Search results for "Function"
showing 10 items of 14432 documents
Functional MRI and motor behavioral changes obtained with constraint-induced movement therapy in chronic stroke
2011
Background: The clinical benefits of intensive stroke rehabilitation vary individually. We used multimodal functional imaging to assess the relationship of clinical gain and imaging changes in patients with chronic stroke whose voluntary motor control improved after constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT). Methods: Eleven patients (37.6 ± 36.8 months from stroke) were studied by functional MRI (fMRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and behavioral assessment of hand motor control (Wolf Motor Function Test) before and after 2 weeks of CIMT. Individual and group-level changes in imaging and behavioral parameters were investigated. Results: Increase in fMRI activation in the sen…
Nitrate therapy: new aspects concerning molecular action and tolerance.
2011
Although the short-term vasodilatory properties of organic nitrates are potent and well known, a number of vascular and extravascular changes have been shown to compromise their hemodynamic effects on long-term administration. Among these changes, systemic phenomena such as neurohormonal activation and intravascular volume expansion1 as well as specific vascular changes such as increased vascular superoxide (O2·−) production,2 increased sensitivity to vasoconstrictors,3 and decreased responsiveness to nitric oxide (NO) donors4,5 have long been identified as playing a role. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these abnormalities, and over the last 15 years, our groups have focus…
Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin for Acute Kidney Injury During Acute Heart Failure Hospitalizations
2016
AbstractBackground: Worsening renal function (WRF) often occurs during acute heart failure (AHF) and can portend adverse outcomes; therefore, early identification may help mitigate risk. Neutrophil...
Clinical pharmacokinetics of atenolol — A review
1982
Atenolol is a hydrophilic betareceptor blocking drug, which is predominantly eliminated via the kidneys, only about 5% of the atenolol is metabolised by the liver. After oral administration atenolol is incompletely absorbed from the intestine, so about 50% of the beta blocker are finally biovailable. In plasma only 3% of atenolol are protein-bound. There exists a linear relationship between the atenolol plasma levels and the degree of beta blocking effect measured by inhibition of the exercise-induced tachycardia. No correlation was found between plasma levels of atenolol and blood pressure lowering activity of the drug. After oral administration elimination half life of atenolol is calcula…
Increased nitrotyrosine plasma levels in relation to systemic markers of inflammation and myeloperoxidase in chronic heart failure
2009
The presence of a reciprocal link between inflammation and oxidative/nitrosative stress has been postulated in chronic heart failure (CHF). We aimed to determine signs of nitrosative stress in serum/plasma of CHF patients. ELISA tests were used for quantification of serum/plasma levels of Nitrotyrosine (NT), H(2)O(2), total NO, nitrite (NO(2)(-)), myeloperoxidase (MPO), Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (proBNP) in 66 CHF patients (9 in NYHA I, 34 NYHA II, 23 NYHA III) and in 14 age-matched healthy subjects. NT levels were higher in NYHA III CHF patients compared to NYHA II (p<0.05), NYHA I (p<0.03) and controls (p<0.02), whereas NO(2)(-) and total NO …
Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome: recent advances in diagnostic criteria and prognostic significance.
2017
The term asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS) has been proposed for individuals with features of both asthma and COPD. Several attempts have been done to define ACOS on the basis of medical history, symptoms, and functional findings. The main diagnostic criteria include airflow obstruction with a strong although incomplete reversibility to bronchodilation tests, a significant exposure to cigarette or biomass smoke, and a history of atopy or asthma. Additional diagnostic elements include eosinophilic airway and systemic inflammation, a good response to corticosteroid treatment, and a high concentration of exhaled nitric oxide. ACOS should be distinguish…
Prognostic value of NT-proBNP and CA125 across glomerular filtration rate categories in acute heart failure.
2021
This study aimed to evaluate whether glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during admission modifies the predictive value of plasma amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF).We retrospectively evaluated 4595 patients consecutively discharged after admission for AHF at three tertiary-care hospitals from January 2008 through October 2019. To investigate the effect of kidney function on the association of NT-proBNP and CA125 with 1-year mortality (all-cause and cardiovascular mortality), we stratified patients according to four eGFR categories:30 mL•minAt 1-year follow-up, 748 of 4595 (16.3%)…
COVID-19 and Thrombotic or Thromboembolic Disease: Implications for Prevention, Antithrombotic Therapy, and Follow-Up
2020
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a viral respiratory illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), may predispose patients to thrombotic disease, both in the venous and arterial circulations, because of excessive inflammation, platelet activation, endothelial dysfunction, and stasis. In addition, many patients receiving antithrombotic therapy for thrombotic disease may develop COVID-19, which can have implications for choice, dosing, and laboratory monitoring of antithrombotic therapy. Moreover, during a time with much focus on COVID-19, it is critical to consider how to optimize the available technology to care for patients without COVID-19 who hav…
Impact of Proportionality of Secondary Mitral Regurgitation on Outcome After Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair
2020
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the impact of proportionality of secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) in a large real-world registry of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TMVr) BACKGROUND: Differences in the outcomes of recent randomized trials of TMVr for SMR may be explained by the proportionality of SMR severity to left ventricular (LV) volume.The ratio of pre-procedural effective regurgitant orifice area (EROA) to LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) was retrospectively assessed in patients undergoing TMVr for severe SMR between 2008 and 2019 from the EuroSMR registry. A recently proposed SMR proportionality scheme was adapted to stratify patients according to EROA/LVE…
Cigarette smoke-induced pulmonary endothelial dysfunction is partially suppressed by sildenafil.
2009
Abstract Cigarette smoke mediated oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction are important processes in the pathogenesis of several lung disorders. In this study we evaluated the effect of PDE5 inhibition on pulmonary artery endothelial dysfunction induced by cigarette smoke in vitro . Human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC) were incubated in the absence or presence of PDE5 inhibitor sildenafil (10 nM–1 μM), PKG agonist 8-Br-cGMP (1 mM), or the antioxidants dyphenyleneiodonium (DPI 1 μM) and N -acetylcysteine (NAC 1 mM) for 30 min. Then, cigarette smoke extract (CSE) was added for 24 h. CSE (2.5–10%)-induced ROS generation was suppressed by DPI, and partially reversed by sildenaf…