Search results for "Case-Control Studies"
showing 10 items of 1567 documents
Relationship between quality of life and behavioural disorders in children with persistent asthma: a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model
2020
AbstractKnowledge on multiple interdependences between quality of life (QoL) and behavioural problems in relation to asthma severity and control is undetermined. The aims of the study were: (i) to assess the relationship of QoL and behavioural problems with asthma severity and control (ii) to predict children’s “abnormal/borderline” status with variation in QoL. For these purposes a multicenter case-control study on 47 Severe Asthma (SA) and 94 Moderate Asthma (MA) children was performed. The MIMIC approach was applied to investigate the effect of SA and non-controlled asthma (NC) on QoL and behavioural disorders. Logistic regression was used to estimate probabilities of having an “abnormal…
Search for genetic factors associated with susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.
2006
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease characterized by type-1 cytokine production. Environmental and individual genetic background might influence this response particularly in cytokine gene polymorphisms. We evaluated whether polymorphisms of interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha genes, which might play a role in MS pathogenesis, are associated with MS susceptibility. Genotype frequencies for all the analyzed polymorphisms were not differently distributed between cases and controls. It is reasonable to suppose that the cytokine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) studied must be considered against a larger genetic background involving …
The importance of the reproducibility of oropharyngeal swallowing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. An electrophysiological study
2017
Abstract Objective To investigate electrophysiologically the reproducibility of oropharyngeal swallowing in patients with ALS. Methods We enrolled 26 ALS patients, both with and without clinical signs of dysphagia, and 30 age-matched controls. The reproducibility of the electrophysiological signals related to the oral phase (electromyographic activity of the submental/suprahyoid muscles) and the pharyngeal phase (laryngeal-pharyngeal mechanogram) of swallowing across repeated swallows was assessed. To do this we computed two similarity indexes (SI) by using previously described mathematical algorithms. Results The reproducibility of oropharyngeal swallowing was significantly reduced both in…
The Role of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 in Airway Inflammation of Childhood Asthma
2013
TGF-beta-targeting structural and inflammatory cells has been implicated in the mechanisms leading to the inflammatory and restructuring processes in asthma, suggesting an impact of TGF-beta1 signaling on the development and persistency of this disease. We investigated the potential early involvement of TGF-beta1 activity in the immunological and molecular mechanisms underlying progression of inflammation in childhood asthma. We evaluated the levels of TGF-beta1 in induced sputum supernatants (ISSs) and the expression of small mother cell against decapentaplegic (Smad) 2 and Smad7 proteins in induced sputum cells (ISCs) from children with intermittent asthma (IA), moderate asthma (MA) and c…
Occupational solvent exposure and risk of glioma in the INTEROCC study
2017
BACKGROUND: The aetiology of glioma remains largely unknown. Occupational solvent exposure has been suggested as a putative cause of glioma, but past studies have been inconsistent. We examined the association between a range of solvents and glioma risk within the INTEROCC project, a study of brain tumours and occupational exposures based on data from seven national case-control studies conducted in the framework of the INTERPHONE study. We also investigated associations according to tumour grade.METHODS: Data from the seven countries were standardised and then combined into one aggregate data set. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were estimated for adjusted models that included sex, age, country-r…
Lack of association between miR-27a, miR-146a, miR-196a-2, miR-492 and miR-608 gene polymorphisms and colorectal cancer
2014
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide with high mortality rates. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have an established role in the development of different cancers. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA related genes were linked with various gastrointestinal malignancies. However, the data on association between miRNA SNPs and CRC development are inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between miRNA-related gene polymorphisms (miR-27a, miR-146a, miR-196a-2, miR-492 and miR-608) and the presence of CRC in European population. Gene polymorphisms were analyzed in 621 subjects (controls: n = 428; CRC: n = 193). MiR-27a T>C (rs895819), …
Erythrocyte Phospholipid and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Composition in Diabetic Retinopathy
2014
Background: Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) including docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid are suspected to play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetes. LCPUFAs are known to be preferentially concentrated in specific phospholipids termed as plasmalogens. This study was aimed to highlight potential changes in the metabolism of phospholipids, and particularly plasmalogens, and LCPUFAs at various stages of diabetic retinopathy in humans. Methodology and Principal Findings: We performed lipidomic analyses on red blood cell membranes from controls and mainly type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with or without retinopathy. The fatty acid composition of erythrocytes was det…
Plasma Arginine/Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Ratio and Incidence of Cardiovascular Events: A Case-Cohort Study.
2017
CONTEXT: Arginine, its methylated metabolites, and other metabolites related to the urea cycle have been independently associated with cardiovascular risk, but the potential causal meaning of these associations (positive for some metabolites and negative for others) remains elusive due to a lack of studies measuring metabolite changes over time. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between baseline and 1-year concentrations of urea cycle metabolites and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a case-cohort setting. DESIGN: A case-cohort study was nested within the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea trial. We used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to assess metabolite levels at baseline…
Changes in arginine are inversely associated with type 2 diabetes: A case-cohort study in the PREDIMED trial
2018
The associations between arginine‐based metabolites and incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) are unknown. We employed a case‐cohort design, nested within the PREDIMED trial, to examine six plasma metabolites (arginine, citrulline, ornithine, asymmetric dimethylarginine [ADMA], symmetric dimethylarginine [SDMA] and N‐monomethyl‐l‐arginine [NMMA]) among 892 individuals (251 cases) for associations with incident T2D and insulin resistance. Weighted Cox models with robust variance were used. The 1‐year changes in arginine (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] per SD 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49, 0.95; Q4 vs. Q1 0.46, 95% CI 0.21, 1.04; P trend = 0.02) and arginine/ADMA ratio (adjusted HR per SD 0.73…
Sensory neuropathy and signs of central sensitization in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
2006
Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) may develop a broad range of peripheral nerve dysfunctions including pain and sensory deficiencies due to chronic ischemia mostly involving the lower limbs. To investigate the degree of sensory abnormalities in such patients quantitative sensory testing (QST) might be a useful tool. Forty-five patients and 20 controls were enrolled in the present study and underwent QST according to the protocol of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain. PAD was graded according to the Rutherford classification. PAD patients were divided into two groups: 16 patients with critical limb ischemia (severe PAD) and 29 patients with intermittent claudicatio…