Analysis of bias-shift effects in free-running and injection-locked negative resistance oscillators

In this paper, the interaction between DC and RF in quasi-sinusoidal free-running and injection-locked oscillators is addressed. To account for and illustrate in a user-friendly manner the bias-shift related effects stemming from such interaction, a frequency-domain method of analysis has been developed for a rather wide class of negative-resistance circuits. Grounding on a first-approximation exact perturbation-refined approach, it permits computationally efficient simulation of the oscillator behavior directly in terms of the DC and RF signals evolutions (dynamical complex envelopes). In fact, it allows the investigation of both steady-state and transient operation of the shifting-bias dr…

Association between platelet glycoprotein Ib-alpha and myocardial infarction: results of a pilot study performed in male and female patients from Sicily.

Myocardial infarction (AMI) is a complex multifactorial disorder. Platelet adhesion and thrombosis are pivotal events in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Occlusive thrombus is almost exclusively initiated by plaque rupture and adhesion of platelets to subendothelial von Willebrand factor (vWf) by its specific platelet receptor, the alpha-chain of glycoprotein (GP) Ib-IX-V complex of the human platelet-specific antigens (HPA). Two polymorphisms have been reported in the sequence of GPIb-alpha. The first, a C/T transition at nucleotide 1018 results in an amino acid dimorphism (Thr/Met) at residue 145 of GPIb-alpha, which is located within the vWF-binding domain of the receptor. The…

Role of the pyrin M694V (A2080G) allele in acute myocardial infarction and longevity: a study in the Sicilian population

Abstract A proinflammatory genotype seems to contribute significantly to the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD). Conversely, the susceptibility alleles to inflammatory disease should be infrequent in the genetic background favoring longevity. In fact, in a modern environment, attainment of longevity is facilitated by an anti-inflammatory status. To evaluate whether inflammatory alleles of pyrin, the gene responsible for familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) may play an opposite role in CHD and in longevity, we examined three FMF-associated mutations, M694V (A2080G), M694I (G2082A), and V726A (T2177C), encoded by the FMF gene (MEFV) in 121 patients affected by acute myocardial infa…

Pro-inflammatory gene variants in myocardial infarction and longevity: implications for pharmacogenomics.

Inflammation and genetics play an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, despite the increasing appreciation of the role of genetics in CHD and myocardial infarction (MI) pathogenesis, pharmacogenomic approaches to uncover drug target have not been extensively explored. Cyclo-oxygenases (COXs) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) are the key enzymes in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins (PG) and leukotrienes (LT) and are implicated in a wide variety of inflammatory disorders, including atherosclerosis. In fact, PGE2 activates Matrix Metallo-proteinases whereas LTB4 is a chemoactractant for monocytes and activates gene expression in inflammatory c…

COMPORTAMENTO DEI PAZIENTI AD ALTO RISCHIO DI SVILUPPARE NEFROPATIA INDOTTA DA MEZZO DI CONTRASTO DOPO CORONAROGRAFIA/ANGIOPLASTICA PERCUTANEA

Papillary muscle relocation in conjunction with valve annuloplasty improve repair results in severe ischemic mitral regurgitation

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of recurrent mitral regurgitation (MR) after restrictive annuloplasty (RA) was 5% to 20% in several reports. There are many opinions in favor of adding subvalvular procedures to RA to reduce the tenting forces and improve the repair results. METHODS: From March 2003 to May 2010, 55 patients with severe ischemic MR who had undergone papillary muscle (PPM) relocation in conjunction with mitral annuloplasty in our institutions were enrolled. The patients were matched 1:1 with those who underwent isolated RA using the propensity score. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 42% ± 6%. The mean tenting area and coaptation depth was 3.2 ± 0.6 cm(2) and 1.3 ± 0.2 c…

Total occlusion of aortic arch in a 62-year-old man presenting with acute myocardial infarction

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Studio dei polimorfismi genetici nell’IMA giovanile

Alpha1-antitrypsin heterozygosity plays a positive role in attainment of longevity.

