Search results for "Healthy Volunteers"
showing 10 items of 219 documents
Daily changes of individual gait patterns identified by means of support vector machines.
2016
Despite the common knowledge about the individual character of human gait patterns and about their non-repeatability, little is known about their stability, their interactions and their changes over time. Variations of gait patterns are typically described as random deviations around a stable mean curve derived from groups, which appear due to noise or experimental insufficiencies. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of intrinsic inter-session variability in more detail by proving separable characteristics of gait patterns between individuals as well as within individuals in repeated measurement sessions. Eight healthy subjects performed 15 gait trials at a self-selected spee…
Effect of nighttime aircraft noise exposure on endothelial function and stress hormone release in healthy adults.
2013
Aims Aircraft noise disturbs sleep, and long-term exposure has been shown to be associated with increases in the prevalence of hypertension and an overall increased risk for myocardial infarction. The exact mechanisms responsible for these cardiovascular effects remain unclear. Methods and results We performed a blinded field study in 75 healthy volunteers (mean age 26 years), who were exposed at home, in random order, to one control pattern (no noise) and two different noise scenarios [30 or 60 aircraft noise events per night with an average maximum sound pressure level (SPL) of 60 dB(A)] for one night each. We performed polygraphy during each study night. Noise caused a worsening in sleep…
Limb Ischemic Conditioning Induces Oxidative Stress Followed by a Correlated Increase of HIF-1α in Healthy Volunteers.
2019
Background Local and remote ischemic preconditioning has been used as a protective intervention against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage in several preclinical and clinical studies. However, its physiological mechanisms are not completely known. I/R increases the production of reactive oxygen species, which also serve as messengers for a variety of functions. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) is probably the most important transcription factor mediator of hypoxic signaling. Objective We hypothesized that limb ischemic conditioning (LIC) induces a local oxidative/nitrosative stress and a correlated increase of HIF-1α plasma levels. Methods An observational, prospective, and single-c…
Vitamin D, precocious acute myocardial infarction, and exceptional longevity
2015
Recent studies have reported low circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the biologically active form of vitamin D, in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1], hypertension [2], carotid atherosclerosis [3], atrial fibrillation [4], and heart failure [5]. Moreover, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with all-cause mortality [6,7] and predicts adverse cardiac events in patients with established CVD [8] or after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) [9]. In turn, vitamin D supplementation improves the modulation of autonomic tone [10]. 4.638 JCR (2015) Q1, 24/124 Cardiac and cardiovascular systems UEM
Comparison of tactile sensitivity measured with a new digital esthesiometer (Beam Test) relative to Semmes–Weinstein monofilament analog esthesiometer
2019
The assessment of tactile sensitivity uses many tests, of which monofilaments are considered the best. The aim of this study was to develop a tactile sensitivity test, similar to the monofilament test, which eliminates the error risk related to manipulations by the observer, and to establish a correspondence scale. We studied 29 healthy subjects (18 women and 11 men) with a mean age of 27.8 years. The Semmes-Weinstein monofilament (SWM) analog esthesiometer and a digital beam esthesiometer (DBE) were used. We evaluated the tactile sensitivity threshold on the fingertip of each subject's dominant index using the SWM and the DBE. The DBE test consisted of applying the index against the tip of…
Echocardiographic reference ranges for normal left ventricular layer-specific strain: results from the EACVI NORRE study
2020
Abstract Aims To obtain the normal range for 2D echocardiographic (2DE) measurements of left ventricular (LV) layer-specific strain from a large group of healthy volunteers of both genders over a wide range of ages. Methods and results A total of 287 (109 men, mean age: 46 ± 14 years) healthy subjects were enrolled at 22 collaborating institutions of the EACVI Normal Reference Ranges for Echocardiography (NORRE) study. Layer-specific strain was analysed from the apical two-, three-, and four-chamber views using 2DE software. The lowest values of layer-specific strain calculated as ±1.96 standard deviations from the mean were −15.0% in men and −15.6% in women for epicardial strain, −16.8% …
Proteinuric effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation in healthy subjects and diabetic patients with stage 3-4 CKD
2013
BackgroundMany authors have investigated the numerous connections between the nervous system and kidneys, and recent literature has indicated that these similar systems are interconnected. Recent scientific works have shown that there is similarity between the cerebral cortex 'viscera representation' and the 'motor omunculus'. We studied the connection between the brain and kidney in vivo using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Proteinuria and albuminuria were used as markers of renal response in patients with diabetes (DP) and in a group of healthy subjects (HSs) who received rTMS for 5 consecutive days.MethodsThe study population consists of the following four groups: G…
Establishing the 99th percentile for high sensitivity cardiac troponin i in healthy blood donors from southern italy
2019
Introduction: The knowledge of high sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hsTnI) distribution in a reference population is mandatory for its introduction in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to define the Upper Reference Limit (URL) of hsTnI measured by Single Molecule Counting technology (SMC) in an accurately selected reference population. Materials and methods: In the study 1140 blood donors were included and selected on the basis of medical history and biomarkers. High sensitivity cardiac troponin I was measured by SMC technology (Clarity, Singulex, Alamed, USA). The 99th percentile was calculated by the non-parametric method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Instit…
TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION ENHANCES SUCKING OF A LIQUID BOLUS IN HEALTHY HUMANS
2014
Abstract Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique used for modulating cortical excitability in vivo in humans. Here we evaluated the effect of tDCS on behavioral and electrophysiological aspects of physiological sucking and swallowing. Methods Twelve healthy subjects underwent three tDCS sessions (anodal, cathodal and sham stimulation) on separate days in a double-blind randomized order. The active electrode was placed over the right swallowing motor cortex. Repeated sucking and swallowing acts were performed at baseline and at 15 and 60 min after each tDCS session and the mean liquid bolus volume ingested at each time point was measured. We also…
T2-mapping of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 Tesla: a feasibility and reproducibility study
2018
Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of T2 relaxation time measurements of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T. Materials and methods: Healthy volunteers underwent an oblique axial multislice multiecho spin-echo sequence of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T. Regions of interest were manually drawn using a dedicated software by two musculoskeletal radiologists to include the cartilaginous part of the sacroiliac joints. A senior radiologist performed the measurement twice, while a resident measured once. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was tested using the Bland-Altman method. Association between sex and T2 relaxation times was tested using the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation between…