumatoid arthritis
The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of TNF inhibition on carotid thickness over a 2-year period. 144 women with RA diagnosed according to ACR criteria, without clinical evidence of cardiac and/or vascular disease were enrolled and compared with 78 matched controls. All patients received methotrexate (15–20 mg weekly) for 3 months. Responders (n = 79) continued to be treated with methotrexate, non-responders (n = 40) moved to methotrexate plus a TNF alpha antagonist. Echosonographic studies of carotids were obtained before and after 2-year follow-up. A significant decrease of ca-IMT was observed in anti-TNF-treated patients (P < 0.001); on the other hand, no significant vari…
Relationship between carotid intima-media thickness and non valvular atrial fibrillation type.
OBJECTIVE: Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is a surrogate marker of subclinical atherosclerosis and it is able to predict both coronary and cerebral vascular events. No data exist on the association between cIMT and non valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) type. We conduct this study with the aim to analyze the association between abnormal cIMT and NVAF type. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of the "Atrial fibrillation Registry for Ankle-brachial index Prevalence Assessment-Collaborative Italian Study (ARAPACIS)" has been performed. Among 2027 patients enrolled in the ARAPACIS, 673 patients, who underwent carotid ultrasound examination to assess cIMT, were included in the study. RESULT…
Left ventricular filling abnormalities and obesity-associated hypertension: relationship with overproduction of circulating transforming growth factor β1
This study has been designed to evaluate the relationship among transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1) and some measurements of diastolic function in a population of hypertensive subjects with normal left ventricular ejection fraction. We studied 67 hypertensive outpatients who according to their BMI levels were subdivided into three groups: lean (L), overweight (OW) and obese (OB) hypertensives (HT). Circulating TGFbeta1 and M- and B-mode echocardiography was determined. All hypertensives were further subgrouped, according to European Society of Cardiology Guidelines, into two subsets of patients with normal diastolic function or with diastolic dysfunction. Prevalence of left ventricu…
Changes of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (Ace) Levels During Activation of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAs)
The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes of ACE levels during RAAs activation induced by: 1) a continuous graded bicycle ergometer test performed in a group of 15 males health youths aged between 21 and 30 years, with average age of 25.8 +/- 2.85 years; 2) i.m. injection of 20 mg of frusemide in 11 health youths (10 males and 1 female), aged between 20 and 30 years, with average age of 24.09 +/- 2.77 years; 3) dialytic treatment in 25 patients (12 males and 13 females), suffering from chronic renal failure, aged between 26 and 68 years, with average age of 54 +/- 15.42 years. Plasmatic renin activity (PRA), aldosterone (ALD) and ACE levels were determined by RIA in basal conditions…