Genes involved in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) play an opposite role in human longevity. The alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) is a serine-protease inhibitor required for the prevention of proteolytic tissue damage, by neutrophil elastase. The role of AAT in CVD has not been definitively assessed and its effect on longevity has not yet fully been studied. To clarify these points, we have studied the distribution of AAT allele variants in 3 cohorts: 127 young patients affected by acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 255 young controls and 143 centenarians from Sicily. The Z allele frequency was most frequent in centenarians (13.3%), intermediate in healthy young controls (3.1%) and less frequent in AM…

Analysis of Bias-Shift Effects in Free-Running and Injection-Locked Negative Resistance Oscillators

In this paper, the interaction between DC and RF in quasi-sinusoidal free-running and injection-locked oscillators is addressed. To account for and illustrate in a user-friendly manner the bias-shift related effects stemming from such interaction, a frequency-domain method of analysis has been developed for a rather wide class of negative-resistance circuits. Grounding on a first-approximation exact perturbation-refined approach, it permits computationally efficient simulation of the oscillator behavior directly in terms of the DC and RF signals evolutions (dynamical complex envelopes). In fact, it allows the investigation of both steady-state and transient operation of the shifting-bias dr…

Oxidative stress in young subjects with acute myocardial infarction: evaluation at the initial stage and after 12 months.

In 105 subjects (97 men and 8 women) aged <46 years (mean age 39.6 ± 5.5 years), with recent acute myocardial infarction (T1), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and total antioxidant status were determined; NO production was evaluated by measuring the nitrite and nitrate (NOx) concentration. The patients with acute myocardial infarction were subdivided according to the main risk factors, number of risk factors, and extent of coronary lesions. The evaluation was repeated after 12 months (T2). In these subjects, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and NOx were significantly increased and total antioxidant status was significantly decreased at T1. In single risk factor, only NO m…

Optimal Energy Management of Smart Grids With Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

In this paper, smart grids based on Renewable Energy Sources are addressed. An Italian case study which has been developed in the frame of the research project i-NEXT (Innovation for green Energy and eXchange in Transportation) is presented. Storage elements are included. Electric and fuel cell powered vehicles' charging stations are here included as local loads. In this paper, power management algorithms and the control logic are described. The control subsystem aims at an efficient management of the involved renewable energy sources avoiding faults in the power system and ensuring a fully functional supply of local loads. A “Service Center” software collecting data from renewable sources,…

Association between +1059G/C CRP polymorphism and acute myocardial infarction in a cohort of patients from Sicily: a pilot study.

Inflammation plays a role in all the phases of atherosclerosis, and increased production of the acute-phase reactant, C-reactive protein (CRP), predicts future cardiovascular events. Furthermore, CRP has been claimed to play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; therefore, CRP polymorphisms might be associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We have analyzed male patients affected by AMI and healthy age-related male controls from Sicily for +1059G/C CRP single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). There was a significantly higher frequency of +1059C SNP (P = 0.0008; OR 3.86) in patients compared to controls. CRP serum levels were significantly higher in C+ healthy subjects rather …

Impact of moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation after isolated coronary artery bypass grafting

The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical and echocardiographic outcomes, at rest and under exercise testing, of patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).Between February 2003 and March 2008, 180 patients with moderate IMR who had isolated CABG were enrolled. Patients were matched 1:2 (n = 360) with patients who underwent isolated CABG without IMR (by propensity score). The study endpoints were freedom from all death, cardiac related-death, late events, and cardiac-related events. Late outcomes and left ventricular remodeling were evaluated according to preoperative percent of ejection fraction. Sympto…

Growth hormone deficiency and increased coronary risk.

A Multifunctional Public Lighting Infrastructure, Design and Experimental Test

Nowadays, the installation of efficient lighting sources and Information and Communications Technologies can provide economic benefits, energy efficiency, and visual comfort requirements. More advantages can be derived if the public lighting infrastructure integrates a smart grid. This study presents an experimental multifunctional infrastructure for public lighting, installed in Palermo. The system is able to provide smart lighting functions (hotspot Wi-Fi, video-surveillances, car and pedestrian access control, car parking monitoring and support for environmental monitoring). A remote control and monitoring platform called “Centro Servizi” processes the information coming from…

Myocardial infarction marker levels are influenced by prothrombin and tumor necrosis factor-α gene polymorphisms in young patients.

