Search results for "Case-Control Studies"

Small and dense LDL in Familial Combined Hyperlipidemia and N291S polymorphism of the lipoprotein lipase gene

2009

18 pagesm 2 figures. -- PMID: 19335919 [PubMed]

High Plasma Phospholipid Transfer Protein Levels as a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease

2003

Objective— Plasma phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) mediates both net transfer and exchange of phospholipids between different lipoproteins. Animal studies have shown that it is closely related to the development of atherosclerosis. PLTP-deficient mice have demonstrated increased antioxidation potential as well as a decrease in apolipoprotein B secretion and atherosclerotic lesions. In humans, high PLTP is associated with type II diabetes and obesity. Methods and Results— To assess the relationship between PLTP activity and coronary artery disease (CAD), a novel, high-throughput method to measure plasma PLTP activity was used, relating it to CAD in 1102 cases and 444 controls. This demo…

Unchanged plasma levels of dimethylarginines and nitric oxide in chronic hepatitis C.

2008

Previous studies have shown that asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) and nitric oxide (NO) play a prominent role in liver dysfunction. The objective of this study was to determine whether plasma levels of ADMA, SDMA and NO are altered in patients with chronic hepatitis C.Plasma levels of ADMA, SDMA and NO (nitrite plus nitrate) were measured in 22 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 24 patients with sustained virologic response after treatment with peginterferon plus ribavirin. Seven healthy volunteers served as controls.Plasma levels of ADMA, SDMA and NO were not significantly different between groups: chronic hepatitis C, ADMA 0.55+/-0.06, SDMA 0.22+/-0…

Analysis of the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor gene in Italian patients with autism spectrum disorders

2008

The gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) was implicated for the first time in the pathogenesis of Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by Ishikawa-Brush et al. [Ishikawa-Brush et al. (1997): Hum Mol Genet 6: 1241-1250]. Since this original observation, only one association study [Marui et al. (2004): Brain Dev 26: 5-7] has further investigated, though unsuccessfully, the involvement of the GRPR gene in ASD. With the aim of contributing further information to this topic we have sequenced the entire coding region and the intron/exon junctions of the GRPR gene in 149 Italian autistic patients. The results of this study led to the identification of four novel point mutations, two of which, that…

Cognitive impairment in Behçet's disease patients without overt neurological involvement

2003

We investigated the prevalence of cognitive impairment in patients with Behc¸et’s disease (BD) without overt neurological involvement. The influence of disease duration, disease activity, prednisone dosage, and anxiety and depression levels was evaluated. Twenty-six consecutive BD outpatients and 26 healthy controls matched for age, education and sex completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery including tests of memory, visuospatial and constructional abilities, language, attention and psychomotor speed, non-verbal reasoning and executive functioning. The Hamilton scales for anxiety and depression were administered. Disease activity was assessed using the Behc¸et’s Disease Current …

Coexistence of thrombophilic gene polymorphisms among 559 unrelated consecutive patients with a history of thrombosis.

2001

Further Neuroimaging Evidence for the Deficit Subtype of Schizophrenia

2015

The clinical heterogeneity of schizophrenia has hindered neurobiological investigations aimed at identifying neural correlates of the disorder.To identify network-based biomarkers across the spectrum of impairment present in schizophrenia by separately evaluating individuals with deficit and nondeficit subtypes of this disorder.A university hospital network-based neuroimaging study was conducted between February 1, 2007, and February 28, 2012. Participants included patients with schizophrenia (n = 128) and matched healthy controls (n = 130) from two academic centers and patients with bipolar I disorder (n = 39) and matched healthy controls (n = 43) from a third site. Patients with schizophr…

Opposite effects of suicidality and lithium on gray matter volumes in bipolar depression

2011

Background: Mood disorders are associated with the highest increase of attempted and completed suicide. Suicidality in major depressive disorder and in schizophrenia has been associated with reduced gray matter volumes in orbitofrontal cortex. Lithium reduces the suicide risk of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) to the same levels of the general population, and can increase GM volumes. We studied the effect of a positive history of attempted suicide and ongoing lithium treatment on regional GM volumes of patients affected by bipolar depression. Methods: With a correlational design, we studied 57 currently depressed inpatients with bipolar disorder: 19 with and 38 without a positive histor…

Peripheral Oxidative Stress Markers in Patients with Bipolar Disorder during Euthymia and in Siblings.

2020

Aims:Oxidative stress is increased during the acute phases of bipolar disorder (BD). Our aim here was to analyze oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with BD during euthymia and their siblings.Method:A cross-sectional study was performed in euthymic patients with BD-I (n=48), unaffected siblings (n=23) and genetically unrelated healthy controls (n=21). Protein carbonyl content (PCC), total antioxidant capacity (TRAP), lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and uric acid were measured as biomarkers of oxidative stress in blood.Results:The antioxidant capacity (TRAP) was lower (p<0.001) in patients with BD compared to their siblings and controls, whereas no differences were observed in PCC, TBARS o…

Lithium prevents grey matter atrophy in patients with bipolar disorder: an international multicenter study

2020

AbstractBackgroundLithium (Li) is the gold standard treatment for bipolar disorder (BD). However, its mechanisms of action remain unknown but include neurotrophic effects. We here investigated the influence of Li on cortical and local grey matter (GM) volumes in a large international sample of patients with BD and healthy controls (HC).MethodsWe analyzed high-resolution T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of 271 patients with BD type I (120 undergoing Li) and 316 HC. Cortical and local GM volumes were compared using voxel-wise approaches with voxel-based morphometry and SIENAX using FSL. We used multiple linear regression models to test the influence of Li on cortical an…