Search results for " Measurement"
showing 10 items of 2341 documents
Indications of the occurrence of inflammatory reactions in the clinical improvement phase in multiple sclerosis patients.
2009
– In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) the spontaneous burst activity (BA) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was related to the clinical course of the disease. In five patients clinical improvement was found while the BA was significantly increased (more than 300% of the controls). During the appearance of new or deteriorating signs and in the period without clinical changes, the BA was not at all or not markedly increased. In two patients without clinical improvement the BA did not reach levels above 300% of the controls. Our findings suggest that inflammatory reactions represented by the BA occur in the phase of clinical improvement. Since burst-stimulating activity was found in t…
First-trimester screening for trisomy-21 using a simplified method to assess the presence or absence of the fetal nasal bone.
2005
Objective To determine the benefit of including nasal bone assessment in addition to standard first-trimester markers (nuchal translucency, free beta human chorionic gonadotropin and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A) as a screening test for Down syndrome, using a strict criterion for classification of nasal bone absence. Study design Nasal bone assessment was conducted in 2411 patients with crown-rump length between 45 and 84 mm, including 15 patients with Down syndrome. A patient was considered to have an absent nasal bone only if there was no evidence of present nasal bone. Unlike other studies, nasal bone was classified as present when there was evidence of a thin echogenic line und…
Effects of ethanol and acetaldehyde on phagocytic functions
1985
Although a number of skin diseases are characterized by the presence of an increased number of phagocytes in their lesions, the effects of alcohol on phagocytic functions are not clearly understood. Therefore, we measured the influence of ethanol and acetaldehyde on the generation of oxygen radicals, chemotaxis and the release of lysosomal enzymes from human phagocytes. We added 0.03%-3% ethanol and 0.005%-0.25% acetaldehyde to cell cultures. We found that both ethanol and acetaldehyde suppressed the generation of oxygen radicals from granulocytes and monocytes; the ID50 was achieved at concentrations of approximately 0.25% for ethanol and 0.03% for acetaldehyde. A significant inhibition of…
The Effectiveness Of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy In Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Prospective, Randomized, Single-Blinded Pilot…
2019
Karolina Walewicz,1 Jakub Taradaj,2,3 Katarzyna Rajfur,1 Kuba Ptaszkowski,4 MichaÅ Tomasz Kuszewski,2 MirosÅaw Sopel,5 Robert Dymarek5 1Faculty of Physiotherapy, Opole Medical School, Opole, Poland; 2Institute of Physiotherapy and Health Sciences, Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland; 3College of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; 4Department of Physiotherapy, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 5Department of Nervous System Diseases, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, PolandCorrespondence: Robert DymarekDepartment of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, Wroclaw Medical University, Bartla 5, Wroclaw 51-618, PolandTe…
Detection of Anti-MICA Antibodies in Patients Awaiting Kidney Transplantation, during the Post-transplant Course, and in Eluates from Rejected Kidney…
2005
Previously we have reported on the development of antibodies against MICA alleles in kidney transplant recipients. These alloantibodies have now been determined using a new assay using Luminex beads bound to soluble recombinant MICA antigens produced in insect cells. In the present study we have analyzed sera from 85 kidney transplant recipients on the waiting list and 66 patients transplanted within the last 4 years and 59 acid eluates obtained from allograft nephrectomy specimens. Many of the patients in those groups were sensitized and some had previous transplants (waiting list: 15%; post-tx: 7.6%; eluates 22%) and their sera were found to contain anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and …
Pregnancy-associated diseases are characterized by the composition of the systemic regulatory T cell (Treg) pool with distinct subsets of Tregs
2011
Dysregulations concerning the composition and function of regulatory T cells (T(regs)) are assumed to be involved in the pathophysiology of complicated pregnancies. We used six-colour flow cytometric analysis to demonstrate that the total CD4(+) CD127(low+/-) CD25(+) forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3)(+) T(reg) cell pool contains four distinct T(reg) subsets: DR(high+) CD45RA(-), DR(low+) CD45RA(-), DR(-) CD45RA(-) T(regs) and naive DR(-) CD45RA(+) T(regs). During the normal course of pregnancy, the most prominent changes in the composition of the total T(reg) cell pool were observed between the 10th and 20th weeks of gestation, with a clear decrease in the percentage of DR(high+) CD45RA(-) and…
Preterm birth: incidence, risk factors and second trimester cervical length in a single center population. A two-year retrospective study
2017
To report the incidence and the major risk factors (RFs) associated with preterm birth (PTB), combining both maternal RFs and cervical length (CL), and to understand if cervical length measurement is really useful in all the patients.The study population consisted of 2048 women admitted to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Messina, over a 2-year period. Preterm cases represented approximately 8.64% of our total population and, exactly, 65% were late preterm, 32% were preterm, and 3% were extremely preterm.An analysis of PTB sub-categories based on gestational age showed a stronger correlation between gestational age and CL among preterm and extremely preter…
"Only Spinal Fixation" as Surgical Treatment of Cervical Myelopathy Related to Ossified Posterior Longitudinal Ligament: Review of 52 Cases.
2020
Background Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is a hyperostotic condition resulting in a progressive narrowing of the spinal canal and subsequent neurologic deficits. Although systemic and local factors in combination with genetic abnormality have been considered in its etiopathogenesis, OPLL remains a poorly understood pathology. Surgical management of OPLL and the choice of the most appropriate treatment are still controversial issues. Here the authors report a series of OPLL-affected patients treated by “only-fixation” technique. Methods Between June 2012 and June 2019, 52 patients having OPLL were treated by a surgical strategy involving only spinal fixation with…
Does Extra Interletter Spacing Help Text Reading in Skilled Adult Readers?
2016
AbstractA number of experiments have shown that, in skilled adult readers, a small increase in interletter spacing speeds up the process of visual word recognition relative to the default settings (i.e., judge faster than judge). The goal of the present experiment was to examine whether this effect can be generalized to a more ecological scenario: text reading. Each participant read two stories (367 words each) taken from a standardized reading test. The stories were presented with the standard interletter spacing or with a small increase in interletter spacing (+1.2 points to default) in a within-subject design. An eyetracker was used to register the participants’ eye movements. Comprehens…
Early Lung Function Abnormalities in Acromegaly.
2014
BACKGROUND: Acromegaly is an insidious disorder caused by a pituitary growth hormone (GH)-secreting adenoma resulting in high circulating levels of GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Respiratory disorders are common complications in acromegaly, and can severely impact on quality of life, eventually affecting mortality. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to explore structural and functional lung alterations of acromegalic subjects. METHODS: We enrolled 10 consecutive patients (M/F: 5/5) affected by acromegaly. In all patients, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed the presence of pituitary tumor. All patients underwent clinical, lung functional, biological, and radiological as…