Polymorphisms of genes encoding key factors for the control and activation of inflammatory response and coagulation cascade regulation may play a role in genetic susceptibility to acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study sought to analyze the effect of TNF - 308G/A and pro-thrombin (FII) 20210G/A polymorphisms on the laboratory parameters of young patients affected by AMI. Results indicated that TNF - 308A positive genotype frequencies were increased in these patients and that a genetically determined higher production of TNF-alpha is associated in young subjects to a more severe cardiac damage as depicted by higher levels of troponin, Creatine kinase-MB Isoenzyme (mCK-MB) and a signif…

Pharmacogenomics: a tool to prevent and cure coronary heart disease.

Inflammation and genetics play an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease (CHD). This is supported by epidemiological studies which have thoroughly investigated the association between CHD and gene polymorphisms of the inflammatory molecules. Moreover, efforts to find elective therapy have not been rewarding and, despite the increasing appreciation of the role of genetics in CHD and myocardial infarction (MI) pathogenesis, pharmacogenomic approaches to uncover drug target have not been extensively explored. A critical search of published literature has suggested few inflammatory genes directly involved in the risk to develop CHD and MI. The selected genes are, the pro- …

Role of Toll-like receptor 4 in acute myocardial infarction and longevity.

Off-pump versus on-pump myocardial revascularization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: A randomized trial

Objective Conventional cardioplegic arrest coronary artery bypass grafting after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is associated with high mortality and morbidity. The benefits of off-pump surgery have been suggested. This study randomly evaluated the impact of the off-pump technique on clinical results. Methods Between February 2002 and October 2007, 128 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who underwent myocardial revascularization within 48 hours from the onset of symptoms were randomly assigned to 2 groups: on-pump group (66 patients/51.5%) and off-pump group (63 patients/48.5%). The primary end point was the incidence of in-hospital death and outcomes (low …

Role of genetic polymorphisms in myocardial infarction at young age

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in young adult presents a typical pattern of risk factors, clinical, angiographic and prognostic characteristics. In the last years we demonstrated that hemorheological profile is altered in these patients in a persistent way and independently of the number of risk factors and of the extent of coronary lesions. Thus, the hyperviscosity syndrome following AMI could be considered an intrinsic characteristic of these patients. Consequently it is possible to hypothesise the presence of a genetic background at the origin of this predisposition. If this background is able to influence the risk of ischemic heart disease, this should be particularly evident in youn…

Influence of Active Device Nonlinearities on the Determination of Adler's Injection.Locking Q-Factor

The problem of the correct evaluation of Q-factor appearing in Adler's equation for injection-locking is addressed. Investigation has shown that recent results presented in the literature, while extending applicability of the original method, do not completely account for nonlinear effects occurring when two-port active devices are involved. To overcome such limitation, use can be made of a newly developed theory in the dynamical complex envelope domain, capable of providing first-approximation exact dynamical models of driven quasi-sinusoidal oscillators. Some preliminary results are presented here concerning a class of injection-locked oscillators with single-loop feedback type configurat…

Late carotid artery stent erosion and pseudoaneurysm after accidental hyperextension of the neck

A 75-year-old man was referred to our unit complaining of a large pulsatile neck mass that appeared 2 days after an accidental fall and hyperextension of the neck. One month earlier, he was submitted to left carotid artery stenting for symptomatic high-grade stenosis. His medical history included diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and a right femoropopliteal bypass for critical limb ischemia. At the time of admission, he was afebrile and had no evidence of local erythema, draining sinus, or leukocytosis. Moreover, C-reactive protein was 1 mg/dL. The clinical examination revealed a large swelling in the region of the left carotid bifurcation and mild dyspnea. Arterial duplex imaging…

Clinical outcomes of aortic valve repair in asymptomatic patients with chronic severe aortic valve regurgitation.

A particular phenotype of ascending aorta aneurysms as precursor of type A aortic dissection.

Objectives: We aimed to identify a phenotype of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), which, more than others, evolves into type A dissection (TAD). Methods: Aortic specimens were obtained from patients undergoing surgical repair of TAA and TAD (108 and 26, respectively). Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed by using adequate tissue specimens, appropriate techniques and criteria. Results: We identified the three following TAA phenotypes: phenotype I (cystic medial degeneration balanced by a substitutive fibrosis, in absence of medial apoptosis and with a faint collagenase concentration), phenotype II (cystic medial degeneration of higher grade, respectively,…

Carotid artery stenting with contralateral carotid occlusion in a rare aortic arch configuration

