Search results for "Case-Control Studies"
showing 10 items of 1567 documents
Transforming growth factor beta1 T29C gene polymorphism and hypertension: relationship with cardiovascular and renal damage.
2008
Distribution of T29C TGFβ1 gene polymorphism was analysed in 260 hypertensive and 134 normotensive subjects. Circulating TGFβ1 and procollagen type III levels, microalbuminuria, left ventricular geometry and function were evaluated in all the hypertensives subgrouped according to T29C TGFβ1 gene polymorphism. Circulating TGFβ1 by ELISA technique, procollagen type III by a specific radioimmunoassay, microalbuminuria by radioimmunoassay, left ventricular geometry and function by echocardiography were determined. All groups were comparable for gender, age and sex. Regarding T29C TGFβ1 gene polymorphism, prevalence of TC or CC genotypes was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in hypertensives th…
Blood lipids, homocysteine, stress factors, and vitamins in clinically stable multiple sclerosis patients
2009
Abstract Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients present a decrease of antioxidants and neuroprotective and immunoregulatory vitamins and an increase of total homocysteine (tHcy), cholesterol (CHL), HDL-cholesterol, and of cellular stress markers, variably associated with the different phases of the disease. We compared the blood levels of uric acid, folic acid, vitamins B12, A, and E, tHcy, CHL, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides in forty MS patients during a phase of clinical inactivity with those of eighty healthy controls, matched for age and sex. We found higher levels of tHcy (p = 0.032) and of HDL-cholesterol (p = 0.001) and lower levels of vitamin E (p = 0.001) and the ratio vitamin E/CHL …
Italian version of the Chicago multiscale depression inventory: translation, adaptation and testing in people with multiple sclerosis.
2004
Depression is the commonest psychiatric disturbance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), with prevalence higher than in the general population and other chronic diseases. However, accurate assessment of depressive symptoms can be biased by somatic symptoms which are part of both MS and depression. We translated and adapted into Italian the Chicago multiscale depression inventory (CMDI) and assessed its acceptability, internal consistency and test-retest reliability in 213 MS outpatients and 213 individually matched healthy controls. The questionnaire was also tested in 32 people with major depression. Acceptability, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were good overall. We …
Oral cancer associated with chronic mechanical irritation of the oral mucosa
2017
Background Most of the studies dealing with Chronic Mechanical Irritation (CMI) and Oral Cancer (OC) only considered prosthetic and dental variables separately, and CMI functional factors are not registered. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess OC risk in individuals with dental, prosthetic and functional CMI. Also, we examined CMI presence in relation to tumor size. Material and Methods A case-control study was carried out from 2009 to 2013. Study group were squamous cell carcinoma cases; control group was patients seeking dental treatment in the same institution. Results 153 patients were studied (Study group n=53, Control group n=100). CMI reproducibility displayed a correlation coe…
All-cause and disease-specific mortality among male, former elite athletes: an average 50-year follow-up.
2014
Aim To investigate life expectancy and mortality among former elite athletes and controls. Methods HR analysis of cause-specific deaths sourced from the national death registry for former Finnish male endurance, team and power sports athletes (N=2363) and controls (N=1657). The median follow-up time was 50 years. Results Median life expectancy was higher in the endurance (79.1 years, 95% CI 76.6 to 80.6) and team (78.8, 78.1 to 79.8) sports athletes than in controls (72.9, 71.8 to 74.3). Compared to controls, risk for total mortality adjusted for socioeconomic status and birth cohort was lower in the endurance ((HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.79)) and team (0.80, 0.72 to 0.89) sports athletes, a…
Extracranial Venous Drainage Pattern in Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: Application of the 2011 Diagnostic Criteria for Chronic Cerebrospina…
2015
The etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is still largely unknown and it has been proposed that an impaired venous drainage from the central nervous system, defined as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), may play a role in this. We investigated the prevalence of extracranial venous drainage pattern alterations in a cohort of MS patients based on the 2011 revised diagnostic criteria for CCSVI. Thirty-nine MS patients and 18 healthy subjects underwent blinded extra-cranial venous echo-color Doppler sonography to reveal the presence of CCSVI. There was no statistically significant difference between MS patients and healthy controls regarding CCSVI prevalence (p value = 0.53). Th…
The differing roles of the frontal cortex in fluency tests
2012
Fluency tasks have been widely used to tap the voluntary generation of responses. The anatomical correlates of fluency tasks and their sensitivity and specificity have been hotly debated. However, investigation of the cognitive processes involved in voluntary generation of responses and whether generation is supported by a common, general process (e.g. fluid intelligence) or specific cognitive processes underpinned by particular frontal regions has rarely been addressed. This study investigates a range of verbal and non-verbal fluency tasks in patients with unselected focal frontal ( n = 47) and posterior ( n = 20) lesions. Patients and controls ( n = 35) matched for education, age and s…
A Novel Loss of Function Mutation of PCSK9 Gene in White Subjects With Low-Plasma Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
2007
Objectives— The PCSK9 gene, encoding a pro-protein convertase involved in posttranslational degradation of low-density lipoprotein receptor, has emerged as a key regulator of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. In African-Americans two nonsense mutations resulting in loss of function of PCSK9 are associated with a 30% to 40% reduction of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The aim of this study was to assess whether loss of function mutations of PCSK9 were a cause of familial hypobetalipoproteinemia and a determinant of low-plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in whites. Methods and Results— We sequenced PCSK9 gene in 18 familial hypobetalipoproteinemia subjects and i…
Ocular surface assessment in soft contact lens wearers; the contribution of tear osmolarity among other tests.
2014
: Purpose: To determine whether tear osmolarity contributes to the assessment of the ocular surface in soft contact lens (CL) wearers. Methods: Prospective, case–control series in 44 CL wearers (28 tolerant and 16 intolerant) and 34 healthy subjects. Every patient underwent a thorough ophthalmic examination with a tear osmolarity test (TearLab System), conjunctival impression cytology and meibomian lipid sampling. Symptoms, break-up time (BUT), tear osmolarity, conjunctival expression of HLA-DR and meibomian fatty acid composition were evaluated. Results: Tear osmolarity did not differ between controls and CL wearers (p = 0.23). Flow cytometry results expressed in antibody-binding capaci…
Evidence of the role of short-term exposure to ozone on ischaemic cerebral and cardiac events: the Dijon Vascular Project (DIVA)
2010
Objectives To confirm the effects of short-term exposure to ozone (O 3 ) on ischaemic heart and cerebrovascular disease. Methods Daily levels of urban O 3 pollution, the incidence of first-ever, recurrent, fatal and non-fatal ischaemic cerebrovascular events (ICVE) and myocardial infarction (MI) were correlated using a case-crossover design. The authors analysed 1574 ICVE and 913 MI that occurred in Dijon, France (150 000 inhabitants) from 2001 to 2007. Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with an aerodiameter of ≤10 μg/m 3 (PM 10 ) were used to create bi-pollutant models. Using the adjusted OR, the effects of O 3 exposure were calcul…