We present the case of a 47-year-old man admitted to our department with an episode of aphasia. Duplex scan showed an occluded right internal carotid artery and severe left internal carotid artery stenosis. Contrast-enhanced computer tomography demonstrated a common trunk for both common carotid arteries anterior to the trachea and aberrant right subclavian artery posterior to the esophagus. The patient was considered to be a high risk for carotid endarterectomy and, consequently, we performed stenting of the left carotid artery. To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting the combination of these two aortic arch anomalies and the concomitant endovascular treatment of atherosclerotic…

Role of proinflammatory alleles in longevity and atherosclerosis: results of studies performed on -1562C/T MMP-9 in centenarians and myocardial infarction patients from Sicily.

Centenarians are characterized by marked delay or escape from age-associated diseases that cause mortality at earlier ages. Jointly, atherosclerosis and its complications, such as myocardial infarction (AMI), significantly contribute to mortality in the elderly. Inflammation is a key component of atherosclerosis and inflammatory genes are good candidates for the risk of the development of atherosclerosis. Genetic traits contribute to the risk of AMI and allelic variations in inflammatory genes should boost the risk of disease. If proinflammatory genotypes significantly contribute to the risk of AMI, alleles associated with disease susceptibility should not be included in the genetic backgro…

Vascular complications on arterial puncture site after coronaric and peripheral angiography

Il cateterismo cardiaco, l'angiografia coronarica e periferica e le procedure interventistiche sono tecniche contrastografiche che prevedono la visualizzazione radiografica dei vasi coronarici e periferici dopo l'iniezione selettiva di mezzo di contrasto radiopaco. Si tratta di tecniche relativamente sicure, anche se esiste un certo rischio di morbilità e mortalità. Nel nostro studio abbiamo valutato le varie complicanze mettendole in relazione con fattori demografici e clinici, terapie, caratteristiche della puntura e della procedura.

A measurement setup for electric bicycles powered from renewable energy sources

In this paper a measurement system for a pedalassist rickshaw is described. It has been designed and realized with the purpose of a deep analysis of operating time, range and general performance of the prototype vehicle. The three-wheel velocipede under test, developed in the SDES laboratory of the University of Palermo, is equipped with two battery packs, and a photovoltaic panel which is used to recharge one of the packs at a time. To further improve the autonomy of this mean, a fuel cell will be added as a power source, whose consequent improvement in performance could be easily investigated by the presented measurement setup. An Arduino board has been employed to receive and store all c…

Chest pain due to late huge coronary pseudoaneurysm following stent implantation

A 50-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of persistent atypical chest pain. His past medical history was remarkable for a non ST elevation myocardial infarction, treated five months previously with PCI on the right coronary artery. Two months later, for chest pain, he underwent coronary angiography that showed a right coronary artery with slight ectasia near the stent. Five months later for the persistence of atypical chest pain he came to our clinic. Chest CT showed a 31.5 mm hematoma of the right coronary artery. Coronary angiography revealed a giant aneurysm, proximal to the stent. In the light of rapid growth of aneurysm, the risk of rupture and symptoms, we decided to tre…

Pro-Inflammatory Genetic Markers of Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic, progressive, multifactorial disease mostly affecting large and medium-sized elastic and muscular arteries. It has formerly been considered a bland lipid storage disease. Currently, multiple independent pathways of evidence suggest this pathological condition is a peculiar form of inflammation, triggered by cholesterol-rich lipoproteins and influenced both by environmental and genetic factors. The Human Genome Project opened up the opportunity to dissect complex human traits and to understand basic pathways of multifactorial diseases such as AS. Population-based association studies have emerged as powerful tools for examining genes with a role in common mul…

Association between platelet endothelial cellular adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1/CD31) polymorphisms and acute myocardial infarction: a study in patients from Sicily

Summary Adhesion of circulating cells to the arterial surface is among the first detectable events in atherogenesis. Cellular adhesion molecules, expressed by the vascular endothelium and by circulating leucocytes, mediate cell recruitment and their transendothelial migration. Platelet endothelial cellular adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1/CD31), involved in this migration, has been associated with the developmental course of atherosclerosis. A few studies have investigated an association between coronary heart disease and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in functionally important domains of the PECAM-1/CD31 gene. In particular, Ser563Asn and Gly670Arg SNPs have been described as s…

A case of Takotsubo syndrome

Accelerated Analysis of Low-Level Injection Operation for Transistor-Based Oscillating Amplifiers

The problem of the accelerated analysis of oscillating amplifiers is addressed. To achieve both computational efficiency and adequate accuracy also in case of transmission-type, transistor-based, circuit structures, a novel approach is proposed which makes use of a general reduced-order model of the injected oscillator. A perturbation-refined analysis method is thus applied, which permits to derive the first-order exact set of differential equations that describes the system behavior in the fundamental-frequency complex-envelope domain. As illustrated by the RF Meissner driven oscillator example presented, the devised approach achieves the stated goals, and lends itself as a convenient, des…

Chronic kidney disease and inflammation: Role of +896A/G pro-inflammatory polymorphism of TLR4 gene and Δ32 deletion of CCR5 gene

bstract Chronic inflammation seems implicated in the pathophysiology of chronic kidney diseases (CKD) and the development of its complications, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Genes encoding inflammatory molecules are, hence, good candidates for CVD risk in haemodialysis patients (HD). We therefore evaluated whether +896A/G TLR4 polymorphism and CCR5A32 deletion are risk factors for CKD and CVD. We examined the two gene variants in 72 HD patients and in 125 controls from Sicily. No significant differences in the genotype distribution and allele frequencies of the two gene variants were observed between patients and controls. The same results were obtained by analysing the combined ef…

The role of macrophage colony-stimulating factor in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a pilot study.

We assessed whether macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) levels are associated with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We studied 56 patients with AMI (mean age: 67 ± 12 years) and identified those with clinical (Killip class >II) or echocardiographic signs (ejection fraction ≤45%) of LVSD. We evaluated the established cardiovascular risk factors and measured several cardiovascular biomarkers, including M-CSF. Serum M-CSF concentrations (pg/mL) were significantly increased in patients with both clinical and echocardiographic signs of LVSD (460 ± 265 vs 290 ± 210, P = .0103 and 493 ± 299 vs 287 ± 174, P = .0028, respec…

Inflammation, Longevity, and Cardiovascular Diseases: Role of Polymorphisms of TLR4

The total burden of infection at various sites may affect the progression of atherosclerosis, the risk being modulated by host genotype. The role of lipopolysaccaride receptor TLR4 is paradigmatic. It initiates the innate immune response against gram-negative bacteria; and TLR4 polymorphisms, as ASP299GLY, suggested to attenuate receptor signaling, have been described. We demonstrated that TLR4 ASP299GLY polymorphism shows a significantly lower frequency in patients affected by myocardial infarction compared to controls, whereas centenarians show a higher frequency. Thus, people genetically predisposed to developing weak inflammatory activity, seem to have fewer chances of developing cardio…

Computationally Efficient Innovative Techniques for the Design-Oriented Simulation of Free-Running and Driven Microwave Oscillators

Analysis techniques for injection-locked oscillators/amplifiers (ILO) can be broadly divided into two classes. To the first class belong methods with a strong and rigorous theoretical basis, that can be applied to rather general circuits/systems but which are very cumbersome and/or time-consuming to apply. To the second class belong methods which are very simple and fast to apply, but either lack of validity/accuracy or are applicable only to very simple or particular cases. In this thesis, a novel method is proposed which aims at combining the rigorousness and broad applicability characterizing the first class of analysis techniques above cited with the simplicity and computational efficie…

takotsubo cardiomiopathy after acute diarrhea

Takotsubo cardiomyopaty is a recently described syndrome characterized by transient left ventricular dysfunction, mimicking an acute coronary syndrome and usually precipitated by a physical or emotional stress. We report the first case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy after acute diarrhea in a man. It may be argued that severe diarrhea in predisposed individuals may cause an acute stress resulting in increased sympathetic activity leading to this syndrome. Probably the relationship between the adrenergic system and the heart is more complex than general thought and the stimuli which favor an autonomic imbalance and precipitate the syndrome are very disparate in clinical practice.

Association between HFE mutations and acute myocardial infarction: a study in patients from Northern and Southern Italy.

There is interest in the role of iron in age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis. Tissue iron deposition could be harmful, because Fe(2+) can react with H(2)O(2) to form OH(-) radicals and Fe(2+) can react with O(2) to form reactive oxygen species. Free radicals react with cell membranes and cell organelles and could lead to the development of atherosclerosis by initiating lipid peroxidation. Hereditary hemochromatosis provides an opportunity for studying the effects of iron on cardiovascular disease. Some studies have shown that individuals who carried HFE mutations may be at greater risk of developing coronary heart disease than those without the mutations. In contrast, a large numbe…

Genetic diversity and relationships among Italian and foreign almond germplasm as revealed by microsatellite markers

Abstract Italian germplasm is characterized by a wide diversity rapidly developed determining a massive genetic pool of cultivars in several growing areas. On the whole, regions of southern Italy, and in particular Sicily, were considered as one of the main trade routes along which almond was spread throughout the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In this work, 9 SSR markers have been used to analyze 113 almond cultivars and accessions coming from ex-situ conservation, including most of almond genotypes spread in Sicily and Apulia and foreign cultivars from Mediterranean, American and Australian areas in order to determine the level of genetic diversity within Italian genotypes and elucidate…

Role of TLR4 polymorphisms in inflammatory responses: implications for unsuccessful aging.

The total burden of infection at various sites may affect the progression of atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease (AD), the risk being modulated by host genotype. The role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor TLR4 is paradigmatic. It initiates the innate immune response against gram-negative bacteria, and TLR4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), such as +896A/G, known to attenuate receptor signaling, have been described. This SNP shows a significantly lower frequency in patients affected by myocardial infarction or AD. Thus, people genetically predisposed to developing lower inflammatory activity seem to have less chance of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) or AD. In the presen…

Computationally Efficient Analysis of Microwave Injection-Locked Amplifiers

In this paper, some preliminary results on a novel approach to the analysis of injection-locked amplifiers are presented. The proposed method is based on a behavioral block modeling of the circuit in the fundamental-frequency dynamical phasor domain. The first-order exact perturbation refined treatment developed provides, in the end, explicit equations describing the entrained oscillation amplitude and phase dynamics. A secondary simplification then can be adopted in case of low-level injection, to determine a closed form expression for the locking bandwidth, generalizing the well known Adler’s one. By virtue of its semi-analytical nature, the proposed approach turns out to be much more eff…

Contrast-induced Nephropathy after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Simple Lesions: Risk Factors and Incidence are Affected by the Definition Utilized

Aim To compare the incidence, and risk factors, in-hospital and at the 18-month prognosis of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) according to the definition utilized: as an increase in serum creatinine (Scr) ≥0.5 mg/dL (CIN 1) or as an increase in Scr ≥25% above baseline values (CIN 2). Methods and Results We prospectively evaluated CIN according to two different definitions in 150 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in simple lesions employing a low-medium dose of contrast media. Incidence of CIN was higher using the CIN 2 definition than CIN 1 (9.3% vs. 4%; p=0.0133). Patients with CIN 1 had a higher incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) (66.7% vs. 13.9%; p=…

Association between C1019T polymorphism of connexin37 and acute myocardial infarction: a study in patients from Sicily

Abstract During atherogenesis, a critical role is played by intercellular communication via gap junctions, cell membrane channels linking the cytoplasmic compartments of adjacent cells. The component protein subunits of these channels, called connexin (Cx), belong to a multigene family. Cx37 is involved in growth, regeneration after injury and ageing of the endothelial cells, suggesting its role in atherosclerosis. The C1019 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of Cx37 gene was associated with thickening of the carotid intima in Swedish men and was also associated with coronary artery disease in a Taiwanese population. On the other hand, in two more recent studies performed in male Japanese…

Opposite Role of Pro-Inflammatory Alleles in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Longevity: Results of Studies Performed in a Sicilian Population

The major trait characterizing offspring in centenarians is a reduction in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. Because a pro-inflammatory genotype seems to contribute significantly to the risk of coronary heart disease, alleles associated with disease susceptibility would not be included in the genetic background favoring longevity, as suggested by our previous studies on inflammatory cytokines. To confirm whether genotypes of inflammatory molecules play an opposite role in atherosclerosis and longevity, we are studying the role of other proinflammatory alleles, such as pyrin and CCR5, in acute myocardial infarction and longevity. The results support the hypothesis that the genetic ba…

Connexin37 1019 gene polymorphism in myocardial infarction patients and centenarians

TLR2 and age-related diseases: potential effects of Arg753Gln and Arg677Trp polymorphisms in acute myocardial infarction.

ABSTRACT Inflammation is a key component of immune system. It is involved in both defense and pathophysiological events maintaining the dynamic homeostasis of host organism. Its function is controlled by innate immunity genes. Both their polymorphisms and environmental conditions give rise to different phenotypes in human population. Proinflammatory genotype may be beneficial in early life but not in old people. With advancing age, indeed, it increases the vulnerability and the intensity to inflammatory reactions responsible for the chronic inflammatory diseases, such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction (MI). Several studies have looked for detecting a genetic risk profile that mig…

Long-Term Results After Repair of Type A Acute Aortic Dissection According to False Lumen Patency

Background Late survival and freedom from retreatment on the descending aorta was evaluated after ascending aortic repair for type A acute aortic dissection (TAAAD). Methods Between March 1992 and January 2006, 189 TAAAD patients (mean age, 52 ± 11; range, 17 to 83 years) were included; of these, 58 had a patent false lumen, and 49 had Marfan syndrome. The descending aorta was evaluated postoperatively with computed tomography (CT). Late outcomes were assessed by Cox regression analysis and actuarial survival and freedom from retreatment by the Kaplan-Meier method. Mean follow-up was 88 ± 44 months. Results There were 38 (20%) late deaths. At 10 years, survival was 89.8% ± 2.1% for patients…

PECAM-1/CD31 in infarction and longevity.

: Inflammation has recently proven to be associated with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and inflammatory genes are good candidates for the risk of developing atherosclerosis. The early phase of atherosclerosis involves the recruitment of inflammatory cells from the circulation and their transendothelial migration. This process is mainly mediated by cellular adhesion molecules, which are expressed by the vascular endothelium and by circulating leukocytes in response to several inflammatory stimuli. Adhesion of circulating cells to the arterial surface is among the first detectable events in atherogenesis. Cellular adhesion molecules, expressed by the vascular endothelium and by circulat…

rs629301 CELSR2 polymorphism confers a ten-year equivalent risk of critical stenosis assessed by coronary angiography

Abstract Background and aims Novel genetic determinants associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) have been discovered by genome wide association studies. Variants encompassing the CELSR2- PSRC1-SORT1 gene cluster have been associated with CAD. This study is aimed to investigate the rs629301 polymorphism association with the extent of CAD evaluated by coronary angiography (CAG), and to evaluate its associations with an extensive panel of lipid and lipoprotein measurements in a large Italian cohort of 2429 patients. Methods and results The patients were collected by four Intensive Care Units located in Palermo and Verona (Italy). Clinical Records were filed, blood samples were collected,…

Preliminary Short-term Results of a Population of Patients Treated with MitraClip therapy: one Center Experience

<p><span>Objectives: This retrospective analysis sought to evaluate 1-month outcomes and therapy effectiveness of a population of patients treated with MitraClip therapy. We describe in this article the preliminary results of primary effictiveness endpoint.</span></p><p><span>Background: Percutaneous Mitral Repair is being developed to treat severe mitral regurgitation (MR),with increasing real-world cases of functional MR(FMR). In the EVEREST(Endovascular Valve Edge-to-Edge Repair Study)II trial,percutaneous device showed superior safety but less reduction in MR at 1year. 4-year outcomes from EVEREST II trial showed no difference in the prevalence of mod…

Opposite effects of interleukin 10 common gene polymorphisms in cardiovascular diseases and in successful ageing: genetic background of male centenarians is protective against coronary heart disease

Many aspects of ageing involve inflammatory processes. We evaluated the association with longevity of alleles of IL10 and TNFa, known to have opposite functions in inflammatory reactions, IL-10 acting predominantly as an anti-inflammatory and TNF-a as a proinflammatory factor. The number of male centenarians homozygous for the –1082G genotype, suggested to be associated with high IL-10 production, was significantly increased in comparison with younger control subjects. No significant differences were observed between women and controls. The genotypic frequencies of the TNFa promoter SNPs 308G and 308A, suggested to be associated with low and high TNF-a production respectively, were not sign…

Ectasia coronarica: ruolo delle gelatinasi e dei loro inibitori tissutali.

Genetics of Inflammation in Age-Related Atherosclerosis: Its Relevance to Pharmacogenomics

In response to tissue injury elicited by trauma or infection, the inflammatory response, as a complex network of molecular and cellular interactions, sets an answer directed to facilitate a return to physiological homeostasis and tissue repair. The role of the genetic background and the subsequent predisposition toward the extent of the inflammatory response is determined by gene variability encoding endogenous mediators involved in the inflammatory pathway. Due to its clinical relevance, the genetics of inflammation in aging will be studied using an inflammatory disease like atherosclerosis as an example. Several studies have reported a significant difference in distribution, between patie…

Physiological and molecular analysis of the maturation process in fruits of Clementine Mandarin and one of its late-ripening mutants

Peel color is one of the main features affecting citrus quality. Clementine is a widespread citrus species with several mutants showing a delay in pigmentation and harvesting. This work characterizes the fruit development and ripening of two clementine clones, 'Comune', a widespread variety, and one of its natural mutations, 'Tardivo', which differ by a delayed color-break and extended harvest period. Morphological, chemical, and molecular analyses were carried out on fruits of both genotypes during the whole maturation process. Analysis showed that mutation did not affect ripening characteristics such as juice acidity and TSS. However, biochemical and molecular analysis revealed marked dif…

Is the Mean Blood Leukocyte Telomere Length a Predictor for Sporadic Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm? Data from a Preliminary Study

Telomeres have been postulated as a universal clock that shortens in parallel with cellular aging. They are specialized DNA-protein structures at the ends of chromosome with remarkable functions--preventing their recognition as double-stranded DNA breaks, protecting their recombination and degradation, and avoiding a DNA damage cellular response. Telomere shortening is currently considered the best aging marker, but is also a predictor for age-related diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. Biological age clearly seems to be a better predictor of vascular risk rather than chronological age. This concept is supported by key assumptions that peripheral blood leukocyte telomere content ac…

Anomalous origin of all three coronary arteries from right sinus of Valsalva

AbstractCongenital anomalies of the coronary arteries, although uncommon, have the potential to cause serious myocardial damage, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and sudden cardiac death. We report a rare case of origin of all three coronaries from the right sinus of Valsalva.

Role of polymorphisms of CC-chemokine receptor-5 gene in acute myocardial infarction and biological implications for longevity

A key component of atherosclerosis is inflammation. So, genes encoding inflammatory or antiinflammatory molecules are good candidates for the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), as acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In this study we demonstrated that genetic variations in CCR5 gene affect atherosclerosis and risk of AMI, hence consenting the attainment of longevity.

Nitric oxide metabolites (nitrite and nitrate) in young patients with recent acute myocardial infarction

Nitric oxide (NO) has a role in the pathophysiology of acute and chronic cardiovascular events. We studied the plasma concentration of NO stable end products (nitrite and nitrate - NO x ) in 43 patients aged <46 years, with recent acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The evaluation was effected at the initial stage, after 3 and 12 months. We subdivided the patients into subgroups according to the number of the main cardiovascular risk factors and to the extent of coronary disease. In the whole group the NO x concentration was initially increased and progressively decreased after 3 and 12 months, remaining at both times significantly higher than in control subjects. The patients with more risk…

Inflammatory networks in ageing, age-related diseases and longevity

Inflammation is considered a response set by the tissues in response to injury elicited by trauma or infection. It is a complex network of molecular and cellular interactions that facilitates a return to physiological homeostasis and tissue repair. The individual response against infection and trauma is also determined by gene variability. Ageing is accompanied by chronic low-grade inflammation state clearly showed by 2-4-fold increase in serum levels of inflammatory mediators. A wide range of factors has been claimed to contribute to this state; however, the most important role seems to be played by the chronic antigenic stress, which affects immune system thorough out life with a progress…

Interleukin-6 gene polymorphism is an age-dependent risk factor for myocardial infarction in men.

Summary Several studies show that inflammatory components may contribute to atherosclerosis and increase the risk for myocardial infarction (MI). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a key pro-inflammatory and immune-modulatory cytokine of relevance for cardiovascular diseases. In this case-control study, 200 patients with MI and 257 healthy controls were genotyped for the polymorphism present in −174 promoter region of the IL-6 gene. Plasma concentrations of IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) in a group of patients and controls were measured. The −174 C allele was associated with an increased risk of developing MI (OR = 2.886, c.i. = 1.801–4.624, P = 0.0001) in older patients, while no association was f…